The ''Tripartitum'' or ''Opus Tripartitum'' (in full, , "Customary Law of the Renowned Kingdom of Hungary in Three Parts") is a manual of Hungarian

customary law A legal custom is the established pattern of behavior within a particular social setting. A claim can be carried out in defense of "what has always been done and accepted by law". Customary law (also, consuetudinary or unofficial law) exists wher ...

which

István Werbőczy István Werbőczy or Stephen Werbőcz (also spelled ''Verbőczy'' and Latinized to ''Verbeucius'' 1458? – 1541) was a Hungarian legal theorist and statesman, author of the Hungarian Customary Law, who first became known as a legal scholar ...

began to compile in 1504 in Alsópetény, completed in 1514, and was first published at Vienna in 1517. Although it never received official approval due to the political effects caused by the peasant revolt led by György Dózsa, it was highly influential and went through fifty editions in three hundred years.R. J. W. Evans, "Opus Tripartitum", in Hans J. Hillebrand, ed., ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation'' (Oxford University Press, 1996 nline 2005. The ''Tripartitum'' did not include the so-called written law (parliamentary laws, royal decrees and statutes of the assemblies of the counties and the statutes of the free royal cities), which were always recorded in the law books after the decisions. Werbőczy was a Hungarian jurist, royal magistrate, royal personal secretary and

Palatine A palatine or palatinus (Latin; : ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman Empire, Roman times.

of Hungary and the ''Tripatitum'' "enshrines the ideals of a typical contemporary member of his class". It asserts the privileges of the nobility against the crown, the equality of all nobles as against the claims of superiority of the upper nobility (magnates) and the onerous duties of serfs. A peasant revolt led by György Dózsa had been suppressed earlier in 1514, which influenced Werbőczy. The ''Tripartitum'' played a large role in perpetuating Hungary's feudal system.

References

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External links

Some important chapters from the ''Tripartitum'' in original Latin and translated English''Tripartitum'' on Google Books
Legal history of Hungary 16th century in Hungary 16th century in Croatia 1514 in Europe 1517 in Europe 16th century in law