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Ethnicity and Religion

in C en tra l an d E a stern E u ro p e

BCU Cluj-Napoca

ISTMO 2004 00388

edited by:M aria Craciun Ovidiu Ghitta

Cluj University Press 1995

International Calvinism, Ethnic Allegiance, and the Reformed Church o f Transylvania in the early seventeenth century

Graeme Murdock

In this paper I shall consider the role of ethnicity in the religious identity of the Reformed church of Transylvania in the early seventeenth century. Religious and ethnic boundaries by no means entirely coincided in Transylvania, and undoubtedly a mixture of family, local, feudal and regional loyalties largely determined patterns of religious adherence. However, Reformed Protestantism appealed almost exclusively to Hungarians in this region at the time of the Reformation, and ethnic cohesiveness cannot therefore be wholly discounted during the seventeenth century in reinforcing attachment in Transylvania and eastern Hungary to the Reformed church. This reinforcement of religious identity nevertheless worked in a rather different way, than any superimpositions of ideas about modem nationalism on the early modern Hungarian noble nation would suggest. The focus of my attention consequendy will be on the ways in which Calvinism came to be so effectively bound, and with such enduring success, to the converted Transylvanian Magyar community.

During the early seventeenth century, Transylvania and the lands of eastern Hungary under the influence and control of Transylvania’s princes, became increasingly attached to Reformed religion. In the period from the accession of Gabor Bethlen in 1613 to the demise of II. Gyorgy Rakoczi in Ihe late 1650s, princely governance was primarily responsible for making Transylvania and eastern Hungary more closely tied to Calvinism. The Reformed church, which had been granted free exercise of religion as one of Transylvania’s four received confessions in 1568, became the major beneficiary of princcly patronage and support. Traditional patterns of confessional co-existence were being increasingly challenged by forces of denominational loyalty, and a closer identification between the interests of the princes, Hungarian Reformed nobles, and the Transylvanian clergy1. Support was offered by princes to the Reformed clergy with tax exemptions, the ennoblement of ministers, and Reformed schools were actively promoted.

1. J. Pokoly, “Az erdelyi fejedelmek viszonya a protestans egyhazakhoz" in P rotestans Szemle 1896, pp.608-624: “Bocskay Istvannak fejedelem m e valasztasaval uj korszak kezdodik az erdelyi protestans egyhazakra nezve, m elynek egyik legfobb jellem vonasa az, hogy a fejedelm ek reformatusok leven, a negy recepta religio egyensulyat a reformatusok javara felbillen lik .”

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Whilst the letter of the constitution on four received religions remained in place, the balance of power shifted decisively towards a leading role for the Reformed church in the Transylvanian state and society.

The early seventeenth century Transylvanian church and its clergy played an increasing role in the world of International Calvinism, and details of the extent of international contacts with co-religionists in western Europe are now widely appreciated. Hungarian student ministers flocked to western universities in Reformed Germany and the Dutch Republic, whilst a series of illustrious Calvinist theologians and teachers travelled eastward from disrupted centres of western Protestantism to the relative security of the Transylvanian principality. This transfer of Reformed personnel was accompanied by a transfer of literature, with the translation and publication in Transylvania of recent works on Calvinist doctrine, along with worship texts, piety tracts and conduct books.

Calvinism in early modem Europe was indeed marked out by a sense of international solidarity, with Reformed Europe made up of an interconnected world of churches and communities often living under the threat of invasion and exile. Internationalism therefore offered Calvinists solutions to immediate problems of political weakness and religious persecution. The spirit of the Calvinist International flowered in cosmopolitan Reformed academic centres, and was marked out by a stem attachment to further reformation of church life in patterns of worship, and through tighter community discipline. International Calvinism was sustained by anti-Papal rhetoric, and fostered an apocalyptic world-view that promised an imminent end to the world. This gave immediacy and direction to Protestant plans for cooperation to fight the Papal, Habsburg and Ottoman anti-Christs. Reformed churchmen looked to godly magistrates and princes to lead this struggle, anointed for the task by divine favour2. The widening channels of contact between the Reformed church in Transylvania, and Calvinist co-religionists in the rest of Europe thus provided Transylvania with a potential network of Protestant allies. From cautions and pragmatic beginnings under Gabor Bethlen, and his intervention into the Thirty Years War, a path of Protestant military cooperation was established which bothI. Gyorgy Rakoczi and his son were to follow.

There was a Europe-wide Protestant pattern of typology of contemporary princes as Old Testament Biblical kings, with Transylvania's unique position as a lone Reformed outpost, on the narrow ground between Habsburg and Turkish powers identified as demonic, leading to a powerful concentrationamongst Transylvanian Calvinists on the motif of Biblical Israel3. The

2. M. Prestwich (ed.), International Calvinism , 1541-1715 (Oxford, 1985); A. Pettegree, A.Duke and G. Lewis (eds.), C alvinism in E urope , 1 540-1620 (Cambridge, 1994).

3. In Lutheran Sw eden for exam ple, the 1617 coronation o f G ustav A d o lf, and thecelebration o f the centenary o f the Swedish R efom iation in 1621 gave prominence given toOld Testament parallels in Swedish history'; I. M ontgom eiy, “The Institutionalisation of Lutheranism in Sweden and Finland” in O.P. Grell (ed.), The Scandinavian R eform ation (Cambridge, 1995), pp. 144-179.

application by Reformed clergy in Transylvania of Biblical prophecy and history to their own circumstances, saw the elevation of Transylvanian princes as defenders of a godly citadel, seen as oppressed from all sides. Reformed princes were repeatedly idealised as liberators, and guarantors of true faith in the region. The Reformed clergy in Transylvania, as in other Calvinist regions, also identified supporters of “true religion”, as a new chosen people. The intensified power, and sharpened focus, which the ethnic uniformity of the Reformed church in Transylvania gave to these providential parallels with the Old Testament, seems therefore to be at the core of the significance of ethnicity in the prevailing Transylvanian religious identity of this period.

The early seventeenth century development of a Reformed identity for Transylvania and eastern Hungary, was located in opposition to an increasingly Catholic Habsburg Hungary, and Istvan Bocskai’s anti-Habsburg rebellion of 1604 was influenced in part by Calvinistic notions of rights of resistance against tyranny. Such successes by Transylvanian princes against the Habsburgs reinforced an impression amongst the Reformed ministry that their rulers, and their land, formed a resting place of divine favour, and Bocskai was subsequently idealised by Hungarian Protestants as a liberator, supported by God to take revenge on sinning higher authorities. In a message to the Habsburg emperor Bocskai himself wrote that, “God has been with me in this; account for my position through my acting on God’s secret counsel; like Moses from his shepherding, David from the sheep-pen, like the fleeing Jehoshapat, whom God made prince and king over His people”4. Members of the Hungarian Diet acclaimed Bocskai, “Moses of the Hungarians” as they elected him, and poets described Bocskai as Hungary’s morning star5.

A comet which was seen at the time of Gabor Bethlen’s accession was also interpreted as indicating that the new prince was not chosen by the diet alone;

“Your Grace is given to us today by God, as he gave David after Saul, or Hczekiah after Ahaz, and we ask that as of old God blessed holy kings from amongst His people, David, Solomon, and Hezekiah, He will bless and sanctify Your Grace with wisdom, truth and bravery”6.

4. “ebben az Ur Isten cselekedett velem , a mostani allapotomban Istennek az o titkos tanacsabolvalo vegzeset tekintse”; K. Benda, “A kalvini tanok hatasa a magyar rendi ellenallas ideologiajara” in H elikon 1971, pp.322-330; Szalardi Janos e s siralm as m agyar kronikdja (ed.) F. Szakaly, (Budapest, 1980), part 5, p.85; L. Makkai, “N em esi koztarsasag es kalvinista teokracia a 16. szazadi lengyelorszagban es magyarorszagon” in R aday G yujtem eny E vkdnyve 1983, pp. 17-29.

5. “az m ely Isten Davidot a juhok aklabol, M ojzest a pasztors^gbol,... kiralyokka valasztotta, szentelte es nevelte, ugyanazok Isten velonk egyetem ben N agysagodat is az mi kozottiink valo fejedelem segre az mai napon, szenteli, valasztja 6s confirmalja”; from the speech offering the Hungarian throne to Bocskai in M onum enta C om itialia R egn i H ungariae- M agyar O rszdggyu lesi E m ltkek (Budapest, 1890), vol.X I, pp .152-154.

6. Erdelyi O rszdggyu lesi Emlekek, vol.6 , p.355.

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The image of Bethlen as king David endured throughout his reign, with Istvan Melotai Nyilas for example writing of Bethlen in 1619 as comparable with David when he faced the Philistines7. A stream of elegiac propaganda poured out in favour of Bethlen including poetry about his service to true faith, and about his battles against tyranny. Bethlen’s character and actions were idealised into a heroic form, using mainly, but not exclusively, Old Testament Biblical imagery. Bethlen’s chaplain, Peter Alvinczi, depicted his prince as a new Jehoshaphat struggling against the wiles of the Catholic clergy8.

A poem by Andras Pragai compared Bethlen to Gideon, to Joseph, and even to the angel Gabriel . A series of works which aimed to raise the status of princes in Transylvania, was also published with princely support. James I.’s vision of kingly responsibility in Basilikon Down was translated into Hungarian by Gyorgy Szepsi Korocz10. The cult of the Protestant prince was further extended by Janos Pataki Fiisiis, who employed twelve precious stones to represent the qualities of a good king, together with a staff of law, a crown of true religion, and an golden orb of truth. Pataki’s ideal Christian ruler was active in building churches and schools, punishing opponents, and bringing justice to his people, and these were all qualities which Pataki could see in Bethlen, to whom his work was dedicated11. It was not only Gabor Bethlen who was lauded in this way, and in 1649 Pal M edgyesi’s oration at the funeral of I. Gyorgy Rakoczi stressed the qualities of the dead prince, his piety, modest life and work on

7. Istvan M elotai N yilas, A szen t D a v id XX. zsoltdranak m agyardzatja (Kassa, 1620); J. Heltai,“ Bethlen Gabor es Bathori Gabor viszonya a kortarsak szem eben” in Irodalom tdrtenet 1983, pp. 685-708.

8. Peter A lvinczi, A nem es m agyarorszag panaszainak m egolta lm azasa (ed.) J. Heltai (Budapest,1989), p.40. “Bihar varm egyebol, hogy te ez kis helybol szarmaztal oltalmunkra? Krisztus is jaszo lb o l es kis Nazeretbol jiitt vilag valsagara. fgy szokott ez lenni, ezt szokta mi'velni az m ennyek szent ura: Ez kisded szfveket, vezerelven oket, v iszi derek dolgokra. M ojzes es Aron, Jozsue, Gedeon peldaja ezt mutatja”.

9. Andras Pragai, “Sebes agynak keso sisak” in R egi M agyar K oltok Tdra vo l.8 , pp.58-61; Istvan Vasarhelyi Kerekes, Epilaphion katastrophikon, azaz: szom orusdgrol riromre v a lto zd versek Bethlen G abor erdelyi fejedelem tisztesseg ire (N agyszeben, 1618); P an egyris in E xcellentissim as heroicas omniq., adm iratione d ignissim as laudes, ...G abrielis B ethlen, ...a C aspare W eres B oithino (Heidelberg, 1617).

10. G yorgy S zep s i K orocz (tr.), B a silikon D oron . A z A n g lia i... e lso J a k a b kirdlynak... f ia lam lasaert irt kira ly i ajdndek (Oppenheim, 1612); I. B itskey, “Irodalompolitika Bethlen Gabor es a ket Rakoczi Gyorgy udvaraban” in M agyar K onyvszem le 1980, p p .l-1 4 .

11. Janos Pataki Fiisus, Kirdlyokrmk Tiikore (Bartfa, 1626). Jaspis represented strength, topaz forintelligence etc.; Antonio de Guevara, Fejedelm eknek serkento drdja, azaz M arcus Aurelius... eleteroln (Bartfa, 1628), partly transla ted by A ndras P rdgai, p a r tly by Janos D raskovith , and ded ica ted to I. G yorgy Rdkdczi. The qualities o f kingship w ere p o r tra ye d as gem s on a clock, “hat m il mongyunc mi a z mi O RAN Krol (sic), m ely o ly d raga ld to s szep koveckel tiindoklic, hogy nines o ly Fejedelem , a z ki egyszer sm ind azokn ac a z koveknec szerit tehetne".

behalf of the church. Rakoczi was “our sweet David”, and “the ornate crown of our head"12.

These godly Transylvanian princes were pictured leading their people under divine guidance, as Moses had led Israel through the desert13. Indeed comparisons spread beyond the typology of Transylvanian princes as Biblical kings, into parallels which were drawn between the history and language of Israel, and the fate of Hungarians and the Transylvanian principality. The Transylvanian Reformed community was portrayed as a new chosen people, living under divinely inspired princes, and worshipping in a true and reformed church. One Calvinist minister, Janos Iratosi, wrote that Hungarians had been given their land of plenty by God. Although Iratosi conceded that when his ancestors had come from Asia they had not known God, yet he believed they had understood through nature that there was one true God, who was drawing them to Pannonia and Dacia. Iratosi wrote that God had been dealing, and would continue to deal with the Hungarians through providence and judgements, as he had done with the people of Israel in the past.14

Further confirmation of links with the chosen people of the Old Testament were sought by some Reformed ministers in language, with increased study of Hebrew by Reformed ministers in this period, and even claims of linguistic links between Hebrew and Hungarian15. A now lost work of the sixteenth century by Janos Sylvester had first suggested links between Hungarian and Hebrew, and the publication by Albert Szenczi Molnar of a Latin-Hungarian lexicon in 1604, aroused renewed discussion in Protestant circles of the origins of Hungarian16. Amongst German Protestants Bartholomaus Keckermann at Danzig called on Molnar to show how close Hungarian really was to Hebrew, but Molnar himself wrote that he was not

12. Pal M cdgyesi, E rdely s egesz m agyar nep... hdrm as... ja jja (Nagyvarad, 1653).

13. J.'inos Rcdm eczi, Az fe lseg es Bethlen G dborm k d t rendbeli Isten anyaszentegyhdzaval cselekedett jd ttte m e n y tro l (Kassa, 1622) in L.Makkai (ed.), E rdely oroksege (Budapest, 1 ‘>94), v o l.4. pp.24-46; Caspar Bojti Veres, A nagy B etlilen G abor v iselt d o lg a iro l in L.Makkai (ed.), Bethlen G dbor em lekezete, (Budapest, 1980), pp.19-66; S zaldrdi Jdnos i s siralm as m agyar krdnikdja (ed.) F. Szakaly, (Budapest, 1980), p.72; “Meltan hasonlfttatik, 6s igen meltan, e mi szcgeny hazanknak, Hrdelyorszagnak es ahhoz tartozo reszeknek aliapota az Izrael es Juda nemzetenek azon Istentol rendeltetett fejedelem segi igazgatas alattvalo boldog allapotahoz.”

[4. Janos Iratosi, A z em ber eletenek boldogut valo igazgatasdnak m ddjdrol- P a tika-szerszam os bolt, a za z sokfele halaloknak term eszetiikrol (IxK.se, 1637), especially the introduction.

15. Pdl V eszelin wrote an introduction to the Hebrew language in 1643, and Johann Alsted prepared a Hebrew grammar in 1635. Istvan Geleji Katona used the Talmud and B iblical commentaries by Jewish scholars in arguments against Sabbatarianism; see article by M. Carmilly in Studia Judaica (Cluj) 1991. For Hebrew poetry by M ihaly Tofeus; R . Dan, “Heber hungaricak a X VI-XVII. szazadban” in M a g ya r K onyvszem le 1965, pp .352-358.

16 . In a dedication o f a later edition o f this work, M olnar wrote that as Israel had been led across the Red Sea, so the Hungarians had been led out o f A sia to the m ost beautiful part o f Europe; J. Vasarhelyi, G. Tolnai (eds.), Szenci M olnar A lbert vd lo g a to tt muvei (Budapest, 1976), pp. 177-178.

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aware that Hungarian was related to any other language17. The Transylvanian bishop Istvan Geleji Katona was however more forthcoming, and in his Hungarian Grammar of 1645 wrote that Hungarian was not related to any language except Hebrew, whilst Gyorgy Komaromi Csipk6s in Hungaria Illustrata believed that, “of all the languages under the sky none has more affinity to Hebrew than Hungarian”18.

As I have already suggested diplomatic and military cooperation in the Protestant interest had been a rallying cry throughout the period of the Thirty Years War, but Reformed Transylvania seemed most ready to act on that confessional call from around the outbreak of the general European peace. The period from 1648 had an almost constant expectation in Transylvania of a resumption of conflict, either against Catholic Poland, or directly against the Habsburgs. It was also the period in which Reformed alliances were most strongly advocated, foreign Calvinist and Protestant influence at its peak, and the atmosphere of apocalyptic and millenarian excitement at its height. Prominent Reformed figures both within Transylvania and elsewhere, supported positive action in the Protestant interest by II. Gyorgy Rakoczi. Johann Bisterfeld, professor at the princely academy, was convinced that there could never be peace in Europe until Rome had been completely defeated, and aimed to engage Transylvania in alliances with Protestant powers, and to solidify an anti-Habsburg partnership. Jan Comenius, working at Sarospatak from 1650, also encouraged immediate military action on the basis of the prophetic skills of his fellow Moravian Exile, Mikulas Drabik. Drabik predicted that the Rakdczis would ally with the Swedes and the Palatinate, joining Turks and Tartars to overthrow the Habsburgs, and defeat the Papacy. Comenius addressed the younger Rakoczi prince Zsigmond in 1650 in support of these prophecies, in a “Secret Sermon of Nathan to David”. Comenius laid out the role which he saw for Zsigmond as a potential liberator of central Europe, who would spread light from Hungary into Moravia, Bohemia and Poland. After Zsigmond’s early death, Comenius’ attention turned towards Gyorgy in Transylvania, in 1654 suggesting that Rakoczi would be a political Messiah, blessed with a heroic spirit which Comenius described as passed down from Moses, enabling Gyorgy to reform religion, and liberate his country and its neighbours19.

17. J. H egedus, “M egjegyzesek Szenci Molnar A lbert nyelveszeti m unkassagahoz” in Irodalom torteneti K ozlem in yek 1958, pp.45-52. Letters from Bartholomaus Keckermann and Georg Rem to Molnar in L. D ezsi, Szenci M olnar A lbert napldja, levelezese es irom anyain (Budapest, 1898), pp .159-160 on 3 0 July 1604, a n d p p . 161-162 on 13 August 1604 fo r K eckerm ann’s epigram .

18. G yorgy Komaromi Csipkes, H ungaria Illustrata (Utrecht, 1655), p.23; O ratio H ebraea, continens elogium linguae H ebraeae (Utrecht, 1651); and Schola H ebraica (Utrecht, 1654).

19. J.V. K vacsala, “Sermo Secretis Nathanis ad Davidem ” and “Gentis felicitas” in M agyar P rotestans E gyhdztdrteneti A da ttd r 4 , 1905, p p .128-168.

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Whilst Comenius’ efforts to persuade II. Gyorgy Rakoczi to act at once against the Catholic powers met with equivocal responses, it may indeed have seemed a short step in 1656 for Rakoczi, from being a Transylvanian prince standing as it seemed in divine favour, in a tradition of being paralleled to Biblical kings, and encouraged by Reformed leaders to play the role of leading a chosen people, to accept a messianic part in an apocalyptic struggle to be directed firstly against Catholic Poland. After all princes across Europe during this period found ways to combine personal and dynastic interests, with the demands of conscience on a pious Protestant ruler. At any rate in January 1657 II. Gyorgy Rakoczi invaded Poland in alliance with the Swedish king Charles X., without first seeking the required agreement of his Turkish overlords. By July 1657 however the Swedes had to abandon the Polish enterprise, to face an attack from Denmark, which left the Transylvanian forces with no option but to surrender, and face Ottoman retribution for Rakoczi’s disobedience20.

Thus by the summer of 1657 Transylvania was suffering the military catastrophe prophesied and feared by Pal Medgyesi, chaplain to the dowager princess Zsuzsanna Lo ran Iffy at Sarospatak. Medgyesi argued that the causes of this disaster lay in the lack of honour given to the name of God in Hungary, and the failure to adopt moral and religious reforms. In one sermon Medgyesi compared the situation in Transylvania and Hungary with that of Israel at the time of Hosea the prophet, and quoted from Hosea inserting Hungarians in place of Israelites. “Hear the word of the Lord, you (sons of Israel) Hungarians, because the Lord has a charge to bring against you who live in the land”, and “the (Israelites) Hungarians are stubborn, like a stubborn heifer”21. In another sermon on repentance, Medgyesi compared Transylvania under II.Gyorgy Rakoczi to Israel under king Josiah, who reigned when God’s wrath, and the Babylonian invasion led to Israel’s exile; “Oh, Magyar Judah! Will you not learn from the example of old Judah, in whose path you are walking, and believe that your payment will be the same.

In September 1657, Medgyesi was again hammering away at the central moral message of the apocalypse which he perceived to be unfolding, with sin the cause of the calamities in eastern Hungary, and Transylvania; “Glory has left our Israel”, so “woe, woe, unto us for we

20. R.l. Frost, After the Deluge: Poland-Lithuania and the Second Northern War 1655-1660 (Cambridge, 1993); S. Szilagyi, E rdely es a z eszakkeleli hdboru — levelek z s okiralok (2 vols.), (Budapest, 1890-1891).

21. Pal M edgyesi from Hosea IV.T-2; and 16-18, in Igaz m agyar nep negyedik ja jja s- siralm a (Sarospatak, 1657), especially pp.17-18, and 20-21.

22 . Pal M edgyesi, Istenhez valo igaz m egteres (Sarospatak, 1658) pp.35-36. The sennon was on Jeremiah XXXIIl:5-7; “Magyari Juda! tanulj e ’ regi Juda peldajan, kinec ha utaban jarsz, fizetseged is higyen azon leszen”.

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have sinned!”23 Medgyesi also warned of further perils ahead; “Verily, verily if we do not repent, it is to be feared that before long we shall be forced to bemoan our fate in the final woes”. Medgyesi referred to an examination of the state of the world which showed the occurrence of “fatal periods” every 350, 500, 700 and 1000 years24. Medgyesi wrote that one thousand years had elapsed since his nation had finally settled in Pannonia and Dacia and concluded that the fate of the Jews, both Judah and Israel, was a mirror in which they could see a sad reflection of their own position.

“It is to be feared, yes to be feared that with the passing of that thousand years, and because furious pagans are upon us, that the period of final judgement should not be drawn onto our heads”.

Medgyesi offered his audience meagre comfort, repeating the message which Jeremiah had delivered to Israel of the need for conversion and turning back to God, who would not remain angry with them for ever25. Parallels were indeed frequently drawn in the late 1650s between II. Gyorgy Rakoczi and king Josiah, as a last good king, who could not prevent the punishment of the chosen people for their failure to adopt reforms of behaviour or church life. Gyorgy Komaromi Csipkes also compared the death of Janos Racz whilst defending Nagyvarad in 1660 against the Turkish vezir, to the death of Josiah on the battle-field of Megiddo, that is, Armageddon26.

The portrait which I have drawn here, has been of Transylvania as a Reformed state in the early seventeenth century, led by Reformed princes, and with Calvinism as its ruling ideology. This opened Transylvania’s leaders and clergy to the world of International Calvinism, in this period heavily influenced by anti-Catholicism and eschatological beliefs. Transylvania’s increasing attachment to Reformed religion was therefore accompanied by a programme of Protestant cooperation abroad, and

23 . “elment, elkoltozott a dicsoseg a mi Izraelunkbol. Jaj, jaj! (meltan felvehetjiik e szokat, sirathatjuk vele magunkat) jaj, jaj nekiink, mert vetkeztiink!” from Pal M edgyesi, O todik ja j i s siralom in G. Szigethy (ed.), E rdely rom lasdnak okairdl (Budapest, 1984), p.21; “Jaj, jaj jaj minekiink mert vetkeztiink, mert haladatlanul es istenteleniil cselekedtiink Uram a te szem eid elott” from Janos K em eny, G ile a d Balsam um a, a zaz Sz. D a v id 150 S o lta r iw k n (Sarospatak, 1659), p 2 3 9 .

24 . Pal M edgyesi, M agyarok H atodik Jajja (Sarospatak, 1660), from the introduction; M. Tam oc, “Szalardi Janos tortenetszem lelete” in Irodalom tdrteneti K ozlem etn ek 1870, pp.689-696.

25 . “Terj m eg viszsza vono (Israel)M agyarsag, azt mondja a Jehova, es elveszem az en haragomat ti rollatok: mert kegyelm es vagyok en, azt mondja a Jehova: nem tartok haragot m int orocke”; from Pal M edgyesi, M agyarok H atodik Jajja (Sarospatak, 1660).

26. Abraham Scultetus’ 1617 sermon before Frederick V. on the faith o f Josiah was published by Albert Szenci Molnar, Secularis concio evangelico, azaz Jubileus eszten dei pred ikdcio (Oppenheim, 1618) pp .315-328; Szalardi Janos es siralm as m agyar kronikdjan (ed .) F. Szakdly (Budapest, 1980), p a r t 5, p J 2 2 ; G yorgy K om arom i C sipkes, Szom oru esetek tiikore. G yaszbeszed Racz Jdnos fo lo tt (Sarospatak, 1661); Istvan Czegledi, Am a ritka pe lda ju ... II. R akoczi G yorgy... testenek fo ld b en tetele fe le t t p red ikdcio (Kassa, 1661).

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commitment to spiritual renewal at home, The identity of Reformed Transylvania was shaped by a high idealistaion of its ruling princes, and of the Hungarian people “chosen” to follow them. Awareness of ethnic cohesiveness within the Hungarian Reformed church was therefore a central thread in solidifying religious identity, especially in the parallels drawn with Israel and Biblical history in the Old Testament. The motif of Israel served to balance a sense of being chosen based on a noble and ethnic community, with support for and participation in the wider world of international Calvinism, since Israel could represent both a principality and the whole true church, either one tribe or all twelve.

The heightened expectancy of many within the Reformed church in Transylvania in the 1650s that providence had placed them on the verge of an age of renewal, was crushed by the military defeats suffered by II. Gyorgy Rakoczi. Reformed ideology also however provided explanations for this disaster, with the prospect of apocalypse as judgement, caused by a failure to complete the “reformation of life”. In the second half of the seventeenth century military defeats and Catholic pressure heightened the sense within the Transylvanian Reformed community of being an embattled Israel, yet crucially denied Transylvania the same extent and range of international contacts which had been afforded in the early seventeenth century. In subsequent periods a sense of apocalyptic imminence waned, whilst ethnic nationalism amongst Hungarians in Transylvania grew. This identity was not defined by an ideologically dominant Hungarian Reformed community as in the early seventeenth century, but was essentially more reactive and negative in tone. In later periods the remnant of the inherited religious identity of early seventeenth century Transylvanian Calvinism offered ethnic cohesion, and a redirected sense of being chosen located in Magyar nationalism based more narrowly on anti-German, anti-Slav, and anti-Romanian sentiment which predecessors in the early seventeenth century would not have recognised.

The Album Amicorum of a Polish Protestant Nobleman Jaroslaw Bojanowski from the Years 1622-1634

Jadwiga Muszynska Jacek Wijaczka

It is not known when the album amicorum appeared for the first time as a “companion” during a journey. Robert and Richard Keil in a leading work1 on albums amicorum traced their origins to tournament or noblemen’s albums (in the genealogical sense). However, this hypothesis was soon questioned by Frederick Warnecke2, and it was not until the later works of Karl M asner, Max Rosenheim4 or recently Peter Amelung5 that presented the origins of albums in a true light.

The fashion of keeping an album amicorum started most likely in Wittenberg, which could be confirmed by the frequency of the occurrence of the first albums from that town. Begun in Wittenberg in 1546 the album of Claude de Senarclens , which fulfils all relevant criteria, is regarded at present as the first known album amicorum. In the late 1550s, these albums were so widespread that the Hugenot publisher from Lyon, Jean de Tournes, made an attempt to publish a printed edition of “Thesaurus Arnirocum” with blank spaces for inscriptions7. Each page was framed so that every inscription might be surrounded by a beautiful frame. It should be added that the German term Stammbuch to denote an album amicorum can be traced back

1. R. und R. Keil, D ie deutschen Stammbiicher des sechzehnten bis neunzehnten Jahrhunderts.Berlin 1893 (Reprographischer Nachdruck, Hildesheim 1975.)

2. Emblemata Saecularia und Emblemata iNobilitatis. K ulturgeschichtchliche Stam m - undW appenbucher von Teodor de Bry, hrsg. von E. Warnecke, Berlin 1894.

3. K. Masner. D ie schlesischen Stammbiicher und ilire kunstleriche Ausm uckung, SchlesiensV orzeit in Bild und Schrift. Jahrbuch des Schlesischen M useums fiir Kunstgewerbe und Alteitum er, Bd. 4, 1902. p.137-161.

4. M. Rosenheim , The Album Amicorum, “A rcheologia”, vol.62, 1910, p .251-308.5. P. Am elung, D ie Stammbiicher des 16. und 17. Jahrhunderts als Quelle der Kultur- und

Kunstgeschichte, (in:) Zeichnung in Deutschland. Deutsche Zeichner 1540 bis 1640.Katalog von Heinrich Geisler, Bd. 2 , Stuttgart 1980, p.211-222.

6. F. Heinzer, Das Album amicorum (1545-1569) des Claude de Senarclens, (in:) Stammbiicherdes 16. Jahrhunderts, hrsg. von W olfgang Klose, W iesbaden 1989, p .95-124.

7. W. C lose, Corpus Alborum Amicorum. CAAC. Beschreiben des Verzeichnis derStammbiicher des 16. Jahrhunderts, Stuttgart 1988 (=Hiermanns bibliographischeHandbucher, Bd.8/,p.XVII.

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to the year 15738 when in Matthes Harnich’s printing house in Frankfurt upon Main was printed “Flores Hesperidum. Pullcherimmae Graecia Comicorum sententiae, cum duplici eorum versiona latina (...) Stamm oder Gesellenbuch (,..)9, earlier it was called ’’Album Amicorum, “Philothekon” and “Thesaurus Amicorum”.

One of the oldest albums (only 24 items before 1555 are known)belonged to the Austrian nobleman Christoph von Teuffenbach, who had thework of Philip Melanchton “Loci communes theologici” bound in hard cover in 1546 adding at front 13 and at back 7 blank pages on which later the following persons inscribed their names: Melanchton, Johann Bugenhagen, George Major and Veit Oertel10. An album which belonged to thesubsequent superintendent in Zerbst, Abraham Ulrich, is dated from the year 1549. It contains the inscriptions of Bugenhagen, Melanchton, Caspar Cruiziger and Major".

The first known album amicorum in which the coat-of-arms of a person making an inscription is painted belonged to Achacy Dohny who was born in the Duchy of Prussia and studied in Koningsberg (1550/51) and inFrankfurt an der Oder (1552)12.

As has already been mentioned, the name Stammbuch had been used for the first time over 20 years after the appearance of the first albumamicorum. In order to emphasize that it was not genealogy, the titlecombined initially the terms “Stamm- oder Gesellenbuchlein”. The term “Gesellenbuch” appeared for the first time in the album of Sebastian vonStamp started in 1571. The owner himself called it “Gesellenbuch”’3.Obviously those “Gesellen” (apprentices, companions) were not only craftsmen, but also members of all social strata. The preserved oldest albumi amicorum testify that their provenance was due to conscious commissions for the contemporary bookbinders.

Who were the owners of albumi amicorum! Was the custom of keeping them limited to definite nationalities, social strata or professional groups? There are many indications that the fashion for albumi amicorum appeared in Germany together with the development of Protestantism and spread to German Catholic universities, whereas outside Germany it was accepted only

8. W. K lose, Corpus Alborum Amicorum. Bin Bericht iiber die Sam mlung und Beschreibung von Stam m buchem der fruhen Neuzeit, “Internationales Archiv fur Sozialgeschichte der deutschen Literatur” Bd.10, 1985, p.155.

9. Ibidem, p. 157.

10. G. Salom on, The Teuffenbach copy o f M elanchton’s L oci C om m unes, (in:) Renaissance News 8, N ew York, p.79-85.

11. W. K lose, Stam m bucher- eine kulturhistorische Bertrachtung, (in:) B ihliothek und W issenschaft, 1982, Bd.16, p.44-45.

12. Ch. Krollman, Das alteste preussische Stambuch, (in:) Altpreussische Beitrage. Festschrift zur Hauptversammlung der deutschen G eschichts- und Alterthumvereine zu Konigsberg in Pr. 1933, p.34-47.

13. W. Klose, Stammbucher — eine kulturhistorische Betrachtung, p .49.

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in Protestant countries or in circles connected with Protestantism. A relatively great number of albumi amicorum from the 16th century were preserved. They belonged to the Dutch, Flemish, Danes, Hungarians, and even Scots. However, in spite of the fact that many Germans studied in France or Italy, and in spite of many inscriptions they brought from there, the custom of keeping albumi amicorum did not spread in both those countries14. It was probably likewise in Poland, where few albumi amicorum have been preserved. They belonged mainly to Protestants: Andrzej Lubieniecki14, Jan Zborowski15, Jozef Andrzej Zaluski16, Daniel Naborowski17. The fashion of albumi amicorum disappeared in the 19th century. It can be said without exaggeration that albumi amicorum were the product of reformation which grew' on the ground of symbolical thought. Albums through collections of autographs, symbols, aphorisms developed into the form of albumi amicorum and memoirs.

Albumi amicorum were not always assessed positively. In 1711, Michael Lilienthal wrote about abuses related to albums, e.g. lies, drinking-bouts, obscenity, contempt, etc.18. In the dictionary of the German Language of Brothers Grimm, under the entry Stammbuch we find stories about wandering theologians who charged money for entry in the album. On the other hand, in the same 18,h century albums were recognised as documents of their time; however, warnings were given so as not to use them uncritically19.

As has been mentioned earlier few relics of this kind have been preserved in Poland20. One of them is the album of a Polish Protestant nobleman, Jaroslaw Bojanowski, which is preserved in the Landesbibliothek in Stuttgart, Germany .

The Bojanowskis were a wealthy Protestant family of noblemen who settled in Great Poland. At the turn of the 16th century they were adherents of the faith of the Czech Brothers. The best known member of the Bojanowski Family was Stefan22 who studied first in Jena (1619), next in

14. Ibidem, p.51.15. Stanislaw Bodniak w “Silwa rerum”, 1927, t.3, z.II/12; J. Tazbir, Studenci z Prus

K rolewskich, Korony Polskiej i Litwy na Uniwersytecie w Tybindze (1501-1654), “Zapiski H istoryezne”, 1983, t.48, z .1-2 , p.95.

16. H, Barycz, Sztambuch J.A. Zaluskiego, “Silva rerum”, 1928, t.4, p.147-154.

17. Cz. Pirozynska, Sztambuch Daniela N aborow skiego, B iuietyn B iblioteki Jagiellonskiej" 1971, R .21. nr. 1/2, p.93-103.

18. M. Lilienthal, Schediasma Critico-Literamm de Philothecis varioque earundum usu et abusu, vu lgo von Stam m -Buchem , Dissertation Konigsberg 2. Dez. 1711, 46 S.40.

19. M. Steudnitzer der Andere, Gedanken uber Stam m bucher, (in:) Belustigungen des Verstandes und des Witzes, A uf das Jahr 1743, S .258-279, 337-356 , 436-460.

20 . H. Barycz, Sztambuch J.A. Zaluskiego, p.148.21. W urttem berische Landesbibliothek, Stuttgart, Cod.hist.8°, 27.

22 . Polski Slow nik Biograficzny, t.II/1, Krakow 1936, p.239.

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Altdorf, and on 26 September 1620 he matriculated at the University of Tubingen23. On 7 April 1621, he had a debate, under the supervision of the law professor, Christopher Besold, entitled “De apparatus bellicus”, which was published in the same year in the printing house of Eberhard Wild24. On 1 October 1621 three brothers, Mathew’s sons, Christopher, Michael and Jaroslaw Bojanowski25, were matriculated at Tubingen. A few days later, nephew Peter, Stefan’s brother26, was enrolled at the University. The above-named brothers had some preparation for university study because Michael and Jaroslaw attended a grammar school in Torun (1617), and prior to arriving at Tubingen all three of them visited the University in Leipzig27.

Jaroslaw had the most prominent career. He was a military superintendent at Wachow (1649), secretary to the Polish king and next to the Swedish king. After the “Deluge” he emigrated to Silesia, where he purchased the Ellguth estates (at present Ligota Oleska) near Oleasnica. The armorials recall, that he was the councelior of Silvius Nimrod the Duke of Wirtemberg who inherited Olesnica after 164728. Jaroslaw Bojanowski died on 3 August 167429, It was he who left behind an album amicorum.

The Bojanowskis were matriculated at the University of Tubingen; however, it seems that they were educated not at the university but at the Collegium Illustre, which is testified by Jaroslaw’s album amicorum.

At the end of the 16th century, a new ideal of “courtly” education was developed. Eventually, it replaced the humanist ideal of education. First of all noblemen began to leave in great number Latin schools and universities which failed to adjust to a new model and they entered academies of knights which then emerged on a large scale. The basic element of instruction in those new educational establishments included sports and chivalric exercises (horsemanship, swordmanship, dance, tournaments). A great attention was also devoted to natural sciences and foreign languages, mainly French and Italian. After the Thirty Years War, geography and the science of the art of beleaguering and war were added.

The academy of knights in Tubingen, the so-called Collegium Illustre was not only one of the first academies in German-speaking countries, but

23. Die Martikel der Universitat Tubingen, Bd.2, 1600-1700, bearb. von Albert Burk und W ilhelm W ille, Tubingen, 1953, p .127, no.20196.

24. Universitatsbibliothek Tubingen, Ka 1 600, 8°, 147 (14).

25 . Die Martikel der Universitat Tubingen, Bd.2, p-134, no.20846, 20247 , 20248; J. Tazbir. Studenci z Prus Krolewskich. Korony Polskiej i Litwy na Uniw ersytecie w Tybindze (1501-1654), “Zapiski Historyczne”, 1983, t.48. z.1-2, p.95.

26 . Ibidem.

27. J. Tazbir. Studenci Prus Krolewskich, Korony i Litwy na Uniw ersytecie w Tybindze, p.95.28. T. Zychlinski, Zlota ksiega szlahty polskiej, Poznan 1880, p.6.

29. K. Estreicher, Bibliografia polska, 1 . 13, stulecia XV-XVIII, (III- Abteilung, Bd.2), Krakow 1894, p.235.

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it was also one of the best managed academies. From its beginnings until it was first closed in 1628 (due to the Thirty Years’ War) the Academy was the only institution of supra-regional significance. It was then known far away from Wittemberg as the academy of knights for all German Protestant nobility30.

In the ecclesiastical regulation from 1559 for his duchy, Christopher the Duke of Wittemberg declared his intention to establish an institution which would train future state officers31. The academy was to be built in place of the Franciscan monastery burnt in 1540. The edifice was to be rebuilt and adjusted to new aims. In the same year 1559 Martin Crusius was appointed inspector and first preceptor of the new academy. Founding of the new educational establishment was not met with enthusiasm by professors of Tubingen University who feared competition. In this connection, in 1564, the Chancellor of the University Jacob Andrea, attempted to subordinate the academy of knights to the university. Unfavourable circumstances and finally the death of Duke Christopher in J 568 interfered with the planned construction. In the first years of the rule of Duke Ludwig, instruction in the college ceased and in 1570 only one alumnus lived there32. Soon Crusius resigned from his post, too. However, the institution survived and it was solemnly opened on 25 April 1594 in the presence of Duke Frederick and Chancellor Aichmann. Following the new ideal of education, a hall for dancing classes was built in the garden. Moreover, a square was arranged for chivalric games. The institution enjoyed great popularity from the beginning. It is testified by the number of alumni -64, among whom was the Duke of Wirttemberg, Johann Frederick33. The head of the college was a lawyer, Philip Engelhardt who taught history, amongst others.

At the outset the college alumni included apart from the sons of nobility also the sons of townspeople who were to fill vacancies in the administration of the Duchy: however, in the subsequent years the latter decreased dramatically in number34.

Apart from lectures in the college and private tutoring with individual preceptors, alumni listened to lectures at the university. The initial close attachment to the university found expression in statutes conferred in 1594 which gave significant rights to the university. College alumni had to immatriculate at the university and they were subordinated to university jurisdiction. The university chancellor and two professors of the law faculty

30. Der Landkreis Tubingen. B d.3, Stuttgart 1974, p. 185.31 . A. W illburger, Das Collegium Illustre zu Tubingen, “Tubinger Blatter”, 1911, J g .l3 .p .3 .

32 . Der Landkreis Tubingen, Bd.3, Stuttgart 1974, p. 185.

33 . Ib id em , p. 186; S ch u z. U ber das C o lleg iu m I llu stre zu T u b in gen o d er den Staatsvissenschaftlichen Unterricht in Wurttemberg besonders im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert. Zeitschrift fur gesammte Staatsvissenschaft, 1850, Bd.6, p.246.

34 . Der Landkreis Tubingen, p.186.

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were appointed inspectors and twice a year they visited the college. Those close relations led to quarrels concerning the place, rank, disciplinary means etc. between the college and the university. Statutes from 1601 regulated anew the relations between the college and the university. They provided for complete separation of the college as “exemptes corpus”. College members were forbidden to immatriculate at the university and to attend lectures there. For that reason the college had to employ 4 professors: of Roman law and logic, feudal and criminal law, and the law of proceedings, history and politics, as well as French and Italian languages. The former three professors had to hold doctor’s degree earned at old German universities35.

The following plan of instruction was determined: from 7 to 8 a.m. a professor of French and Italian taught; from 8 to 9 a.m. — a professor of feudal and criminal law and the law of proceedings. A professor of history and politics taught from 1 to 2 p.m., and a professor of Roman law had a lecture from 2 to 3 p.m. After a morning and evening meal alumni were allowed to amuse themselves, play ball, dance and practise chivalric exercises36. It should be added (hat in summer at 5 a.m. and in winter at 6 a.m. they congregated to say common prayer. First someone read a psalm or fragment from the Old Testament (in Luther’s translation). Next the alumni said a long prayer for the well-being of the emperor, the Reich, and the family of the Dukes of Wirtemberg, and finally Our Father37.

The college alumni lived as a rule in groups of three in one room, exceptions were of course made for the descendants of dukes. Each allumnus, except for young princes, could have up to 6 servants38. An important part of training included disputes, particularly theological ones conducted at the university. A greater importance was attached to consultations. Numerous classes of this type were offered particularly by professors Thomas Lansius and his successor Magnus Heffenthaler. The professor posed a political or historical subject and students were expected to prepare a speech and arguments for or against. One of the alumni (a young prince) chaired the session, formulated a question and required opinions of other students who presented their “consel”. After listening to all present, the chairman summed up the session in his report On 26 March 1613 and the following day, a consultation entitled “On Priority Among the Provinces of Europe” was held. Speeches were contained in a volume which had 744 pages39.

At the beginning of the 17th century the Collegium Illustre reached the apogee of its development. In 1606 it had 121 alumni, including 3 young princes of Wirtemberg, 3 young princes of Saxony and 1 young prince of

35. Schuz. Uber das Collegium Illustre, p.249.36. Ibidem, p.244.

37. A . Willburger, Das Collegium Illustre zu Tubingen, p. 12.38. Ibidem, p. 14.39. Ibidem, p. 15.

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Brunswick. The college was so full that some candidates were not admitted40. After the death of Duke Frederik the classes and the university declared themselves against the college. In 1614, new statutes were conferred which provided that the college and university would be considered as two “members of one body”. It was also agreed that college alumni would be allowed to attend university lectures and vice versa. The statutes, slightly modified in 1657, were in force until the dissolution of the college in 181741.

The outbreak of the Thirty Years’ War did not cause closure of the college. However, this happened when funds to maintain the college were exhausted. In 1628 all staff were dismissed including wardens. For over 20 years the academy of knights was closed. It was reopened in 1653. However, the good time for the college was over and it never regained its former splendour. In 1670, due to warfare, the college was closed again. Reopened in 1681, it was active only until 1688 when the French invasion stopped its activity. In the 18th century several attempts were made to reopen it; however, the particular classes of the Duchy and the ecclesiastical council did not give their consent. In 1817, the college was finally closed, when the university opened a faculty of state economy42.

It was in the Collegium Illustre that Jaroslaw Bojanowski and his brothers were educated.

Jaroslaw’s album amicorum comprises the years 1622-1634. It was most probably begun in 1622 because the first entries come from that year. The first who made his inscription in Bojanowski’s album of friends was Frederik von Stein Kallenfels. His entry is dated 30 May 1622. The next entry is dated 29 June 1622 and it was executed by Frederik Fechenbach from Heidelberg who was immatriculated at Tubingen on 21 January of that year. The third entry belongs to Jahann Frederik Ochsenbach (12 September 1622), who came from very old Tubingen bourgeoisie43. The last entry was made by the law professor of Tubingen University, Christopher Besolk and is dated 1634 (without day and month). He wishes Jaroslaw a pleasant journey, which would testify that he is returning to Poland.

In total, Jaroslaw Bojanowski’s album amicorum contains 51 entries; in one case two persons made an inscription on one page. They were Christopher von Wissmitz and Wolf Dietrich von Ruthsamhausen zum Steigl (16 and 17 September 1628).

Most of the inscriptions (21) were made in Tubingen in 1628; majority just before the closure of the Collegium Illustre, which — as has been already mentioned — happened in September. It can be presumed that the

40. Der Landkreis Tubingen, p. 187.41. Ibidem.42. Ibidem, p. 188.43. Das Martikel der Universitat Tubingen, p.137. p. 1 17: J. Siebm acher, D ie Wappen des Adels

in Wiirttemberg, Neustadt-Wiirttemberg Neustadt/Aisch 1982. p. 103.

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college alumni knew about the planned closure of the college, and Jaroslaw, believing that he might not meet his friends later, asked them to make an entry in his album. The remaining inscriptions (30) come from Jaroslaw’s two sojourns (as can be inferred from the album) in Stuttgart at the prince’s court, i.e. in 1627, after the closure of the academy at Tubingen. Bojanowski went to Stuttgart immediately after the closure of the college, which is confirmed by entries from October 1628. He was still in Tubingen on 1 October (the entry of Wolfgang von Weyler) and on 13 October he was in Stuttgart because on that day Wenzel von Rettkirch and Gabriel von Seydlitz made their inscriptions in that town.

Bojanowski’s album amicorum, like other albums from that period, reflects cultural and social conventions, e.g. the first pages were reserved for members of the ruling dynasties, dukes arid the nobility. On the first page is found an entry made by the Duke of Saxony, Francis Julius44, who wrote succintly: “Spe melioris alor”. On the subsequent pages are found the autographs of three young dukes of Wirtemberg: Eberhard’s, Frederik’s and Ulrich’s. All the three inscriptions were made in 1629 (none was marked by the day and month). The first of the dukes ruled the years 1628-1674 under the name Eberhard III. He wrote down a short sentence: “Omnia cum Deo”, and the coat-of-arms of the duchy was painted in the middle of the page. It should be added that in 1629 Eberhard was still under age and the duchy was ruled by Ludwik Frederik. Eberhard was educated in the Collegium Illustre and he may have met Bojanowski and his brothers there. His brother Frederik made a sentence entry: “Fac ea quae moriens facta fuisse velis” (Do, what you would like to see done when dying) and “Was hoch ist under den Menschen, das ist ein grewel (Greul) fur Gott”. Duke Frederik founded the Wurtemberg-Neustadt45. The third brother was Ulrich ("Ich wags mit Gott")46. The next member of the ruling family who made an entry in Bojanowski’s album was Ernest, margrave of Brandenburg: “Gott schicks zum besten”. Ernest was the 12 years old47 and he was a cousin of the Wirttemberg dukes whose mother Barbara Zofia was margravine of Brandenburg. One more entry in the album belonged to die Johann Frederick palatine of Veldenz.

Most of the inscriptions were executed of course by the nobility because alumni of the Collegium Illustre were recruited, as a rule, from that social class. There were among them three members of one of the oldest Silesian

44. E. Muller, liin Stanibucli des Collegium Illustre in Tiibiiigen mit Eintragen wurttembergischer Prinzen, “Besondere Beilage des Staatsanzeigers fur Wurttemberg”, 1916, p .142.

45. Europische Stammtafeln. N eue F olge, Bd.I: D ie deutschen Staaten, hrsg. von D etlev Schw enicke, Marburg 1980, Tafel 125.

46 . See E. M uller, op.cit., p.142.

47. W ilhelm Karl Prinz von Inseburg, Stammtafeln zur G eschichte der europaischen Staaten, Bd.I: D ie deutschen Staaten, 2.verb. Auflage, hrsg. von Frank Baron Freytag von Loringhoven, Marburg 1953, T.62.

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families, von Saydlitz48. Hans Georg made an entry in the album on 14 September 1625 ("Virtus sola nobilitat"). His two brothers, Christopher and Melchior of Niklasburg (Niklasdorf) made entries on 17 September 1627. Their name are also found in the register of Tubingen University49. It appears the brothers Seydlitz learned French during their stay in the Collegium Illustre because they made their inscriptions in that language.

In 1628, Philip Ludwig Schilling of Canstatt made an entry in the Polish nobleman’s album. His ancestor was presumably Georg Schilling, the great prior of the Joannite order in Germany and governor of Tripoli . Schilling wrote the following aphorism: “Wcr mich dem ich” and a verse:

Wer was weiB, der schweig Wem wol ist, der bleib Wer was hat, der bahalt Ohngluth kommt dem das bait.

His coat-of-arms was also painted in the album.On 12 September 1622, Johann Friedrich von Ochsenbach, then a

13-year-old made an entry in the album. He was immatriculated at the University of Tubingen on 1 April 161951. He came from an old middle-class family which resided in Tubingen. He was most likely the son of Nicolas (1562-1626) who held the office of the castellan in Tubingen from 159752.

Ich hoff zu Gott und waitder Zeit, auB armen Gesellenwerden auch gut Luthwer weiB noch was Gluck vermag.

The above inscription was made in 1628 by Philip Carl von Berlichingen who came from a family whose member was amongst others Gotz von Berlichingen “Ritter mit der eisemen Hand” known Raubritter from the beginnings of the 16th century and a veteran of the peasants’war 1524-1526.

Brothers Sigismund Gabriel and Vitus Georg Holzschuher came from one of the oldest patrician families in Nurnberg53. They were immatriculated at the University of Tubingen on 29 July 162554, and they wrote down in the album:

48. G enealogisches Handbuch der adeligen Hauser. A delige Hauser A. Bd, 16, Limburg an der Lahn 1981, p.471; J. Siebmacher, op.cit., p.79.

49 . D ie Martikel der Universitat Tubingen, p .170 and 177.

50 . E. Muller, op.cit., p.143.51 . D ie Martikel der Universitat Tubingen, no. 199913.

52 . J. Siebmacher, op.cit., p.103.53 . Neue Deutsche Biographie, Bd.9, 1972, p.579.

54 . D ie Martikel der Universitat Tubingen, p. 160, no. 21234, 21235.

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