Najstaršia elita mesta Košice: richtári a prísažní do roku 1370
The Oldest Elite of the City of Košice: Judges and Aldermen up to 1370

Summary/Abstract: The issue of elites from medieval to early modern European cities has attracted a renewed increase in interest in the last four decades, stimulated by new research topics and methods. In the case of medieval Kingdom of Hungary, the level of coverage of the subject in question is still uneven for individual cities, which is especially true of the territory of today’s Slovakia. Košice belongs to those (royal) cities of which we have little knowledge of a medieval elite and its specific personalities, although in the late Middle Ages it was one of the most prominent commercial centres of the kingdom. At the same time, the oldest period of development of the local leading political stratum (people holding the positions of judge and city council) remained unexplored, which is therefore the subject of the following study. In the introduction, the author briefly presents the tendencies of the development of Hungarian urban elites until the 15th century. It notes some similarities and differences in processes taking place in neighbouring countries. In the following articles, mentions of chief magistrates (judge) and aldermen (councillors) are presented and analyzed. The end date of around 1370 was chosen as a chronological boundary due to the fact that just after this date, the last names that we can associate with previous generations disappear from the leading positions of self-government. The fragmentary state of written sources has not allowed for a comprehensive thematic coverage of the relevant topic, so the study proceeds according to individual sources which document individuals, after which conclusions are drawn.

• Details
• Contents