Mentség a rendi jogok és a vallás védelmében : Bocskai István ismeretlen levele Európa protestáns fejedelmeihez

Abstract

The Hungarian estates led by Stephen Bocskai wanted to justify their revolt against the AntiProtestant measures and the centralizing policy of Emperor Rudolf II's government in several documents addressing international audiences. Related literature had known of two Latin pamphlets, the Kiáltvány (Manifesto) and the Apologia, while recently a third source was discovered, which provides exciting additions to the arguments - mainly targeting the international Protestant public - used in the two pamphlets. This further clarifies that Bocskai and his court drew equally on the medievalish, typically Hungarian estate ideology and Luther's modern principle of the freedom of conscience in their arguments to provide a legal foundation for the resistance.