Franciscans, Conventuals, Observants
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Shortly after the foundation of the order, in the second half of the 1220s, the Franciscans also appeared in Hungary. The expansion of the order was very rapid in Hungary after the Tartar invasion. In the 14th century they had two main branches: the Conventuals and the Observants, this latter one appeared in sources from the middle of the century. The hostility between the two branches of the order was quite serious, when the Observants founded new monasteries in towns where the Conventuals had already had their monasteries (Nagyvárad, Szeged). Tension was released when at the beginning of the 16th century the Observants made a promise not to found more monasteries in such towns, then in 1517 the Conventuals also accepted the idea that regulations should be kept more strictly. The Marian (from the Conventuals) and the Salvatorian (from the Observants) orders were organised at this time.
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Conventuals
The so-called 'poverty debate' changed the life of the Franciscan order from the turn of the 13th century. The basis of this was the interpretation of poverty, which was very important for the founder, St Francis. One branch of the order accepted the radical interpretation and refused every kind of possessions, especially landed properties. These were the Observants. In contrast to this, the other branch accepted smaller landed properties and valuable movable properties from people as the manifestation of their religious feelings. This branch was called the Conventual branch from the 14th century. The Hungarian Conventuals finally accepted stricter regulations at the beginning of the 16th century.
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Observants
The Observant franciscans kept the regulations of the St Francis order more strictly. They appeared in Hungary in the 14th century. First they founded monasteries in the southern part of the country. Their main aim was to convert the Orthodox and Bogumil heretics rather than convert the faithless.
In spite of the fact that they came into the country relatively early, the number of their monasteries did not grow until the middle of the 15th century, that is until 1444. At this time their main supporter was governor John Hunyadi, who founded several monasteries for them, and he also managed to get several monasteries from the Conventuals (for example, Buda, Esztergom, Szécsény, Gyöngyös). In these cases the reason for taking over the monasteries was the loosened discipline of the Conventuals. The Observants were also supported by John Hunyadi's son, king Matthias. Their last convents were founded in the Jagello age. One of the most significant of these was the monastery of Szeged, founded in 1490, the church of which was completed only at the beginning of the 16th century, and the monastery was finished even later, after the liberation from Turkish rule.
There were several outstanding Observant people in the Hungarian church and Hungarian culture. The most significant personalities were St John of Kapisztránó, Pelbárt Temesvári, Osvát Laskai and the medieval historiographer of the order, Balázs Szalkai.
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