Antall József szerk.: Orvostörténeti közlemények 54. (Budapest, 1970)

TANULMÁNYOK - Kubinyi András: The Social and Economic Standing of Persons Concerned with Health Treatment in Buda at the Turn of the 15th and 16th Centuries (angol nyelvű közlemény)

Probably he was the son of the royal apothecarian with the similar name, who in 1495 supplied the Court with candles, and whom Ernyey mistook for "apothecarian" Engelhart Wild [102], There is another mention of Bálint in 1520 [103], but he must have died soon, and so must his son, Gál, because in 1539 King János gave over his house standing on the main square of Buda, besides that of the apothecarian Angelus (standing in the row of the apothecarians), which had been confiscated because the children of the late apothecarian Bálint : the late Gál, himself also an apothecarian, as well as István, Sebestyén and Lucia joined the German party, and Lucia married a member of it [104], Peter, listed among the apothecarians owning a vineyard, also belonged to the patricians of Buda. On several occasions he was principal of the guild Corpus Christi, the organization of the German patricians of the capital [105], His son could be the apothecarian Angelus, whose house neighbouring Bálint's has just been mentioned [100]. One further datum on the financial and social position of the „apothecarians" living in the period discussed. During the reign of King Matthias—even before 1483,—there was a Buda apothecarian, István, who married a noblewoman. His widow sued for the ownership of both a demesne (Sáp) and a house at Visegrád [107], While the demesne must have belonged to the inheritance of the widow, but the house was probably obtained by the apothecarian. His social position is reflected by the fact that he could marry a landed noble mistress. The profession of the apothecarian was considered a respected one in the other Hungarian towns as well, for example in Pozsony. Several of the "apothecarians" there were also elected to the council, or were members of the Corpus Christi association [108]. Furthermore, this profession was considered as one of the most "international" occupations in the medieval Buda. The apothecarians of the capital were people of the most varied origin. Judge Mihály was of Hungarian origin, he must have represented the Hungarian side when judge had to be of Hungarian stock in one year and of German in the other. On the other hand Wild, or the family of Bálint, who took the side of Ferdinand of Hapsburg against King János, were regarded as purely German. This is not surprising, as in most professions both nationalities were represented, even if there were independent German and Hungarian guilds. It is more interesting, however, that there is evidence left of Italian, and even of French "apothecarians". The well-known Simon, recently dealt with by István Czagány [109], was for instance Italian, and Johannes de Ruta, apothecarius gallicus, whose name appears as the witness to the will of a French lady living in Buda, was, of course, French [110]. In addition we know of one or two apothecarians, who lived in the towns or greater villages near Buda. They appear to have enjoyed great authority in their locality. E.g. Bálint Pathikarws of Óbuda opposed the registration of (Óbuda-) Örs on behalf of the Queen. (Óbuda was the demesne of the Queen [111].) György Patykaros was his contemporary at Békásmegyer, on the estate of the nuns of Óbuda [112]. In conclusion, after the investigation into the social position of those active in the occupations concerned with health treatment, we feel justified to claim