Jegyzkönyvek

Jegyzkönyvek, often written with the diacritics as jegyzékkönyvek, are a category of Hungarian archival books whose name translates roughly as register or registry books. The term denotes handwritten volumes that were used to record lists, inventories, and registers of various kinds in administrative and ecclesiastical settings. The spelling without diacritics, jegyzkönyvek, appears in older or non-standard texts.

These books served as reference and evidence in everyday administrative work. They commonly contained names, places, dates, items, and short descriptions related to specific activities such as property inventories, tax lists, household or parish registers, or lists of beneficiaries and witnesses. They were often created by notaries, clerks, or church officials and could be organized chronologically or by subject matter.

The physical form of jegyzékkönyvek varied, but they were typically handwritten on paper or parchment and bound as bound volumes. They might include marginal notes, cross-references, and occasional signatures. Because they served as sources of local authority and property or population data, they are valuable for historians, genealogists, and researchers studying regional history, demography, or legal practices.

Preservation and access today usually occur in national or local archives, churches, or libraries. Many jegyzékkönyvek have been digitized or copied to facilitate scholarly work, though researchers often consult the original volumes to understand context, dating, and provenance. They are distinct from minutes books (jegyzőkönyvek) and from ledgers used purely for financial accounting.