Royal castle's serf (Kingdom of Hungary)

A "royal castle's serf" ( _hu. várjobbágy, _la. iobagio castri) was a wealthier member of the group of peoples living within the royal castle system in the Kingdom of Hungary in the 11-15th centuries.

The "royal castle's serfs" did not enjoy the liberties of the freemen of the medieval Hungarian society, and they were personally linked to a royal fortress and they could not secede from the castle. Each "royal castle's serf" was liable to military service and they were subordinate to the head of the castle, in contrast to the "royal servants" who were dependant only of the king. They held offices and thus managed the peoples of the royal fortress and took part in the administration of the possessions linked to the castle. The "royal castle's serfs" had a share in the royal domains and they received a share in the tax paid by the people living on the royal possessions administered by them. Nevertheless, they did not owned their possessions and they were only the beneficiaries of the lands granted to them.

Other peoples linked to the royal castle could also reach the status of "royal castle's serfs" by royal grant, but they did not enjoy all the liberties of other "royal castle's serfs" ("e.g.", they were still obliged to render services to the head of the castle); in the documents, they were mentioned as "the exempted sons of royal castle's serfs" ( _hu. keltjobbágyfiak, _la. filii iobagionum de casternsibus exempti). During the 11-13th century, several freemen also joined to the royal castles and thus became a "royal castle's serf", but some of them reserved their former possessions and based on their lands, they endeavoured to keep their former freedom. Their descendants called themselves "the Holy King's freemen" ( _hu. szentkirály-szabadjai, _la. liberi S. Regis), because they claimed that their ancestors received their liberties from King Saint Stephen.

During the 12th century, the kings commenced to grant all the liberties of the freemen to some of the "royal castle's serfs" who thus merged into the "royal servants". The first documented example of this practise is a charter issued by King Stephen III (1162-1172) who took out a man called "Farkas" from the peoples of a royal castle; and not only granted him all the liberties of the freemen but also donated some possessions to him.

The liberties of the "royal castle's serfs" became endangered during the reign of King Andrew II (1205-1235) who granted whole "royal counties" ("i.e.", all the royal domains in the counties) to his partisans and therefore most of the "royal castle's serfs" became subordinate to the new lords of the castles. In 1231, the charter issued by King Andrew II that confirmed the provisions of the Golden Bull also confirmed the liberties of the "royal castle's serfs".cite book | page = 56] Quote|"We have ordered that all the "royal castle's serfs" shall be maintained in their freedom permitted by the holy kings.|Section a) of the Article 27 of the Act of 1231

Although some of the "royal castle's serfs" could reserve their liberties and integrated themselves into the nobility, but the majority of them could not acquire all the liberties of the "royal servants" and merged into the serfs.

ee also

* Royal servant - freemen who owned possessions in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary

ources

* Bán, Péter (editor): Magyar Történelmi Fogalomtár; Gondolat, Budapest, 1989; ISBN 963 282 202 1.
* Kristó, Gyula (editor): Korai Magyar Történeti Lexikon - 9-14. század "(Encyclopedia of the Early Hungarian History - 9-14th centuries)"; Akadémiai Kiadó, 1994, Budapest; ISBN 963 05 6722 9.
* Kristó, Gyula: Magyarország története - 895-1301 "(The History of Hungary - 895-1301)"; Osiris Kiadó, 1998, Budapest; ISBN 963 379 442 0.