The Authorities of Middle Solnoc and Crasna Counties in the Middle Ages

The present study discusses the formation and functioning of medieval Middle Solnoc and Crasna counties (administrative units organized by the central administration) from the 11th century up to 1541. Starting with the last decades of the 13th century, the authorities of each of these two counties consisted of a comes (appointed by the king in Crasna and by the voivode of Transylvania in Middle Solnoc county) and four noble judges (iudices nobilium) elected from among the local nobility. Between 1261 and 1476, voivodes of Transylvania bore the title of ‘comes of Solnoc’ (comes comitatus Zolnuk), however, all three parts of the formerly undivided county, Inner, Middle and Outer Solnoc had their own comites/vice-comites, and from the beginning of the 15th century voivodes did not have authority over Outer Solnoc and Middle Solnoc counties any more. In Middle Solnoc and Crasna counties, judicial activity, the most important function of the nobiliary county, starting with the 14th century was performed in the name of the voivode at the occasional assemblies of the county (congregatio generalis) or at the more regular county court (sedes iudiciaria, abbreviated as sedria) sessions held by the vice-comes helped by the four iudices nobilium. Sometime in the 1470s, the Drágfi of Beltiug family received the hereditary title of comes perpetuus of Middle Solnoc and Crasna counties, and from that time on the comites of the two counties were members of this same family, while vice-comites were chosen from their familiares