Kinek az embere? Az alországbíró és az országbíró viszonya a 13. század második felében
Whose Man? The Relationship between the Judge Royal and Vice-Judge Royal in the Second Part of the 13th Century

Summary/Abstract: The judge royal (Latin: iudex curiae [regiae], Hungarian: országbíró) was the judge of the medieval Hungarian royal court from the 13th century. His deputy was the vice-judge royal (Latin: viceiudex curiae [regiae], Hungarian: alországbíró). This study discusses the relation between these two officers, focusing on the reign of Andrew III (1290–1301). At first I survey the process whereby the vice-judge royal had emerged as the ordinary judge of the royal court instead of the judge royal. According to the earlier scholarly literature this office appeared in the 1260s, and its formation continued into the first part of the 14th century. In my view, this process was more complex and unfolded in several steps. Initially the vice-judge royal was appointed by the judge royal, and deputized for only the judge royal, who was far from the royal court more often from the 1260–1280s. Nevertheless, the emergence of the direct praesentia by the vice-judge royal not was a spontaneous process, but a deliberate political move on the part of Andrew III. From 1293 he tried to free the royal law court of magnate influence, and therefore appointed his own vice-judge royal, with the judge royal retaining just a representative part in the jurisdiction. This model failed in 1298, although in formalities lived on until 1304. On the basis of the sources from the period between 1293 and 1298 the king nominated the vice-judge royal, who directed the royal law court, but from September 1298 the judge royal again appointed his own man to this office. Thus, the vice-judge royal was the king’s man only during those years (1293–1298), when the institution was not subjected to the influence of the magnates.

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