Tari Edit: Pest megye középkori templomai (Studia Comitatensia 27. Szentendre, 2000.)
Pest in the Arpádian Age. From the period of the 11 th-15 th century we know 28 monasteries. The earliest monks building monasteries were Basilians and Benedictines. From the end of the 12 th century we have records on three other monasteries that were erected in Pilisszentkereszt, Ercsi and Telki (1184, 1186, 1198). The majority of our records considering monastic orders come from the 13 th and 14 th century. However, that does not mean that they were founded at this time, only that at this time they were certainly functioning. Some of the orders had also parish functions at the settlement near which they were situated. In county Pest we find the following monastic orders: Benedictine (Ercsi, Kána?, Mogyoród, Szigetmonostor?, Telki), Premonstratensian (Aszód?, Budapest, district XXH-Csút, Budapest-Margitsziget, Ócsa, Zsámbék), Dominican (Budapest-Margitsziget), Basilian (Visegrád), Augustinian (Budapest district XVI-Lutheran church, Vác-St. Jakab church, Visegrád),. Cistercian (Pilisszentkereszt), Franciscan (Budapest-Margitsziget, Visegrád-Fő u.) and Paulite (Budapest district II-Budaszentlőrinc, Budapest-Fejéregyháza, Márianosztra-Roman Catholic church, MárianosztraToronyalja, Pilisszentlászló) orders. Traces of the settling of the order of Knights Templars were found in Budapest district ll-Felhévíz and possibly in Ráckeve. Lacking more precise data we have to consider Galgahévíz-Akosmonostor (Ákos Monastery) to be a clan monastery. In some cases we either have a written record, but do not find the ecclesiastical building (Aszód, Szigetmonostor-site 29/22), or know the monastery, but can not connect it convincingly to any order (e.g. Kána). A special site is the hermit's cave monastery in Nagymaros-Szent Mihály hegy the rooms of which were cut into the rock. In many cases villages and churches were finally demolished as a consequence of wars and interior fights and destructions of the Mongol Invasion (1241^42) which caused extremely great devastation in Pest county, especially in the territory between the Danube and Tisza. This is supported by archaeological sources. According to György Györffy the degree of devastation can be estimated to 75% at the Pest Plain. According to the average record only 3-4 villages out of 15-16 ones survived the invasion. 416 Judging from archaeological data, in the surroundings of Cegléd only 2 of 16 villages continued to exist after the second half of the 13 th century. A great part of the churches built at the end of the Arpádian Age and survived different wars, collapsed as a result of the desolation of the villages in the end of the 13 th-beginning of the 14 th century. The archaeological traces of this phenomenon can be found in different regions of the country. This process is also revealed by the linguistic research of the diplomas. Researchers determined that names ending with "-egyháza" (church) originated starting from the 13 th century, after the demolition of villages with churches during the Mongol Invasion. In the Middle Ages this word meant "a deserted territory with a church". 411 The appearance of the term can be traced following the years of Mongol Invasions up to the 15 th century and probably even further. In the majority of cases the precise cause for the desolation of the villages can not be determined archaeologically. A new wave of church building activity can be put to the decades following the Mongol Invasion (1241-42). Recent research of church architecture at geographically 416 Györffy 1998. 503. 417 Kristó 1983. 450-455. 237
