Udvarhely ('court place') in the Nagy-Küküllő valley is the chief place of the eastern Székelys and later of the whole Székely Land; it is first named only in 1334.
In 1200 it is most likely already a Székely centre, but no record pins it.
Who holds it
- Name
- The Székely community under the king
- Title
- Lord of Udvarhely
- Since
- Not pinned
- Confidence
- low
Makkai: Székelyudvarhely became the main Székely centre (a royal court place, udvarhely); en.wikipedia (Odorheiu Secuiesc): first named in the papal tithe register of 1334 (sacerdos de Oduorhel), first Székely assembly there in 1357; a medieval fort over a Roman one. The date of the Székely centre is not pinned.
Lord in 1200
The Székely community, under the king.
How things stand that morning
Székely centre (not pinned).
Communities
Székelys.
Fairs and markets
None recorded for 1200.
Militia
Székely light horse.
Walls and castle
A medieval fort over a Roman one (date not pinned).
Trade and crafts
Not recorded.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: First record 1334.
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.
- The Deeds of the Hungarians, by the Anonymous Notary of King Béla, Anonymus (P. magister) (about 1200 to 1210, the date disputed). Not a record of events but a picture of the kingdom's nobility and geography as a courtier of about 1200 wished to see it: the clans and their lands, the castles and counties, the Vlachs, Cumans and other peoples of the Carpathian basin, all projected back onto the conquest. Read online
- Hungarian royal charters: Fejér's Codex diplomaticus and Szentpétery's critical calendar of the Árpád kings (documents of the 11th to 13th centuries; Fejér published 1829 to 1844, Szentpétery vol. 1 in 1923). The documentary base for Hungary in 1200: King Emeric's grants to Pannonhalma, the bishops, the Templars and Hospitallers, Duke Andrew's acts in Croatia and Dalmatia, and the papal letters of 1200 to Emeric about his brother's rebellion and about heresy in Bosnia. Read online
Sources and studies
- L. Makkai, Royal Counties in Transylvania, in History of Transylvania I (ed. B. Köpeczi, English ed. 2001)
- L. Makkai, The Székelys in Transylvania, History of Transylvania I
- Odorheiu Secuiesc, en.wikipedia
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.