Belényesy Károly: Pálos kolostorok az Abaúji-Hegyalján (Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén megye régészeti emlékei 3. Miskolc, 2004)
PAULINE FRIARIES IN THE ABAÚJ HEGYALJA REGION
field 153 (Fig 66). Since the monastery of Regéc was identified near Ohuta, the Barát láz field became significant concerning the localization of the Holy Trinity Monastery. The Monastery The Barát láz field is located one km north of Regéc village. It is today a cleared woodland area, and used as pasture (Maps 3 and 8). Here, following the transmission line, a path leads to a widening ridge of a hill. From here, the site can be reached going towards east. This area was studied by geophysical survey, whose results were discussed above. Since the territory has not been cultivated for years, it began to re-afforest, which encumbered the survey. Regrettably, no traces of ruins were identified on the surface, therefore, the whole hill ridge was studied by intensive field walking. During this, roughly 100-m east of the subject of the earlier investigations, at the fringe of a pinewood, a large, stone covered site was identified. Not far from this area, among the trees, lines of consciously piled stones were discovered, but without traces of mortar (Fig 68). Lacking excavation, it cannot be decided, whether these remains were indeed the traces of some kind of a building complex. Despite the systematic research, no archaeological material could have been collected at the site. The Landscape of the Monastery The charter from 1412, which guaranteed the usage of the former Holy Trinity monastery's goods for the surrounding Pauline communities, named the subject of the quarrel between the Paulines and the castellan of Regéc. It was a hayfield, mentioned as hapohus by the charter. 154 This place name appears in sources dating from 1626 and 1678. 155 On the estate map of Regéc from 1784, the territory is depicted, as situated on the bank of the Lapuhas stream. This toponym appear today northwest of Regéc, and the above-mentioned stream is called nowadays Lapu (Map 1 and 5). Therefore, a possibility rose to locate the hayfield mentioned in 1412. This hypotheses is not only supported by the seventeenth-eighteenth century cartographic data, but confirmed by the topographic position of the site. As the medieval charter describes, the quarreled grassland was situated in the borderland of the Regéc castle, and the See the chapter about the Gönc monastery. Bandi, 1985 672 6. For both data, see Kiss, 1988 123. Pauline monasteries, but at the same time it can be taken as the belonging of the Holy Trinity monastery. (Map 1) In accordance with the results from the previously studied monasteries of the Abaúj Region (Fig 10, 18, 61), the existence of small sized embankments, or ponds were expected to be found. Therefore, the valley of the Lapu stream was systematically researched. The stream springs approximately 100m from the presumed site of the monastery, and after some hundreds of meters, it flows into another stream of the Huta valley. Going downwards, a dam closes the broadening mouth of the stream, which is badly destroyed today. The forest path here turns towards the hills. The water of the stream was led into a concrete pipe under the road, but the embankment stayed untouched. Behind the dike, a roughly 10 x 20 m bed was formed. The northern part of the embankment is in a better condition, its width at its base is 5 m, and approximately 2 m high. The sluice is also severely injured, and together with this, the greater part of the embankment's southern part is destroyed. In spite of the damage, the water of the stream is still dammed there today, forming a shallow pond (Fig 69). Summary In accordance with preliminary expectations, due to the lack of historical data, the traces of the Holy Trinity monastery were not identified. 156 Therefore, a special emphasis was put on the specific exterior features of the monastery, which were generally discovered at other sites. In this case the consciously directed and applied research approach yielded the localization of the hayfield, mentioned as Lapohus by a medieval charter, and the discovery of a small-sized embankment system. 157 These two features and the place name Barát láz (meaning Monk field) both supported that the complex should be located nearby. The inner organization of the presumed site and its close surroundings show connections with the inner structure of the Regéc monastery. In sum, lacking archaeological excavation, this study could not undertake the task of localizing the monastery, nevertheless, the applied methods circumscribed its site. In 1412, the monastery had already been deserted, therefore, at around the beginning of the fifteenth century, the building was destroyed as well. Moreover, the short existence of the complex suggests that it was not constructed from lasting material. The word láz most probably refers to a woodland clearing, an outeut. See TESZ 2, 1970 730.
