office
Táblabíró (Assessor)
táblabíró
also: táblabiró, assessor, table judge
The táblabíró (table judge, assessor) was a member of a Hungarian county court — an honorary judicial position held by the local gentry, frequently satirized in Reform Era literature as an emblem of self-important provincial idleness. Zebedeus Duló signs himself 'táblabíró' at the end of his preface.
Reading notes
- Studies and Articles §2.3 táblabíró
The táblabíró (literally 'table-judge,' assessor) was an honorary member of a Hungarian county court — a post widely held by the lesser gentry. By the Reform Era the term had become a satirical byword for self-important, change-resistant provincial conservatism, immortalized above all in Kálmán Mikszáth's fiction. Madách's essay is one of the earlier examples of this satirical usage.