Das Netzwerk der ungarländischen Studenten in Basel im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert. Unbekannte Beziehungen in den Hochschulschriften

Network research can be used to reconstruct personal relationships in the early modern period. A very good source for such research is provided by the entries in memorial books (or alba amicorum). An analysis of the memorial books in the Inscriptiones Alborum Amicorum database reveals that Professor Johann Heinrich Fries of Zurich had very intensive contacts with students from Hungary. However, it is possible to reconstruct contact systems not only on the basis of alba amicorum, but also on the basis of thesis, because the paratexts included in these booklets contain references of a wide variety of contact types, including teacher–student, student–student, and patron–student relationships. The University of Basel played an important role in the development of the Reformed Church in Hungary in the early modern period, but no research has yet been done into the paratexts of the thesis summaries published in Basel. The present study has therefore focused in reconstructing several connections that were unknown up until now: the Ruland family’s links with Bratislava/Pozsony/Pressburg and Basel, and the friendship between Ferenc Paris of Pápai and Jacob Högger. It also emerged that it was customary to thank Johann Martin Weiss, the leader of the Basel students, in the thesis summaries.