A Debreceni Déri Múzeum Évkönyve 1974 (Debrecen, 1975)

Régészet, ókortudomány - Kozák Károly: Relics of the Premonstratensian Monastery in Nyíradony, Discovered in 1936

Károly Kozák RELICS OF THE PREMONSTRATENSIAN MONASTERY IN NYIRADONY, DISCOVERED IN 1936 In the proximity of the village Nyiradony, in the socalled hemp-fields („Kenderföldek") the renowned ethnologist Lajos Kiss has discovered in 1936 the relics of a major church with straight choir, and further southwards those of a monastery and its enclosure. To the Northwest of these relics the basement walls of a minor church with semicircular choir were also found (fig. 1). Relying upon the available documents we have no doubt whatsoever that the finds are identifiable with the Premonstratensian monastery founded in the last quarter of the 13th century by the clan Gut-Keled. Consecrated in honour of the Holy Virgin it was, according to the documents, the clan's common monastery where the monks were sent from the first Hungarian monastery of the Premonstratensian order, i. e. from Várhegyfok. The arch-abbacy was transferred at a later date from Váradhegyfok to Lelesz, and so the provost and the monks were sent heceforth by this convent. As shown by the examination of the relics the monastery was fortified after the defeat near Mohács (1926), together with some other Premonstratensian monasteries (Bozók, Ipolyság, Jászó, Lelesz). Still later the monastery and its estates fell into the hands of laymen. The monastery was probaly destroyed about 1660. In 1681 the town of Debrecen accepted as pledge from the widow of Prince János Kemény the estate of Országh-szer adjacent to Nyiradony and belonging to Gut that was destroved at the same time. A local surcey and the examination of the discovered relics permitted the following conclusions to be drawn: When the monastery was founded, the clan endowed it with its ancentral estate and village presumably named Adony; the smaller church with the semicircular choir must have been the parish-church of the latter. In addition to this village the monastery received some other estates as well (fig. 2). The investigation of Premonstratensian history in Hungary has shown that the order soon recovered from the devastation caused by the Tartar invasion in 1241. Simultaneously with the reconstruction of the country the monks began to consolidate their monastic organization and to repair their monasteries and churches. Before long they were able to build and populate new convents. As shown by the examination of monasteries and churches built in that period, they adapted themselves in their architecture to the new style of the age. Preferred by the Dominicans and the Franciscans as well, the one-nave churches with straight choir were characteristic of the Hungarian Premonstratensian churches too (Adony, Hatvan, Kökényes, Mórichida, Turóc and presumably Csut); they influenced not only the village churches in their vicinity but also the construction or reconstruction of monastic churches of other religious orders, (figs. 3-6). Investigations carried out so far seem to indicate that the double tower accentuating the western facade was also introduced by the Premonstratensians in this country (Adony, Bény [Bina], Mórichida, Ipolyság [Sahy], Tűrje, Zsámbék). The excavations in Nyiradony have substantially cotributed to our knowledge on Hungarian architectural history concerning the 2nd half of the 13th century,- they offered valuable aid and suggested new aspects for the research work covering not only the constructions of the Premonstratensians but also the village churches of the Nyirség region, and supported an earlier hypothesis according to which the Premonstratensians had in those times (2

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d half of the 13th century) an independent monastic building organization comparable to that in the 2nd half of the 12th century. 281