Habt Gerechtigkeit lieb, Ihr Regenten auf Erden: Administering Justice in Early Modern Upper Hungary
Habt Gerechtigkeit lieb, Ihr Regenten auf Erden: Administering Justice in Early Modern Upper Hungary

Summary/Abstract: This study examines the close relationship between justice and religious symbolism in urban governance in early modern Hungary. Secular authority was seen as divinely ordained, with justice portrayed as a cardinal virtue in townhall iconography. Crime was viewed as sin, requiring just punishment to restore divine order. Urban ordinances emphasized the judges’ moral integrity, impartiality, and duty to uphold God’s law. The Reformation intensified the efforts to regulate behavior and enforce piety through detailed municipal laws. These ordinances often mirrored church articles and promoted social discipline. Punishments ranged widely, guided by local customs, equity and intercessions, rather than rigid legalism.

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