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(Zvonarits), pastor in Košice. In this last letter Kys mentions, among other things, that he has
enjoyed the support of the town council for four years already, since 1643, two years before he
sent his fi rst letter form Königsberg (therefore, this is a further case that illustrates that the fi rst
two years of university studies were fi nanced rather smoothly!). Further on he refl ects upon his
debts (yet it is still not clear under what circumstances these were incurred, except that they
increased with the death of his brother), and explained that he could not leave the university
before paying off all his debts since he had pledged it in front of the magistrates. If this happens,
as Kys affi rms, the results will be devastating: otherwise if one would do it, he would not
hope for anything else but for banishment with continuous disgrace, and this for certain without
any kind of exception. 24 Thus, Kys is compelled, in a certain way, to stay at the university until
he was able to pay all his debts, which added to his fi nancial woes, as he puts it: every day
has added somethng to the expenses. 25 The situation being as it was, Kys asked Zvonorius
for advice on how to proceed. The sum is considerable and he does not have any idea how to
get it: I still need a minimum of forty imperials by means of which I could pay off all my debts.
But I have no idea where I might obtain them from. 26 Unfortunately, we do not have any further
documents to illustrate what the resolution of this case was. What we do know is that Adamus
Kys returned to his hometown and developed a successful career fi rst as priest and then as
school inspector. Therefore, we can presume that the town council somehow interfered and
resolved the problems of his disciple.
Besides the cases described above where students benefi ted from fi nancial support sent
over a longer period of time, while moving from school to school, or from a school to a university
(or several), there are a number of cases where students addressed the town council
directly and received fi nancial support just once or twice, usually for studying in Wittenberg, a
very popular university among the urban population in the region at that time. These students
were not permanent solicitors of help from the town council, at least as far as the survival of
the documents allows us to affi rm, and the fi nancial support accorded to them was rather
sporadic. In most of the cases these were merely students from the neighbouring villages
or market towns, acquaintances of priests or school teachers, and not inhabitants of Košice
as such. Two well-illustrated cases of occasional fi nancial support are those of Stephanus
Mustricius and Stephanus Tehani. There are four letters signed by both of them sent between
November 1558 and September 1559 that open the collection of letters in the town archives. 27
It is not known if these two students were inhabitants of Košice or came from somewhere
else. Their case proceeded as follows: the fi rst letter was a request for fi nancial support, the
second letter was an expression of gratitude for fi nancial support received, supplemented by
a small present (a book, not preserved) sent to the town council in recognition for its help, the
third letter represented a combination of gratefulness and a careful new request, while the
fourth letter is a renewed direct request for fi nancial support. Mustricius’ and Tehani’s pledge
for fi nancial help was supported by a recommendation letter sent to the town council of Košice
by Philip Melanchthon, who was at that time lecturing at the University of Wittenberg. 28 The
letters, especially the second one, suggest that Mustricius and Tehany had already received
some fi nancial aid from the town council, however, it is impossible to state for what period.
One single entry in the town protocols certifi es the amount of 50 fl orins – which was the
24
secus autem si fecerint, nihil nisi turpissimam cum perpetua infamia relegationem sperare poterint, eamque
absque omni exceptione certissimam.
25
dies diei aliquid addidisset expensarum.
26
Quadringentis certe ad minimum adhuc indigeo imperialibus, quibus omni me aere alieno exsolvere potero.
Sed unde eosdem acipiam, totus ignoro.
27
AMK H I, no. 2011/13; no. 2150/105; no. 2150/108, and no. 2150/106.
28
Original lost. Edited by Lajos Kemény in Történelmi Tár, 1889, 603-604.
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