People or free land · Voivodeship of Transylvania · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Székelys

The Székelys are Hungarian-speaking free warriors who guard the kingdom's eastern marches and ride as light horse archers in the van and the rear of the royal army, as they did with the Pechenegs at Olšava in 1116 and on the Fischa in 1146.

In 1200 they are in the middle of a long move east. Groups still live in the south, at Sebes by Gyulafehérvár, at Orbó and in the Kézd country (whose names their later eastern seats carry: Sepsi, Orbai, Kézdi), and round Medgyes; the bulk seems already settled in the Udvarhely country on the upper Küküllő and the Homoród, where Udvarhely becomes their chief place. Csík, Gyergyó, the Háromszék basin and the Maros seat are filled later or cannot be dated.

They hold their land in common by kindreds and branches, owe no tax but military service (and, in later records, oxen on great royal occasions: a coronation, a royal wedding, the birth of an heir), and are subject to no lord. They act as a body in war and in their own courts, but no leader is named for 1200: the first count of the Székelys appears in 1228.

Who holds it

Name
No leader named for 1200. The Székelys are ruled through their kindreds (six kindreds of four branches each, attested later) with judges and captains chosen in turn; the king's officer over them, the count of the Székelys, is first recorded in 1228 (Bogomer son of Szoboszló, in a charter of 1235).
Title
The Székely community (no single head)
Since
In Transylvania from the 11th or 12th century; moved east in stages
Confidence
low

en.wikipedia (History of the Székely people; Count of the Székelys): vanguard with the Pechenegs at Olšava (1116) and the Fischa (1146); first settlements in Transylvania on the Kézd, Orbó and Sebes rivers, whose names the later eastern seats carry; early 12th-century cemeteries at Szászsebes and Homoróddaróc; the 'terra Sebus' of the Sebes Székelys in 1224, granted to the Saxons in 1224-1226; the first count Bogomer in 1228. Makkai: before the 13th century their land ran from Szászváros east to the Olt bend and north to the Maros; Székelys at Medgyes until the second half of the 13th century; the move into the Háromszék basin in the 13th century; Székelyudvarhely the main Székely centre. 1213: Bishop William kept the tithe of Székelys and Hungarians settling in the Burzenland (later).

Overlord

King Emeric. The Székelys are not under the voivode or the county counts; they answer to the king and to the officer he sets over them (not attested for 1200).

What it holds

  • The Udvarhely country on the upper Nagy-Küküllő and the Homoród (main body, not pinned exactly)
  • The Kézd country round Kézd (Saschiz) and the Homoród valley by Kőhalom
  • Scattered groups in the south: Sebes (the 'terra Siculorum terrae Sebus' of 1224), Orbó, Medgyes
  • Common land of the kindreds

How it was acquired

Settled by the kings as border guards, in stages from the 11th or 12th century.

Allies and rivals

Comrades in arms of the Pechenegs; pushed east by the German guests (since about 1150, and again in 1224 when Sebes was given to the Saxons).

How things stand that morning

A free warrior people under the king, spread from Sebes to Udvarhely, with no named leader or count on 1 January 1200. They are not a single territory yet: the polygon shows the eastern main body; the southern groups are points.

Wealth

Cattle, horses and sheep on common pastures; salt at Parajd (later record).

Military

Light horse archers; feigned retreat. No figures for 1200.

Threats

  • Loss of land to the German guests (Sebes in 1224)
  • Cuman raids through the eastern passes
  • Royal officers encroaching on their freedoms

Customs and courts

All from later evidence: six kindreds of four branches each, all present in every district; judges (iudex) and captains (capitaneus) chosen yearly in turn; land held in common and not liable to confiscation; daughters inherit only without brothers. The Székely 'seats' are called lands (terra) or districts until the 14th century.

Obligations

Military service as light horse in the van and rear, and guarding the passes; no tax; in later records, oxen given on royal coronations, weddings and the birth of the king's first son.

Places of note

  • Sebes Székelys: Terra Siculorum terrae Sebus (1224)
  • Orbó Székelys: Name carried later by the Orbai seat
  • Medgyes: Székelys here until the later 13th century (Makkai)
  • Kézd: Name carried later by the Kézdi seat

Where the sources disagree

  • Scholars differ on when the Székelys reached the east: Makkai puts the bulk south of the Maros and the move into the Háromszék basin in the 13th century; others put Udvarhely in the 12th century. The polygon follows the second view for Udvarhely and Kézd only, and leaves Csík, Gyergyó, Háromszék and the Maros seat out.

Evidence: Chronicle mentions of 1116 and 1146; charters of 1213, 1224 and 1235 read backwards; archaeology for the 12th-century settlements.

On the map: A rough outline for a people on the move; the bounds of 1200 are not recorded.

Primary sources for Transylvania (voivode Legforus)

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

Sources and studies

  1. History of the Székely people, en.wikipedia
  2. Count of the Székelys, en.wikipedia
  3. L. Makkai, The Székelys in Transylvania, History of Transylvania I
  4. L. Makkai, Saxon Settlement and the Reorganization of the Southern Border Defences, History of Transylvania I
  5. L. Makkai, Royal Counties in Transylvania, in History of Transylvania I (ed. B. Köpeczi, English ed. 2001)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.