Diaconescu, Marius (szerk.): Mediaevalia Transilvanica 1999 (3. évfolyam, 1-2. szám)
Instituţii
118 Sándor Pál-Antal The Institutional System of the Mureş Szeklers’ Seat During the Autonomous Principality of Transylvania (Abstract) During the Middle Age the administrative-judicial establishments of the Szeklers ’ Seat Mureş had been functioned as autonomous local ones, led by high officials chosen among the members of the seat ’s community - similar to those alike from Transylvania. The local public life has been settled by proper standards and customs included in statutes and resolutions called ‘‘constitutiones At the middle of the 16th century, during the setting up of the Principality of Transylvania, the Szeklers ’ institutional system underwent essential changes, as a consequence of spreading the feudal relations among the Szekler people. Also, there were a lot of measures adopted by princely authority to bridle the resistance and the opposition of these people with military obligations. After the Szeklers ’ uprising from 1562, the competencies exerted by the count of Szeklers were assumed by the Prince. In the same time, the Szeklers ’ “national” establishments, as the “national” assembly and the Court of Appeal from Odorhei, were abolished. The royal judges, who were appointed by the Prince, surveyed and checked initially the high officials of the seat. Afterwards they had taken over all their administrative-judicial tasks. As a result the institution of the seat’s judge vanished and that of a military leader, namely that of a seat’s captain, was handed over to the captain of the fortress Odorheiul Secuiesc, who had been appointed by the Prince. At the same time the activity of the Count, the seat ’s judicial office was settled. Also, the position of the notary has been set up. The diplomas issued by Sigismund Báthory on the 31s' of December 1601 reinstalled the Szeklers in their former rights, those owned before the uprising from 1562. They had the right to choose their own military, administrative and judicial high officials. But there were some limits. Although, contrary to the local opposition, the seat ’s captain, the most important high official in the seat, was still appointed by the prince from among the seat ’s nobles. The royal judge had been elected, but the prince had the right to confirm the elected one. The other high officials, the royal vicejudge, the notary and the jurymen as also the law office workers were all elected and reelected once in two years, without any foreign intercession. In the l/h century the institutional activity diversified. The Law-Court formed on hierarchical system included the general seat count and the vice lawoffice. The general assembly, the most important establishment of local autonomy, attended by all Szeklers with military tasks (primori, primipili and pedestrians)_, underwent a flourishing age.
