Huszár Zoltán (szerk.): Kereszténység és államiság Baranyában (Pécs, 2000)
Tanulmányok - Kárpáti Gábor: Kommentárok a pécsváradi bencés apátság kolostor alapítóleveléhez
Gábor Kárpáti A COMMENTARY Of pOUNDlNG DOCUMENT Of T^E BENEDÍCjiNE ABBEY Of pÉCSVÁRAD At the very latest, the history of the Abbey of Pécsvárad begins during the time of Prince Géza. At that time it was one of the Prince's courts, comprising two chapels, a palace, baths, workshops and dwelling places. We know from the Abbey's deed of endowment that attached to it were 41 villages, 1136 households, 200 military men including 12 mounted soldiers, 110 viticulturists, 12 apiarists, 20 ironworkers, 50 fishermen, 10 smiths, 6 coopers, 12 turners, 9 bakers, 10 cooks, 3 potters, 6 tanners, 5 bailiffs, 5 silversmiths, 8 carpenters, three millers, 13 shepherds, 3 horse herds, 3 swineherds and six bath attendants. The whole was endowed by King István to Abbot Asztrik at the millennium. Asztrik (Asztrik-Anasztáz) was not tempted to follow the missionary example of his master in trying to convert the Prussians (for which the holy bishop suffered martyrdom) but remained in the Papal court. When the Hungarian envoy visited Sylvester II at Ravenna with a petition for the Holy Crown, Asztrik, who had thitherto been partial to the Polish claim, added his name to the Hungarian cause. He convinced the Pope of the justice in the Hungarian claim and of Hungaria's wish to append itself to the community of Christian states. Asztrik converted the courtly palace, which already boasted two churches (the still-standing Church of John the Baptist and the Church of the Virgin Mary, now a raised ruin) into an Abbey. It was consecrated twice; first, in 1015, and later in 1038, the year of István's death. Asztrik enriched and ornamented the Order's monastery with books and holy objects. The Abbey's continuing wealth was greatly due to the attention paid it by the Árpád Dynasty. Béla, the blinded son of Prince Álmos, was hidden within the Abbey walls. Both he and his descendants gave generous donations to the Abbey, which King Mátyás considered to be the richest in the land. In 1154 the cloisters burnt to the ground, and new cloister buildings were constructed along the south wall of the two-storey church. In 1357 a new church was built in Gothic style on the site of the church of the Virgin Mary and Saint Benedict, together with a „great palace” to the south. After the coming of the Tartars, the Abbey, protected by walls and bastions, was destroyed in 1543. At the command of the last Abbot, Brother György, the castle was blown up to prevent the Turks from using it. Fortunately, however, only the great palace was destroyed, and the - for us - more important crypt and palace building, parts of them stemming from the times of Prince Géza and King István and of Asztrik, remain as unique examples of Hungarian court architecture at the turn of the first millennium. 12th-century Byzantine frescos in this unparalleled monument, the only of its kind in our country, still await excavation and display.
