Metadata: Registries of the Punitive Court 1751-1848(1850)
Collection
- Country:
- Hungary
- Holding institution:
- National Archives of Hungary, Csongrád County Archives, Szeged
- Holding institution (official language):
- Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár Csongrád Megyei Levéltára, Szeged
- Postal address:
- 6701 Szeged, Pf. 460
- Phone number:
- +36 62 425 199
- Web address:
- http://mnl.gov.hu/mnl/csml/mnl_csml_szeged
- Email:
- csml@mnl.gov.hu
- Reference number:
- IV.A.11.f
- Title:
- Registries of the Punitive Court 1751-1848(1850)
- Title (official language):
- A bűnfenyítő törvényszék jegyzőkönyvei 1751-1848(1850)
- Creator/accumulator:
- Csanád county
- Date(s):
- 1751/1850
- Date note:
- 1751/1848/1850
- Language:
- Latin
- Hungarian
- Extent:
- 0.96 linear metres (4 boxes and 10 volumes)
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
-
The collection 'Regional Court Documents of Csanád County' is part of the fonds entitled 'Regional Court Documents of the Csanád county' from the feudal era in the Csanád county archives. The record of the punitive court of this description 1751-1848(50) form a part of this collection. The document collection comprises the records of the punitive court in 1751-1848 and the index books for criminal cases in 1849-1850.
The civil and punitive (criminal) courts split away in Csanád County from the middle of the 18th century. Subsequently, in the 19th century, the latter was divided into courts specialised in punitive and criminal cases.
The collection includes four large boxes and ten volumes. The collection can also be dividd into two units: the records of criminal cases (comprising four boxes of documents and eight volumes) and the indices of criminal case records.
In the feudal era, the following were considered public cases or crimes against the community: theft (horse or cattle theft), highway robbery, robbery, manslaughter, adultery, bigamy, rape, magic, witchcraft, infidelity, discord among noblemen, despotic measures, by noblemen against county officials, insubordination or infamy. Sentences often referred back to the Tripartitium compiled by István Webőczy or Corpus Iuris, sometimes the orders of the king. Criminal proceedings (similarly to civil lawsuits) illustrate the internal context of the period, the system of relationships among and between social groups, aspects of social life and the situation of individuals living in the society. The documents were written mainly in Latin and Hungarian.
The collection does not separate the Jewish-related documents, i.e. descriptions or potential judgements of Jewish-related cases are scattered among the records. The number of records primarily about individuals is 99. The first entry in the period is from 1820. These were recorded in the order of judicial meeting schedules and followed the actual agenda. It must be emphasised that the legislative system in the period was somewhat inconsistent, and the Jewish-related records make this feature even more palpable. It means that several court files considered criminal cases were recorded among the entries of civil proceedings.
The files show Jews in various types of roles: victims (robbery, beatings and despotism), offenders (possession of stolen property, theft, and incitement), partners in contracts (farming leases, parties to business transactions, suppliers). The Jewish-related records are usually brief and concise, often written down in 1-2 sentences, or in some cases slightly longer, amounting to one page. The majority of cases took place after the 1820s. Geographically, the sources primarily deal with residents of the settlements of Makó, Földeák, Sajtény and Tornya. The documents were written mainly in Latin and Hungarian. The sources give details of the settlement of disputes within the Jewish society and the complex nature of their relationships with the non-Jewish community.
- Archival history:
- The Csanád county archives were established in 1717. The document collection was maintained in the office building of the county seat, Makó. The turbulent past of the county and its territorial transformations (for example, it was merged with Békés and Csanád counties in the 1780s, and Szegvár became the new county seat) affected the placement of the collection. The new collection was stored in the new centre, and some selected old documents were transferred to Szegvár. Csanád County remained in Makó (although the counties were also temporarily transformed in the 19th century). September 1950 marked fundamental changes when Szeged became the new county seat, since Csanád County was merged into Csongrád county. The documents concerning the newly developed territory of the county were transported to Szeged, where they are available today. However, the municipality of Makó seeks to place the former Csanád county documents in its own archives building, and the collection might return to Makó again.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The main judicial body of the noble county in the 18-19th centuries was the sedes iudiciaria (county tribunal). The Csanád county tribunal had two parts: a civil and a punitive tribunal. It split into punitive and criminal tribunals in the 19th century. The records were kept by the notary. Although the documents were divided into civil and criminal proceedings, they were dealt with together. In the classification of the material the records were often maintained together with the documents.
- Subject terms:
- Crime
- Legal matters
- Trade and commerce
- System of arrangement:
- The records of the punitive court were kept together with documents until 1818; following this date they were held separately. Box 12 including the duplicates of records in 1844-1847 is not available in the archives. However, volumes 8-11 contain the records.
- Access, restrictions:
- It is likely that this material will be moved to Makó, where it will be unavailable for an undefined period of time.
- Finding aids:
- The index books for the documents provide guidance until 1850. The material was maintained in the collection until 1847. From 1790 to 1818 the records could be found in collection IV.11.a of the index. As of 1818, the index books were already included in the collection. The two categories were not always precisely separated in the civil and criminal records either (although several attempts were made).
- Yerusha Network member:
- University of Szeged
- Author of the description:
- Dr. Tibor Almási and Dr. Erzsébet Mislovics, University of Szeged, 2019
