Vol. 4 No. 1 (2024)
On the Legal and Governmental History of the Principality of Transylvania

The Early Modern Székely Society from a Legal Historical Perspective

Balázs Viktor Rácz
HUN-REN Institute of History, Hungary

Published 24-07-2024

Keywords

  • ius regium,
  • early modern estates,
  • social stratification,
  • social mobility,
  • legal history,
  • Székely nation,
  • Principality of Transylvania
  • ...More
    Less

How to Cite

Rácz, Balázs Viktor. 2024. “The Early Modern Székely Society from a Legal Historical Perspective”. Historical Studies on Central Europe 4 (1):151-77. https://doi.org/10.47074/HSCE.2024-1.09.

Abstract

The paper discusses the changes in Székely society during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The topic is presented from a legal historical perspective because the scholarly literature has either paid no substantial attention to the legal framework of the early modern era or failed to utilize the sources relevant for Székely society. By re-examining already known sources and analyzing new ones, i.e., judicial proceedings, testimonies, contract and personal letters, it appears that the main turning points of the history of Székely society have been misinterpreted in some aspects, and a series of new questions have emerged that are yet to be answered.