Megyei emberek a középkori Erdélyben
The Representative of the County in Transylvania in the Middle Ages

Summary/Abstract: This article aims to clarify what were the attributes of the county representative in medieval Transylvania. Documents issued by county courts in medieval Transylvania sporadically mention a representative (nostrum hominem) who, in the course of legal procedures, was sent out by the county in order to carry out certain investigations on their behalf. This representative would witness and certify the performance of certain actions, such as settlements between litigants, requests for compensation, taking oaths, or appointments of legal representatives. He could also summon defendants to court on behalf of plaintiffs. He accompanied the noble magistrate (iudex nobilium) when commissioned by the county court to carry out inquiries or hearings of witnesses ordered by voivodes or vice-voivodes. On such occasions, the representative of the county appears in a role very similar to that of the trustworthy man sent by the places of authentication (loca credibilia). This representative of the county was not a permanent member of county authorities (permanent members were only the comes/ispán and the two iudices nobilium). According to the regulations adopted by the congregation of Transylvanian estates at Turda, in 1540, the representative of the county was chosen by the plaintiff (and not by the iudex nobilium) to investigate minor cases. He was to carry out a commission when the noble magistrate was either too busy to do it personally or the distance between the noble magistrate’s home and the place of inquiry was too great.

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