In Search of “Real Poor Clares” in Sixteenth Century Cluj-Napoca: Was There a Convent of Poor Clares in Cluj-Napoca?

Abstract

The existence of the convent of Poor Clares in Cluj-Napoca/Kolozsvár/Klausenburg (Romania) is taken for a fact in the relevant literature, despite a lack of precise data concerning its foundation or operation and in contrast with other medieval Hungarian/Transylvanian Poor Clares convents. Moreover, the sources referred to are ambiguous as regards their interpretation. On subjecting these sources to a closer scrutiny, one may rightly surmise that the community which was started in Cluj-Napoca and was referred to as one of Second Order Franciscan, that is, Poor Clares, was in fact a (Third Order) Franciscan community or a community of female beguines who embraced Franciscan spirituality and observed a less strict discipline. 1eir convent stood at the corner of Farkas Street and Gaál Gábor Street. According to some archeological finds from tombstones, the community may date earlier than the beginning of the sixteenth century, however, it surely ceased to exist after 1581 when the Jesuits moved into the centre of town, since the Poor Clares convent was then turned into a Jesuit school building.