Ungarische Kläger in Wien. Die Tätigkeit der Ungarischen Hofkanzlei auf dem Gebiet der Gerichtsbarkeit (1526–1727)

Abstract

Although as early as 1464 Matthias Corvinus had separated the part of the Hungarian Chancery that dealt with judicial affairs (cancellaria minor, tabula regia) from the rest, the Hungarian Court Chancery (cancellaria maior, Ungarische Hofkanzlei) in the Habsburg era still exercised some competences in this field. In addition to the issuing of royal pardons and the participation in courts of arbitration and extraordinary tribunals, a vast array of royal mandates enabled the Chancery to interfere in lawsuits in almost any state of the proceedings. Based on archival sources mainly from Budapest and Vienna, the article offers an overview of the development of the institution and its considerable judicial activities from 1526 until its reform in 1727, which more or less put an end to its involvement in jurisdiction, even if not completely. In addition, the development of the Chancery’s personnel – offices, numbers, career patterns – is analysed.