The Social Structure of the Transylvanian Rural Society at the Beginning of the Eighteenth Century

Abstract

The history of the Principality of Transylvania is one of the most popular topics in Hungarian historiography and is also of great international interest. Although our understanding of the principality has significantly improved in recent decades, the overall perception of the subject has not fundamentally changed.
The studies aimed at achieving a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the nations and communities of Transylvania have a long history; however, our knowledge remains incomplete in many respects. While we have detailed descriptions of the social structure of Transylvanian society and its unique self-organizing communities during the Middle Ages, there is a notable lack of analysis concerning social relationships in the centuries following the Battle of Mohács. This is particularly true regarding the structural composition of rural society.
This paper aims to analyse the structural characteristics of rural society and conduct a comparative examination of its composition in Cluj and Turda Counties during the early decades of the eighteenth century. By analysing the relevant data, we can gain a detailed understanding of the social relations within the rural communities of the period, while also providing a terminological framework for examining the conceptual development of given social categories.