Diaconescu, Marius (szerk.): Mediaevalia Transilvanica 1999 (3. évfolyam, 1-2. szám)
Mentalităţi
The Trial by Hot Iron Ceremony 13 reasons why the trial was not held were different: sometimes litigants reached an agreement in front of the Oradean chapter,51 * 53 sometimes the litigants did not arrive at Oradea,54 sometimes the accused made judicial confession,55 and in one case the trial was postponed.56 Although the register extends from 1208 to 1235, it has information only for fourteen of the years in that period -and is not complete even for those years. If we make a calculation: 345 ordeals over 14 years average roughly 24 a year. These judicial cases involved 30 counties, 600 localities,57 and 2500 person-names.58 From this point of view the famous register of Oradea is a regular quarry of information for linguists. A possible reconstruction of the trial-ceremony The register of Oradea became famous as the only Hungarian source which kept the text of the ordeal-ceremony as an appendix of Ritus explorandae veritatis, published by the Oradean bishop George Martinuzzi, called Frater George in Kolozsvár (now Cluj, Romania) in 1550.59 In the reconstruction process of the 57 See, for example the case from 1219: “ ... ad iudicium ferri candentis, Waradinum essent in septima Domine in tua misericordia per pristaldum, nomine Chepanum de villa Ladan, directi, non venerunt et praenominatus iudex rescripsit de eis, quod scriberentur pro condemnatis.” Ibid., no. 217, pp. 233- 34. 531 counted 61 such cases. In many cases they agreed in the form of a payment not only to the winner, but also that one of the parties would pay the judge and the bailiff. For instance, Thomas and Mavog in 1219 agreed: “Ubi [Oradea] praedicti Tomas et Mavog convenerunt dare adversariis suis Euresdino, et fratri eius Bede unam marcam et iidem pristaldo satisfacere, ludicis vero partem Eureus et Beda dare convenerunt.” Ibid., no. 231, p. 240. Another significant case is that of the Aradean provost (prepositus), called Gotfrid: “Qui venientes Varadinum taliter convenerunt, qoud villani de Berente darent praedicto praeposito quattuor marcas et pristaldo dimidiam, iudici vero praepositus satisfaceret”. Ibid., no. 290, p. 262. 54 I counted 29 such cases. For instance, in 1220 only one of the involved parties arrived at Oradea: “Quos Olodarus, curialis comes de Zemlun, discutiens per pristaldum, nomine Cosmam de villa Velchea, ad iudicium ferri candentis transmisit Varadinum, ubi praenominatus Chepanus cum praefato pristaldo et homine suo, ferrum portaturo, in septimana, qua festum sancti Galli est celebratum, fuit Varadini. Aduersarii autem eius, scilicet Ipsa et Petrus et convillani eorum non comparuerunt.” Ibid., no. 276, pp. 256-57. ^ 1 counted 26 such cases. See, for instance Gecsa’s case from 1220: “... ad examen ferri candentis misit Varadinum, ubi cum praefatus Saden ferrum esset portare paratus, praenominatus Zauida renunciauit causae suae, dicens, quod falsa opinione ductus bouem illum pro suo boue cepisse.” Ibid., no. 238, pp. 242-43 cp. Jakó, Codex diplomaticus, no. 108, p. 152. Other such cases are related under the following numbers: Karácsonyi, and Borovszky, Regestrum Varadinense, no. 233, pp. 240-41; no. 285, p. 260; no. 287, p. 261. 56 In a theft case from 1215, the date of the trial by hot iron was postponed: “Ioubagiones Petri, filii Pou ... cum missi essent pro latrocinio a Heym, iudice eorum, Varadinum ad iudicium ferri candentis per pristaldum, nomine Catonem, dato termino in septimana: Dominus fortitudo non venerunt; sed Petrus, dominus illorum, tulit literas ex parte Heym iudicis eorum, in quibus iubebatur pristaldo, quod differet causam illam ad festum Sancti Regis, ad regem.” Ibid., no. 133, p. 200. 57 Itis interesting to notice that litigants came to Oradea for the ordeal of hot iron even from places which also had this right of keeping ordeal, for example: Arad, Eger, and Bratislava. Ibid., no. 358, p. 291; no. 357, p. 290; no. 327, p. 276-77 cp. Bunyitay, A váradipüspökség, voi. 1,74. 58 Vajda, A Váradi Regestrum, 24-26. 59 The register of Oradea in the mid-sixteenth century was already in a bad condition, the binding had
