Medieval Hungary: Medieval Manuscripts in Esztergom

From the 11th to the 31st of March, an exhibition offers the medieval manuscripts of the Cathedral Libray of Esztergom. Titled “For They View for Your Souls…” – Codices in the Cathedral Library of Esztergom, the exhibition is on see in the freshly restored exhibition rooms of the Bibliotheca.

The Cathedral Library of Esztergom preserves forty-five medieval manuscript books, which are displayed with each other for the to start with time now, in March 2022. The exhibition honors the archbishops and canons of Esztergom as nicely as the donators and past owners of the manuscripts, by whose generosity the library turned the largest collection of codices amid ecclesiastical libraries of Hungary. The composed lifestyle of medieval Hungary is represented by fourteen codices copied in a variety of Hungarian scriptoria. Two old Hungarian manuscripts – early linguistic documents – stand out from between the Latin guides on account of their particular worth. The Nagyszombat Codex was geared up in the monastery of the Poor Clares in Óbuda. It incorporates meditations and guides for penance and confession. The Jordánszky Codex is the most finish medieval Bible translation into Hungarian, and is named right after is previous proprietor, Elek Jordánszky, a canon of Esztergom. Out of the codices preserved in the Cathedral Library of Esztergom, without having a doubt 3 had been used in Esztergom in advance of 1543. These are the 12th-century Expositiones super Cantica Canticorum, László Szalkai’s (1475-1526) schoolbook penned by the upcoming archbishop amongst 1489 and 1490, and the codex of vicar-general Albert Pesthy. The manuscript assortment owned by the Archbishop and the Chapter of Esztergom was further enriched during the sojourn of the Archbishopric in Nagyszombat (Trnava, Slovakia). Liturgical guides and astronomical works were being obtained, as nicely as a manuscript containing letters by Saint Gregory the Good, copied in the Benedictine Abbey of Moissac in the 11th century. In 1555, Nicholaus Olah )1493-1568), archbishop of Esztergom, donated the two-volume Bakócs Gradual to the church of Esztergom The deluxe Wladislav Gradual originates from Prague from the very first ten years of the 16th century. It holds Bohemian musical material, richly illuminated with historiated initials as very well as border decorations with floral motifs, animal figures, and scenes from each day existence.

Right after the library moved back again to Esztergom in 1853, János Scitovszky (1785-1866), archbishop of Esztergom, József Dankó and Nándor Knauz, canons of Esztergom each and every bequeathed 4 codices to the selection. Between these, there was a 12th-century cathedral schoolbook containing a commentary of the Track of Songs amongst other texts, and a number of manuscripts of Bohemian origin.

Most codices in the library originated and were utilized in Central Europe, in Bohemia, Vienna, and Southern Germany. Yet, some of the manuscripts arrived from the English, Italian, and French territories. The decoration of Peter Lombard’s commentary on the Psalms is a large-quality product of English miniature portray. The exhibited manuscripts existing a wide vary of medieval ecclesiastical literature encompassing guides on liturgy, theology, church legislation, astronomy, lexicography, as very well as sermon collections, prayer guides, and schoolbooks.

The exhibition coincides with the publication of a catalog describing with good erudition the medieval manuscripts preserved in the Esztergom reserve collections (The Codices of the Cathedral Library of Esztergom, the Archiepiscopal Simor Library, and the Esztergom Town Library). The e book was edited by Edit Madas and published by Kinga Körmendy, Judit Lauf, Edit Madas, and Gábor Sarbak. Kinga Körmendy’s extensive introduction offers the history of the collections and the in-depth descriptions are accompanied by various indices, appendices, a bibliography, and colour plates. The e-book is the most new quantity of the Fragmenta et codices in bibliothecis Hungariae sequence. The ebook can be requested here: [email protected]. A German-language model of the catalog is forthcoming.

(Text and pictures by the Cathedral Library of Esztergom)