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