Wittenberg and the Reformation in Hungary

Abstract

After the Mohács battle in 1526 Hungary was divided into three parts, and this situation become permanent
by the Turkish conquest of Buda in 1541.
The language of reformation was German in the Western and Northern parts of the country, Hungarian in the
Turkish part, and Hungarian or German in Transylvania and the Partium. Philipp Melanchthon played a
decisive role by his correspondence with 14 towns and many of his disciples. Hungary’s aristocracy supported
the reformation. The Confessio pentapolitana, Confessio heptapolitana (montana) and the Confessio
scepusiana were the most important scriptures in the history of Hungarian reformation.
The most important persons in the Hungarian reformation were: Leonhard Stöckel (Praeceptor Hungariae),
Dévai Biró Mátyás, the "Hungarian Luther", Sylvester János, the translator of the New Testament, futher
Johannes Honterus and Kaspar von Helth (Heltai Gáspár) in the Transylvanian region. The protestant Lyceums
played an important role in the cultural life of Hungary.