Dénes Dienes: History of the Reformed Church Collég in Sárospatak (Sárospatak, 2013)
FLOURISHING AND SCATTERING THE REFORMED COLLEGE IN THE 17TH CENTURY - School life
THE REFORMED CHURCH COLLEGE IN THE 17TH CENTURY 28 Gergely Molnár’s Latin Grammar Book Keckermann (1571-1609) Puritans considered his textbooks outdated ideal situation. More realistically, students at times completed their lower classes sooner and spent more time at the secondary level or vice versa. The topic of textbooks. The previously mentioned Philip Melanchthon - a German leader of the Reformation and a good friend of Luther - had a huge impact on Hungarian Protestantism and Protestant schooling. His books were much used and much read in Patak, the books pertaining to grammar, rhetorics and dialectics being the most popular. Two of his books, Syntaxis and Prosodia (Latin grammar) were used in Patak even in the 17th century and the influence of his other books was also evident. Gergely Molnár’s (former teacher from Kolozsvár who studied in Wittenberg, also) book for the learning of Latin was very popular and was reprinted several times (Elementa grammaticae latinae, 1556). Erasmus’ book Rotterdam Colloquia familiaria was considered the most suitable for the practical classes. Simultaneously, the book of Aelius Donatus, a Roman grammarian from the 4th century, was used, also. Consulted most often was its section outlining the eight parts of speeches and this was supplemented with a great number of examples and constant refinement. Young students who were just starting to learn Latin grammar were called donatists. Comenius’ book entitled Janua, published in 1638 in Brassó (Brasov), was already in much use well before the outstanding author came to begin his work in Patak. István Szilágyi Benjámin (a teacher in Patak in 1645) translated Comenius’s book and arranged its printing in 1643 in Várad (Oradea). The book was reprinted eight times in the 17th century alone. For Greek grammar, Péter Károlyi’s book was used - a very popular one, similar to Molnár’s (Elementa Grammaticae Graeae, 1567). For the longest time there was no Hebrew grammar book available which was suitable to the current educational curriculum. Students relied on copies of manuscripts and entries gleaned from encyclopedias but these methods had many limitations. For this reason, a former Patak student, Mihály Szatmárnémeti, edited and published a usable book entitled Tyrocinium Hebraicum, Hoc est Brevis et Methodica linguae Hebraeae Institutio in 1667. For the studying of rhetorics there was an abundance of books to choose from. Most certainly Imre Pécseli Király’s book, written for the school in Komárom (Isagoges rhetoricae libri duo, 1612) was in constant use. When reprinted in 1639, it was dedicated not to Komárom alone but to all the schools in Hungary (in usum scholarum Hungáriáé), thus giving indication of its popularity. Logic was taught on the basis of a book written by Barthalomäus Keckermann (1571-1609), a Reformed philosopher from Danzig who taught in the spirit of Ar- istotlean principles, something which Reformed orthodoxy held sacred as their pillar of defense in questions pertaining to their faith. Catechism summaries and instruction in a question-and-answer format played an important role in teaching and accompanied every student throughout the duration of studies. András Batizi’s catechism was most likely in use already at the beginning of the 17th century in Patak (booklet on Christian Science, 1550). Later it was replaced byjános Siderius’ Catechismus (1597). Since they were written in Hungarian they were primarily used in the first grade for beginners. In upper, classes the Latin version of the Heidelberg Catechism along with its explanations was used. The knowledge of Scripture retained a prominent place in the learning process. Numerous passages, especially the one hundred fifty Psalms had to be learnt by heart. For students in their final years of study, the teacher analyzed and explained books from famous theologians. There is an entry in
