Haris Andrea szerk.: Koldulórendi építészet a középkori Magyarországon Tanulmányok (Művészettörténet - műemlékvédelem 7. Országos Műemlékvédelmi Hivatal,)

Marosi Ernő: A koldulórendi építészet Magyarországon

The Architecture of Mendicant Orders in Mediaeval Hungary Ernő Marosi The state of the surviving monuments of the mendicant orders in Hungary has been the principal obstacle in attempts made to define their contribution to the history of art as well as the literary and social history of the country. The expert falls back on analogies, although local characteristics seem to be just as questionable as the long established view of the evolution of mendicant architecture, when, indeed, a pluralist approach to their examination seems more of a "modus humilis". Both aspects urge the supervision of the history of mendicant art and architecture in Hungary. As a result of the considerable loss of mendicant buildings in Hungary reference of ornaments and interiors are not available. Architectural characteristics suggest the influence of local building practice rather than the existence of mendicant workshops. In any case, the identifiable sites (some 7 or 8 Dominican monasteries out of the originally existing cc. 50, and some 30 of cc. 110 Franciscans) allow us to draw only very careful conclusions on typology, while exactly the earliest examples are altogether unknown to us as the result of the Mongol invasion in 1241-1242. The first system, developed by the Dominicans around the middle of the 13th century, comprised an longitudinal nave and a quadratic, or elongated choir, respectively, in which the general building tradition of the period is to be observed. Examples are: Veszprém, Vasvár, St. Nicholas in Buda, the Dominican Church on Margitsziget, Budapest and the recently excavated Franciscan ruins in Obuda, Sárospatak and Zalaszentgrót (?). The rectengular naves with the obligatory enclosure formed by the rood-screens can be considered the source of the idea of chapel-like choirs. The latter, claims Author, in its classic form, reached back to the type of the high Gothic chapel. The first examples of this space arrangement appear in Franciscan architecture of the first third of the 13th century (St. John's in Buda, Sopron, Pozsony/Bratislava, and the Dominicans in Kassa/Kosice), all of which show high Gothic influence. Up till the 16th century the pre-eminence of the "choir - rood-screen - nave hall" partitions is apparent, while the attempt for the unification of the interior by the removal of the rood-screen appears with the Observant movement within the Franciscan community. Indeed, from the 14th century onwards choir chapels have replaced more archaic types of sanctuary. Further typological conclusions could be drawn from the situation of belfry and church, a feature little studied so far due to scarce material. Towers attached to the choirs appear, in the 14th century, either over the crosswalk of the east section, or the east corner of the cloister, while later examples suggest more solid towers standing most often in the corner enclosed by choir and nave. The explanation of these differences could only emerge from a much more thorough understanding of the daily routine and the needs of friar communities. Illustrations 1. Lőcse (Levoca), St. Ladislas's Church of the Minorite Order, vestry, mural painting of the Crucifixion