CONCLUSIONS DRAWN FROM THE CHARTERS OF THE ORDER OF ST. ANTHONY'S ACTIVITY IN HUNGARY

Abstract

The order of the Crusaders of St. Anthony, the predecessor of the Antonites, was a lay brotherhood founded at the end of the 11th century in France. This organization differed from the other Hospitaller Crusaders in that they did not engage in warfare. Since the foundation, their task has consistently been patient care and, within that, the fight against "St. Anthony's fire": ergot poisoning. The earliest documents on the nursing activities of the Antonites in Hungary date back to the beginning of the 14th century. The paper presents the operation of the order in Hungary by analyzing the available contemporary documents, focusing primarily on its main house, Daróc (now: Šarišské Dravce, Slovakia), and the conditions of the management of the Pozsony (now: Bratislava, Slovakia) hospital. The charters are, on the one hand, agreements regarding hospitals they operated, and on the other, documents related to their fundraising. Indulgence letters from the period of the above-mentioned preceptor Albert of Tapolca belong to the latter category. The role of the Antonites seems to decrease more and more starting from the 15th century. City councils gradually took complete control over their hospitals everywhere, and after the Reformation that spread in the meantime eventually led to the end of the role of the Antonite Order.