摘要：Two Benedictine monasteries, St. Michael’s in Rudina and St. Margaret’s in Bijela, although built a short distance apart, had completely differing historical developments. While the Rudina abbey was most likely built in the second half of the 12th century under the patronage of the Borić family on the most southwesternborder of late mediaeval Hungary, the origins of Bijela on the eastern border of late mediaeval Slavonia in the beginning of the 13th century is tied to the Tibolda family. Based on all the facts, it seems that the Rudina abbey had its peak in the earliest time period, due to the strength of its patronage. With the fall of importance of the heirs to governor Borić, the Rudina abbey was fated to survival according to its own means which were relatively limited because of its small land area. Conversely, the great economic power of Bijela, although initially built as a subordinate priorate of the Abbey of St. Margaret in Grabov, enabled its rise into the status of an abbey. Based on the known preserved sources and cartographic analyses of preserved toponyms, it is possible to gain an insight into the appearance of the late mediaeval landscape and economic bases upon which the mentioned monasteries functioned. Although both monasteries were founded during the 15th century, due to the Ottoman conquests the monastic life of both ended during the third decade of the 16th century. Based on the historical and archaeological research to date, it can be assumed that life on the lands of both abbeys continued during the era of Ottoman rule. The Benedictine abbeys in Rudina and Bijela, each with its own unique path of development, give us a comprehensive understanding of the historical, political and economic development of the region of present day western Slavonia.
