Antall József szerk.: Orvostörténeti közlemények 78-79. (Budapest, 1976)

TANULMÁNYOK - Ritóókné Szalay Ágnes: Balsaráti Vitus János — magyar orvosdoktor a 16. században

György Lencsés was not of a qualified physician, being well up the ancient and contemporary medical literature he created a work of a good quality and intelligible to all. From the 16th century there are known some carrying on medical practice first of all. It was one of them János Balsaráti Vitus. First the source materials connected with him are reviewed then an autographe letter is published in which J. Balsaráti Vitus wrote just on his own medical practice. His life and work is presented in four chapters. /. His youth and years of study, 1529 — 1560. He was born at Nagylak (in former Csanád County, today Nadlac in Rumania). His parents were killed by the Turks when he was a few months only. From the beginnings he was educated by the Lutheranism. His intellectual principal István Kopácsi was an earlier pupil of Melanchthon. Even he travelled to Wittenberg (1550) under Kopácsi's inspiration (with pecuniary assistance of Jaksics and perhaps Perényi families). He was graduated on "magister" degree in 1554. Melanchthon observing his student's interest in sciences suggested him no pastoral profession but medical one. J. Balsaráti Vitus studied (and also lectured) at the medical faculty in Wittenberg for another two years. In 1556 he was going to Zurich reaching possibly Tübingen where he met Leonhard Fuchs. In Zurich he entered into communication with P. Vermigli, II. Bullinger and even K. Gessner whose great work on natural sciences he provided materials related to the flora and fauna of Hungary for. Soon he went into Italy where he learned partly at Fallopio and Montanus in Padua, partly at Aldrovandi in Bologna. He became inaugurated "medical doctor" in Bologna in 1558. Living in Italy up to 1560 for the same time he was physician at the Pope's Court, too. 2. As physician atG. Perényi'

s court, 1560 — 1567. The violent temper ofthat immensely rich nobleman Perényi involved his retinue and also Balsaráti Vitus in grave in many cases. Perényi was an intolerant devotee to Lutheranism. When it came to his knowledge that some of priests in his domain were leaning to Calvinism acted relentlessly. Clergymen humbled themselves mostly, Pál Thuri, however, upheld the opinion of his own. That resulted the so-called religious dispute at Füzér (really a trial) where the seriously ill Perényi was represented by "Doctor Johannes", obviously by Balsaráti Vitus. He was to yield proof of his teological education but he also gave evidence his decency. He effected a settlement with Thuri who was in danger of death. In 1564 Balsaráti Vitus' work on plague appeared (it is given up as lost). He took a stand on the question discussed violently in that age: might people escape from plague or protect against it? Lutheranism answered "yes", some, however, contradicted the possibility of protection stating plague a punishment of God. Even they regarded the protection as a revolt against God. Balsaráti Vitus interested in the question as both physician and theologist and he agreed with Lutheranism very likely. G. Perényi had died young and without successor, thus intrigues rose around this enormus properties. Balsaráti Vitus was involved in it, too. Tongues started wagging that Perényi, who had been pathological jealous of his wife, had made Balsaráti Vitus poison her so that she would not be able to marriage someone else. Everything points to this slander had nothing to support. Without protector, 1567 — 1570. In that period Balsaráti Vitus was carried on a special manner of living that was rare in the age. He lived as an independent physician, practitioner. Knowing well the circumstances in our country, keeping to the fore the real necessities he wrote a medical handbook (also losted) in Hungarian language. Its prescriptions were made in rational way and likely they constituted the basis of the prescription collections made by unknowns on the turn of the 16th —17th centuries and having been remained in a large number. Although he was a favoured doctor, yet it was not enough for an independent manner of living in the long run. Being also a theologist of prestige he became priest at Olaszliszka in 1571.