Drăgan, Ioan (szerk.): Mediaevalia Transilvanica 2001-2002 (5-6. évfolyam, 1-2. szám)
Societate
30 Radu Lupescu properties situated in the central region of the county and in the district of Haţeg. Although these new acquisitions were counted in 1453 as part of the domain of Deva castle, in reality they were managed by the castellan of Hunedoara, and only a special set of circumstances constrained Hunyadi to attach them de jure to Deva. The ownership of King Matthias marked a new period in the history of the estate. He made several districts that had been acquired by John Hunyadi in Timiş County subject to the castle of Hunedoara. This was the last stage of evolution of the estate. This new type of estate, beside the socalled inner appartenances, consisted of several outer districts (regions) with own centers linked to the main castle, in this case to that of Hunedoara. The emergence of such domains marked the final period of their evolution in the Middle Ages. The changes that took place in the system of private properties of Hunedoara County in the time of John Hunyadi gradually changed the character of the county. For example, when Haţeg castle — the center of the royal Haţeg district, part of Hunedoara county - became the private property of Hunyadi, this led to the final break up of the relation between the district and the castle. The result of this process - by which many other villages in the district became private property - was that the district lost its royal character and became a noble one. It seems that these changes had no influence on local Romanian society; however, this question is still open for further research. The above-mentioned change was not the only one that occurred in the Hunyadi era in the life of the county. There was also a change in the role played by different castles of the county. Before the mid-I5'h century the main center of the county was Deva castle, where the comes had his residence. Deva was followed in importance by the castle of Haţeg. Around the mid-15'1’ century this hierarchy changed, basically owing to the authority of the Hunyadis. Their residence, the castle of Hunedoara, started to take over the place of Deva; the castellan of Hunedoara was also the comes of the county. In the second half of the 15century the castle of Hunedoara definitively became the center of the county, a relation strengthened by King Matthias, who granted the castle to his son, Johannes Corvinus, and invested him with the perpetual title of comes of Hunedoara county. In this way the castle regained its former status when it gave its name to the county in the early Middle Ages. The essence of this centre, however, was fundamentally different from the earlier one.
