Some weather events from the 14th century

Összefoglalás - A dolgozat célja annak bemutatása, hogy milyen típusú, időjárási eseményekre utaló 14. századi forTások találhatók Magyarországon. Mivel az egykorú hazai krónikák és évkönyvek szinte teljesen hiányoznak, ezért a korabeli oklevelekben található információk szolgáltathatnak adatokat. Summary - This paper discusses the different kinds of allusions to weather events which can be found in various 14th century written sources in Hungary: e.g. data refering to the floods of different rivers, water levels, precipitation etc. In lack of narrative sources (annals, chronicles etc.) Hungarian references to other events are restricted to different charters. Until recently in Hungary no comprehensive attempls have been made to collect and analyse such data from the 14th century charters, yet

Droughts, Dry Spells and Low Water Levels in Late Medieval Hungary (and Slavonia) III: Potential Dry Spells and the Drought of (1516-)1517

As a continuation of the series about droughts in late medieval Hungary, we present, analyse and compare further cases, based on contemporary direct and indirect documentary source evidence. The data, concerning (potential) low water-level conditions in 1375, 1378, 1393-1394 and 1517, and the economic problems (and solutions) probably related to multiannual dry (spring, summer?) conditions, recorded in the 1410s and 1420s, are further compared to the recent tree-ring based hydroclimate reconstruction of the OWDA (Old World Drought Atlas). Whereas the cases in 1371, 1375, 1378, (1414-)1417 and 1427-1428 (and before) reflect on local-regional problems and also show some conflicts between documentary and tree-ring based reconstructions, in 1393 the local data and the potential Danube low water-level evidence mainly reflects on lower precipitation sums in Western Hungary and the Upper-Danube catchment. The 1517 case, however, presumably refers to large-scale drought problems in the Carpathian Basin and beyond. Beyond the case studies on individual years or multiannual periods, indirect indicators of drought and dry spells are discussed and main groups of most frequent (potential) indicators defined. Preceded by a hard winter, the year of Reformation stands out both in documentary and tree-ring evidence as an outstanding drought year, and has particular importance in the paper

Floods and weather in 1342 and 1343 in the Carpathian basin

Concerning weather, weather-related extremes and catastrophic consequences, 1342 was an extraordinary year in most parts of Central Europe, even in such an extraordinary decade as the 1340s. Accounting with the seven flood events (including one Danube flood) mainly of great magnitude, at present 1342 is the most important known flood year of medieval Hungary. Moreover, in this year extraordinary weather conditions, such as a mid-autumn snowcover were also reported. However, in the eastern parts of the Carpathian basin not only 1342 but also 1343 was a significant flood year with six reports on flood events occurred in the upper and upper middle sections of the Tisza catchment. In the present study, an overview of these events is provided, based on the information preserved in the most typical contemporary, well-dated source type of medieval Hungary, namely charters. The aim of the study is, on the one hand, to draw attention to the flood and weatherrelated evidence found in charters, and to provide a methodological background for further evaluation and utilisation of this source type in historical weather and flood research, through the very typical example of the years of 1342 and 1343. On the other hand, another aim is to discuss and analyse the unique nature of these two years in medieval Hungary, and (beyond the well-known year of 1342) to draw attention to the, up to now somewhat neglected, year of 1343

Some weather events in the fourteenth century II. : (angevin period: 1301-87)

Összefoglalás : A vizsgálat célja - egy, a korábbinál nagyobb adatbázis alapján - annak bemutatása, hogy a klimatörténeti kutatásokban az eddig talált források milyen lehetőségeket nyújtanak egy lehetséges klimarekonstrukcióhoz. A dolgozat kizárólag az egykorú, vagy közel egykorú, megbízhatónak vélt anjóu-kori (1301-1387), elsősorban írott források csoportját érinti. Mivel á rendelkezésre álló adatok mennyisége nem enged meg konkrét klímarekonstrúkciót áz adott időszakra, így a dolgozat másik célja, hogy a bemutatásra kerülő adatokat összevetve a rendelkezésre álló, a'korszakr a vonatkozó európai, de különösen közép-európai adatbázisokkal, bizonyos lehetséges összefüggéseket állapítson meg. Summary - The aim of this study is to provide more evidence for a possible climatic reconstruction of the Hungarian Kingdom in the period of 1301-87, on an increased database of fifty, mainly contemporary sources. Another goal is to present the European, but especially the Central-European conditions at the same time in order to find some parallels between the European database and the data referring to the areas of the former Hungarian Kingdom

Historical land use and anthropogenic features : a case study from Nagymaros

In this study, an approximately 0.15 km2 representative study area of former vineyards, now partly reforested, is the subject of investigation. The area of the Kapu Hill is characterised by a system of relatively large and intact stone hedges, ditches as well as well-preserved traces of man-made stone and earth terraces. In the late 18th century this steep slope of southeastern exposure was predominantly covered by vineyards and thus, it was subject to severe erosion roughly until the late 19th century, but - with changed land use - in some extent until the 1950s. Due to intensive vine cultivation as well as effective protection techniques soil structure was strongly modified. In the course of our investigation we try to find out the main characteristics and probable regularities in the set of abandonned man-made features, seeking for the answer of such questions as when and why these stone hedges, ditches and teiTaces became part of the landscape and in what extent intensive land use left its marks on the present soil and surface of the study area