Gyulafehérvár is the old centre of Transylvania: the Hungarian castle of Fehér (the 'white castle' of the Gyulas) built into the walls of the Roman legionary fort of Apulum above the Maros, with the cathedral of St Michael and the bishop's household inside.
In 1200 it is the seat of the bishop, Adrian, and of the count of Fehér, who is the voivode himself. There is no town law; the people below the castle are the bishop's and the castle's folk.
Who holds it
- Name
- Bishop Adrian of Transylvania (his church and estates: Church map record) and the voivode as count of Fehér (most likely Legforus)
- Title
- Lords of Gyulafehérvár
- Since
- Bishop Adrian attested 1192-1201
- Confidence
- medium
en.wikipedia (Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Alba Iulia; St Michael's Cathedral): Adrian bishop 1192-1201; the Romanesque cathedral's transepts and first sanctuary built toward the end of the 11th century, the church destroyed in 1241 and rebuilt in the mid-13th century. Makkai: the voivode was count of Fehérvár in 1200 and 1201.
Lord in 1200
The bishop of Transylvania in his cathedral close (Church map record); the voivode as count of Fehér in the castle.
How things stand that morning
Bishop's city and county castle; drawn as a point (Church map matter).
Communities
Hungarian clergy, castle folk and the bishop's servants.
Fairs and markets
None recorded for 1200.
Militia
Castle folk of Fehér and the bishop's men.
Walls and castle
The Roman walls of Apulum, reused; the cathedral inside.
Trade and crafts
Maros crossing and salt road; a market for the bishop's and the county's people.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Bishop and cathedral well recorded; the castle's form is archaeological.
Primary sources for Transylvania (voivode Legforus)
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Deeds of the Hungarians, by the Anonymous Notary of King Béla, Anonymus (P. magister) (about 1200 to 1210, the date disputed). Not a record of events but a picture of the kingdom's nobility and geography as a courtier of about 1200 wished to see it: the clans and their lands, the castles and counties, the Vlachs, Cumans and other peoples of the Carpathian basin, all projected back onto the conquest. Read online
- Hungarian royal charters: Fejér's Codex diplomaticus and Szentpétery's critical calendar of the Árpád kings (documents of the 11th to 13th centuries; Fejér published 1829 to 1844, Szentpétery vol. 1 in 1923). The documentary base for Hungary in 1200: King Emeric's grants to Pannonhalma, the bishops, the Templars and Hospitallers, Duke Andrew's acts in Croatia and Dalmatia, and the papal letters of 1200 to Emeric about his brother's rebellion and about heresy in Bosnia. Read online
Sources and studies
- Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Alba Iulia (list of bishops), en.wikipedia
- St. Michael's Cathedral, Alba Iulia, en.wikipedia
- L. Makkai, Royal Counties in Transylvania, in History of Transylvania I (ed. B. Köpeczi, English ed. 2001)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.