Metadata: Mixed documents
Collection
- Country:
- Hungary
- Holding institution:
- National Archives of Hungary, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County Archives, Nyíregyháza
- Holding institution (official language):
- Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg Megyei Levéltára, Nyíregyháza
- Postal address:
- 4400 Nyíregyháza, Széchenyi u. 4
- Phone number:
- +36 42 414 313
- Web address:
- http://www.szabarchiv.hu/drupal/elerhetosegunk
- Email:
- szszbml@mnl.gov.hu
- Reference number:
- IV.A.9.ee
- Title:
- Mixed documents
- Title (official language):
- Egyveleg
- Creator/accumulator:
- Regional Court of Szabolcs County
- Date(s):
- 1735/1840
- Date note:
- The majority of the documents cover the period of 1735-1840
- Language:
- Latin
- Hungarian
- Extent:
- 6.14 linear metres (51 boxes 1 volume)
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
-
The collection 'Regional Court Documents of Szabolcs County' is part of the 'County legal institutions, free royal boroughs and towns with legal, institutional rights' fonds from the feudal era of the Szabolcs county archives. The 'Mixed documents' collection of this description forms the second part of the above-mentioned documents. The dossier comprises court documents, records and papers which were received or misplaced, maintained in the archives, or handed over by individuals. The document collection is from the period of 1735-1840. The extensive collection could survive because the notary, the representative of comitat literacy in the county, was permanently commissioned to record issues brought before the judicial body from the 16th century. These documents were carefully preserved initially by the notary and the sub-prefect, and later they were carefully maintained in the archives established in the county. As the collection has not been selected, it is completely available.
The documents highlight a wide range of aspects of the everyday life of Jewish and non-Jewish inhabitants related to court issues: business relationships, contracts, issues of tax payment (tolerance tax and arrears), farming leases, decrees to conduct censuses, criminal cases and conversion to other religions. Jewish-related documents do not represent a separate unit within the collection: it is a result of the principle of categorisation. The files are numbered according to the date when the documents were included in the catalogue.
Jewish-related documents can be found scattered in 9 boxes under about 25 headings. the first Jewish-related document dates from 1726, that is, it is older than the indicated year of the collection. Under the headings, we can find separate documents and extensive investigation-related materials (including several files in connection with specific cases). The source material typically includes cases concerning individuals. The interval embraced by the collection highlights that these documents were to supplement the first series of papers, but they also cover completely new periods. They mostly include files from the 1750s, and several others from the 19th century are also included here. The latter ones were archived after Schemberger carried out the categorisation of the materials. Their content is similar to that of the first two series: business contracts, witness statements, debt certificates, petitions, court decisions and religious affairs can all be found in the files. However, the distribution of year cycles refers to the fact that no permanent family names were used in the documents before 1787; it only became customary for members of Jewish society in the 19th century. The geographical distribution of documents in the county sheds light on the characteristics of the settlement process of the Jews in the 18-19th centuries. The contracts in the collection are typically signed in Hebrew in many cases (before the decree issued by Joseph II it was common practice to sign contracts written in one’s own language or in Hungarian, Latin or German with Hebrew letters). The collection has particular value as source material, as plenty of internal sources are available among the files: testimonies, petitions and contracts.
- Archival history:
- From the 14th-15th centuries the notary was tasked with recording judicial issues in the county. Initially, he worked on an ad-hoc basis, moving to a permanent position from the 16th century. The documents were maintained by sub-prefects and notaries also held dossiers in the 17th century. On expiry of their term of office, officials were expected to hand over the materials to their successors. Once the county archives were established, the documents were transported to the castle of Kisvárda. After the chief town of the country was appointed in the 1760s, the archives were transferred to the county office building of Nagykálló. 1893 saw the transfer of the document collection of Szabolcs County to Nyíregyháza. In 1950 the counties pf Szabolcs, Szatmár and Bereg were united, and the Nyíregyháza archives became responsible for collating materials for the three counties.
- Access points: locations:
- Újfehértó
- System of arrangement:
- The dossier forms the third series of judicial documents. The material was categorised in the 1840s under the editorship of Dániel Sulyok. The files are numbered from 1-553 according to the date when the documents were included in the catalogue and placed in 51 boxes.
- Finding aids:
- A handbook (vol. 136, ‘Index') is available in the archive. It is in an index format.
- Yerusha Network member:
- University of Szeged
- Author of the description:
- Dr. Tibor Almási and Dr. Erzsébet Mislovics, University of Szeged, 2019