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120-482: In this typical feudal estate parliament, the peasants (whether Hungarian, Saxon, Székely, or Romanian in origin) were not represented, and they did not benefit from its acts, as the commoners were not considered to be members of these feudal "nations". In medieval times, Transylvania was organised into two separate types of territorial units: the Noble Counties ( Comitates ) were ruled by feudal landlords. Here,

240-571: A Grand Duke of Lithuania . He was named after Saint Sigismund of Burgundy , the favourite saint of Sigismund's father. From Sigismund's childhood, he was nicknamed the "ginger fox" ( liška ryšavá ) in the Bohemian Crown lands on account of his hair colour. King Louis the Great of Hungary and Poland always had a good and close relationship with Emperor Charles IV, and Sigismund was betrothed to Louis' eldest daughter, Mary , in 1374, when he

360-734: A Knights Tournament was held in Buda , Hungary, this was also a conference between Hungarian King Sigismund, Polish King Wladyslaw II and Bosnian King Tvrtko II . 2000 knights were present from all over Europe, even England. There were very many princes, lords, knights and servants at the court of Buda in Hungary. Three kings and three other monarchs, a Serbian despot , 13 herzogs and/or dukes, 21 counts, 2000 knights, 1 cardinal, 1 legate, 3 archbishops, 11 other bishops, 86 players and trumpeters, 17 messengers, and 40,000 horses. There were people from 17 countries and languages. A presumably contemporary list of

480-579: A beautiful face, curly, bluish hair, and a gentle look. He wore a long beard out of his attraction to the Hungarians because they also wore long beards once upon a time. He also spent huge amounts of money during his reign to rebuild the Gothic castles of Buda and Visegrád in the Kingdom of Hungary, ordering the transportation of materials from Austria and Bohemia. His many affairs with women led to

600-513: A failed attempt, owing to the hostility of the princes, to secure peace in Germany by a league of the towns. Also, Sigismund awarded Brandenburg (which he had recovered after Jobst's death) to Frederick of Hohenzollern , burgrave of Nuremberg , in 1415. This step made the House of Hohenzollern one of the most important in Germany. Sigismund began to shift his alliance from France to England after

720-465: A huge sum of silver to Poland as reparation and again, through diplomacy of his friend Stibor, Sigismund was able to borrow all this silver from King Władysław II of Poland on good conditions. In the light of facts about the diplomatic work of Stibor and the Clan of Ostoja that was following the politics of King Sigismund, one can question whether Sigismund actually joined the anti-Polish alliance. In 1412,

840-588: A leading part in the deliberations of this assembly, and during the sittings travelled to France , England , and Burgundy in a vain attempt to secure the abdication of the three rival popes. The council ended in 1418, having resolved the Schism and—of great consequence to Sigismund's future career—having the Czech religious reformer, Jan Hus , burned at the stake for heresy in July 1415. The complicity of Sigismund in

960-419: A number of persons appointed ad hoc from among the present nobles. From the 15th century onwards, permanent jurors were elected from among the nobles of the county. The sedria served as the court of first instance for minor disputes of the nobles and as the appeal instance for village courts and patrimonial courts ( sedes dominialis ). From the beginning of their existence, the noble judges were

1080-427: A result, by royal decrees of 1267, 1290, and 1298, the king could only confirm that the royal counties had turned into noble ones. Nobles (mostly former royal servant families) became quasi-rulers in the counties. The change from a royal to a noble county, however, took place at different times in each county. In the 15th century, the borders of the counties stabilised and basically remained unchanged until 1920. Between

1200-462: A serious revolt in 1437, when peasants and Hungarian nobles defeated the troops of the landholders. The Budai Nagy Antal Revolt was triggered by an attempt by the Bishop of Transylvania to collect taxes. Although the revolt was led by Hungarian noble Antal Nagy de Buda , it consisted of a coalition of various elements of Transylvanian society. This included Hungarian and Romanian serfs as well as

1320-631: A war with the Republic of Venice , as Ladislaus had sold the Dalmatian cities to the Venetians for 100,000 ducats before leaving for his own land. In the following years Sigismund acted indirectly to thwart Ladislaus' attempts to conquer central Italy, by allying with the Italian cities resisting him and by applying diplomatic pressure on him. Due to his frequent absences attending to business in

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1440-506: Is derived from the word comes , which originally stood for companion or retinue member. In the Early and High Middle Ages , the title comes was a noble title used in various meanings, in the Kingdom of Hungary especially (but not exclusively) in the meaning "county head". The Hungarian word megye is likely derived from Southern Slavic medja ( međa , међа ) meaning approximately territorial border. The Slavic word in turn

1560-574: Is possible that the rebels considered themselves inhabitants of the Estate of Hungarians and Romanians ( Universitas Hungarorum et Valachorum ). Despite the pressing issues at hand, the Transylvanian Diet was still not called together by the Voivode , resulting in the various nobles initiating a meeting of the three nations. After a gap of almost half a century, the estates now had

1680-633: Is related to Latin medius (middle) through a common Indo-European root. The original word is still used in present-day Slavic languages, i.e. in Slovak (as medza ), in Slovenian (as meja ), in Serbo-Croatian (as međa , међа ), in a similar sense, and seems to have meant, initially, the border of a county in the Hungarian language. Hungarian has another word ( mezsgye ) of

1800-585: The Austrian Habsburgs established a military dictatorship in the Kingdom of Hungary and the counties were turned into simple state administration entities and authorities. A provisional centralised administration started to be created by the Austrians in February 1849, Alexander Bach issued a decree on provisional organisation of the Kingdom of Hungary in early August 1849 and a regulation on

1920-585: The Carpathian Basin in 895. The first counties were probably the counties situated in present-day northern Pannonia (Transdanubia); they arose before or around 1000. The exact time of the creation of many other counties is disputed, many of them, however, arose not later than during the rule of King Stephen I (1000/01–1038). Initially there were also several small frontier counties (Latin: marchiae ), established for military purposes only (e. g. comitatus of Bolondus), which however ceased to exist in

2040-423: The House of Luxembourg became extinct on his death. Sigismund married twice but had little luck in securing the succession to his crowns. Each of his two marriages resulted in the birth of one child. His first-born child, probably a son, was born prematurely as a result of a horse riding accident suffered by Queen Mary of Hungary when she was well advanced in pregnancy. Mother and child both died shortly after

2160-586: The Iron Crown as King of Italy ; after which he remained for some time at Siena , negotiating for his coronation as emperor and for the recognition of the Council of Basel by Pope Eugenius IV . He was crowned emperor in Rome on 31 May 1433, and after obtaining his demands from the pope returned to Bohemia, where he was recognized as king in 1436, though his power was little more than nominal. Shortly after he

2280-520: The Papal Schism , but which also led to the Hussite Wars that dominated the later period of his life. In 1433, Sigismund was crowned Holy Roman Emperor and ruled until his death in 1437. Historian Thomas Brady Jr. remarks that Sigismund "possessed a breadth of vision and a sense of grandeur unseen in a German monarch since the thirteenth century". He realized the need to carry out reforms of

2400-618: The Unio Trium Nationum ("Union of Three Nations") on February 2, 1438. Like the Brotherly Union, the new Union provided mutual aid against peasant revolts and Ottoman attacks. The Union ensured that the (Hungarian and Romanian) serfs continued to be excluded from the political life of Transylvania , although they were the majority of the population in the Noble Counties ( Comitates ). The Romanians adhered to Eastern Orthodoxy , which in predominantly Catholic Hungary

2520-465: The noble judges (see below), and the courts of the servientes regis - the so-called sedes iudiciaria or sedria - developed into the county court (the Latin name remained sedria ). The sedria meetings were led by the county head, later de facto by his deputy (see below). Until the 15th century, the county head's co-judges were his deputy county head , the (usually four) noble judges , and

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2640-418: The 13th-14th century onwards, the deputy county heads , and not the county head himself, were the real administrators of the county. This development was emphasised by the fact that the county heads were also higher dignitaries of the state or of the court at the same time ( palatine , treasurer , etc.), so that they did not have much time for the management of the county. The deputy county head ' s role

2760-587: The 1422 Diet of Nuremberg, Sigismund and German territorial princes collaborated to organize two armies against the Hussite rebels. The first army was sent to relieve Karlštejn , which was under a Hussite siege; the second army was ordered to destroy the Hussite field army. But Jan Žižka defeated the Imperial force at the Battle of Kutná Hora and then at the Battle of Německý Brod . These two unexpected defeats at

2880-436: The 14th century when royal counties were transformed into noble ones. Initially, there were also some small special castle districts, which ceased to exist in the 13th century. Each county was the responsibility of a county head , whose seat was a castle – a quasi-capital of the county. The county head was the representative of the king , the judge, and the chief law enforcement officer in his respective territory. He collected

3000-402: The 1840s (with an exception in 1785-1790), the official language of county administration was Latin . In 1840, the deputy county head ( alispán , Ger. Vicegespann or Vizegespan ) was described as "the personage of the most importance in the county", having duties similar to an English sheriff but also presiding over the county court of justice. (The Obergespann , theoretically his superior,

3120-538: The 1870 Act, and other types of territorial municipalities (3 in Hungary proper and 18 in Transylvania), including privileged districts, the so-called seats of the Székely Land and Transylvanian Saxons and others. Thus, the total number of municipal entities was 175 under direct control of the central Hungarian government, of which about a third was a county. The main effect of the 1870 Municipalities Act

3240-644: The 19th century, the term "three nations" became charged with ethnic considerations, because Romanians were consequently excluded from Transylvanian government. In 1711, the Bulgarians of Alvinc and Déva (led by church leader Balázs Marinovics) and the Armenians also claimed the privileges of a fourth and fifth natio , but their demands were not met with the elevation of their communities to that privileged status. Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary) A county ( Hungarian : vármegye or megye ;

3360-580: The 406 km long Váh river with surrounding land that was given to him by Sigismund. In the diplomatic struggle to prevent war between Poland-Lithuania, which was supported by the Muscovites, and the Teutonic Knights, Sigismund used Stibor's fine diplomacy to gain financially. The Polish side appointed several negotiators and most of them were also from the Clan of Ostoja , distant relations of

3480-740: The Despot Stefan Lazarević , bringing two thousand horses. From Austria, dukes Ernest (the Iron) and Albert II , later successor of Sigismund, also took part in the Buda meeting. Also Heinrich von Plauen . the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order , Stibor of Stiboricz , Nikola II Gorjanski , Hermann II, Count of Celje and his son Frederick II , count of Krbava —Karlo Kurjaković, Ivan Morović-ban of Machva . Długosz reports

3600-584: The French defeat at the Battle of Agincourt , which he was also controversially absent from due to hosting a pseudo-council in Perpignan with Antipope Benedict XIII and King Ferdinand I of Aragon . The signing of the Treaty of Canterbury on 15 August 1416 culminated diplomatic efforts between Henry V of England and Sigismund and resulted in a defensive and offensive alliance against France. This, in turn, led

3720-494: The Hussite movement) are now generally considered by most scholars to be the results of the lack of financial resources and other heavy constraints, rather than personal failings. Born in Nuremberg or Prague , Sigismund was the son of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and his fourth and final wife, Elizabeth of Pomerania , who was the granddaughter of King Casimir III of Poland and the great-granddaughter of Gediminas ,

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3840-497: The Kingdom of Hungary proper, and the town and district of Rijeka declared autonomous. In 1869, the counties lost the jurisdiction powers (the courts) as royal courts were organized. Modernization of the counties was then realized in two steps. First, an 1870 act of parliament unified the legal status and internal administrative structures of the various municipal (self-governing) administrative units, abolishing almost all historical privileges. However, this Municipalities Act retained

3960-851: The Kingdom of Hungary was Latin. The Latin word for the English and Hungarian county, comitatus , is sometimes used in English. Latin: processus / reambulatio , Hungarian: (szolgabírói) járás , Slovak: slúžnovský obvod/slúžnovský okres , German: Stuhlbezirk A Typical county in Hungary are made up of several districts. The headquarters of the districts were usually located in small towns. Latin: comes (supremus) , Hungarian: főispán , Slovak: hlavný župan , German: Obergespan Latin: congregatio generali , Hungarian: közgyűlés , Slovak: generálna kongregácia / stoličné zhromaždenie , German: Komitatsgeneralversammlung Its decrees and decisions are binding on all county officials. The county regulations were enacted by

4080-523: The Poles were unwilling to submit to a German sovereign, nor did they want to be tied to Hungary. The disagreement between Polish landlords of Lesser Poland on one side and landlords of Greater Poland on the other, regarding the choice of the future monarch of Poland, finally ended in choosing the Lithuanian side. The support of the lords of Greater Poland was however not enough to give Prince Sigismund

4200-585: The Polish crown. Instead, the landlords of Lesser Poland gave it to Mary's younger sister Jadwiga , who married Jogaila of Lithuania . On the death of her father in 1382, his betrothed, Mary, became queen of Hungary and Sigismund married her in 1385 in Zólyom (today Zvolen ). The next year, he was accepted as Mary's future co-ruler by the Treaty of Győr . However, Mary was captured, together with her mother, Elizabeth of Bosnia , who had acted as regent, in 1387 by

4320-606: The River Sava to the south his control was weak. Sigismund personally led an army of almost 50,000 "crusaders" against the Bosnians , culminating with the Battle of Dobor in 1408, a massacre of about 200 members of various Bosnian noble families. However, although campaign militarily looked like a success, it ultimately failed politically and Hungarians retreated, while the Bosnian crown slowly but surely slipped away out of

4440-602: The Stibors. However, those "family meetings" could not prevent the war and an alliance of twenty-two western states formed an army against Poland in the Battle of Grunwald in July 1410. Stibor attacked then Nowy Sącz and burned it to the ground, but after that he returned with his army back to the Beckov Castle . After the Polish-Lithuanian victory in the Battle of Grunwald , the Teutonic Knights had to pay

4560-585: The Turks; the islands were returned to Sigismund after Đurađ's death in April 1403. The disaster at Nicopolis angered several Hungarian lords, leading to instability in the kingdom. Deprived of his authority in Hungary, Sigismund then turned his attention to securing the succession in Germany and Bohemia , and was recognized by his childless half-brother Wenceslaus IV as Vicar-General of the whole empire. However, he

4680-516: The Union helped the indigenous inhabitants to re-negotiate and partly modify the terms of the previous agreement, the alliance did not organize any serious military operations until the end of 1437. At that time, the alliance defeated the opposition after the death of King Sigismund in December. After the successful campaign, the alliance of Hungarian nobles, Székelys, and Saxon elite was codified in

4800-499: The administrative system of the Kingdom of Hungary followed on October 24. Under this regulation: Under a regulation on provisional political administration of the Kingdom of Hungary issued on September 13, 1850, the territory was divided into the above 5 districts (called civil districts now), which in turn consisted of counties and the counties of districts. The territories of some counties changed, some counties were newly created. The districts were led by main district county heads ,

4920-649: The arrival in Buda of the envoys of the Jalal al-Din , khan of the Golden Horde and son of Tokhtamysh , who wanted to meet Władysław II of Poland. Jalal al-Din was an ally of the Polish and Lithuanian rulers in their fight against the Teutonic Order , and according to some reconstructions of the events, Sigismund also wanted to rely on the Tatars against the Ottoman threat. A narrative source from Lübeck also mentions

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5040-428: The attack on Poland. Stibor of Stiboricz was of Polish origin and from the main line of the powerful Clan of Ostoja that had also been against choosing Jagiello as King of Poland. With the support of Sigismund, Stibor become one of the most influential men in late medieval Europe, holding titles as Duke of Transylvania and owning about 25% of modern-day Slovakia , including 31 castles of which 15 were situated around

5160-468: The betrayer of Hus , were soon in arms; and the flame was fanned when Sigismund declared his intention of prosecuting the war against heretics. Three campaigns against the Hussites ended in disaster although the army of his most loyal ally Stibor of Stiboricz and later his son Stibor of Beckov could hold the Hussite side away from the borders of the kingdom. The Turks were again attacking Hungary. At

5280-463: The birth in the hills of Buda on 17 May 1395. This caused a deep succession crisis because Sigismund ruled over Hungary by right of his wife, and although he managed to keep his power, the crisis lasted until his second marriage to Barbara of Celje . Barbara's only child, born in the purple on 7 October 1409, probably in the castle of Visegrád , was Elisabeth of Luxembourg , the future queen consort of Hungary, Germany, and Bohemia. Queen Barbara

5400-489: The birth of several legends , as the one that existed decades later during the reign of the King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary. According to this, John Hunyadi was Sigismund's illegitimate son. Sigismund gave a ring to the boy's mother when he was born, but one day in the forest a raven stole it from her, and the ring was only recovered after the bird was hunted down. It is said that this incident inspired

5520-477: The burghers of Kolozsvár ( Klausenburg , Cluj ), and resulted in the lower taxes codified by the Treaty of Kolozsmonostor. Pál Vajdaházi, one of the leaders of the revolt, was referred to in this document as vexilifer Universitatis regnicolarum Hungarorum et Valachorum huius principatus Hungariae (Standard-bearer of the Union of Hungarian and Romanian inhabitants of this province of Hungary). Consequently, it

5640-635: The coat of arms of the Hunyadis , and later also appeared in the coat of arms of Matthias "Corvinus". Sigismund adopted the Hungarian reverence for Saint Ladislaus I of Hungary , who was considered to be an ideal Christian knight at that time. He went on pilgrimage several times to his tomb in Nagyvárad. Before Sigismund died, in Znaim , Moravia , he ordered to be buried next to the king saint. The bloodline of Sigismund connects through three princesses to

5760-529: The counties by a chairman (German: Vorstand ) and the districts by noble judges (German: Stuhlrichter ). Only slight changes were made to the previous arrangement. Each district was formally turned to an administrative territory of a governorship department (since July 1, 1860: administrative territory of the branche-offices of the governorship ). Some county territories were slightly modified and they were led by commissioners . The only responsibilities of these state counties were political administration and

5880-425: The counties corresponded to the traditional one, but in 1786 many of them were merged and the counties became pure units of state administration – the main county heads were abolished, the county clerks became employees of the state, the courts became the responsibility of the state etc. The capitals of the districts were chosen so as to be situated right in the middle of the district. The number of processus districts

6000-505: The country. After the death of King Rupert of Germany in 1410, Sigismund—ignoring the claims of his half-brother Wenceslaus— was elected as successor by three of the electors on 20 September 1410, but he was opposed by his cousin Jobst of Moravia , who was elected by four electors in a different election on 1 October. Jobst's death 18 January 1411 removed this conflict and Sigismund was again elected king on 21 July 1411. His coronation

6120-687: The county assembly constituted the county's local legislation. The county legislation was subordinate only to the laws of the parliament. Latin: iudices nobilium / iudlium , Hungarian (pl) szolgabírák , Slovak (pl) slúžni , German Schöffen / Stuhlrichter (later Stuhlrichter only) iurati assessores / iurassores , Hungarian: esküdtek , Slovak: súdni prísažní , German Geschworene Latin: viceiudex , Hungarian: alszolgabírák , Slovak: podslúžni , German: Unterstuhlrichter(?) . Hungarian: törvényhatósági jogú város , Slovak: municipálne mesto , German: Munizipalstadt/ Munizipium The Hungarians settled in

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6240-419: The county could not influence the appointment of the deputy county head, but in the early 15th century, they managed to put through a rule that only a noble from the same county can become the deputy county head (see below). Initially, in the 13th century, influence of nobles made itself felt only in the judicial sphere . The judges of the servientes regis - the so-called iudices servientium - developed into

6360-404: The county head. Originally, this body was created and served only as a judicial body, which comprised the judge, the sedria members and 8 elected noble jurors , and which was usually convened once a year. At the same time, the inquisitio communis (hearing of a witness) enabled the nobles to influence the proceedings conducted at the royal curia . Gradually, judicial affairs were excluded from

6480-471: The county, except for inhabitants of free royal towns ( liberae regiae civitate ), mining towns, free districts, and at the time of the Anjou kings also of royal castle domains. Until 1486, some members of the supreme nobility were exempt from the jurisdiction of the county, too. The most important body of self-government of the county was the congregatio generalis , i. e. the county assembly convened and led by

6600-551: The course of the Revolution of 1848 by legal articles III–V and XVI/ 1848. In 1785, king Joseph II decided to abolish the counties as entities of noble autonomy (self-governance) and tried to introduce a new system of absolutist centralized state administration in the Kingdom of Hungary. The kingdom, including Croatia and Slavonia , was primarily divided into 10 newly created military/administrative districts, each of which consisted of four to seven counties. The territory of

6720-556: The death of Hus is a matter of controversy. He had granted Hus a safe conduct and protested against his imprisonment, and Hus was burned during Sigismund's absence. When at one point during the council a cardinal corrected Sigismund's Latin , Sigismund replied Ego sum rex Romanus et super grammaticam ("I am king of the Romans and above grammar"). Thomas Carlyle nicknamed Sigismund "Super Grammaticam". His main acts during these years were an alliance with England against France, and

6840-455: The deputy county head's appointment had to be approved by the nobles (congregatio generalis -see below), so that the deputy county head definitively became the de facto leader of the county. The county head, appointed by the king from the oligarchs (supreme nobility), was only the formal representative of the county. The county authorities were very powerful and administered all spheres of public life. They were responsible for all inhabitants of

6960-554: The earlier refers to the counties of the Kingdom of Hungary ) is the name of a type of administrative unit in Hungary . This article deals with counties in the former Kingdom of Hungary from the 10th century until the Treaty of Trianon of 1920. For lists of individual counties, see: Administrative divisions of the Kingdom of Hungary . For counties of Hungary since 1950, see: Counties of Hungary . The Latin word comitatus

7080-605: The early 16th century and the late 17th century, however, most of the counties ceased to exist once they became part of the Ottoman Empire (the Turks ) or of the Principality of Transylvania . After the final defeat of the Turks in 1718, the three southern counties Temesiensis , Torontaliensis and Krassoviensis created the special administrative district Banatus Temesiensis (Temeswar Banate ). This district

7200-481: The elector of Saxony and Sigismund's loyal partner Margrave Frederick of Brandenburg, and mutual assistance, adjudication, and cooperation in the face of the Hussite threat were stipulated." Sigismund's rule in Germany and in the empire in general was hampered by his complete lack of Hausmacht (domestic power) within the Kingdom of Germany . His rule relied on key allies and the culture of associative political mechanisms in Germany. Duncan Hardy remarks that, "both

7320-601: The empire and the Church at the same time. But external difficulties, self-inflicted mistakes and the extinction of the Luxembourg male line made this vision unfulfilled. Later, the Habsburgs would inherit this mission and imperial reform was carried out successfully under the reigns of Frederick III and especially his son Maximilian I , although perhaps at the expense of the reform of the Church, partly because Maximilian

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7440-478: The empire's core lands, Sigismund was able to make use of these partnerships, and could reasonably expect that the associative activity of princes, nobles, and towns would yield results—as indeed they did, in the form of large-scale collective activity against Duke Frederick IV of Austria—Tyrol in the 1410 and the Hussites in the 1420. Not all of Sigismund's projects came to fruition, and he could not always control

7560-472: The fortress of Nicopolis . Sultan Bayezid I raised the siege of Constantinople and, at the head of 140,000 men, completely defeated the Christian forces in the Battle of Nicopolis fought between the 25 and 28 September 1396. Sigismund returned by sea and through the realm of Zeta , where he ordained the local Montenegrin lord Đurađ II with the islands of Hvar and Korčula for resistance against

7680-586: The hands of the Hussites "ended the first Imperial and Catholic attempt to crush the Bohemian 'heretic rebellion'." The alliance against the Hussites continued to develop though, joined by Upper German princes and cities, even from "the regions furthest from Bohemia". In January 1424, associative activity of the German electors led to the Union ('einunge') of Bingen, "within which the Rhenish princes were joined by

7800-422: The historical names and officials of the municipalities and did not touch their territories in general, so the territory and names of the counties still largely corresponded to those of the pre-1848 period. However, in addition to the 65 counties (49 in Hungary proper, 8 in Transylvania, and 8 in Croatia), there were 89 cities with municipal rights, including historical royal privileged towns and others, authorised by

7920-413: The husband of Mary, Queen of Hungary , he was also King of Hungary and Croatia ( jure uxoris ) from 1387. He was the last male member of the House of Luxembourg . Sigismund was the son of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and his fourth wife Elizabeth of Pomerania . He married Mary, Queen of Hungary in 1385 and was crowned King of Hungary soon after. He fought to restore and maintain authority to

8040-410: The king's loyal vassal until death in 1427. Stefan's successor George Branković of Serbia also pledged his allegiance to Sigismund, returning Belgrade to the king. By maintaining close relations with Serbian rulers, Sigismund succeeded in securing southern borders of his realm. Sigismund founded his personal order of knights, the Order of the Dragon , after the victory at Dobor. The main goal of

8160-415: The king, but a number of prelates (from the 15th century also seculars ) received the "eternal county leadership" of their diocese . Note that the formal title comes was also borne by some dignitaries of the Court (e. g. comes curiae ) and other nobles in the Early Middle Ages , and then by other members of middle nobility in the Late Middle Ages , and it did not mean count in these cases. From

8280-399: The kings Charles Robert and Louis I . From 1385 onwards, the counties were sending representatives to meetings of the Diet of the Kingdom of Hungary and they played a role in the collection and setting of taxes. But only in the early 15th century, the nobles managed to put through a rule that only a noble from the same county can become the deputy county head and a co-judge. From 1504 onwards

8400-472: The largest Gothic palace of the Late Middle Ages . In about 1406, Sigismund married Mary's cousin Barbara of Celje , daughter of Count Hermann II of Celje . Hermann's mother Catherine (of the House of Kotromanic ) and Mary's mother Queen Elisabeth of Bosnia were sisters, or at least cousins who were adoptive sisters. Sigismund managed to establish control in Slavonia . He did not hesitate to use violent methods (see Bloody Sabor of Križevci ), but from

8520-406: The link between the king and the nobility. As a rule, the county heads (from the 15th /16th century onwards called main county head ) were the supreme feudal lords of the county. From the beginning of the 14th century, the county head was at the same time the castellan of the respective county castle in 13 counties. People became county heads for a limited period of time and could be recalled by

8640-649: The local and the trans-regional dimensions of the political activity displayed by the sources from throughout Sigismund's reign demonstrate that power at every level in the empire was exercised and mediated through the customary institutions and mechanisms of associative political culture. If Sigismund enjoyed considerable successes at certain junctures, it was not in spite of or independently from these institutions and mechanisms, but precisely because he devoted considerable energy to harnessing associative interactions and building strategic relationships with leading actors within elite networks. Even during his prolonged absences from

8760-672: The longer-term outcomes of his policies, but the notion that there were phases of an 'empire without a king' during his reign clearly does not stand up to the abundant evidence of his interactions with regional clients and associations. At the same time, the somewhat adulatory view that has developed in recent years of Sigismund as a masterly politician can be tempered by the evidence that it was often felicitous alliances as much as personal skill which made his successes possible." The alliance between Sigismund and his two key allies in Germany, namely Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg and Albert of Austria (who became his son-in-law and heir through

8880-732: The lords by transferring a sizeable part of the royal properties. (For some years, the baron's council governed the country in the name of the Holy Crown ). The restoration of the authority of the central administration took decades of work. The bulk of the nation headed by the House of Garai was with him; but in the southern provinces between the Sava and the Drava , the Horvathys with the support of King Tvrtko I of Bosnia , Mary's maternal uncle, proclaimed as their king Ladislaus of Naples , son of

9000-437: The majority of population were Hungarian and Romanian serfs . In other regions called Seats , the free Székely and Saxon nations lived without feudal landlords and had the royal privilege to have local authority and self-government. With the rise of the Ottoman Empire , one of the first major Ottoman military campaigns against Transylvanian parts of the Kingdom of Hungary was organised in 1421. The invading forces entered

9120-549: The management of taxes. The courts were the responsibility of other entities. The situation prevailing before 1848 was restored in October 1860, both in terms of borders and in terms of noble autonomy. In 1863, however, the noble autonomy was replaced by an absolutist system of state administration again. After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 , in 1868 Transylvania was definitively reunited with

9240-474: The marriage with Sigismund's only daughter Elizabeth of Luxembourg ), started the rise of the Hohenzollerns and reboosted the Habsburgs (who returned to the German throne and also inherited the connection with Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia from Sigismund). In 1428, Sigismund led another campaign against the Turks, but again with few results. In 1431, he went to Milan where on 25 November he received

9360-450: The meantime, a group of Hungarian noblemen swore loyalty to the last Anjou monarch, Ladislaus of Naples , putting their hands on the relic of Saint Ladislas of Hungary in Nagyvárad (today Oradea). Ladislaus was the son of the murdered Charles II of Hungary , and thus a distant relative of the long dead King Louis I of Hungary . Ladislaus captured Zara (today Zadar ) in 1403, but soon stopped any military advance. This struggle in turn led to

9480-399: The meetings of the congregatio generalis, which thus turned from a judicial body into an administrative body. All nobles of the county participated in person in the meetings of the congregatio and the congregatio decided on all important political, military and economic affairs. As from the beginning of the 15th century, the territory of each county was divided into processus each of which

9600-409: The murdered Charles II of Hungary . Not until 1395 did Nicholas II Garai succeed in suppressing them. Mary died heavily pregnant in 1395. To ease the pressure from Hungarian nobles, Sigismund tried to employ foreign advisors, which was not popular, and he had to promise not to give land and nominations to anyone other than Hungarian nobles. However, this was not applied to Stibor of Stiboricz , who

9720-417: The nominal temporal head of Christendom , they conferred no increase of power and financially embarrassed him. It was only as King of Hungary that he had succeeded in establishing his authority and in doing anything for the order and good government of the land. Entrusting the government of Bohemia to Sofia of Bavaria , the widow of Wenceslaus, he hastened into Hungary. The Bohemians, who distrusted him as

9840-555: The number of municipalities significantly and made counties the only territorial units by abolishing privileged districts, seats and other forms. 73 counties were organized in place of the 65 counties and 21 other units. However, historical identities were highly considered; in Hungary proper only minor corrections were made. Bigger changes came to Transylvania where the Székely Land and the Saxons' Land were completely "countified". At

9960-529: The opportunity to discuss Transylvanian issues together. On this occasion, the nobles set up an alliance with Székelys and Saxons who were still afraid of possible Ottoman incursions. The alliance of mutual aid, signed in Kápolna (present-day ( Căpâlna ), was called the Fraterna Unio (Brotherly Union), and was designed to protect the parties both from revolts and Ottoman attacks. While the existence of

10080-477: The order was fighting the Ottoman Empire . Members of the order were mostly his political allies and supporters. The main members of the order were Sigismund's close allies Nicholas II Garay , Hermann II of Celje , Stibor of Stiboricz , and Pippo Spano . The most important European monarchs became members of the order. He encouraged international trade by abolishing internal duties, regulating tariffs on foreign goods and standardizing weights and measures throughout

10200-493: The other countries over which he ruled, he was obliged to consult Diets in Hungary with more frequency than his predecessors and institute the office of Palatine as chief administrator while he was away. In 1404, Sigismund introduced the Placetum Regium . According to this decree, Papal bulls could not be pronounced in Hungary without the consent of the king. During his long reign, the royal Buda Castle became probably

10320-537: The participants of the meeting has also survived. Besides the host, Sigismund, and his main guest, Władysław II, this text mentions Władysław's cousin Vytautas , Grand Duke of Lithuania , and the king of Bosnia, usually identified as Tvrtko II. Some argue convincingly that it was not Tvrtko II but Stjepan Ostoja who visited Buda at that time. Besides the king, Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić , Sandalj Hranić Kosača and Pavle Radinović also came from Bosnia, and from Serbia ,

10440-478: The proceedings in Buda in 1412. Detmar's Lübeckische Chronik continued for the period of 1400 to 1413. The continuation also gives a detailed description of the participants at the Buda meeting. The royal meeting was accompanied by festivities and various entertainments. At the tournament, a knight from Silesia named Nemsche and a page from Austria won the joust. A Polish priest and chronicler Jan Długosz says in his Annales seu cronici incliti regni Poloniae that in

10560-487: The reach for Sigismund and Hungarians. Threatened by Ottoman expansion, King Sigismund managed to strengthen the security of southern Hungarian borders by entering into a defensive alliance with Despot Stefan Lazarević of Serbia . In 1403, Hungarian possessions in northwestern regions of Serbia (city of Belgrade and the Banate of Macsó ), were given to Despot Stefan, who pledged his allegiance to King Sigismund, remaining

10680-435: The real representatives of county autonomy. They were elected by the congregatio generalis (see below) and were not only judges, but also political administrators of their respective processus districts (see below). They formed the core of the newly arising class of squires . Later, the counties even turned to political entities representing the noble autonomy (noble self-government). This evolution started especially under

10800-414: The rebellious House of Horvat , Bishop Paul Horvat of Mačva , his brother John Horvat and younger brother Ladislav. Sigismund's mother-in-law was strangled, while Mary was liberated. Having secured the support of the nobility, Sigismund was crowned King of Hungary at Székesfehérvár on 31 March 1387. Having raised money by pledging Brandenburg to his cousin Jobst, Margrave of Moravia (1388), he

10920-484: The region from Wallachia . The Saxons and Székelys living in the border area tried to defend themselves, but were heavily outnumbered by the intruders. King Sigismund was not able to react promptly because he had recently inherited the Bohemian throne and was involved there in the Hussite Wars . Also, Transylvanian Diets had not been organized for decades and there was no forum to coordinate defence preparations of

11040-559: The royal Hungarian Árpád dynasty . The Reformatio Sigismundi appeared in connection with efforts to reform the Holy Roman Empire during the reign of Emperor Sigismund (1410–1437). It was presented in 1439 at the Council of Basel , published by an anonymous author, and referred to the injustice of the German rulers. It included a vision of Sigismund's about the appearance of a priest-king, Frederick, as well as plans for

11160-536: The same origin meaning borderland. The Hungarian word ispán (county head) is derived from the Southern Slavic word župan ( жупан ), which was used by the Slavs living in the Carpathian Basin before the arrival of the Hungarians and stood for the head of various territorial units. Title župan was also used as a ruling title in medieval Serbia. For centuries, the official written language of

11280-637: The same time the total number of municipal towns was reduced from 89 to 30. After 1876 only minor changes were made to the system until 1918. The number of processus districts steadily increased over the next decades, growing from around 400 up to some 450 by 1918. The powers and responsibilities of the counties were constantly decreased and were transferred to ministries in different fields of special administration, like responsibilities in terms of construction, veterinary medicine and (overall) financial management. The ministries controlled these through their own regional and local agencies. The main county body

11400-428: The self-governments of the counties was reinstated in 1790. Only the duty to support the king militarily, the territorial unit and formally also the title of county head remained from the former royal counties. The new county was a self-governing (autonomous) entity of lower gentry. It was led by the county head ( comes ), appointed by the king, and by his deputy, appointed by the county head. These two persons were

11520-487: The taxes and payments in kind made by the subjects to the king, gave two thirds of them to the king and kept the rest. His castle had special fortifications and was able to withstand even long-term sieges. The sources mention deputy county heads in the 12th century for the first time. The royal county consisted of castle districts . In the late 13th century, the royal counties gradually turned into highly autonomous noble counties. The reasons for this development were: As

11640-416: The then 13-year-old Sigismund was sent to Kraków by his eldest half-brother and guardian Wenceslaus, King of Germany and Bohemia , to learn Polish and to become acquainted with the land and its people. King Wenceslaus also gave him Neumark to facilitate communication between Brandenburg and Poland. While Mary was accepted as monarch of Hungary, Sigismund vied for the crown of Poland as well. However,

11760-1054: The three nations. Left alone, the Saxon Burzenland and the Székely Seat of Háromszék , both in the border region, were ravaged. Sigismund reacted to the attack only years later, leading a series of military campaigns against the Ottomans in Wallachia. The Ottomans, allied with the Wallachian Voivode, returned in 1432 and Southern Transylvania suffered serious damages again. In the same period, nobles and church authorities in Central Transylvania were concerned about protesting and revolting serfs . Hungarian and Romanian ( Vlach ) peasants were dissatisfied with high taxes and restrictions to their free movement. Scattered peasant protests turned into

11880-569: The throne. Mary died in 1395, leaving Sigismund the sole ruler of Hungary . In 1396, Sigismund led the Crusade of Nicopolis , but was decisively defeated by the Ottoman Empire . Afterwards, he founded the Order of the Dragon to fight the Turks and secured the thrones of Croatia , Germany and Bohemia . Sigismund was one of the driving forces behind the Council of Constance (1414–1418) that ended

12000-591: The tournament there were also knights from Bulgaria, probably from the court of prince Fruzhin , Sigismund's vasal who also was at the conference. From 1412 to 1423, Sigismund campaigned against the Republic of Venice in Italy. The king took advantage of the difficulties of Antipope John XXIII to obtain a promise that a council should be called in Constance in 1414 to settle the Western Schism . He took

12120-596: The way to the resolution of the papal schism . The close relationship that developed between Henry V and Sigismund resulted in him being inducted into the Order of the Garter . In 1419, the death of Wenceslaus IV left Sigismund titular King of Bohemia , but he had to wait for seventeen years before the Czech Estates would acknowledge him. Although the two dignities of king of the Romans and king of Bohemia added considerably to his importance, and indeed made him

12240-498: Was Sigismund's closest friend and advisor. On a number of occasions, Sigismund was imprisoned by nobles, but with the help of the armies of Garai and Stibor of Stiboricz, he was able to regain power. In 1396, Sigismund led the combined armies of Christendom against the Turks, who had taken advantage of the temporary helplessness of Hungary to extend their dominion to the banks of the Danube . This crusade, preached by Pope Boniface IX ,

12360-415: Was administered by one of the noble judges (there were therefore usually four in each county). The aim was to simplify the administration. The number of processus was increasing from the 18th century onwards, because the functions of the counties were increasing too. The processus, in turn, consisted of 2 to 6 circuits (Latin: circuli ), each of which was the responsibility of a deputy noble judge . Until

12480-433: Was also an important function. The entire article was created based on one source: Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in 1437. He was elected King of Germany ( King of the Romans ) in 1410, and was also King of Bohemia from 1419, as well as prince-elector of Brandenburg (1378–1388 and 1411–1415). As

12600-560: Was buried at Nagyvárad , Hungary (today Oradea , Romania ), next to the tomb of the King Saint Ladislaus I of Hungary , who was the ideal of the perfect monarch, warrior and Christian for that time and was deeply venerated by Sigismund. By his second wife, Barbara of Celje , he left an only daughter, Elisabeth of Luxembourg , who was married to Albert V, duke of Austria (later German king as Albert II) whom Sigismund named as his successor. As he left no sons, his line of

12720-482: Was considered heretical. The alliance of the three privileged estates was effective for centuries and provided the framework of internal and international relations of Transylvania. After the 18th century, when the danger of Ottoman or Tatar attacks was over, the Union became an alliance of the three estates to protect their vested rights from those who were not represented in the Transylvanian Diet . In

12840-680: Was crowned, Pope Eugenius began attempts to create a new anti-Ottoman alliance. This was sparked by an Albanian revolt against the Ottomans, which had begun in 1432. In 1435, Sigismund sent Fruzhin , a Bulgarian nobleman, to negotiate an alliance with the Albanians. He also sent Daud, a pretender to the Ottoman throne, in early 1436. However, following the defeat of the rebels in 1436, plans for an anti-Ottoman alliance ended. Sigismund died on 9 December 1437 at Znojmo ( German : Znaim ), Moravia (now Czech Republic ), and as ordered in life, he

12960-469: Was deferred until 8 November 1414, when it took place at Aachen . On a number of occasions, and in 1410 in particular, Sigismund allied himself with the Teutonic Knights against Władysław II of Poland. In return for 300,000 ducats he would attack Poland from the south after the truce on St. John's Day, 24 June expired. Sigismund ordered his most loyal friend Stibor of Stiboricz to set up

13080-593: Was dissolved again in 1779, but its southernmost part remained part of the Military Frontier ( Confiniaria militaria ) till the late 19th century. The bodies of the new counties considerably helped to defend the interests of lower and middle nobility with respect to the oligarchs , who were often the de facto rulers of the kingdom, and with respect to the absolutistic efforts of the Habsburg kings. The counties as noble institutions were abolished only in

13200-409: Was engaged for the next nine years in a ceaseless struggle for the possession of this unstable throne. The central power was finally weakened to such an extent that only Sigismund's alliance with the powerful Czillei-Garai League could ensure his position on the throne. It was not for entirely selfless reasons that one of the leagues of barons helped him to power: Sigismund had to pay for the support of

13320-425: Was not particularly focused on the matter. In recent years, scholarly interest (especially from East-Central Europe ) has grown greatly in the person and reign of Sigismund —the ruler who had gained and led an imperial association almost reaching the size of the later Habsburg Empire —as well as cultural developments associated with his era. The setbacks which have been seen as his major failures (like dealing with

13440-466: Was reduced. The official language became German rather than Latin. The districts were headed by a commissioner appointed by the Austrian emperor , who was simultaneously also the king of Hungary . After the death of Emperor Joseph II, however, facing strong resistance against any kind of absolutist centralization in Hungary, the new king Leopold II had to repeal all the reforms and the old system of

13560-456: Was six years old and Mary but an infant. The marital project aimed to augment the lands held by the House of Luxembourg . Upon his father's death in 1378, young Sigismund became Margrave of Brandenburg and was sent to the Hungarian court, where he soon learned the Hungarian language and way of life, and became entirely devoted to his adopted country. King Louis named him as his heir and appointed him his successor as King of Hungary . In 1381,

13680-400: Was that it was no longer only the nobles and other privileged groups who could lead the municipalities (see Functioning). The system of districts (historically, in Latin, processus ) as administrative sub-divisions was affirmed in counties and extended to other areas. The second step of modernization was realized in another act of parliament in 1876. This Municipal Territories Act reduced

13800-518: Was the municipal committee , comprising 50% virilists (persons paying the highest direct taxes), and 50% elected persons fulfilling the prescribed census and ex officio members ( deputy county head , main notary and others). The county was led by the main county head , who was a government official subordinated to the Ministry of the Interior of the Kingdom of Hungary. The deputy county head

13920-407: Was to administer the county during the county head ' s absence. Originally, the deputy county head was a personal employee of the king and thus the main person through which the king exercised influence in the county. At the same time, the deputy was the castellan of the castle of the county head or an economic officer (Latin: provisor ) of the properties of the same. Initially, the nobles of

14040-434: Was unable to give birth to any further issue. Elizabeth of Luxembourg was thus the only surviving legitimate offspring of Sigismund. Sigismund was known to speak fluent Hungarian , wore Hungarian-style royal clothes, and even grew his beard in the Hungarian fashion. Emperor Sigismund, in terms of the quality of his face and the greatness of his stature, was a fairly great man, the world's chief creator blessed him with

14160-438: Was unable to support Wenceslaus when he was deposed in 1400, and Rupert of Germany , Elector Palatine, was elected German king in his stead. On his return to Hungary in 1401, Sigismund was imprisoned once and deposed twice. That year, he aided an uprising against Wenceslaus IV , during the course of which the Bohemian king was taken prisoner, and Sigismund ruled Bohemia for nineteen months. He released Wenceslaus in 1403. In

14280-567: Was usually a nobleman, who would commonly be in Vienna or Pesth and thus have little time for local affairs.) Furthermore, the Vicegespann presided over the county assembly, which had as late as 1840 a long list of powers, ranging from police regulations to tax, to improvements on bridges and roads. In 1849, in the course of and after the defeat of the Magyars in the 1848-1849 Revolution ,

14400-520: Was very popular in Hungary. The nobles flocked in their thousands to the royal standard, and were reinforced by volunteers from nearly every part of Europe. The most important contingent being that of the French led by John the Fearless , son of Philip II, Duke of Burgundy . Sigismund set out with 90,000 men and a flotilla of 70 galleys. After capturing Vidin , he camped with his Hungarian armies before

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