TAKING OVER THE territory of Galicia was one of the aims of Andrew II's reign in Hungary (1205–35). The principality of Halych (a form of the Latinized name, Galicia) had formed during the twelfth century under the rule of Volodymerko (1124–53) and merged at the end of that century with Volhynia to create the principality of Galicia–Volhynia under Roman Mstislavich (1199–1205). The principality existed until 1340 when it was split: Galicia then fell under the control of the Polish crown, with Volhynia under the grand duchy of Lithuania. Today the territory of Galicia belongs partly to Poland (Przemyśl) and partially to Ukraine (Lviv, Halych).

Andrew's first campaign in Galicia started straight after his enthronement in 1205, and he abandoned these attempts only after the death of his youngest son, Andrew, in 1234. Whether the prince's sudden death or other circumstances forced the Hungarian king to stop, we cannot be sure, since he died the following year.

Andrew II's interest in Galicia reflects that of his father, King Béla III (1172–96), who intended to strengthen the Hungarian rule in the principality of Galicia by placing his offspring there. Andrew was born around 1177, so he must have been about eleven or twelve years old at the time of the Hungarian campaign of 1188–89. He may have been aware of the nature of the Hungarian claim on Galicia, and his father's military and diplomatic plans might have made an impact on him.

Andrew II's grandmother, Euphrosyne Mstislavna, came from the Rurikid dynasty, whilst his grandfather, King Géza II (1141–62), had led several campaigns into the territory of the Kievan Rus’, even if their goals diverged in several aspects from those under Béla III. Experiences from Géza II's time long predated Andrew but a memory of the campaigns probably lingered. Andrew II, in fact, did refer to his grandfather, father, and the events of their time, however different in nature.

The short reign of Béla III in Galicia shows different kind of political actions. He incarcerated Vladimir Iaroslavich, the Galician prince, and started negotiations with the Galician elite and the grand prince of Kiev.

COLOMAN, AND HIS brother King Béla IV, faced a new menace in 1241, bigger than any other previous threat, the Mongol invasion. They could not ignore it, as they had done in the case of the help requested for the Latin Empire.

The Mongol Invasion and the Papal Reaction

Not only did Coloman start making military provisions for an attack by the nomadic Mongols, but he informed the pope about the situation, perhaps before his brother but after the catastrophe of the battle of Muhi in April 1241. The pope's response for the request for help was the last letter Gregory IX ever sent Coloman. The Hungarian Kingdom received no practical help in its moment of great need, as Béla IV later complained to Pope Innocent IV. Belatedly, Coloman was granted the protection of the Apostolic See and warriors who fought the Mongols were given an indulgence, as was the case for crusaders. Béla was given the same, while the prelates in Hungary were instructed to censure the enemies of the king.

The Glorious Last Battle at Muhi

Coloman maintained loyalty to his brother even in the shadow of the Mongol menace and joined his troops to those of the royal army, marching fatefully forward. We are fortunate to have not one but two contemporary sources reporting the events of 1241 in detail. One was Roger of Apulia, who served as the chaplain of cardinal-legate Jacob of Pecorari in 1232, and later received several ecclesiastical benefices. He lived through the Mongol attack as archdeacon of Várad/Nagyvárad (Oradea), was captured by the nomads, but eventually managed to escape. Roger wrote his Carmen miserabile, or Epistle to the Sorrowful Lament upon the Destruction of the Kingdom of Hungary by the Tatars, of his experiences and the general state of the Hungarian kingdom from the 1230s to 1243–44 and dedicated it to Cardinal Jacob Pecorari. No medieval manuscript of the work is extant and is known from Johannes de Thurocz, who edited it as a supplement of his Chronicle published in Brno in 1488. The other source has already featured several times concerning Coloman's life.

IN 1226 COLOMAN became ruler of a whole swathe of territory, far from Scepus on the border of today's Poland, at the opposite end of the Hungarian kingdom, more than 500 km to the south of Spiš castle, over what we knew till recently as Yugoslavia. From that point we know nothing of any involvement by Coloman and his wife in Scepus.

Coloman became ruler when his father, Andrew II, placed him at the head of the provinces of Dalmatia and Croatia, replacing his elder brother, Béla, who was simultaneously then transferred to Transylvania. Of course, we cannot speak of fully-fledged territories of these royal princes, and even the titles used were somewhat vague. From the second half of the twelfth century in the kingdom of the Árpáds it happened several times that a member of the family was entrusted with the governance of these southern territories (like King Emeric from 1194 to 1196), so he could acquire the necessary skills while governing the area in the name of the king. There was, however, no solid framework of how this operated, and the practice was still fluid in the early thirteenth century.

This transfer to Slavonia marked a significant change in Coloman's life, since the first charters under the prince's own name derive from 1226. Coloman travelled to the Dalmatian coastal cities that same year and his power, newly granted from his father, was proclaimed in the form of solemn entries into these towns.

The Question of Coloman's Residence in Scepus or Slavonia

Coloman stated in one of his charters—albeit, of questionable authenticity—that he became the duke of Croatia and Dalmatia thanks to his father's generosity. It is certain that the prince had visited his new territories by 1226. It seems doubtful if he moved south permanently, and lack of sources makes this impossible to answer. There is a three-year hiatus between Coloman's first extant charters (dealing with southern affairs) and a new batch in 1229. Matters dealt with in these charters are significant: two of them concerned donations in the Scepus region (Kecerovský Lipovec and Spišské Tomášovce). So, several years after his rise to the dukedom, Coloman was still concerned about the conditions of his estates and the circumstances of his supporters in Scepus.

WE HAVE SEEN what resources Coloman had available: the impact of a papally-approved coronation in Galicia, a queen, Salomea, who linked the Polish Krakówian powers to Hungary through the pact entered into at Scepus, his royal court at the impressive city of Halych, the Hungarian elite on whom he could call, and those local boyars who supported him. Now let us examine what Coloman could accomplish in this situation.

The military campaign that Leszek and Andrew II agreed upon at the Scepus Council probably started as early as the end of 1214. Leszek, prince of Kraków, likely occupied only the lands to which he laid claim (Peremyshl and Liubachev), and he provided no assistance to the Hungarian army. Andrew II's letter to Pope Innocent III from 1215 mentions this lack of support, and the king requested papal mediation on behalf of Coloman. Leszek's resistance probably led to Andrew II's counter-move, and as a result, he occupied Volhynia in 1216.

The agreement of the Scepus in effect expelled the minor sons of Roman Mstislavich from Galicia. Leszek probably intended to rectify this situation, so the sons received Vladimir Volynsky from the prince of Kraków, while he retained some influence through his father-in-law. Leszek also tried to contact Mstislav Mstislavich, to gain further support against the Hungarian rule. At that time Mstislav controlled Trepol’ and Torchesk, insignificant towns located at the edge of the steppe. He came into possession of Novgorod in 1210 but abandoned it permanently in 1218 when he tried to occupy Halych. His ties to the steppe were secured through his Cuman marriage. Before his attempt in Galicia, he made a failed attempted to seize Kiev in 1215 and could only escape with great losses in 1216. Leszek's plans concerning Daniil went nowhere; the son of Roman wanted to stay independent from Kraków and so he entered a pact with Mstislav, sealed by his marriage to Mstislav's daughter.

Leszek had failed to find an ally in the Rus’ by 1215–16. Perhaps it was the result of this failed eastern policy that he dismissed castellanus Pakosław, sent him to Sandomierz, and appointed Marek Gryfita instead.

COLOMAN HAD TO face various severe challenges after 1226 due to the geographical location of his duchy. As duke of Slavonia he had to handle affairs in the Balkans, or more specifically the Hungarian interest there, especially in Bosnia. The issue of the Bosnian heretics and the threat of the Dalmatian pirates were of greater relevance for Coloman; his possible campaign to Bosnia was probably one of the greatest enterprises of his lifetime. But in a wider sense his politics can be seen to be aligned with the traditional tendency of Hungarian expansion southwards since the late eleventh century.

The Bosnian Heresy

The Bosnian heresy, or the so-called Bosnian Church, is held traditionally to be a dualistic teaching related to the Bogomils and the Cathars. The complex nature of the situation caused by the presence of the heretics makes it necessary to take a wider, contextual perspective, not focusing alone on Coloman's deeds. We shall not examine here the doctrines of the Bosnian heresy; it is enough to know that scholars now doubt a direct relation between the Bosnian Church and dualist teachings. The influence of the Bogomils or the Cathars cannot be excluded completely, but it was certainly intermixed with Eastern monasticism and popular beliefs.

The fight against the heresy had become central in papal–Hungarian relations by the early thirteenth century; Pope Innocent III was in regular contact with Hungarian rulers due to various plans concerning the matter, whilst the pope was also interested in restoring union of the Eastern, or orthodox, churches with Rome. Coloman had confronted this split in the universal church as king of Galicia, a “schismatic” territory. It is not known whether Innocent III had an underlying plan when he granted permission for Coloman's coronation there, but he was no doubt keen to expand Roman authority into this region. Members of the Hungarian royal family were given key roles in papal policy. Prince Béla actively supported the Dominican mission among the nomadic Cumans and helped the establishment of a missionary bishopric while he was the duke of Transylvania, and Coloman was given responsibility for the Bosnian heresy as duke of Slavonia.

THE PRESENT BOOK is a revised and expanded version of a Hungarian monograph on the life of Prince Coloman's published in 2017. The core arguments of the authors have not been changed, but the explanation and development of certain problems have of necessity been altered to cater for a wider readership, whose members may not be familiar with the intricacies of Hungarian and, in a broader sense, Eastern European medieval history. The bibliography has been changed, to include studies both in Eastern-European languages and in world languages. This shows how Hungarian and other Eastern European historians are increasingly publishing the results of their research in foreign languages, although these papers may not always be known to the Western scientific community. In addition, the number of citations has been reduced in order to make the text easier to read.

Coloman, the main character of the book, it is important to recognize, is a significant figure in the historiography of several contemporary countries, which means that we as historians need to be aware of sensitivities around his heritage. His role in Galicia makes him interesting for Ukrainian and Russian historical researchers; his Polish wife has the same importance for Polish scholars, while his years in Scepus are of note for Slovak historians and his role as the duke of Slavonia engages Croatian and Bosnian historians. But as a member of the Árpádian dynasty, Coloman's life was organized and led by the rules of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary, and so we need to examine him carefully in the context of the kingdom of the Árpáds. So, while the authors utilized information found in the historiography of various countries, a secondary aim of this book has been to make available the results of recent Hungarian research, especially as this has previously been somewhat neglected internationally due to the language barrier.

THE DATE AND location of Coloman's coronation is nowhere mentioned in our sources. We know it happened and a few details are revealed thanks to four charters: two letters of Andrew II written to Pope Innocent III, a diploma of Honorius III, and a grant from the Hungarian sovereign to Demeter of the Aba kindred, one of the officials of the newly crowned Coloman. The last two sources were issued long after the events (in 1222 and 1234), and neither reveal the location nor the date, but do confirm the fact of the enthronement.

The first royal letter sent to Innocent III is dated to 1214 and must have followed the Scepus Council. Andrew II intended to handle several items. First, he requested papal permission for Coloman to be crowned king of Galicia by Archbishop John of Esztergom (filium nostrum […] in regem inungat). The second letter was meant to offer thanks for the received licence and formulated a petition for a golden crown for Coloman (coronam auream Regie dignitati congruentem filio nostri conferre). Furthermore, the Hungarian king promised to send a clergyman from Galicia to participate at the Fourth Lateran Council. The council started in November 1215, so the royal letter was probably written in August, at the very latest.

Regarding the coronation, while in the Kingdom of Hungary the reigning archbishop of Esztergom had the right to conduct the enthronement, this privilege concerned solely the Hungarian kings and it did not require papal permission. The case of Coloman was different; it was a new phenomenon with no precedent, and therefore papal licence was essential. Innocent III's approval was intended to be secured using the formulation of a request that it was motivated by the local elite and people, who were eager to join the Roman Church (Galiciae principes et populus, nostri ditioni subiecti humiliter a nobis postularunt). The Scepus Agreement was not even mentioned in the first letter, whereas the second mentions a matrimonial contract (contractum) and asks for papal mediation to convince Leszek to send help for Coloman, who was under siege in the castle of Halych.

WE KNOW ABOUT several interactions with ecclesiastical and secular lords which cast light on Coloman's rule. In turn we will discuss his conflict with the Knights Templar, his relationship with Bishop Stephen of Zagreb, major constructions of castles and religious buildings, and then the ambitious union of the bishopric of Zagreb with the archdiocese of Split.

Litigation with the Knights Templar of Slavonia

The Templars of Slavonia approached the court of the Apostolic See to litigate against Coloman. The papal procedure was initiated due to a complaint from the order who claimed that the duke had taken hold of certain possessions and had restricted their privileges. The Templars instigated proceedings in July 1231, and in a letter to the duke the pope admonished Coloman to respect the order's privileges and to restore their estates.

This letter was, however, not the first step in the procedure. The duke's actions had already led to papal authorization of the bishops of Pécs and Zagreb, and the archbishop of Kalocsa who were delegated to engage in ecclesiastical censure of Coloman and his advisers, if necessary. It is remarkable that the Templars would work with the bishop of Zagreb, with whom they had previously been in litigation over a particular estate; the procedure started at the Slavonian duke's court, whereas later the agreement was made with the help of Archbishop Ugrin of Kalocsa. The pope had to authorize new delegates because of the duke's refusal to cooperate, so the bishop and the provost of Pécs, and the Benedictine abbot of Pécsvárad were mandated instead in July 1231. They were, however, not empowered to excommunicate Coloman, even though the duke finally accepted the terms of Gregory IX and granted immunity to the Slavonian, Croatian, and Dalmatian provinces of the Templars and freed their estates from all taxes (marturina, collecta, pondus, and so forth) and from tolls. Nevertheless, a later papal letter makes it clear that the duke did not comply with his own promises. Gregory IX admonished Coloman's actions again in January 1236, as he took hold of several estates from the order.

THE SONS OF the royal family had the right to bear the princely title (dux) and to possess the necessary estates to supply their needs. These lands were, like the queens’, scattered around the realm. Courts were organized around the princes, following the kings’ examples, despite their age. The coronation of minor-age heirs happened as early as the eleventh century, even though they may not be given a territory to rule over, or the kingdom could be divided. Andrew II was forced against his will to allow the coronation of his first-born, the eight-year-old Béla ([…] omnes conspiratores, et infidelitatis machinatores […] filium nostrum nobis viventibus et nolentibus in regem sibi praeficere, vel coronare attentauerint / […] all conspirators and unfaithful machinators […] tempted our son to get on the top of the realm or to be crowned despite our objection) Nevertheless, Prince Béla had no actual power in the government of the realm until he reached adulthood in 1220, and this was also the case in Galicia for Coloman. Coronation and an active role in the government were independent from each other, and every deci-sion remained in the king's gift.

The court established in Halych after Coloman's coronation consisted of local and Hungarian noblemen. They were entrusted by the Hungarian king, and furthermore, the officials of the queenly court were appointed by him too. A few members of Coloman's court are known to us since they also supported him later in Slavonia. One of them was Demeter of the Aba kindred, the master of the stewards of Coloman (1216–40). He was count of Bodrog between 1235 and 1240, and still alive in 1247, but his other offices are unknown. The GVC confirms his presence in Galicia at Coloman's side once before their captivity when File led the Hungarian army to Volhynia. After his departure, Coloman remained in Galicia with a smaller group in his court, and they are even named: “Ivan, Lekin, and Dmitr.” We agree with Antal Hodinka, who identified Dmitr with Demeter, yet the other two names refer to just one individual, in our opinion: Ivan Lenkin. It is entirely hypothetical, but it could refer to Ivakhin (Iwachin), count of Szeben (Sibiu).

COLOMAN WAS APPROXIMATELY thirteen years old when he and his wife, Salomea, were forced to leave the city of Halych and cease his reign in Galicia. After first returning to Hungary, they then settled in the Scepus region (Szepesség, Spiš), on the estates of the prince. The territory had been given to Coloman probably after the treaty which took place in or around 1214 and it served him—along with Újvár County—as some kind of home base whilst he was in Galicia. Coloman’s presence in the region is verified by a charter of Queen Elizabeth of Hungary from 1279. We should resist ideas of some coherent territory, such as a duchy, since the estates of the prince in Scepus were scattered, even though he owned several castles and their property. This was not territorial power over the whole Scepus region, unlike Coloman’s later situation in Slavonia.

Coloman’s estates might not have been the sole reason why the young royal couple was based in Scepus. Presumably the prince had not completely given up his hopes for Galicia, or maybe his father had not come to a conclusive decision concerning which son would be prominent in Galicia. Still, a letter in 1222 from Pope Honorius III indicates that Andrew II intended to transfer Coloman’s royal title to his younger son, Prince Andrew. However, the pope rejected this on the grounds that a papal enthronement cannot lose its validity, which meant Coloman keeping his royal title until his death. The Hungarian king had to explore another way to support the Galician claims of his youngest son. His hesitation is reflected in his request to the pope to release him from his earlier promise given to Mstislav, which petition also was rejected by Honorius III.

So it is not inconceivable that Coloman could imagine returning to Galicia, justifying staying in Scepus for several years. Other historians argue that the prince was linked to the district through his mother, Gertrude, who along with her brothers, Berthold, Eckbert, and Heinrich, organized the settlement of hospes communities in Scepus. Yet this assumption seems unrealistic, since Scepus was mostly uninhabited at the start of the thirteenth century, and the formation of the royal county was just starting.

IN THIS CHAPTER we will examine Coloman's titles and what they say about the territory over which he ruled, before going on to examine the structures of government: the court, chancery, treasury, and

Coloman's Titles

To understand the various titles used in historical documents to describe Coloman, let us first turn to the letters written by his father and older brother and the formulations used in them, and then turn to the duke's own charters and papal diplomas.

In the first record, a charter of Andrew II sent to Pope Innocent III in 1214, Coloman is mentioned only as the son of the Hungarian king. But after his coronation in Halych, he was referred to as king in every single case. We know, however—as with Béla too—of examples in which, beside the royal title, the title of Coloman as the duke of Dalmatia and Croatia (a title acquired from his father), was emphasized. This is perhaps not so surprising since in this case Andrew II was confirming his son's donation to the bishop of Trogir on the Dalmatian coast. In other records—beside his title as king—Coloman was referred to simply as the duke of whole Slavonia. This may be important in the light of the papal letters, as we will see later.

Let us also recall a donation of Andrew II in 1234 in which Coloman—as with the practice of the Holy See—was mentioned as illustris rex. In princely or royal charters issued by Béla, written by Béla concerning the support from his brother during the investigations into the royal grants, besides clearly expressing their fraternal connection, Coloman was named illustrious king in royal and papal letters alike. The title duke of whole Slavonia appeared too, and it was so frequent that after the beginning of Béla's rule the expression beloved brother, King Coloman, the duke of whole Slavonia came into general use.

The first known charter by Coloman was issued in 1226, and it is remarkable in itself, since we find a relatively complex intitulatio, perhaps influenced by the aforementioned inscription of Andrew II.

This part begins with a discussion of the state of affairs in Galicia in the early thirteenth century before going on to discuss the details of Hungarian and Polish expansion in the Galician region and the chain of events that led to the coronation of Prince Coloman, second son of the Hungarian monarch, Andrew II (1205–35), as king of Galicia. We will in turn discuss this new royal title, which had not previously been used in the territory, as well as the relative brevity of Coloman's stay in Galicia, and the circumstances of his forced departure around 1221/22.

WE CAN GET a good insight into Coloman's internal policy in Slavonia from two charters from 1229, though we can also see that occasionally his actions involved neighbouring lands. The first such action concerning a former donation, the second an order to the count of Split regarding actions against pirates off the Dalmatian coast. It is remarkable that the duke was involved in an issue outside Slavonia, but this was not a single incident since he also delivered a judgement in a law-suit concerning the social status of certain royal men in Zala County that same year. We learn about this case because the duke issued a charter confirming an agreement between the Cistercian abbey of Topusko and certain laymen in September 1234. The litigants were required to pay a fine to Coloman, if they failed to follow the settlement. Two diplomas of 1239 offer further details on the ducal adjudication. Both charters of Arnold, count of Zala, contain references to the role of the pristaldus of King and Duke Coloman. The Latin term refers to an obsolete practice in Hungarian law, linked to oral testimony, the pristaldi being in effect both summoners and official witnesses at the same time. The duke was being represented, it seems, beyond the core territory of Slavonia by his agents. One of his own charters from 1229 also seems to confirm this practice.

A 1231 disposition from Coloman shows his attitude towards western European settlers in his duchy, as he regulated the privileges and duties of these “guests” (hospites) in Vukovar; they were given safety on an estate of the castle. This ordinance shows not only ducal policy, but reveals the nationality of the settlers: Germans, Hungarians, and Slavs were included, though we should be cautious about any such ethnic statements. King Béla IV confirmed his brother's disposition in May 1244, as did his son, the younger king Stephen, in 1263.

Coloman was involved in a similar affair in 1234. He determined the privileges and the required services of the hospites in the villages of Virovitica (Verőce).

WE HAVE SEEN how, from 1205, the duke of Kraków, Leszek the White, and the Hungarian king, Andrew II, were rivals in the “lordless” territory, even if they had to make compromises from time to time. Their shared priorities were primarily to strengthen their influence, and they supported Daniil and Vasilko while their mother acted as their regent (1205–06). Andrew II came to an agreement with the sons of Igor (Igorevichs), who were given Galicia in return for paying taxes (1207–10). Meanwhile, the young Daniil continued to reside at the Hungarian court. Once the minor Daniil was expelled from Galicia, Hungarian–Polish cooperation reached a new level (1211, 1213), yet soon enough the collaboration faced new problems. It became clear for both parties, as early as 1214, that rule over Galicia would be possible only as the result of Polish–Hungarian cooperation, with a more solid foundation. To this end, the idea emerged to marry their two children, Coloman and Salomea, who would then rule Galicia together.

The Agreement

Leszek and Andrew came to an agreement at a personal gathering in Scepus (Hungarian: Szepesség, today in Slovakia: Spiš). This council was prepared by the duke's envoys, “Lestich” and Pakosław, castellanus of Kraków. The GVC credits Leszek with the idea of the dynastic marriage to bind the alliance. Pakosław took an active part in the arrangements, not least because the agreement was favourable for him. The object of the bargaining was the Galician territory, yet Kraków laid claim only to Peremyshl and Liubachev. Those two important settlements belonged to the watershed of the river Vistula (around the San and Bug tributaries) which ran north to the Baltic, whereas all the other rivers belonged to the watershed of the Dniester which headed south towards the Black Sea. It is worth mentioning that Pakosław, not Leszek, gained possession of Liubachev which underlines the political strength of the so-called “Galician party.”

The Polish–Hungarian rule of Galicia was now to be embodied in the children of Andrew and Leszek, respectively the roughly six-year-old Coloman and three-year-old Salomea (probably born around 1211). The agreement was theoretically perfect, but the practice showed its weakness, and several problems emerged.

SURPRISINGLY, TILL RECENTLY Coloman was of greater interest to Ukrainian, Slovak, and Croatian scholars than Hungarian historians. The main focus was on him as King of Galicia. His evaluation has been heavily dependent on his role in different national histories.

In Hungary, the first monograph dedicated to Prince Coloman was the Hungarian version of this same book, published only in 2017. A few studies concentrating on his life or his coronation had appeared in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, but thereafter he only appeared in specific contexts: his life in Halych and in the Scepus, or his role as duke of Slavonia. For instance, the famous Hungarian medievalist Gyula Kristó’s university textbook also follows this approach: Coloman only appears in the context of Hungarian expansion in Galicia, or concerning the relations between King Andrew II and Prince Béla. Not surprisingly, Coloman received more attention in Kristó’s monograph on the history of the Hungarian territorial reigns where he analyzed the nature of his rule, but nothing on his activities. Tibor Almási went further in his entry in the Korai Magyar Történeti Lexikon (Lexicon of Early Hungarian History), emphasizing that Coloman’s policies were fairly independent of his father and emphasizing his peaceful relationship with his older brother, Béla.

The extraordinary brotherly peace between Coloman and Béla became the subject of a fictional work in 1930. György Büky’s short story “Prince Coloman” was published in Napkelet, a conservative post-first world war magazine. In this short story, Hungarian noblemen gathered in Buda (sic!) at the royal palace where Coloman was present, intending to complaint about the absent king, Béla, who had repeatedly wronged them in many ways. But Coloman refused to hear them out and emphasized his loyalty to his brother. We do not intend to rake through a fictional story for historical authenticity, nor its many inaccuracies, such as his one-year period in Galicia, but the good relation between Béla and Coloman became a literary inspiration and paradigm. Another quaint element to the tale is the statement that Coloman only married Salomea to help defend against the Mongol threat.3 We see here an interplay between historical accuracy and fiction and reaching a wider public.