Bobâlna revolt

From Freepedia

The Bobâlna revolt of 1437 was the only significant popular revolt in the Kingdom of Hungary prior to the great peasant war of 1514.

The revolt was sparked when the bishop of Transylvania demanded the arrears of the tithe (which had not been collected since 1434) in one sum. Furthermore, petty nobleman and Romanian settlers (who were previously exempt from the tithe) were required to pay. When the peasants refused to pay, the bishop excommunicated them. The peasants were also agrieved over the unwillingness of their lords to respect their right of free movement.

The rebellion broke out in northern Transylvania, but soon spread to the counties of Szatmár (Satu Mare) and Szabolcs. In June an army of peasants built a camp on a hill at Bábolna (Bobâlna in Romanian). They called themselves the universitas (community) of the Hungarian and Romanian inhabitants of the realm, and were led by a poor nobleman called Anthony Budai Nagy and five other captains (three Hungarian peasants, a Romanian peasant, and a burgher from Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca)). The rebels sent envoys to Transylvanian voivode Ladislaus Csáki. The voivode promptly executed the envoys but, after the rebel troops scored a victory over his forces, he feigned willingness to negotiate. On the 6 July at Cluj-Mănăştur a contract was signed between the parties that met many of the rebels' demands. Both parties also sent envoys to King Sigismund of Hungary asking for arbitration.

However on the 16 September, the Transylvanian nobility, the Saxon burghers, and the Szekler free guards formed an alliance of mutual aid against the peasants, which was termed the Union of Kápolna (Capâlna in Romanian). A new treaty with the rebels was signed on the 6 October at Apatiu , which repealed some aspects of the previous agreement. When Sigismund died in December, the allies attacked and defeated the rebels in a pitched battle. They also besieged Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca), which had joined the rebels, and took the town in January 1438.

The leaders of the revolt were executed at Torda (Turda), while Kolozsvár was deprived of its urban privileges and its inhabitant declared peasants. On the 2 February the alliance set out by the Union of Kápolna (Căpâlna) was renewed and would later become the Union of Three Nations.