Dénes Dienes: History of the Reformed Church Collég in Sárospatak (Sárospatak, 2013)
THE SCHOOL IN ITS “OLD NEST” AGAIN HISTORY OF THE COLLEGE BETWEEN1703 AND 1777 - Fight for survival, 1710 -1714
61 In the meantime, the German captain orders his soldiers standing nearby to come to the gates of the College and line up in an orderly manner in front of the gates. The royal judge then ordered the ‘hajdú-s’ to attempt to push open the gate by hitting it with the butts of their guns a few times. The judge then ordered the soldiers to bring the millers and the vineyard workers, so they arrived with axes [...] and the workers began to swing their axes at the college gate. [...] Many men and women gathered and were amazed at what was happening; there was a lot of screaming and shouting. Upon seeing these nefarious deeds, the women - without any sticks or anything - ran to the gates and pushed away the men battering at the gates. But Kossovics and the royal judge began to scold and beat the women, who went back to their houses and gathered brooms, coal rakes, shanks of wood and rocks from the roads to reinforce themselves, and they stood their ground persistently until the aggressors whom they kept pelting left the College to the beat of drums. Women chasing away the aggressors (Work of Béla Szabados, 1939, found on the inner entrance facade of the College.) The scene must have been the most embarrassing for the soldiers who did not intervene, having been lined up only to make a weightier impression. The ‘hajdú-s’ did not put their hearts into it, either, there most likely being some among them who were of the Reformed faith. When the vineyard workers, who were employed by the town, stepped into action according to the commander’s orders - something which was completely unauthorized - the wailing women also jumped into action. To their mind, perhaps it was less risky for them to stand up against authority than it would have been for their husbands. But they also knew that if the students were chased away it would mean less income for the households. The explanation for this is tied to the time when Joseph II had banned supplication - on the grounds that it was begging - as well as student efforts at raising money at grain-harvest and grape-harvest times, and, as a response to this, Pastor János Csizi, in a bitter sermon, envisioned the students scattering to go off elsewhere. He explained that the housewives would be the ones to most regret the departure of the students: “Allyou craftsmen, houseowners and housekeeper women! You, who served the dying inhabitants of Jerusalem and did all the necessary things, you should remember how much profit you made from that. Weep because you will miss out on much profit. Poor orphans and widows and virgins! Ye cleaned and washed clothes for the sons of the scattered prophets, you sewed their clothes and you made your living and clothed yourselves from this.” It is clear that, already in 1714, it was material reasons which motivated the women to get involved and defend the College. Once the school returned to Patak, a practice began to take root whereby the students who were not able to get accommodation in the dormitory, grouped together and rented accommodation which also ensured board for them. Later, these students would be called the ‘guards’. For certain family households of the Reformed faith, this represented a not insignificant inflow of revenue. Whatever the case, Kossovics could not have had official authorization for his actions; he had acted by private conviction but, seeing the resistance and in order to avoid greater scandal, he backed down.
