Document PDF - Asociatia Tinerilor Istorici din Moldova

discussed. This kind of entry exists on one of the letters sent by Martinus Schacht in September
1563 which states that he was assigned 8 ducats, an amount mentioned as ‘octo aureos’
in the town council’s letter sent to him in October 1563. Tobias and Benjamin Kauffi n received
5 fl orins as fi nancial support for secondary school studies according to an entry recorded on
their fi rst letter sent to the town council in May 1578. For most of the cases, this type of entry
on letters are the only source testifying to the existence of some sort of fi nancial support,
since, as previously mentioned, the information recorded in the town protocols concerning the
support given to students abroad is rather sparse and does not provide an exhaustive source
of information.
Defi nitely, students complained that the amounts sent them were not enough, putting
forward a variety of arguments, as, for instance, Valentinus Ungar in his letter sent in August
1571:
As yet it came to my mind that I needed to write to your most wise excellency, that with
that money that I received I cannot remain here for longer than until the feast of St. Michael,
because the diffi culty of all things and the price for crops are high, as I have experienced even
on my way, when I did not consume much, and I bought myself books for my studies… 54
Where would the money granted to students come from Košice was not in the fortunate
situation of the town of Levoča located not far away which enjoyed the generosity of the
magnate family Thurzó, the initiator of the foundation which was instituted with the purpose
of helping young Levoča citizens go to a Protestant university abroad, in most cases to Wittenberg,
to study theology and consisted of 500 fl orins per year, entrusted to the town council
for its administration. 55 However, the town of Košice had its own ways of fi nancing students.
A part of the money could have been taken from the town budget acquired from taxation and
other types of income. In addition to that, a number of rich burghers left part of their money to
the town diectly for the purpose of giving grants to students, but mainly as fi nancial donations
and not as typical foundations which functioned based on deposited earnings. A certain Margaretha
Nagy, for example, left 25 fl orins to be donated to students in Wittenberg, mentioning
in her testament that it should go to more than one benefi ciary. Although no indication exists
of what happened with this specifi c money, it is a good example of the way different town burghers
contributed towards helping fellow citizens of the town improve their education: 56
In the year ’78, on December 2, Margaretha, the widow of Stephan Nagy, has left in her
testament 25 fl orins for students intending to study in Wittenberg. Andreas the Hungarian
priest asked the senate to give those 25 fl orins to a Hungarian student named Franciscus Debreczeni.
But, because it is written in the testament that the money should be given not to one
but to more persons, it was decided by the senate that Jacobus Zabo (probably would keep)
this money in the house … until the senate, in due course, will bestow the money on those
students who would one day be of use to this republic.
54
[…] Adhuc in mentem venit, quod vestrae inclytae sapientiae scribere debuerim, quod cum hac pecunia,
quam acceperim, diutius non possum hic permanere, quam ad festum Michaelis, quia magna hic est omnium
rerum diffi cultas, et annonae caritas, quod ego etiam in itinere sum expertus, ubi non multa consumpsi, comparavique
mihi hic libros ad studia […].
55
For more information on the Thurzó foundation in Levoča see KATONA 2003.
56
AMK H III/2, MAC 21, folio 35 v.: Anno 78, die 2 decembris, Margaretha relicta Stephani Nagy legavit in
testamento 25 fl . studiosis Witebergam versus profeciscentibus dominus Andreas Concionator Ungaricus
petiit senatum ut illos 25 fl . studioso cuidam ungaro nomine Francisco Debreczeni suppeditare, cum autem
in testamento scriptum sit quod non uni sed pluribus legaverit, decretum est() a senatu ut Jacobus Zabo illa
pecunia in domum [---] tandem senatus suo tempore illis studiosis qui aliquando huic reipublicae prodesse
studebunt, suppeditaret.
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