Courtroom Oaths and Patrimonial Court in 18th-century Carniola: Vestiges of ius proprium and local autonomy (The Case of the Estate of Veldes/Bled)

Povzetek

Prevailing concepts of »feudalism« frequently view the patrimonial court as an instrument of the coercive power of the feudal lord. Yet from the Bled archives we learn that the court served overwhelmingly the lawsuits among villagers - who were also the oath-takers - over money, property and inheritance matters. Legal rules that the court followed were pluralistic in nature. In addition, in the 18th century Carniola proceedings were held in vernacular Slovene, enabling the continuing use of vernacular legal notions (such as zastava, poroštvo) and custom-based rules, the longevity of which rivals the old communal institutions such as the župan.