Hungarian Mendicants and the Ottoman Threat to the Late Sixteenth Century

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Autor/ Author: Miroslav Huťka 

In: Kultúrne dejiny

ISSN: 1338-2209 (Print)

ISSN: 2989–3313 (Online)

Ročník/ Volume: 17

Číslo/ Issue: Supplement

Strany/ Page Range: 67-89

Rok vydania/ Publication Year: 2026

Jazyk/ Language: Slovak

Vydavateľ/ Publisher: VERBUM – vydavateľstvo Katolíckej univerzity v Ružomberku

Abstrakt/ Abstract: The present study examines the response of mendicant orders in the Kingdom of Hungary to the advancing expansion of the Ottoman Empire from the late fourteenth to the late sixteenth century. The analysis is grounded in the premise that Ottoman incursions constituted not only a military threat, but also a profound social, economic, and cultural challenge that significantly affected the structure of medieval society. The study focuses on exploring the ways in which mendicant communities responded to the long-term pressures of military conflict and how they adapted to changing conditions. The paper poses the following research questions: How did the mendicants react to the military threat posed by the Ottomans? In what ways did Ottoman incursions affect the functioning of religious orders and ecclesiastical administration in the contact zones? The study demonstrates that Ottoman raids caused extensive material destruction, depopulation, and the disintegration of traditional ecclesiastical structures, which directly impacted monastic institutions and religious life. As a consequence of these developments, members of religious orders — particularly from Bosnia — migrated into the Kingdom of Hungary, where they established new convents and created substitute institutional frameworks. At the same time, so-called “frontier” or “grey” zones emerged, in which traditional church organization ceased to function effectively, and where, alongside Catholic pastoral care, heterodox religious currents also spread. Special attention is devoted to the individual experiences of religious figures, including captivity in the Ottoman milieu, as exemplified by the case of Georgius de Hungaria. These narratives illustrate not only the brutality of the conflict but also the cultural contacts and exchanges between the Christian and Islamic worlds. The study further highlights the gradual decline of mendicant structures in Hungary after 1526, resulting from a combination of Ottoman expansion, internal political conflicts, and the onset of the Reformation. At the same time, it points out that the activity of the Franciscans in Ottoman-occupied territories, although difficult, was not entirely impossible. The paper concludes that the responses of mendicant communities to crisis situations were diverse and adaptive, leading to transformations in their activities, geographical mobility, and the redefinition of their role within society.

Kľúčové slová/ Keywords: Hungary. Mendicant Orders. Ottoman Turks. Monasteries.

Citácia/ How to cite:
HUŤKA, Miroslav, 2026. Uhorskí mendikanti a osmanské nebezpečenstvo do konca 16. storočia. Kultúrne dejiny. Online. Roč. 17, č. Supplement, s. 67-89. ISSN 1338-2209 (Print). ISSN 2989–3313 (Online). Dostupné na:

Toto dielo je publikované pod/ This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Táto štúdia vznikla s podporou Nanovic Institute for European Studies University of Notre Dame v rámci projektu s názvom: Begging religious orders on the periphery of Christian Europe: The Hungarian Mendicants and Their Relationship to the Ottoman Turks in Hungary in the 14th–17th Centuries.
This study was produced with the support of the Nanovic Institute for European Studies, University of Notre Dame, within the framework of the project entitled Begging Religious Orders on the Periphery of Christian Europe: The Hungarian Mendicants and Their Relationship to the Ottoman Turks in Hungary in the 14th–17th Centuries.