Antall József szerk.: Orvostörténeti közlemények 54. (Budapest, 1970)

TANULMÁNYOK - Kubinyi András: The Social and Economic Standing of Persons Concerned with Health Treatment in Buda at the Turn of the 15th and 16th Centuries (angol nyelvű közlemény)

ported by evidence), namely that Engelhart may have been a relation of János Heydentrich (or Ehrenreich), a physician in Buda coming from Erfurt, with whom he arrived in the Hungarian capital together [23], On the other hand, both the data quoted by Ernyey, and especially the will of János Ernuszt, Banus of Slavonia and royal treasurer, dated from the 2nd and 3rd of March, 1476, make it obvious that both of them were the business agents of Ernuszt, a merchant in Buda turned baron [24]. That might suggest that dr. Heydentrich, being unable to make a living out of his medical practice, took up trading [25], But it should be born in mind that the physicians of that age, especially if they were town citizens, did not look down upon trading [26]. So we rather believe that Ernuszt entrusted his private physician, who was of bourgeois origin and had a sense for commerce, not only with looking after his health. On the other hand the title of „venerabiüs", by which Heydentrich was referred to both in the will and at his death in the 'eighties, induces us to suppose that he owned considerable Church benefices as well: such could pass only on the physician and not on the merchant [27]. His name was also known in scientific circles, which is shown by his correspondence with Rohrbeck, but it is importable that he was a professor at the shortlived University of Buda [28]. The life of the next physician, Gergely Kuntstock, is almost typical of the career of a "civilian" physician in the Hungarian capital. On 20th August 1470 Gergely Weger, a man of local birth, matriculated at the medical faculty in Vienna. On 13th September 1474 Master Gergely (master meaning "magister artium liberalium", corresponding to our doctor of philosophy) became Bachelor of the Medical Sciences together with another "master", Tichtel, who was later to become famous as professor of medicine in Vienna and as diarist [29]. Two years later, on 18th December 1470, they both obtained the doctorate, so one spent six years with studying medicine [39]. Weger's real name is known from list of the medical doctors at the Vienna university, and from a decision in 1494 reached by its medical faculty. According to them his name was Gergely Kuntstock, and although he had been born in Vienna, he lived at Buda. But everybody called him Weger [31]. Looking through the records of Vienna in search of the origin of Kuntstock, we found a Viennese burgher named Hans Kuntstock, who had been the sworn "Weger", weighing master if his town between 1447 and 1472. So it is obvious that Gergely was called Weger after his father's post, held through a quarter of a century [32] Gergely must have moved to Buda soon after his doctorate. In 1482 and 1491 there is mention of a house in the Mindszent (to-day Uri) Street, which was owned by a doctor of medicine. On both occasions he was referred to by the title "egregius", but at the second time it was added that he was a citizen of the town [33]. Then in 1499 he raised a loan of 400 florins on his house, from the St. Stephen chapter of Esztergom, at an interest of 4 per cent, (Formally, to avoid the apperance of the Church collecting interest, this was masked as a selling transaction: he "rented" the "sold" real estate for the sum of the interest due.) The charter calls Kuntstock "dominus egregius", doctor of the liberal arts and of medicine, sworn councillor of the town (i.e. member of the twelve-member town council).