Urbs - Magyar várostörténeti évkönyv 3. (Budapest, 2008)

Abstracts

ISTVÁN PETROVICS Town elite in southern Hungary. The case of Pécs, Szeged and Temesvár. The study examines the medieval relations of three Southern Hungarian towns. These towns had different legal status and - partially due to this and partially due to their geographical location - they had different characteristics. Very little could be known until recently about their societies, and leader classes - with the exception of Szeged since modern Hungarian history has dealt with the medieval history of Temesvár and Pécs only tangentially. However, the author of this study recently carried out a deeper examination of the medieval history of the towns mentioned, and this article represents the results of his research. The study consists of two chapters. In the first one the author reviews the characteristics of the medieval development of Pécs, Szeged and Temesvár, and he covers the introduction of the administrative role, legal and social situation, craft industry and commercial activity of the individual towns. In the second chapter the author tries to reveal the identities of those who belonged to the political elite. His examinations show that in all three towns the judges (the "iudices") were the richest burghers. However, only in the case of Szeged can it be irrefutably proven that members of the town's elite tried to appropriate the office of the judge for several years - even for life. One may find juror burghers in all the three towns, although we know relatively few of them by name. In the case of Szeged it is quite certain that 12 juror burghers sat in the town council in the late Middle Ages. In the case of Temesvár and Pécs, the number of jurors may only be tentatively guessed. BÁLINT LAKATOS Town nobles in Karánsebes at the turn of the fifteenth and sixteenth century In Karánsebes - in the centre of the late medieval Banate of Szörény and the Rumanian district of Sebes - already at the end of the 15th century a special development, deviating from the development of the Hungarian towns of the time, can be observed: the noble families of the region (particular, the families of "kenéz" origin) moved into the town en masse. We may get an answer as regards the extent of the town presence of URBS, MAGYAR VÁROSTÖRTÉNETI ÉVKÖNYV m. 2008.541-56O. p.