### decree, place of authentication, chancellery, palatine clauses, customary law
decree (Latin resolution, decision) The name of today's law and resolution in medieval Hungarian Latin. In the beginning it was made by the ruler together with his council, but after the formation of the estates it was the declaration of the agreed will of the king and the parliament. Decrees were made in all kinds of cases, however, according to medieval principles of law they could not be contrary to divine laws - the basic principles of Christianity - or customary law. A decree could become part of customary law at a later date. It was a long process to decide which decrees could be issued with the agreement of parliament - in most cases they pertained to state taxes - and what parts of the accepted text the ruler could change. At first decrees had continuous texts, partition of decrees being the result of later changes. Usually they were issued by the ruler. In Hungary decrees were declared by the authority of castle districts, and their texts were first collected in the second half of the 16th century. IT place of authentication One of the institutions of authentic Hungarian literacy: they were chapters and convents, which issued authentic charters partly at the request of private or public persons, partly at the behest of the authorities. This activity started in the 13th century and carried on until 1847. The fact that the results of scourges were written down at chapters played an important role in the establishment of places of authentication, since they were also asked to record other events which required authenticity, as the people who were employed for this purpose could not write. Places of authentication, or their representatives, and their charters became testimonies. Such places functioned near residential or communal chapters and in several Benedictine and Premontrean convents. From the end of the 13th century an authentic signet was necessary for this kind of activity, and if it was withdrawn by the king, the place of authentication was closed. Between 1351 and 1353 there was a major reform: the signets were checked, and the activities of several smaller convents were stopped. The activities of chapters were controlled by the reading canon; and in the 14th century not only ecclesiastic but also secular persons worked there. Places of authentication had their own territories. In the Middle Ages there were three county-wide places of authentication: the chapter of Buda, the chapter of Fehérvár and the Johannite convent. IT chancellery The persons specialised in writing in juristic and administrative matters, who were united in a common association. As well as writing down resolutions, they certified things here, and from the end of the Middle Ages the role of the chancellery became more important in state administration. IT palatine clauses This is a law consisting of 12 clauses, which survived as the appendix of the Greater decree worked out in 1485 and issued in 1486. It listed all the rights of the palatine for the first time. The basis of this list was customary law, and some of the clauses recorded several hundred years of practice. When the king did not have a legal successor, the palatine summoned the parliament which selected a new king, and he was the one who presented the first vote. The palatine was the guardian of the young king and the commander-in-chief of the country. He judged and mediated in matters between the inhabitants of the country and the king, negotiated with foreign ministers in the king's absence, passed judgement in contradictory matters of royal gifts, summoned witnesses and was the judge in matters of possession and power. He was the first judge after the king and the governor as well as judge of Cumans and Dalmatia in the king's absence. IT customary law The habits of living together in a society developed naturally. If someone broke these habits, society punished him. At first it was unwritten, but this made no difference. The essence of customary law is that it is old and good, that is, it has existed for such a long time that it is evident to everyone. Through the passing of time customary law came to include decrees and privileges. Customary law was later inscribed in laws. IT