Kujbusné Mecsei Éva: Szabolcs vármegye címeres pecsétje 1836 - A Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg Megyei Levéltár Kiadványai II. Közlemények 19. (Nyíregyháza, 2000)

THE SEALS OF SZABOLCS COUNTY Szabolcs county used the seals of its four district administrators to authenticate the documents published from the 16th century. The seals contained emblems symbolizing the four districts. A crested seal which had a Latin legend on was created by impaling the four seals. This new seal was given to the county by Charles III in 1714.The sub-prefect was the keeper of the seal but in 1728 he lost it. The county got a new seal in 1729. The only difference between the new and the lost one was that the latter had the imprint date: 1729 in its legend. This seal was used to authenticate until 1786 when Joseph II passed a decree. By virtue of this decree a new seal had to be used that contained the national coat of arms as well as the county legend. After the death of the hatted king all the cotinties (including Szabolcs as well) were allowed to use their former seals again. By 1832 that of Szabolcs county had been worn do™ totally so the general assembly of the county applied to the king for a new seal. However, during the struggle for the use of the native language in the reform period at this point the king was applied for a seal with Hungarian legend. Ferdinand V signed an adorned diploma granting the new seal in January 1837. (This document can be found in facsimile at the beginning of the book.) Having been used for only 10 years, by 1847 the seal had worn down so much that the general assembly had a new one graved. Above the emblem an angel with spread wings was engraved and the year of the reçut- as always- was written in the legend that surrounds the emblem which was unchanged since 1714. The emblem of the seal dating back to the beginning of the 18th century- has become the symbol of the county and it is also part of the arms of the county nowadays.