Ispán
The ispán
Heads of counties were often represented locally by their deputies, the vice-ispáns
Election of the vice-ispáns by the assembly of the counties was enacted in 1723, although the noblemen could only choose among four candidates presented by the lord-lieutenant. Following the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, vice-ispáns officially took over the responsibility for the management of the whole county administration, but lord-lieutenants presided the most important representative or supervising bodies of the counties. Both offices were abolished with the introduction of the Soviet system of local administration in Hungary in 1950.
Etymology
"If a warrior, scorning the just judgment of his ispán appeals to the king, seeking to prove the injustice of the ispán, he will owe ten pensae of gold to the ispán. "
Laws of King Stephen I II:8[11]
The term župan was first recorded in the charter of foundation of the Kremsmünster Abbey as the title of an Avar dignitary.[12] The Hungarian word is first attested as a proper name from 1269, and as a title from around 1282.[13]
The Hungarian word ispán is connected with the term župan ('head of a župa') in the Croatian and modern Slovak, and to the synonymous Old Church Slavonic expression, županъ.[13] Accordingly, the title seems to be a Slavic loanword in Hungarian.[13]
However, Dorota Dolovai sees a direct borrowing problematic from
Origins
The office had already existed under Stephen I (997–1038) at the latest, who was crowned the first king of Hungary in 1000 or 1001.[18] The new king introduced an administrative system based on fortresses.[19][20] Most of the fortresses were "simple earthworks crowned by a wooden wall and surrounded by a ditch and bank" (Pál Engel) in the period.[3] Stone castles were only erected at Esztergom, Székesfehérvár and Veszprém.[3] Archaeological evidence shows that a few castles had already existed in the last quarter of the 10th century,[3] implying that the new system of local administration was set up in the reign of Stephen I's father, Grand Prince Géza (c. 972–997).[20]
The monarch appointed a royal official styled comes in contemporary documents at the head of each fortress.[21] A comes was the chief administrator of royal estates attached to the castle under his command.[3][19] Consequently, he was the principal of all who owned services to the head of that castle.[21][22]
Most comes (about 50 out of a total number of 72 by the 13th century)
Middle Ages
Monarchy of the Árpáds (c. 1000–c. 1300)
Each castle district served multiple purposes, accordingly their comes also fulfilled several tasks.[1][23] First of all, the military of the kingdom was for centuries based on troops raised in the castle districts, each commanded by the comes under his own banner.[25] He was assisted by the castellan and other officers recruited among the "castle warriors".[26] Castle warriors were commoners who owned military service to the comes as the local representative of royal power in regard to their landholding in the castle district.[1][22]
Castles and the estates attached to them were important economic units.[1] Initially, a significant part of all lands in the kingdom (maybe as much as two thirds thereof) belonged to a royal castle.[27] However, not all parcels in the "castle lands" was part of the royal domain (the monarchs' private property).[28] On the other hand, huge woodlands owned by the monarch and his kin remained outside of the system of castle districts.[29] Officials responsible for the management of the forested lands, the "royal keepers" never equalled the heads of castle districts in rank, although they were also styled ispán in the 12th century.[29] The royal woodlands developed into counties by the end of the next century.[30]
The "
"The [ispáns] of counties shall not render judicial sentences concerning the estates of the
tithes."
Golden Bull of 1222[36]
Counts were also entitled to render justice in their districts. Counties were developing from an institute of royal administration into a body of self-government of the local noblemen in the course of the 13th century, but the ispán, "a royal appointee" (Erik Fügedi) remained their heads.[41] Accordingly, the ispáns supervised the activities of the judges elected by the community of local noblemen with the task to "revise existing property rights" (Pál Engel) in many counties in Transdanubia in 1267.[42] The existence of the institution of elected "judges of the nobles" is documented in more and more counties from the 1280s.[43] Legislation prescribed that the ispán was to pass judgement with four judges elected by the local nobility from among their number.[44]
Heads of the counties, along with the prelates of the realm, were ex officio members of the royal council. Large territories of the Kingdom of Hungary were put under the authority of powerful landlords by the time when King Late Middle Ages (c. 1300–1526)
The monarch also succeeded in both acquiring a number of castles and increasing the territory of the royal domain, thus a new network of castle districts emerged.
County courts were headed by the ispáns or by their deputies.
Re-establishment (2023–)
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2022) |
As of January 1, 2023, the
See also
- County (Kingdom of Hungary)
- Župa
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f Rady 2000, p. 19.
- ^ a b Stephen Werbőczy: The Customary Law of the Renowned Kingdom of Hungary in Three Parts (1517), p. 450.
- ^ a b c d e f g Engel 2001, p. 40.
- ^ Curta 2006, p. 355.
- ^ Bán, Nemes 1989, p. 214.
- ^ a b Kirschbaum 2007, p. 315.
- ^ a b Rady 2000, p. 41.
- ^ a b Nemes 1989, p. 21.
- ^ a b c Fallenbüchl 1994, p. 168.
- ^ Rady 2000, p. 81.
- ^ The Laws of the Medieval Kingdom of Hungary, 1000–1301, p. 10.
- ^ Engel, Róna-Tas 1994, p. 290.
- ^ a b c d Dolovai 2006, p. 344.
- ^ Róna-Tas 1999, p. 115.
- ^ ISBN 80-7090-659-6.
- ^ a b c Pokanec, Martin (2013). "Sú pomenovania župa a župan slovenské?" [Are the words župa and župan Slovak?] (PDF). Kultúra slova (in Slovak) (4). Martin: Vydavateľstvo Matice slovenskej: 196.
- ^ a b Uhlár, Vlado (1972). "Príspevok k dejinám slovenej zásoby slovenčiny: špan, župan, pán, kmeť" [A contribution to the history of Slovak vocabulary: špan, župan, pán, kmeť] (PDF). Slovenská reč (in Slovak) (5). Bratislava: Jazykovedný ústav Ľudovíta Štúra SAV: 300.
- ^ Engel 2001, pp. 27., 39-40.
- ^ a b c Kristó 2001, p. 26.
- ^ a b Sedlar 1994, p. 259.
- ^ a b c d e Kontler 1999, p. 56.
- ^ a b c Curta 2006, p. 401.
- ^ a b c d Engel 2001, p. 73.
- ^ Engel 2001, pp. 40-41.
- ^ Engel 2001, pp. 72-73.
- ^ a b c Kristó 1994, p. 714.
- ^ Sedlar 1994, p. 275.
- ^ Engel 2001, pp. 80-81.
- ^ a b Engel 2001, p. 81.
- ^ Rady 2000, p. 86.
- ^ Engel 2001, p. 71.
- ^ a b c Kirschbaum 2005, p. 43.
- ^ a b Rady 2000, p. 31.
- ^ Engel 2001, p. 93.
- ^ Engel 2001, pp. 104-105.
- ^ The Laws of the Medieval Kingdom of Hungary, 1000–1301, p. 32.
- ^ Kontler 1999, p. 76.
- ^ Engel 2001, p. 94.
- ^ Kontler 1999, p. 81.
- ^ Engel 2001, pp. 112-113.
- ^ Fügedi 1998, p. 63.
- ^ Engel 2001, p. 120.
- ^ Engel 2001, pp. 120-121.
- ^ Fügedi 1998, p. 64.
- ^ Zsoldos 2011, pp. 164., 228.
- ^ Zsoldos 2011, pp. 36., 149., 150., 179., 211.
- ^ a b Kontler 1999, p. 84.
- ^ Engel 2001, p. 126.
- ^ Engel 2001, p. 131.
- ^ Engel 2001, pp. 149-150.
- ^ a b Engel 2001, p. 151.
- ^ Rady 2000, p. 135.
- ^ Rady 2000, pp. 164-165.
- ^ Engel 2001, p. 180.
- ^ Rady 2000, p. 122.
- ^ "'Counts' and 'castle districts': Hungary restores archaic names" Borneo Bulletin Online". ‘Counts’ and ‘castle districts’: Hungary restores archaic names. 2022-07-23. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
- ^ "Hungary to Reintroduce Historic Titles of Counties and Government Officials". Hungary Today. 2022-06-23. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
References
Primary sources
- The Laws of the Medieval Kingdom of Hungary, 1000–1301 (Translated and Edited by János M. Bak, György Bónis, James Ross Sweeney with an essay on previous editions by Andor Czizmadia, Second revised edition, In collaboration with Leslie S. Domonkos) (1999). Charles Schlacks, Jr. Publishers. OL 12153527M. (ISBN may be misprinted in the book as 88445-29-2).
- The Laws of the Medieval Kingdom of Hungary, 1458–1490 (Translated and Edited by János M. Bak, Leslie S. Domonkos and Paul B. Harvey, Jr., in collaboration with Kathleen Garay) (1996). Charles Schlacks, Jr. Publishers. ISBN 1-884445-26-8.
- Stephen Werbőczy: The Customary Law of the Renowned Kingdom of Hungary in Three Parts (1517) (Edited and translated by János M. Bak, Péter Banyó and Martyn Rady with an introductory study by László Péter) (2005). Charles Schlacks, Jr. Publishers. ISBN 1-884445-40-3.
Secondary sources
- (in Hungarian) Bán, Péter (1989). Entry kamara in: Bán, Péter; Magyar történelmi fogalomtár, I. kötet: A–K ("Thesaurus of Terms of Hungarian History, Volume I: A–K"). Gondolat. ISBN 963-282-203-X.
- (in Hungarian) Bán, Péter; Nemes, Lajos (1989). Entry ispán in: Bán, Péter; Magyar történelmi fogalomtár, I. kötet: A–K ("Thesaurus of Terms of Hungarian History, Volume I: A–K"). Gondolat. ISBN 963-282-203-X.
- Curta, Florin (2006). Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500–1250. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-89452-4.
- (in Hungarian) Dolovai, Dorottya (2006). Entry ispán in: Zaicz, Gábor; Etimológiai Szótár: Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete ("Etymological Dictionary: Origin of Hungarian Words and Affixes"); TINTA Könyvkiadó; Budapest; ISBN 963-7094-01-6.
- (in Hungarian) Engel, Pál; Róna-Tas, András (1994). Entry ispán in: Korai Magyar Történeti Lexikon (9–14. század), pp. 312-313. ("Encyclopedia of Early Hungarian History, 9th–14th centuries"); Akadémiai Kiadó; Budapest; ISBN 963-05-6722-9.
- Engel, Pál (2001). The Realm of St Stephen: A History of Medieval Hungary, 895-1526. I.B. Tauris Publishers. ISBN 1-86064-061-3.
- (in Hungarian and German) Fallenbüchl, Zoltán (1994). Magyarország főispánjai, 1526–1848 ("Lord-Lieutenants of Counties in Hungary, 1526–1848"). Argumentum Kiadó. ISBN 963-7719-81-4.
- Fügedi, Erik (1998). The Elefánthy: The Hungarian Nobleman and His Kindred (Edited by Damir Karbić, with a foreword by János M. Bak). CEU Press. ISBN 978-963-9116-20-7.
- Kirschbaum, Stanislav J. (2005). A History of Slovakia: The Struggle for Survival. Palgrave. ISBN 1-4039-6929-9.
- Kirschbaum, Stanislav J. (2007). Historical Dictionary of Slovakia. The Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-5535-9.
- Kontler, László (1999). Millennium in Central Europe: A History of Hungary. Atlantisz Publishing House. ISBN 963-9165-37-9.
- Kristó Gyula (1994). Entry várispánság in: Korai Magyar Történeti Lexikon (9–14. század), pp. 312-313. ("Encyclopedia of Early Hungarian History, 9th–14th centuries"); Akadémiai Kiadó; Budapest; ISBN 963-05-6722-9.
- Kristó, Gyula (2001). The Life of King Stephen the Saint. In: Zsoldos, Attila; Saint Stephen and His Country: A Newborn Kingdom in Central Europe, Hungary; Lucidus Kiadó; ISBN 963-86163-9-3.
- (in Hungarian) Nemes, Lajos (1989). Entries alispán and főispán in: Bán, Péter; Magyar történelmi fogalomtár, I. kötet: A–K ("Thesaurus of Terms of Hungarian History, Volume I: A–K"). Gondolat. ISBN 963-282-203-X.
- Rady, Martyn (2000). Nobility, Land and Service in Medieval Hungary. Palgrave (in association with School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London). ISBN 0-333-80085-0.
- Róna-Tas, András (1999). Hungarians and Europe in the Early Middle Ages: An Introduction to Early Hungarian History (English translation by Nicholas Bodoczky). CEU Press. ISBN 978-963-9116-48-1.
- Sedlar, Jean W. (1994). East Central Europe in the Middle Ages, 1000–1500. University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-97290-4.
- (in Hungarian) Zsoldos, Attila (2011). Magyarország világi archontológiája, 1000–1301 ("Secular Archontology of Hungary, 1000–1301"). História, MTA Történettudományi Intézete. Budapest. ISBN 978-963-9627-38-3.