The Seals of Medieval Hungarian Kingdom as Means of Communication in Court Practice and Property Protection

Abstract

– ••• Abstract: GLEJTEK, Miroslav. The Seals of Medieval Hungarian Kingdom as Means of Communication in Court Practice and Property Protection. In medieval society seals used to be important instruments, bearing a wide range of applications. Closer attention is usually paid to their connection to documents with legal content. When attached to charters and letters they fulfilled several functions such as authenticating, authorizing and enclosing them. Researchers usually do not pay as much attention to other uses of seals that have no direct connection to written documents. In the Early Middle Ages, seals were also used for court summons and for sealing the wounds during ordeals. In the Late Middle Ages, we know of their application for property protection against unauthorized manipulation. Seals used to safeguard cases with seal matrices, money or insignia as well as reliquaries. This study introduces the ways seals had been used based on written legal, diplomatic and narrative sources from specific periods.