Belényesy Károly: Pálos kolostorok az Abaúji-Hegyalján (Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén megye régészeti emlékei 3. Miskolc, 2004)

PAULINE FRIARIES IN THE ABAÚJ HEGYALJA REGION

Nevertheless, by the time of George Cuprar's will the future of the St Catherine church became uncertain. The town was probably unable to manage it,

239 so in 1459, monks of the Order of St Paul assumed the institution.

24 The quoted data reflects that the social background of the Paulines was made up of the middle strata of the local nobility and moderately wealthy inhabitants of Telkibánya. Among the members of the aristocracy it was only Emerich Pelsöczi Bebek whose donation, a part of a mill to the Gönc monastery, was recorded.

241 The value of the donations is not prominently high. The donators are mainly inhabitants of nearby settlements who are significant concerning their social position and their wealth. Thus in the case of the Gönc monastery it is Telkibánya, in the case of Ruszka it is Göncruszka, and in the case of Regéc it is the current owner of the Regéc estate and the settlements of Horváti and Tolcsva that mark the relatively narrow circle of the donators. This is the full list of the communities that were potentially able to maintain the monasteries, even if sources do suggest the reluctance of Gönc's inhabitants. At the same time it was the size and the balance of the donator's circle itself that defined the number and largeness of the Pauline communities. In the given economic and social landscape, the development of the monasteries, or the founding of new ones of any order, could hardly happen without the decline of other communities. It is enough perhaps to remember the history of the Telkibánya hospital, but the depopulation of the hermitage founded in Németi and perhaps the decline of the Holy Trinity monastery can be traced back to the same reason. Mills Incomes from mills had special importance in the Pauline estate system (Map 28). The abundant written evidence allows making a detailed analysis on this significant source of income. The Göncruszka monastery had an outstandingly high number of mills; the community had six fully and six partially owned mills between 1338 and 1504. In the case of Gönc four whole and one part of a mill are reported, whereas in connection with Regéc, between 1348 and 1526, 3 whole mills and one part of a mill appeared. From the second half of the fourteenth century an increasing number of mills came into Pauline property, After the death of George Cuprar his step-son, Priest Matthias made an attempt to keep the hospital, but after 1459, he gave it up. He joined the Pauline Order and was buried in the monastery at Diósgyőr. See: Bandi, 1985. 590., 22 and 591, 27., and DAP !., 167.,249. 240 Bandi, 1985. 593., 32. 241 Engel, 1996. IL, 103. the number of these mills could have reached 13 full and eight partial ownerships. Nevertheless, the incompleteness of data conveys the suggestion that the monks owned more mills than it can be learned from written sources. At the same time there were some mills that stopped while the Pauline communities were still active (Gönc 1513, Regéc, 1526). The mills of the monasteries were built on abundant streams (such as the Gönc stream) or often on the Hernád river, and on one occasion, on a thermal spring (in Kéked). In another case, the mill is said to have two wheels,

242 whereas in an additional mill leguminous plants were ground.

243 All this could be regarded as the description of the Pauline monasteries' characteristic incomes however, the material also allows an insight into the conscious practice of property acquisition. The most common way of obtaining a new mill was purchasing it. In Göncruszka, there is evidence for this for four mill-parts and three whole mills, in Regéc there is one occasion, whereas in Gönc there is no data. The prices vary from the low sums of six to eleven Forints to the three hundred Forints' investment - the average amount was around one hundred Forints. The monastery of Göncruszka spent altogether eight hundred and sixty seven Forints on buying mills between 1388 to 1504.

244 At the same time, the maintenance of the mills was expensive. Most mills were built from wood, thus maintaining the building and the dams of the mill required constant care,

245 whose expenses charged the , 246 owners account. Yet, the dimension of the investments confirms that mills were profitable investments.

247 Sources about the monastery of Göncruszka provide a good example about the practice of obtaining incomes and making considerable profit. In 1501, "Vitályos of Felsewkeked (Felsőkéked) and his sons Melchior, Lawrence and Gregory, protested in front of the chapter of Szepes that their relatives, Peter and Andrew from Alsokeked (Alsókéked), want to sell a decaying mill without any buildings, standing on the river Theplyche (Teplice) on the estate of Alsókeked There is information about the function of the mill in Horváti too. According to this: "... molendinum duarum rotarum, una earundem rotarum fruges moliens, altera vera pannum gryseum torculans cum uno ..." - DAP III., 30., 1023. Bandi, 1985 589., 21 and 596., 40. Surprisingly, this sum coincide with the price given at the purchase of the monastery's estates in 1569, as documents reveal that the mills belonging to the destroyed St Catherine were sold for 1000 Forints. However, it must be noted that around this time the mills were decaying too. DAPI., 173-174, and 175., 262. In 1506, for example, there were ninety six men working on the embankment at the mill of Ruszka. - Bandi, 1985 603., 56. Bandi 1985,600 47. It was a serious source of conflicts between the monastery of Gönc and the market town of Gönc to possess the better milling sites on the stream of Gönc. - see Bandi, 1985, 595 37.