Dilemmas around ranking Lutheran school towns Change of school by Licists between Lutheran institutions in the first half of the 19th century

Abstract

In the first half of the 19th century, special institutions were the so-called lyceums. These institutions as schools provided higher education and earned a special place in the history of education in Hungary. In my article, I would like to define the role of each school in the Lutheran educational hierarchy as a result of the change of schools of their students. In my database, there are data about 1,550 students who enrolled in several lyceum higher education courses during their studies. Of course, most student transfers happened between the most significant and popular institutes. Analyzes from different perspectives confirm that, in addition to Pozsony, Késmárk, and Eperjes, the institutes like Lőcse, Sopron, Selmecbánya and Szarvas only had a secondary role. Many of the students who changed the place of their education mostly came from noble or civil families with the intellectual background of the evangelicals of the Kingdom of Hungary. There were students who visited more than two of these institutions during their education. The main reason for students changing schools was precisely the difference in their training between the institutions that provide humanities, theology, and sometimes even law courses. Thus, several students from smaller schools left to study in larger, better institutions that provided significantly better education to them. There was not only a movement from smaller institutions to larger ones. It was also common among the students of major schools that they continued their education in another large evangelical school especially if they had the appropriate financial background. In the case of the three most important evangelical lyceums Pozsony, Eperjes, and Késmárk, the students mostly changed the place of their education between these three. In the case of the others, these three were also the main goals for students who wished to have a better education.