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

PAULINE FRIARIES IN THE ABAÚJ HEGYALJA REGION

THE GEOGRAPHICAL ENVIRONMENT In regard to geographical characteristics, the research area is situated in the northwestern part of the Zemplén Hills (also called Tokaj Hills), which territory belongs to the Abaúj Hegyalja micro region. The climate is continental, and moderately dry, cold. The territory is bordered by the fertile valley of the Hernád river from the east, and the Zemplén Hills from the west, namely the Pál Hill (630m), the Borsó Hill (747m), the Gergely Hill (787m), and the Magoska Hill (737m). The northern boundary of the area is the Telkibánya Basin, and from the south, the valley of the Tolcsva stream (HutaErdőhorváti Basin) (Map 1). Narrow valleys of streams flowing into the Hernád river divide the western block of the hills, namely the Csengő, Gönc, Szerencs and Boldogkőváralja streams. The Tolcsva stream flows towards the southeast, to the other part of the watershed into the direction of another geographical region, the Bodrog Valley.

1 A BRIEF HISTORY OF ABAÚJ COUNTY; THE ABAÚJ HEGYALJA REGION IN THE MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN PERIOD

2 The territory of the county was a borderland area in the Early Arpadian Period. The center, Abaújvár developed along one of the major international roads. Its strong fortification resisted the Mongol attack in 1242, however, the surrounding German (Gönc) and Russian (Ruszka) settler communities were completely destroyed. Although Abaújvár survived this period, its importance declined from the second half of the thirteenth century. This settlement remained a significant fortification up to 1556, but could not compete with the increasingly developing new market towns like Kassa (Kosice, Slovakia), or Gönc. Abaúj County was formed in the late thirteenth century, after the dissolution of the royal county system.* Separated from the northern block of Heves and Sáros Counties, instead of the former seat, Abaújvár, the emphasis was put on the settlements along the Hernád Valley. Among these, Gönc, Vizsoly and in particular 1 MKK II. 893-896, Pinczcs, 1998. 2 Main sources for the historical development of the country are: Kemény, 1912, Kemény, 1915, Sziklay-Borovszky, 1896, Szűcs, 1993, Wolf, 1989. * The first period of the Hungarian county system, the royal county (comitatus), was characterized by the dominance of royal ownership of lands, which defined its authority and organization. In the last third of the thirteenth century, the increasing political influence of the nobility resulted that local autonomies of the nobility were organized into noble counties (parochia, comitatus), based on the former territorial units. Kassa, lying close to the northern trading route, became the most significant. In the early fourteenth century the Aba family, major landowner in the region, came into conflict with the Angevin dynasty, and finally lost their influence. Their large domains were given to members of the new elite, especially to the Drugeth family, who reshaped them with fresh ambition. The privileges of Kassa were confirmed in 1347, which strengthened the town's economic position, designated its future direction of development, and outlined its central position in the county. Even though the reign of King Matthias brought relative security against the threat of the Hussites, the quick pace of progress stopped in the fifteenth century. Having emerged during the Drugeth period, the largest landowner of the region was at that time the Perényi family. From the late sixteenth century, being a conflict zone between the Ottoman and Hungarian areas, the region had to endure several raids. Although the region has never become part of the Ottoman administration system, its landowners changed frequently. At last, the region, with small exceptions in the southern part, fell under the authority of the Habsburgs. In the sixteenth to seventeenth centuries, the continuous Ottoman wars ravaged the county, leaving few peaceful moments in the borderland of the Kingdom of Hungary and the Transylvanian Principality. From already the sixteenth century onwards, the spiritual trend of the Reformation had gained remarkable influence, and numerous protestant communities appeared in the county. This process largely contributed to the assimilation of German inhabitants of the region. In the early eighteenth century, the county became the most important social background in the war of independence led by Ferenc Rákóczi. The population significantly decreased after the wartime periods and this crisis even deepened after the plague epidemic in 1707. Finally, the first half of the eighteenth century closed the most active period in the life of the county. A SHORT HISTORY OF THE PAULINE ORDER

3 In thirteenth century Europe numerous hermits and communities of hermits lived in the mountainous regions and other places suitable to renounce the world. This European model of symbolic retirement spread so quickly that around the mid-thirteenth century a strong demand appeared for the general regulation of the Notable sources for the history of the order: Mályusz, 1971 257274, Hervay, 1984, Hervay, 1988, Bencze, 1991, Bencze-Szekér, 1993 7-9, Török, 1977, F. Romhányi, 2000a.