ABSTRACT
The social organization of East-Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages has been a favorite subject with many historians ever since the 19th century. 1 While lordship and the rise of nobility (aristocracy) received much attention in the recent decades, research on the medieval peasants (free or dependent) and slaves has made only a few notable steps beyond the stage at which it remained in the last quarter of the 20th century. The reason for this lack of interest is largely the absence of a substantial body of written sources for many areas in East-Central and Eastern Europe. In that respect, Hungary is in a privileged position: although not abundant, the material is sufficient and relatively well distributed chronologically for a diachronic approach to the problem. Much like elsewhere, historians have debated the nature of servility in the Kingdom of Hungary under the Árpádian dynasty (1000–1301) since the 19th century. Each period saw the discussion directed by that era’s dominant school of thought. Early thought was heavily influenced by Christianity. Later Marxist thought was bounded by its rigid historical developmental periodization. The explanations of each system proved incomplete, and more recent theories have sought to deny the existence of slavery in the medieval world altogether. Perhaps, the best way forward is to view slavery in Árpádian Hungary as part of broader strategies by the elites to control their land and protect their power. In this way, we see that enslavement existed in different modes from before the existence of the Árpádian dynasty until well after its very end.
