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    STUDIA HISTORIA - Issue no. 1 / 2004  
         
  Article:   ARISTOCRATIC JUDICES IN MEDIEVAL TRANSYLVANIAN SOCIETY.

Authors:  ENIKŐ RÜSZ-FOGARASI. 		 
       
         
  Abstract:  Aristocratic Judices in Medieval Transylvanian Society. The present paper deals with the Transylvanian institution of aristocratic judex, which took shape at the beginning of the 14th century. At first, the aristocratic judex played a rather modest part, carrying on his activity in the shadow of the county representatives of the central power (comes and vice-comes), but, in time, he became more than a mere assistant in the courts of law, acquiring also some administrative prerogatives, such as the collection of taxes and fines. Nevertheless, his activity was chiefly related to the county court of law, where he settled litigations between petty noblemen (who were not in possession of ius gladii), freemen and bondsmen. Although not very tempting financially, due to the prestige and authority it granted the office was supposed to be a good starting point for a future career. Usually, but not always, there were two noble judices in each county, elected from among the petty local aristocracy and representing its interests, who participated in the making and implementation of most important county decisions and whose status was similar to that of homo regius. All in all, the emergence of the aristocratic judex institution signaled a change in the attitude of the central power and, at the same time, the growing assertion of the local nobility.  
         
     
         
         
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