Dénes Dienes: History of the Reformed Church Collég in Sárospatak (Sárospatak, 2013)
SPIRIT AND MOOD - A Decade-long Struggle for the Academy of Law
A DECADE-LONG STRUGGLE FOR THE ACADEMY OF LAW 163 Though the main function of the College in Sárospatak was not to provide an education in law, as an undertaking the Academy of Law can still be termed as one of the precious gems of the College. A secondary school, a faculty of humanities and a theological school were all educational units which other rural intellectual centres equally possessed. The Academy of Law, however, prepared students for a task to which society attached elevated prestige, thus the presence of such an institution increased small towns’ potential to keep intellectuals in their area. It is for this reason that, in previous chapters, we put special emphasis on Sándor Kövy’s work. His persevering efforts to permanently implant the Academy of Law strengthened Patak’s position and its situation (increase in income, massive numbers of students coming from far away, scientific recognition...etc). This then is the reason why debates, often trenchant and enduring for decades, arose about the future of law faculties in small towns. This issue affected not only Sárospatak but all other rural denominational institutions. Unfortunately for Patak, the nearby town of Miskolc quickly became a vibrant and important regional centre and thus a competitor. On the denominational and religious education front, Debrecen proved to be a strong competitor. In addition, it was fairly proximate and had long traditions. As a consequence, the entire era was defined by the prospect of having to close the law school and the possible modes of saving it. The Academy of Law was first shut down after the end of the war of independence and was able to start up again as an autonomous institution only a decade later, in 1863-64. During the intervening years, the teachers in Patak attempted everything possible to restart the faculty and maintain the necessary conditions for operation. It was as a result of these efforts that Dániel Emődy was appointed to become a professor of law in 1863. The majority of the preparation process for the relaunching fell on Miklós Vay’s shoulders. The newly reopened institution had been accredited to grant an official state-recognized certificate, valid nationwide, with which one could apply for bar examinations in Pest, Kassa or Eperjes. The coming decades was a time of positive evolution, there being over one hundred students enrolled by the end of the decade and a restructuring taking place in 1874 as required by royal decree for every institution offering education in law. Although the Ministry gave only two months to comply with its strict regulations, with dedicated work and extended effort, the College was able to meet the new standards. A new educational policy was thus introduced calling for half-year examinations being replaced by two major cummulative examinations, a final law examination and a political science examination at the conclusion of the study program. Veritable academic freedom was greatly restricted because the examinations were to be preceded by a prescribed number of subjects to be taught in a prescribed number of hours. In addition, significant organizational improvements were implemented, resulting in six departments which were exclusively focused on law and two other departments which were partly legal and partly liberal arts oriented, thus eight regular professors worked at the institution. Law students v c.jci/nsotj'j.., • e rtn/t//r. ....-w f t it* • / iTlIl.i.-..-.■<»-'77—r’ it . .. .<u ......•* ■ ........ , 1 .4,"(XW , i 4. L^xa.Uí kl.;. . i. ■ £ Letter written by Dániel Emődy when he was the Director of the Academy of Law
