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Military Justice, Regulations and Discipline in Early Modern Transylvanian Armies ...
Some military regulations were issued during the preparations for new campaigns,
especially the ones organized against external enemies. Such occasions were frequent
in the second half of the XVII century, during the reign of Mihail Apafi, when the
Transylvanian army took part in several military actions directed against the
Habsburg rule in Hungary. In 1671 the soldiers of the principality were being
summoned for a campaign in the region of Partium. While the troops were mustering
in the camp at Some eni (Szamosfalva) near the town of Cluj, the prince and his
advisors conceived a regulation consisting of 13 articles for this specific campaign. A
notable difference from the regulations analyzed earlier, is the attempt to impose a
moral code for soldiers. The first rules were stating that soldiers guilty of adultery and
those cursing in the name of God had to be punished by death. Same punishment was
applied in cases of insubordination. Another problem that this regulation was trying to
prevent was the spreading of false rumors. The morale of the army was easily
influenced by unfavorable news, both true and false. Each soldier was bound to
communicate external information exclusively to his superior officer. Those found
guilty of spreading rumors or bad news inside the camp were punished by beating,
and if the rumors were grave enough they could also be executed. Fights between
soldiers and theft were punishable by death 16 .
Although a permanent legislation regarding the internal order of armies in this
period was never achieved, the regulations analyzed here show multiple similarities,
fact which demonstrates a constant effort of political authorities (both the prince and
the representatives of estates) to impose a more efficient control on their military
power. Discipline was without a doubt the most important objective of these
regulations, but other matters such as: supply, logistics, camp security and reducing
the negative impact on civil population, were also taken in. to consideration. The
degree in which these rules were applied and respected remains a fact hard to asses.
In spite of these obvious efforts to contain the destructive behavior of early modern
soldiers, official and narrative contemporary sources continued to present a negative
image of armies in this period 17 .
16 Ibidem, vol. XV, Budapest, 1892, p. 204-205; some similar regulations were issued in the years 1681
and 1683. Sándor Szilágyi , Az erdély 1681-ik hadjárat előkeszületéinek történetéhez, in
„Hadtörténelmi Közlemények”, IV, Budapest, 1891, p. 415-420; MCRT, vol. XVIII, doc. XIV, p. 136-
141.
17 This work was possible with the financial support of the Sectoral Operational Programme for Human
Resources Development 2007-2013, co-financed by the European Social Fund, under the project number
POSDRU 89/1.5/S/60189 with the title „Postdoctoral Programs for Sustainable Development in a
Knowledge Based Society”.
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