MEDIEVAL URBAN DEVELOPMENT OF LAMPERTSAS AND SEVLUS

Current study describes the medieval town development of Lampertsas and Sevlus. The first part of the research deals with the definition of medieval cities existing in the territory of the Kingdom of Hungary, namely, on the basis of what legal criteria do we separate the townas a form of settlement from the village and market town. The legal definition of settlement form sexisting in the Kingdom of Hungary follows the Western European model, which is not separated from the population or the distribution of industrialization and agricultural work, but from legal regulations. The settlement of the legal status of cities was essential for the development of the local areas. The pivotal points of the legal background of the cities were that the settlement directly belonged to the royal or state property, so the noble jurisdiction did not apply to it. Fur ther more, the fact that the inhabitants of the city did not owe any monetary or other taxes tothe nobility helped the economic development. The privileges were given to the inhabitants of the cities, who also strove to have the boundaries of the settlement defined, thus, a distinct administrative unit with designated geographical boundaries would be created. In several places this meant a city wall, but in the case of our region we cannot speak of similar phenomenon. More over, the creation of the economic background was also essential for the operation ofurban life, which was based on the weekly and annual fairs, as well as the existence of toll. During the fairs, not only the urban craftsmen could sell their goods, but food could also bebrought in from the surrounding villages. In the medieval urban history of our region, it is essential to examine two important settlements, and these are the mentioned Lampertsas and Sevlus. The urban development of both settlements begins in the middle of the 13th century, which culminates in the 14th century, when it has all the legal conditions typical of medieval cities. Both settlements owe their rise to the Saxon hospites, and most likely, with theirdisappearance the development comes to halt.