Metadata: Criminal Lawsuit Records 1744-1838
Collection
- Country:
- Hungary
- Holding institution:
- National Archives of Hungary, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County Archives, Szolnok
- Holding institution (official language):
- Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok Megyei Levéltára, Szolnok
- Postal address:
- 5000 Szolnok, Pozsonyi út 40-42
- Phone number:
- +36 56 421 404
- Web address:
- https://mnl.gov.hu/jnszml
- Email:
- jnszml@mnl.gov.hu
- Reference number:
- IV.A.5.c
- Title:
- Criminal Lawsuit Records 1744-1838
- Title (official language):
- Büntető peres jegyzőkönyvek 1744-1838
- Creator/accumulator:
- Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county
- Date(s):
- 1744/1838
- Language:
- Hungarian
- Extent:
- 0.58 linear metres (11 volumes)
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
-
The collection 'Criminal Lawsuit Records 1744-1838' comprises the surviving records of the Jászkun District. It is part of the extensive collection of 'Documents of Jászkun District Tribunal 1701-1847’.
The Jászkun district shows unique peculiarities, as there was a lack of landowner judging and the Cumans living here possessed their right of autonomous jurisdiction since the rule of Béla IV. The records of criminal proceedings were kept according to territorial competence until 1760 (Jászság, Nagykunság).
In the feudal era public cases or crimes against the community covered theft (horse or cattle theft), waylaying, robbery, manslaughter, adultery, bigamy, rape, infidelity and dishonour. Criminal proceedings (similarly to civil proceedings) 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.
Jewish-related records survived only from the period of 1832-1838, altogether in five cases. The first entry dates to 13 April 1832, and it reported on the robbery of Mathias Herakovits and Samuel Gerson during the purchase of a ring (9. v. 13 04 1832 No. 36). Other cases dealt with petitions for the suspension of prisoners' sentences, arson cases, incitement to sin, and thieves. The Jewish men in the records are all perpetrators. The document collection in collection 'd' (may) provide(s) more details about the cases. In terms of geographical distribution, Jewish residents of the following districts are included in the records: Aszód, Jászberény, Abony, Kiskunfélegyháza, Jászberény. The record entries were written in Hungarian.
- Archival history:
-
Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county was founded in 1876 with its seat in Szolnok. The county includes the Jászkun District, and Külső-Szolnok part of Heves and Külső-Szolnok counties. The establishment of the county archives was ordered by Queen Maria Theresa. The legal predecessor of the archive was established in 1751 at the headquarters of the Jászkun District in Jászberény. The county records were collected here. The well-organised collection was transferred to the Szolnok county archives in 1878. The document collection was moved to the building of the Szolnok Financial Administration under the name Szolnok County Public Archives in 1950. Later the county court building was designated as the maintenance site for the archival materials in 1917. The construction of a new building was decided in 1952 and it was completed by 1980. The building - explicitly for the maintenance of archival materials - is located at 40-42 Pozsonyi Street.
The collection contains very few documents from the period before Mohács. However, it became extensive from the 18th century. (As a result of territorial reclassification in the Heves county archives, documents related to Szolnok county can also be found.) The composition of the documents maintained in Szolnok county is closely related to the changes in the administrative boundaries from period to period. Deaccessioning in 1914 and 1928 and ‘paper collection’ in 1946 and 1947 caused irreparable deficiencies in the case files.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The judicial organisation and procedure of the Jászkun district show a unique feature, as the Cuman residents living in the area possessed their right of autonomous jurisdiction since the rule of Béla IV. Landlords were not entitled to hear cases, and appeals also took a different form from regular jurisdiction in the county. The material of the collection contains documents of civil and criminal proceedings heard before the Tribunal of Jászkun District until 1847.
- Access points: locations:
- Abony
- Aszód
- Jászberény
- Access points: persons/families:
- Gerson, Samuel
- Herakovits, Mathias
- Subject terms:
- Crime
- Legal matters
- Prisoners
- System of arrangement:
- Until 1760, the records were kept according to the territorial divisions of the sessions in the three districts (Jász, Nagykun, Kiskun).
- Finding aids:
- Index books attached to the documents serve as aids for consulting the records. Volume 1: 1702-1820, volume 2: 1821-1854.
- Yerusha Network member:
- University of Szeged
- Author of the description:
- Dr. Tibor Almási and Dr. Erzsébet Mislovics, University of Szeged, 2020