Urbs - Magyar várostörténeti évkönyv 1. (Budapest, 2006)

Abstracts

KATALIN GÖNCZI Privilege and Urban Freedom The Legal and Social-Historical Concept of the Status of "Free Royal Town " during the "Long Middle Ages " The study analyses the results and perspective of the research on urban history on the occasion of the third centenary of the partner towns Buda and Pest. How far can the earlier methodology and the present day setting of goals be exemplary for the next generation of researchers? The "free royal town" legal status is a complex phenomenon, and because all disciplines developed a proper methodology for the town, this status should be surveyed with an interdisciplinary method. Concerning the analysis of sources, new results can primarily be obtained with the help of the social historical methodology. However, the status of "free royal town" is also a historical phenomenon, therefore its meaning and importance alters. It can be pointed out as a common characteristic that free towns had a specific legal status at all times. Free royal towns were the most important towns of the country, not only because of their extent, population number, settlement structure and economy, but according to their privileged legal status as well. Therefore, it is worth classifying the position of the Hungarian towns in the general European correlations of urban development. In urban sociology, the free royal town can be compared to the "European town", however, the settlements differ according to the extent of their urban freedom. The interpretation of a town's legal status was based on Werbőczy 's law book (entitled Tripartitum) through centuries, compiled as a draft of law book. Although the importance of this law book was completely rejected or interpreted from a nationalistic viewpoint in the earlier literature, the historic importance of this source is meanwhile beyond question. Therefore, I surveyed the legal status of towns as it was recorded in the Tripartitum. Werbőczy consequently applies the definition civitas for the denomination of the town. He distinguished a general, every-day and a more precise meaning of the notion. 1. ) The civitas is generally described as civium unitas; which clearly hints to the knowledge of Werbőczy concerning roman law. Civitas is in these terms equivalent to the so-called "commune", the political community and civil mentality. Therefore, this was a more essential element of the meaning of civitas, than an increased number of town-inhabitants. 2. ) However, Werbőczy, the jurist gave a more precise definition of civitas as well: it is a settlement unit of houses and streets, fitted out with walls in behalf of the defence. 3. ) By combining the two meanings, Werbőczy comes to the conclusion that towns were different according to their legal status.