Dénes Dienes: History of the Reformed Church Collég in Sárospatak (Sárospatak, 2013)

FLOURISHING AND SCATTERING THE REFORMED COLLEGE IN THE 17TH CENTURY - Tension and disruptions in the school - student unrest

THE REFORMED CHURCH COLLEGE IN THE 17TH CENTURY

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neutralists or mendicants - had nothing but their own money. It appears that some of them possibly received free meals (publica mensa) before 1648 but the decision of the Church county assembly eliminated this option, thus forcing them to work in the school’s vineyard for some income. This, however, left them less time for their studies. The decision of the new regulations made these students envious of the future pastors which, in the long run, poisoned the atmosphere in the school. Nonetheless, through the collective actions of the youth, a certain democratic spirit manifested itself. Even those students participated in the protests who continued to enjoy the benefits.

To improve the financial situation of the teachers, Zsuzsanna Lorántffy agreed to assist teachers to exchange their in-kind payments for cash by allowing them to receive their wine allowance in the school’s pub in 1659. The students protested right away as they saw the move as a restriction of their rights. Clerical and lay leaders both tried to enforce the decision and calm the youth. They claimed that the old regulations no longer corresponded to the new situation and commissioned Pál Medgyesi, pastor of the prince’s court, to write up the new regulations. The commissioning was ill-fated because it failed to take into account that Medgyesi was not at all popular in Patak. In addition, Medgyesi committed the further tactical error of omitting to include the school’s church leaders in the editing process. In fact, he even neglected to inform them at the time of the announcement of the new regulations. The students took advantage of the situation and outrightly rejected the new regulations; they then made Medgyesi the target of their ridicule. As an ultimate sign of protest, the students packed up and, as one body, left the school, moving to Tállya at first and then to Gönc. The true significance of this student insurrection is well-illustrated by the fact that people in the area and the servants in the prince’s court blamed the insurrection for the death of Zsuzsanna Lorántffy in the spring of 1660: "Ah, those cursed students! You killed her, you have divested the poor Hungarian nation of this precious treasure” - as one of the servants in the court, András Zákány, summed up the feelings of the public.

I, as the senior, was asked to visit her about six days before she passed away. The honourable Zsuzsanna Lorántffy called me and we talked in private for nearly two hours. Sometimes she started crying and said things like: “my husband and I lived as God-fearing people, but neither when my husband died, nor when my beloved son, Zsigmond Rákóczi, died have I cried more than over this undeserved act from those students. God, you can see, as a mother treats her children, as a nanny protects her little ones, that is how I tried to teach them to serve God and this poor country, and this is how they repay me.” (from the notes of Pál Tarcali, dean of Zemplén)

The biggest eruption occurred in 1667 and perhaps it comes as no surprise that the issue once again was “pub rights”. The students felt once again a curtailment of their rights when the teachers were also granted the same privilege which they had exclusively enjoyed. After the death of Zsuzsanna Lorántffy, Zsófia Báthory and Lerenc Rákóczi I. converted to Catholicism. They then helped