as both the king and the queen suffered from arthritis. In the 19th century, breweries and pálinka distilleries operated in tandem. Comenius described the equipment used to make pálinka in Orbis sensualium pictus ("The World in Pictures"), his famous book written for children in the Hungarian town of Sárospatak. Distilling itself was the right of landowners, and laws were introduced to prevent peasants from making pálinka at home. The use of wheat was banned, and distillation was forbidden on religious holidays. Despite this, the church still oversaw alcohol production. Records show that Cistercian monks in Heves County were brewing beer and distilling pálinka in 1715. The role of Jewish lenders and businessmen also grew with the production of alcohol, and Saint Michael was designated patron saint of distilling. Textbooks and publications also began to appear on the subject around this time. The larger-scale production of distillates, pálinka and liqueurs from 1799 resulted in guidelines being drawn up for distillation, and the priority rights granted to landowners were made law. It was not long before a pálinka tax was introduced, and by 1850 distillation was a state monopoly. In 1920, there were 260 pálinka distilleries in Hungary, a figure that grew to 1,070 in 1970 before falling back down to 815 in 1982. In the meantime, various laws were introduced to restrict production, including prohibition during the short-lived Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919 and the splitting of production 50-50 with the state from 1952 to 1970. Illegal home distilling became popular in the 18th century when peasant breweries were shut down. The practice was fuelled by the desire to make use of fruit that had fallen from the tree and could not be eaten, coupled with the knowledge that making pálinka at home was much less expensive. Because the end product was often inferior, it was reserved for personal use and only offered to friends and guests. The word pálinka became widespread in Hungary in the 17th century, but it still referred to distillates made from grain. The meaning was later transferred to fruit spirits while wheat distillates were referred to as crematura. Distillation became a privilege of the landlords, which led to the proliferation of home stills. Law forbade the use of bread-stuffs for distillation, hence the use of fruits. Private distilleries and factories started to appear towards the end of the eighteenth century, which led to legislation and to