A Herman Ottó Múzeum évkönyve 47. (2008)

Janó Ákos: Hagyományok és legendák Sárospatak múltjából

remains instead of local traditions and legends, and to thereby contribute to a sound historical perspective. The stronghold and the defence system built in the 1530s by Péter Perényi had two major forerunners. One was the building of the Pálóczi manor house with its castle-like fortification at Hece, north of Sárospatak, the other the so-called Alsó-vár [Lower Castle], created from the rebuilding and fortification of the Dominican friary in the town's southern part. Functioning as a residence, an economic and administrative centre for their owner, their court and their retinue, both strongholds were in the possession of a branch of the Pálóczi family for some one hundred years. The construction of the new castle and the Vöröstorony, its central structure, can be linked to István Pálóczi and dated to the 1480s. Following the extinction of the male members of the Pálóczi family, the estate passed into the ownership of Péter Perényi, the second wealthiest aristocrat in the country. He only took possession of this estate in early 1534, and he immediately began the construction of a defence system around the town's inner part. This affected the tower inasmuch the Late Gothic door and window frames, which had been damaged in 1528 during the war, were replaced with new ones carved in the Renaissance style. Instead of moving into the uncomfortable, austere, medieval style tower, Perényi built a new, more comfortable building for himself and his family, which would also meet aristocratic needs: the castle wing, which was later named after him. Also related to the architectural history of the castle is the transformation of the earlier townscape, the investigation of the roads traversing the town and the crossing-places over the River Bodrog. * * * For a very long time, our only sources for the foundation of Sárospatak College and the beginnings of Protestant schooling were the writings of the College's learned teachers and the town's chroniclers, who consistently maintained the tradition that the College had been founded in 1531. The spread of the Reformation in Sárospatak and the beginning of Protestant schooling were discussed in detail by Jenő Szűcs in his earlier studies, and this study merely reiterates his findings. The most important among these is that in contrast to public belief and the legend maintained by the school's teachers, Péter Perényi could hardly have founded the College in 1531 because he had not even been present in the town at the time. The College evolved gradually from the earlier parish school (where László Szálkai, the later archbishop of Esztergom had studied in 1489-90). The school first followed the tradition set down by Luther, and later adopted the Calvinist direction. By this time, the College had its own rector, Balázs Fabriciusz Szikszai. A kos Janó