THE MEDIEVAL HUNGARIAN PREDECESSOR OF THE MODERN NOTARY'S OFFICE: LOCUS CREDIBILIS AUTHENTICUS
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Abstract
In the medieval Hungarian Kingdom locus credibilis authenticus was the name given to the ecclesiastical bodies that had the right to issue a public charter using a certified seal. The chancery and the monastic convent were authentication sites. The study of the activities of these legal institutions could be an exciting addition to the legal history of the notary profession, as it is undoubtedly unique. Indeed, in the centuries of the medieval times the phenomenon of ecclesiastical bodies issuing a document under their own seal in the affairs of others, which would have been universally recognized, was completely unknown elsewhere in Europe. The paper describes the circumstances in which the institution was created, its main areas of activity, the conclusions to be drawn from their surviving documents, and the historical and political factors that led to its disappearance.
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References
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noble court officer: caretaker, controller the royal kitchen, often the dietary compiler the judge with jurisdiction over the noblemen
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