Tóth Arnold (szerk.): Néprajz - muzeológia: Tanulmányok a múzeumi tudományok köréből a 60 éves Viga Gyula tiszteletére (Miskolc, 2012)

MIGRÁCIÓ - TÁJI KAPCSOLATOK - GELENCSÉR JÓZSEF: Pénzkölcsönzés a Káli-medencében

LENDING MONEY IN THE KÁLI-VALLEY My study is a salutation by a lawyer to an ethnographer. The subject matter is lending money in the Káli-valley villages (close to Lake Balaton), in particular with respect to the second half of the 19

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h century and the first half of the 20

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h century. The subject is related partly to ethnography, partly to the history of law and partly to legal ethnography. At the beginning, 1 have clarified the definitions, separating from each other lease and lending (in particular lending money). In this regard, I have made an overview of the relevant Roman and feudal legal concepts. 1 also describe the main motives for lending money in the Káli-valley. Lending money was usually documented in deeds. The name of such documents has changed from time-to-time, and the Latin names have been replaced by Hungarian names. 1 explain who the parties to the agreements were. It is interesting that besides private individuals, the Roman Catholic Church and the Calvinist Church also acted as lenders. The financial institutions had a slowly increasing role in this respect from the middle of the 19

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h century. I describe in detail the provisions related to interest, the parties rights and obligations, in particular with respect to late payment by the debtor. As a summary, I conclude that lending money in the Káli-valley was similar to the countrywide practice. The ethnic practice in this regard was mainly determined by the old and new acts. The content of the contracts and their performance show the influence of the previous patriarchal solutions and the changing world developing into capitalism. Lending money in this region was also influenced by the particular circumstances of the "small" nobles living in this area. [Translated by the author] József Gelencsér 330