Dóka Klára: Szentendre története írásos emlékekben. (Pest Megyei Múzeumi Füzetek XIII. Szentendre, 1981)

bitants of Szentendre were by far better off than the serves living in the environs. The body of magistrates entered upon duties in 1738. According to the regulations of the manorial court the town was headed by a judge who was alternately elected from among the Hungarian (Catholic) and the Serbian residents. Beside him 13 magistrates were delegated to that body, and the inhabitants were obliged to obey it. According to the nation-wide practice the people of Szentendre paid the ninth part of their income to the Council that collected it and made the payments to the landowner, as it was contracted. The sum of this payment was always smaller than the ninth part, thus it was suspected that the council made use of the remainder for its own purposes. The controversies became strained as a consequence of the activity of Mátyás Ráby, a town official who defended the interests of the people. Our great writer, Mór Jókai perpetuated Ráby

's life in a novel. During the 18th century Szentendre was in her golden age. The cultivable land of the town spread over 10 000 „hold"-s (1 „hold" = 0,57 hectares or 1,42 English acres), merely 1000 „hold"-» of which belonged to the manor. The spread of the arable land was relatively small: 1300 „hold"-s of the fields were sown with barley, rye and to a lesser extent with wheat. Vine-growing became the most important source of income during the 18th century; vineyards covered 3000—4000 „hold"-s. Animal husbandry was hindered by the fact that the grassland covered only 800 „hold"-s. At the beginning of the 18th century the vine-growers possessed but small parcels of land, since plantation progressed slowly. Later on, as the burghers grew rich, they bought more land and so the cultivation of vinelands became more and more significant at that time. Nevertheless, from the end of the 18th century the expansion of viticulture came to a stop, the settlement being constrained by the Danube and the mountains, and because of the increase of the population the vineyards were divided into small parcels again. Industry and commerce had an important role to play in the life of the settlement, too. In Szentendre 31 kinds of crafts were practised by about 130 to 140 craftsmen. The handicraftsmen became organised into guilds at the end of the 17th century. The way of life of the population was equally influenced by the practical requirements and by the Serbian traditions. The rich burghers — mostly craftsmen and merchants — decorated their homes according to the southern customs and they developed their attire also in the same manner. The poorer inhabitants — mainly ploughmen — purchased only the most necessary furnishment. 206