Metadata: Criminal Court Records
Collection
- Country:
- Hungary
- Holding institution:
- National Archives of Hungary, Hajdú-Bihar County Archives, Debrecen
- Holding institution (official language):
- Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár Hajdú-Bihar Megyei Levéltára, Debrecen
- Postal address:
- 4024 Debrecen, Vármegyeháza u. 1/B
- Phone number:
- +36 52 503 296
- Web address:
- https://mnl.gov.hu/hbml
- Email:
- hbml@mnl.gov.hu
- Reference number:
- IV.B.104.a
- Title:
- Criminal Court Records
- Title (official language):
- Büntetőtörvényszék iratai
- Creator/accumulator:
- Bihar county
- Date(s):
- 1848/1849
- Language:
- Hungarian
- Extent:
- 0.03 linear metres (2 volumes)
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
-
The collection ‘Criminal Court Records’ includes the materials of criminal cases in Bihar county from 1848-1849. The collection is part of the extensive collection of ‘Documents of Bihar County Tribunal 1848-1849’.
The collection includes the register of criminal court cases and two days of martial court materials (the latter do not include Jewish-related materials). The report of punitive cases comprises specific crimes, whereas the martial law court part records the political entries.
The number of entries in the record of punitive cases is six referring to 1848 and 1849. These entries usually show Jewish residents as complainants: in connection with the theft of their cattle, robbery of granaries, and theft of leather. However, Jakob Grosz and Abraham are depicted as perpetrators who stole brandy (1848. No 35.). The documents were written in Hungarian.
- Archival history:
-
The foundations of the Archives of Bihar County can be traced back to the 14th century when the conscious preservation of legal documents and property policy documents by sub-prefect and notaries began. Due to the low level of literacy and the fact that the county records were not maintained in a safe place, the notary took the materials and placed them in the county mailbox. Article LXXIII. 1723 regulated the development of archives, and the documents were transferred to the conservatory of the Oradea chapter in Bihar county in 1726. The old documents were placed here from 1729, and the new ones in the town hall building. In 1738, the county purchased a new building for archival purposes. The categorisation of the collection started during the reign of Maria Theresa.
From 1760, the records were placed in congregation shelves. In 1771 a new building was constructed for the archival documents. After the First World War, only a part of Bihar County remained within the borders of Hungary. Part of the Bihar County documents was transferred to Romania under the Treaty of Trianon, according to the territorial jurisdiction, which affected the documents from the feudal era to a lesser extent. The archival material remaining in Hungary was moved to the county hall in Berettyóújfalu. In 1950, according to the decree of the Ministry of the Interior, the source material was transferred to Debrecen, the archives of Hajdú county. Also as part of the new archival decree, the name of the archive became Hajdú-Bihar County Archives. In 1968, following the “state history” period, the documents came under the jurisdiction of the county. In the case of the Bihar county material this meant that they remained in Debrecen in the Hajdú-Bihar County Archives.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The collection ‘Criminal Court Records’ was placed in the archival section of the civilian era. The revolutionary laws of 1848 lead to a change within the secondary organisation of public administration. The sub-prefect became the president of the court of justice, and the elected judges of the County Court held regular meetings. The court of justice consisted of a separate civil, criminal, and martial law section. Two days of the martial law materials survived in the collection. Besides, the material of the criminal court was preserved in the form of a register. The materials of the civil court cases were maintained together in the judicial collection of the feudal era.
- Access points: locations:
- Bihar county
- Oradea
- Access points: persons/families:
- Abraham
- Grosz, Jacob
- Subject terms:
- Crime
- Legal records
- Finding aids:
- There are no finding aids.
- Yerusha Network member:
- University of Szeged
- Author of the description:
- Dr. Tibor Almási and Dr. Erzsébet Mislovics, University of Szeged, 2020