Dénes Dienes: History of the Reformed Church Collég in Sárospatak (Sárospatak, 2013)
FLOURISHING AND SCATTERING THE REFORMED COLLEGE IN THE 17TH CENTURY - School life
curriculum of the college-type school (elementary school, secondary school and the academy) was as follows: 1. Abcdarius 2. Collector et lector 3. Rudimentista id est Declinista et Comparista 4. Etymologista et Coniugista 5. Syntaxista 6. Poeta 7. Rhetor et Orator 8. Logica id est Dialectica 9. Philosophia 10. Theology These were not proper classes as we know them today. Students gathered into groups according to the subject they were auditing at any given time; there were no well-defined groupings always composed of the same students. In the first year they were taught reading, writing and mathematics in their mother tongue along with the basic truths of the Christian faith (as the regulations state), this including the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, Scripture on Sacraments, table blessings and morning and evening prayers. In the second year they studied the basics of Latin and they had to memorize the same Biblical texts first in their mother tongue and then in Latin. In grades three to five, once their knowledge of Latin became more sophisticated, they memorized longer chapters from the Bible together with an ever-increasing number of quotes, short phrases or sections from classic literature (Virgil, Ovid, Horace, Cicero and Erasmus). They did regular translations and practiced letter-writing and editing. Lor those at the Poeta or sixth level, perfect oral and written Latin was a must and they were expected to know basic Greek as well. They had to be able to write a short essay for the religious studies class and they had to write original poems. For many students, this level also meant the end of their schooling. Those who did not want to pursue further education left at the end of this year and returned to their civilian life. In the higher classes the students were placed in different groups designated as orators, rhetoricals, logicals and dialecticals to better acquire these skills. This was a preparatory course for further studies in theology, so a second Biblical language, Hebrew, was added to the subject load. The teaching and learning of logic was deemed to be the highest form of education, and was inevitably indispensable as an introduction to the study of philosophy and theology. There was no set period of time for each class - students progressed according to their abilities and finances. The first year’s curriculum was generally mastered in two years. This was followed by the study of grammar and poetry for the next four to six years. The subsequent higher level of secondary education could be completed in four years; to complete the Academy program usually required an additional two years. This timetable was obviously reflective of an 27 Melanchthon’s popular textbook
