Written Heritage of Transylvanian Princes in the Archival Funds of Ukraine

The written legacy of the Transylvanian princes preserved in Ukrainian archival funds is a less researched area. The aim of the article is to shed light on the documentary heritage of two Transylvanian princes preserved by the archival funds of Ukraine. The methodology of the research is based on the description of the sources, with the help of which new data is introduced into the scientific stream. Archival-descriptive methods were applied that can be used to exploit the historical data in the records. The scientific novelty of the article is about exploring sources that have not been published so far or have already been mentioned in the foreign literature, but are less known in the historical literature of Ukraine. Conclusions: The present study covers the documentary legacy of two princes, György Rákóczi I (1593-1648) and his great-grandson Ferenc Rákóczi II (1676-1735), examining the letters in the State Archives of the Transcarpathian Region, which were signed by them. Although the Transylvanian princes were not independent rulers, they left a significant mark in European history in the administrative, military and political spheres. Their military-political careers had an impact on the peoples of the region, the Ukrainians, the Hungarians, the Poles and the Germans alike. Of all the princes of the Rákóczi dynasty, the documentary legacy of the princes mentioned above is the richest in the State Archives of the Transcarpathian Region. The princes in question were suffering in the European space between the two great powers of the time, the Habsburgs and the Turkish Empire, and could succeed only with great effort. Letters, decrees, and other orders written or issued in the princely chancelleries, the description of which appears in this article, are essentially the result of the present research. These expand the image of the relationship between the peoples living in the principality and the Rákóczis, who often acted in political coercion. A detailed examination of the princes' letters of donation, the treaties with the rulers, or the relations with the poor peasantry may be of interest for further research