UNIVERSITY BIOGRAPHICAL MOSAICS – MÁRTON SZENTIVÁNYI

Two hundred and fifty years ago, in 1773, Pope Clement XIII dissolved the Jesuit order, accelerating the process of the university's transfer to the state. Between 1635 and 1773, many distinguished Jesuits of great knowledge taught at our university, leaving a lasting mark on the history of the institution. In June our feature is on the editor of the first Hungarian Law Library (Corpus Iuris Hungarici), Márton Szentiványi. 

Márton Szentiványi was born in 1633. He studied at the Jesuit College in Nagyszombat and entered the Order in 1653. From 1667 he taught in Nagyszombat, then in Graz and Munich. From 1689 to 1701 he served as chancellor of the Jesuit University of Nagyszombat, and from 1689 to 1693 as rector of the university. As dean he headed the Faculty of Theology and the Faculty of Humanities. From 1687 he was also entrusted with the management of the University Press. For thirty years he was also responsible for the publication of the University's astronomical calendar, the Calendarium Tyrnaviense. In addition to his ecclesiastical works, he wrote works on science and law. He described many plants for the first time in Hungary and compiled a collection of Hungarian laws (Corpus Iuris Hungarici).

Source/author of illustration: ELTE ULA