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

Abstracts

nobles and the form of their presence by examining three partial issues. Examining the real estate ownership changes on the basis of the town documents that have been preserved dating from 1456-1544 (Table 2) it is possible to always find among the plot owners (in the role of seller, buyer or neighbour) nobles, while nothing refers in the documents to their privileged status, because they owned their town real estates as burghers. On the other hand on the basis of an authentic document listing 56 members of the town elite originating from 1544 by identifying the persons with the aid of other sources it can be established that the leader class of Karánsebes is two-faced: it consisted of burghers and nobles, with the nobles representing one third of them (Table 3). And on the third hand by examining the members of the town leadership it can be established that in the six member town council in the period examined - in spite of the fact that the ratio of the nobles never exceeded half of the total number of persons in the body (this might be also because the town inhabitant nobles, outside Karánsebes also took care of other, non town tasks) - the office of the judge had been exclusively filled in by nobles since 1493 according to the sources (Table 5). The Castellan (várnagy) of Sebes, who was occasionally the 'Viceban" of Szörény as well, probably was also involved in the governing of the town, moreover, the role of town judge and the role of the Castellan (várnagy) could be merged, either in one person (Mr. István Sztojka, 1498, 1505, 1525), or within one family (Rakovicai - Fiáth kinship, between 1537-1544). The main reasons for the presence of the nobles in the town could be, in addition to the favourable location of the town, the geographical border position of the region, the everyday vicinity of the Turks. LÁSZLÓ GLÜCK The nobilisation of five Máramaros towns in the seventeenth century The study examines the social problems that were caused by the proliferation of the nobility in the 17th century in the five market towns that belonged to the lordship of Huszt. The tenant and state burdens of the market town burghership possessing wide ranging freedom rights and living under the reign of the landlord increased drastically. Meanwhile - partially in exchange for military service and partially for money - a number of burghers obtained noblemen charters from the ruler for their persons and for their plots located in the town. During the century the estate was mostly in the possession of private owners. They rewarded their servants serving in their court by freeing their plots or by ennoblement from the ruler, if they were not noblemen yet. As a result of the process the population and plots of especially Huszt and Sziget, and to a somewhat less extent those of Hosszúmező became noble. All this has resulted in