Dénes Dienes: History of the Reformed Church Collég in Sárospatak (Sárospatak, 2013)
Dénes Dienes: THE PROTESTANT SCHOOL IN THE 16TH CENTURY - Sárospatak in brief
THE PROTESTANT SCHOOL IN THE 16TH CENTURY SÁROSPATAK IN BRIEF T he defeat of Hungarian forces by the Turks in 1526 at the battle of Mohács brought with it the collapse of medieval Hungary. The ensuing tribulations borne by this land and its population eventually gave rise to two separate kingdoms which were further transformed and rent into three territories in 1541 in the wake of the Turks occupying the capital city and the central areas of the country. Despite Sárospatak not being under Turkish occupation, the 16th century ushered in immense changes in the life of the town. After an extended struggle, the town became the property of Péter Perényi, it having been previously in the possession of Antal Pálóczi who suffered a hero’s death battling the Turks at Mohács. Perényi undertook and was able to complete significant achievements in construction between 1534 and 1541, one result of this being the completion of the inner and outer fortress walls. Upon the death of Gábor Perényi in 1567, son of Péter Perényi, the town passed into the possession of Ferenc Dobó. The town itself was divided by the Bodrog River. On the left bank was Kispatak, a settlement predominantly populated by serfs. On the opposite bank in Nagypatak stood the parish church consecrated to Saint John. This was surrounded by the cemetery which was bordered by a stone wall. To the north and south of this town center stood the half-tiered stone houses of the wealthier burgesses and nobles, all built with cellars beneath them, these being either vaulted or carved into the rock. The houses of the serfs, vineyard labourers and stonecutters were situated further from the town center and were, for the most part, constructed of wood. The records show that in 1549 there were seventy serf households in Sárospatak, this number translating into between four hundred and five hundred inhabitants. Half a century later there were one hundred seventy-five houses in Nagypatak and one hundred forty-two houses in Kispatak. This growth was significant and renders an approximate population of between fifteen hundred and two thousand. In this small town of the Hegyalja region, a thoroughly rich church life was an ever-present element in the Middle Ages. In addition to the parsonage with
