page_title: Transylvanian Diet
section_title: General assemblies
hierarchical_section_title: Transylvanian Diet / Development / General assemblies
caption_attribution_description: Čeština: Ondřej III.- denáry
context_page_description: The Transylvanian Diet was an important legislative, administrative and judicial body of the Principality of Transylvania between 1570 and 1867. The general assemblies of the Transylvanian noblemen and the joint assemblies of the representatives of the "Three Nations of Transylvania"—the noblemen, Székelys and Saxons—gave rise to its development. After the disintegration of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary in 1541, delegates from the counties of the eastern and northeastern territories of Hungary proper also attained the Transylvanian Diet, transforming it into a legal successor of the medieval Diets of Hungary.
  The diet sessions at Vásárhely and at Torda laid the basis for the political and administrative organization of Transylvania. The diet decided on juridical, military and economic matters. It ceased to exist following the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867.
context_section_description: General assemblies of the noblemen from one or more counties developed into important forums of the administration of justice in the entire Kingdom of Hungary in the second half of the 13th century. Noblemen formed the highest level of the society in the Transylvanian counties. The wealthiest nobles owned dozens of villages, but most noble families had only one or two villages, or only a part of a village. They had specific privileges, such as tax exemption (from 1324), and the right to administer justice in their estates (from 1342).
  Székely chiefs could only seize private landed property in the counties, outside Székely Land. The wealthiest Saxons also attempted to acquire landed property in the counties, outside the jurisdiction of the Saxon communities. Being obliged to render services (primarily of military nature) for the lands that they possessed, the Romanian leaders' position was similar to the status of the "nobles of the Church" and other groups of conditional nobles. Consequently, they were not regarded real nobles, but the monarch could award them with nobility. The ennobled Romanians adopted their Hungarian peers' way of life, but dozens of Romanian noble families remained Orthodox for centuries.
  In comparison with Hungary proper, the autonomy of the Transylvanian counties was limited, because the voivodes restricted the development of their self-governing bodies. The general assemblies of the Transylvanian counties disappeared in the middle of the 14th century. Instead, the voivodes or their deputies held general assemblies for all noblemen from all the counties of the province. The first recorded general meeting of the "nobles of the realm of Transylvania" was held in Keresztes at Torda (now Cristiş in Romania) on 8 June 1288. The assembly authorized the vice-voivode, Ladislaus Borsa, to assist the representative of Peter Monoszló, Bishop of Transylvania, in taking possession of three villages of a noble family to secure the payment of a fine. The administration of justice remained the principal task of such meetings, but the noblemen who attended the assemblies also regularly discussed other subjects, including the collection of the tithe or custom duties. Initially, all noblemen were entitled to be present, but from the 15th century, the counties sent delegates to the assemblies.
  The general assembly of the Székelys could be convoked by the Count of the Székelys, or by the captain of Udvarhelyszék. The internal issues of the Saxons communities were initially regulated by the assemblies of the Saxon seats and districts. From 1486, the Count of the Saxons presided over the annual general assemblies of the entire community, which consisted of the highest-ranking officials of the seats and districts and elected delegates.
  The monarchs or on their behalf the voivodes could also convoke the representatives of all privileged groups of Transylvania to meet at a joint assembly. Andrew III of Hungary was the first king to hold such an assembly for the representatives of the Transylvanian noblemen, Saxons, Székelys and Romanians in early 1291. According to Andrew's charter mentioning the meeting, the king ordered the return of two domains to Ugrin Csák after those who attended the general assembly testified that he had been their lawful owner.
caption: Royal seal of Andrew III of Hungary who held the first general assembly for the Transylvanian noblemen, Saxons, Székelys and Romanians in early 1291
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