ABSTRACT

By now we have examined the role the cardinal played in reforming the Augustinian friary, as well as the relationship between the residents of Körmend and the friars. Consequently, we have a much better sense of the complex process of implementing religious reform at both the level of high politics and popular, local politics. It seems therefore timely to address our initial question once again: which person or persons functioned as the key agent of religious reform in Körmend? At the outset, I proposed an alternative between the clergy and the laity, and we have closely inspected the actions of Cardinal Bakócz and the community in this market town. This analysis suggested that the laity comprised the driving force of reform, while the prelate engineered the process.