A LETTER OF LADIZLAUS, THE FRANCISCAN CUSTODIAN OF GAZARIA (CAFFA, APRIL 10, 1287)

The following letter of Friar Ladizlaus, Franciscan Custodian of Gazaria (that is, of the Northern Black Sea region), contains an interesting description of the collision between Catholic missionaries and Muslim residents of Solkhat. In his letter, Friar Ladizalus describes the circumstances of the conflict that arose in the summer of 1286 between the Franciscans of Solkhat and local Muslim residents who were angered by Catholics' habit of sound a bell on their church. During the conflict, the Solkhat Muslims demolished this bell and destroyed the Catholic church. In turn, the Franciscans submitted a complaint against their actions to khan Tula-Buga and Nogay. In response to the Minorites' petition, Jochid rulers sent their representatives to Solkhat. Despite personal commitment to the Muslim faith, these representatives severely punished Franciscans' offenders and allowed the Minorites both to rebuild their church and to hang three bells instead of one destroyed earlier. Letter's translation is provided with the necessary comments, which will be expanded in the future monograph of the author. It is appropriate to note that the letter was analyzed in detail in a recent article of the Hungarian researcher Szylvia Kovács [4, p. 157–164]. The Latin text of the letter is reproduced according to Girolamo Golubovich's edition based on the Codex Ottoboniana 2115 from the Vatican library (fol. 62) [3, p. 444–445]. Discrepancies from the followin earlier editions are also taken into account in the text: [8, no. 250, s. 248–250 (referred to as Starzer & Redlich); 2, p. 165, nota 1 (referred to as Eubel)].