Figure 1
Location of the studied area in Székelyföld, Transylvania, Romania. Dots show the 48 Székely villages of which bylaws were analysed (map source: Bing Map, Earthstar Geographics SIO © 2021 Microsoft).
Figure 2
Periods in Székely history in terms of commons insitutions.
Figure 3
Years of origin of the studied Székely lawbooks. Black dots represent the first known lawbooks of particular villages, grey dots represents subsequent copies and versions.
Table 1
Examples for Ostrom’s design principles in the Székely bylaws.
| DESIGN PRINCIPLE | EXAMPLE | NUMBER OF COMMUNITIES WHICH EXPLICITELY MENTIONED IT (OUT OF 48) |
|---|---|---|
| 1.A User boundaries | “The land of Bozza is held by the inhabitants of the village, by rights inherited from our ancestors.” Kisborosnyó, 1724 | 48 |
| 1.B Resource boundaries | “For turning over a boundary stone: one forint penalty for each stone. The stone should be put back by sworn members.” Szotyor, 1727 | 47 |
| 2.A Congruence with local conditions | “As the river water from which we live is usually low in the summer, nobody should dare to throw any garbage, manure or carcass near the water.” Papolc, 1733 | 36 |
| 2.B Congruence between appropriation and provision | “Half of the fine should be given to the sworn members with the accuser or to the forest wardens if the trespass was revealed by them.” Alsócsernáton, 1665 | 37 |
| 3. Collective-choice arrangements | “From our common and equal will, we compiled and wrote down the old-time laws of our village.” Kilyén, about 1700 | 42 |
| 4.A Monitoring | “To make these things work better, based on the system of rotation, every year, six boundary wardens should perform their duties under oath.” Kantafalva, 1720 | 44 |
| 4.B Accountability of monitors | “For shorcomings in guarding the lands of the village, 9 denars, for being obstinate, 40 denars. For neglecting forest guarding duties, 40 denars.” Sepsiszentivány and Laborfalva, 1717 | 38 |
| 5. Graduated sanctions | “It has been also decreed that if someone’s cattle, by running away, not intentionally, makes damage, it does not entail a penalty in addition to the recompense.” Homoródszentpál, 1670 | 44 |
| 6. Conflict resolution | “The judge is liable for summoning villagers and administering justice in every two weeks, on Saturdays.” Márkosfalva, 1772 | 48 |
| 7. Recognition of rights to organize | “…as our gracious lord, Báthori Christoph, the voivode of Transylvania (…) ordered, in Székelyland (…) every village must elect 12 sworn jurors to the protection of the prohibited cropland and the handling of all kinds of external and internal matters (…) by obeying the articulus of His Grace, we also legislated with the whole village about some penalties and their enforcement.” Gyergyóújfalu, 1581 | 9 |
| 8. Nested enterprises | “As agreed by the village, Nyíres has been divided by the number of tízes units and should be used that way.” Zalán, 1699 | 40 |
Figure 4
Drivers and counterforces of resilience in Székely commons.