FRANTIŠKÁNSKY KONVENT PANNY MÁRIE V SOLIVARE – JEHO HISTÓRIA A KNIŽNÁ KULTÚRA

It was not only in the Middle Ages that the Franciscan Order influenced vast regions with its activities. The subject of interest of this study will be the analysis of the activity of the Observant Franciscans who had their convent built in Solivar. It was a relatively large village, but it stood in the neighbourhood of Prešov, one of the most important Hungarian cities. I will deal with the history of this convent, which is mainly recorded in the wills of the Prešov townspeople, who also bequeathed their property to the Franciscans in large numbers. Another interesting fact is that the town of Prešov had its own Mendicant monastery, which belonged to the Carmelite Order. In the historical analysis, we will mainly use the edition of sources from the municipal archives of the city of Prešov, published by Béla Iványi. In addition to these sources, we will also use other sources that have been published in other editions. The Franciscan Convent in Solivar also had its own library in the past. Several incunabula and post-incunabula have survived to the present day. In total, there are only three prints from the 15th and early 16th centuries. Their detailed research in terms of post-essential data, book binding and decoration can reveal interesting details about the monastery in Solivar and the importance of books in that period. The journeys of the preserved books from their creator to their owner present the functioning of the book trade in Hungary and highlight the possibilities of replenishing the library. The hitherto unanswered question about the fate of the property of the Franciscans of Solivar can be answered by the torso of their monastery library now stored in the Slovak National Library in Martin.