The Island - Saint Margaret and the Dominicans (new exhibition in Budapest)

A new temporary exhibition opened at the Budapest History Museum, dedicated to St Margaret and the Dominican monastery on Margaret Island. The story and fate of Saint Margaret, the thirteenth-century saintly princess, has always captured the imagination of people interested in history. The exhibition offers visitors a selection of artifacts never before exhibited anywhere. The occasion for the exhibition is the 750th anniversary of Margaret's death in 2020, and the fact that in the last two decades our knowledge of the religious institution that was the home of the young princess of the Árpád dynasty has increased considerably. This is primarily thanks to the research of Eszter Kovács, who passed away in 2018 and who had carried out several small-scale excavations in the area of the Dominican monastery. This is how the fragments of wall paintings, probably dating from the 14th and 15th centuries, were found, which are on display for the first time in this exhibition.

Margaret, the daughter of King Béla IV, was born in 1242 at the time of the Mongol invasion.  We know that she was brought up as a child in the Dominican monastery in Veszprém, which had been founded shortly before, and at the age of 10, she was transferred to the monastery on Margaret Island, which her parents had built. During her canonization process, the testimonies of her contemporaries, recorded in 1276, tell of her dedicated, sacrificial, and self-sacrificing lifestyle, her unending faith in Christ, and the miracles that took place in her life and at her tomb. Margaret's role model was her aunt, the sister of Béla IV, St Elizabeth of Hungary, who was canonized as early as 1235.

Despite all attempts and royal support, Margaret's canonization was not achieved in the Middle Ages. It was her brother, Stephen V, who was the first to attempt this: but neither he, nor Ladislas IV, nor their successors from the House of Anjou were successful. We don't know exactly when she was elevated to the Blessed, but there are many records of this from the 15th century and we also know of many medieval depictions of Margaret. Her cult in Hungary developed soon after her death: she was buried in front of the main sanctuary of the Dominican church, and later an ornate white marble sarcophagus was made for her body, with reliefs depicting her miraculous deeds. Based on her oldest legend and the canonization records, further versions of the legend were written, and a Hungarian-language version was produced at the end of the Middle Ages. The veneration of St Margaret has been almost unbroken over the centuries. Her relics and bones were taken to Pozsony (Bratislava) by the nuns in the 16th century to escape the Ottoman threat. Most of the bones were lost in the 18th century, but perhaps her most famous relic, her penitential belt, has survived, and its ornate reliquary box and an authentic replica of the medieval object can also be admired in the exhibition. Also on display is the funerary crown of King Stephen V (Margaret's brother), also buried on Margaret Island, from the collection of the Hungarian National Museum, the discovery of which in 1838 marked the start of systematic excavations of the monastery ruins.

Funerary crown of King Stephen V (Hungarian National Museum)

Thanks to the excavations, the extent of the former monastery and its church is well-known, and it has been possible to reconstruct the most important phases of its construction. Among the spectacular results of the recent research are the fragments of wall paintings, most of which can now be seen by the public for the first time thanks to the restoration work of Eszter Harsányi. Wall paintings have been found in several parts of the monastery, including the small room where the staircase leading from the monastery to the nuns' choir was located in the late Middle Ages. The colorful pieces of plaster fragments preserving halos and faces hint at the relationship of St Margaret and her fellow nuns to images: her legend describes the role of Calvary images and other representations in her prayer and contemplation. 

Imitation marble painting from the monastery building

Ignác Roskovics: Saint Margaret (for the Royal Palace)

When the nuns were forced to flee from the Ottoman attacks in the sixteenth century, the monastery complex became abandoned. It was only used during sieges, for example as a field hospital during the recapture of Buda in 1686. The greatest destruction, however, was not caused by the wars, but by the landscaping of the island in the 19th century, when the owner of the area, Archduke Joseph of Austria, had it turned into an English garden. Like so many other monuments of the Hungarian Middle Ages, our image of the Dominican monastery on Margaret Island must be pieced together from small fragments. The current state of research on Saint Margaret and her cult was presented at a conference organized jointly by the Apostolic Congregation of the Dominican Sisters, the Károli Gáspár Reformed University, and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, while the Budapest History Museum has collected the material relics essential for the reconstruction. The exhibition will allow us to recall the figure of Saint Margaret and the monastery where she spent most of her life and which became the center of her cult.

The curator of the exhibition is Ágoston Takács. This text is based on the speech I gave at the opening of the exhibition on November 17, 2022. The exhibition is on view until March 19, 2023.

Zsombor Jékely speaking at the opening ceremony - Photo by Magyar Kurír

The oldest dated roof structure in Transylvania and some 14th-century frescoes at Magyarvista

A press conference was dedicated to the church of Magyarvista (Viștea, Romania) at the László Teleki Foundation, to announce the result of recent investigations inside the medieval church of the village. The following overview is written on the basis of the press release. The Calvinist church of Magyarvista in Cluj County is one of the most famous medieval monuments in Transylvania and the area of Kalotaszeg. The stone-built, single-nave, square-apsed building with a Romanesque western doorway was probably built at the end of the 13th century. The first documentary mention of the village dates back to 1229, and in 1291 it became the property of the Transylvanian bishopric as a royal donation. The church is richly decorated with painted woodwork, the outstanding features of which are the converted late Gothic priest's chair, the coffered ceiling above the nave supported by a beam and a wooden column, the pews, the doorways of the south and west entrances, the altar, the pulpit, and the pulpit crown. An 18th-century belfry rises next to the building, the oldest bell in it dating from 1487, from the time of Matthias. During the last year the exterior masonry of the church has been strengthened, plastered and the roof structure repaired, as has the belfry.

The building's hidden treasures had been highlighted by several research findings: in 1913, István Gróh documented in watercolor copies ten scenes of mural paintings located in the nave (they could not be restored and displayed at the time), and in 1935, semicircular foundation walls were found within the demolished sacristy, which may be part of a demolished medieval round church. One of the scenes copied by Gróh was found in 2008 on the south wall of the nave, and next to it, on two sides of the south-east corner, two related, previously unknown scenes were revealed: a three-figure Crucifixion and an image of St Longinus with an attendant. The wall painting on the south wall, depicting a storm-tossed ship of pilgrims, dates from around 1400, while the images in the corner date from the early 14th century. It has also been found that the painting of the corner was originally placed under a canopy and formed the decoration of an altar there - there are very few similar canopied altarpieces from medieval Hungary.

In 2022, with the support of the László Teleki Foundation, the uncovery of the mural paintings in the semicircular triumphal arch continued, and art historical research was also carried out. In this context, it was suggested that the interesting stone frame of the southern entrance and the square sanctuary are not Romanesque but late Gothic, as confirmed by some analogies of the frame of the sacristy door, and that the ribbed vault with the 1498 inscription on the keystone of the sanctuary is not the result of a later intervention, but this whole structure was, in fact, built at that time. 

The excavation of the mural revealed a scene of the Annunciation on the eastern wall above the triumphal arch: on the left, a fragmentary figure of the Archangel Gabriel and the Lord, and on the right, a small detail of the standing figure of Mary can be discerned. The Annunciation, arranged on the right and left sides of the triumphal arch, has many foreign and local analogies: Palermo, Cappella Palatina, Reichenau-Oberzell, St. George's Church, Padua, Scrovegni Chapel, Karaszkó, Disznajó, etc. The scene belongs to the plaster layer of the early 14th century.

The research on the inside of the triumphal arch was also a surprise: the upper fragment of the figure of the Maiestas Domini, set in a mandorla in the center, was preserved: its continuation was on the vault of the demolished original sanctuary, which was much smaller than the one we have today. Thus, the fragment of the mural also proves that the present sanctuary is secondary compared to the nave. The figure of Christ was accompanied by the symbols of the four evangelists, two of whom, the eagle (John) and perhaps the angel (Matthew), the latter holding an open book, partially survive. The book's minuscule inscription is partly legible and contains a line from John's Revelation.  The painting continued on the side wall with the gallery of the apostles, of which 2-3 figures have been preserved, among them St Andrew can be recognized from the X-shaped cross. 

Stylistically, the mural paintings of the triumphal arch are in a style well known in Transylvania, usually called Italo-Byzantine without distinction. Analogies appear in many other places: Csíkszentimre, Felvinc, Boroskrakkó, Szék, Ördöngösfüzes, etc. Although this spectacular style is called Italo-Byzantine by some scholars, because of its widespread use it is more correct to speak of a Central European Gothic tendency using the Italian tradition of the Duecento period. The exact dating of the wall paintings of this group is (was) problematic, as no historical data, inscriptions or other information of any kind was available for any of the buildings, so the dating of the monuments oscillated in the literature from the 1310s to the 1340s. For this reason, the restorer's observation that the plaster of the fresco was in contact with the ceiling and, through it, the roof, was of particular importance. Dendrochronological analysis of the wooden elements of the ceiling can ideally be used to date the mural with annual (or even seasonal) precision, which can provide a post quem (later than ...) date for the mural. With the support of the László Teleki Foundation, this very important study was carried out, which revealed that one of the trees of the structure, which can be dated precisely, was cut in the winter of 1329-30 so that the construction of the structure could have taken place as early as 1330, and the wall paintings cannot be earlier than that. This date applies to the central beam supporting the wooden ceiling as well as the wooden pier in the center of the nave. Some parts of the original roof structure also date from this period. This information puts a secure dating to the Magyarvista wall paintings, and also to the entire circle of monuments

The dendrochronological research was carried out in the autumn of 2022 by the Anno Domini Dendrolab team from Csíkszereda, on the initiative of the wall painting restorers and art historians who were researching in the church. The study and subsequent laboratory analysis proved that the longitudinal central beam and the carved column supporting it in the nave date back to the 14th century, from the years 1329-30. The ring analysis of the beams built into the stone gable walls and of some elements of the present mid-17th century roof structure also indicated that the nave itself and its earlier roof structure were built at this time. In this case, the dating is year-specific, with oak felled in the winter of 1329/1330 being used for the former roof structure.

The dendrochronological research shows that the wooden roof of the nave and the former roof structure of the church in Magyarvista, as well as the column and the master beam supporting them, were built in 1330, making it the oldest surviving roof and slab structure in Transylvania, according to our present knowledge. The 14th-century roof structure can most probably be reconstructed on the basis of elements reused from the earlier structure when the present roof was built, but further field research and measurements are needed. 

This discovery of particular importance encourages further research into wall painting, dendrochronology, archaeology, and art history, which we hope will take place in 2023. Hopefully, we will still get to see one day the fresco decoration of the church of Magyarvista.

Research and restoration of Magyarvista were done by Lóránd Kiss, Zsolt Sólyom, Melinda Filep, Janka Melinda Oláh, Károly Sipos (wall painting restoration, Imago Picta, Târgu Mures), Boglárka Tóth, István Botár, Denis Walgraffe (dendrochronology, Anno Domini Dendrolab, Csíkszereda), Attila Weisz (art history). Text by Loránd Kiss, Boglárka Tóth, Attila Weisz. Photos courtesy of Attila Weisz.

An Overview of the Excavations of Pétermonostora near Bugac

Detail of one of the reliquary plaques

It is well-known that the majority of the medieval monuments of the Hungarian Great Plains had been destroyed, primarily during the Ottoman Period. However, the territory had already suffered a major trauma before that: the Mongol invasion of 1241. Already at that time, entire settlements were destroyed and many of these locations were never rebuilt in later centuries. One such place was the medieval town of Péteri. The town was located near present-day Bugac, just south of Kecskemét, on the Kiskunság plains between the Danube at Tisza rivers. It was established possibly as a royal foundation in 1050 and developed quickly during the next two centuries. Around 1130-1140, members of the Becse-Gergely clan established a monastery there, which likely contributed to the development of the town. Pétermonostora was first mentioned in 1219. In the Spring of 1241, the town was overrun by the Mongols of Batu Khan and the site seems to have been abandoned after that. Recent excavations have brought to light evidence of the massacre of the town's population. Sometime after the Mongol invasion, Cumans were settled in the area - who used the ruins as a convenient quarry.

The site of the monastery

Excavations of the area lead by Szabolcs Rosta since 2011 have brought to light the remains of the medieval monastery of Péteri or Pétermonostora. A large, three-aisled basilica was discovered here, along with various monastery buildings. Remarkably, the ruins preserved a large number of important liturgical objects from the church. Along with the ongoing excavations of the nearby cemetery and the remains of the town itself, Péteri by now has become an extraordinarily rich source of Árpád-period material objects. The most famous objects come from the monastery church itself: among several smaller enamel reliefs from Limoges, the most important finds are two enamel plaques, which originally must have decorated a reliquary. Based on its iconography - the scenes show the Washing of the Feet, Christ talking to St. Peter, and the Ascension of Christ - the reliquary must have preserved the relics of the patron saint of the church, St. Peter. The enamel plaques were made in the Rhine region, around 1180. They are kept at the Katona József Museum in Kecskemét, and an interactive feature developed by Pazirik Ltd. gives a very useful overview of them.

Enamel plaques from Pétermonostora

Another extraordinary find came to light in 2018: it is a book cover made of bone, with figures of the evangelists and inlaid rock crystal decoration. Here are some pictures, along with some other pieces from several hundred finds:

 

Excavations of the medieval town of Péteri and its monastery dedicated to St. Peter will likely continue in the coming years and will undoubtedly shed more light on the flourishing life of the Hungarian Great Plains in the decades before the Mongol invasion. To get more information on the site, have a look at this study of Szabolcs Rosta or this very useful 2017 overview by Edit Sárosi or watch a short film focusing on the site and on the restoration of the reliquary plaques (2020, in Hungarian). Pétermonostora is part of the Central European Via Benedictina network.

Romanesque Stone Carvings Found at Borosjenő Castle

New finds of Romanesque stone carvings were presented by the László Teleki Foundation earlier this week. The carvings were found during reconstruction work at the castle of Borosjenő (Ineu, Romania) in 2016 and 2019. The carvings most likely come from the abbey church of Dénesmonostora, which was located near the castle and was abandoned by the early 16th century. The stone carving were found in walls of the castle dating from the 1530s-1540s. These carving now provide some context from the lone capital decorated with a siren, which had been at the Hungarian National Museum since the 1870s.

The finds shine some light on the rich architecture and culture of a chain of Árpádian era monasteries established along the lower Maros river valley - an area that played a key role in the transportation of salt from Transylvania towards the plains. Perhaps Bizere is the most famous monastery in this region, which had been excavated during recent decades - and which is discussed in an important conference volume on monastic life. More recently, excavations were started at the Cistercian monastery of Egres as well. Dénesmonostora was established for the Augustinian canons, at an unknown date before 1199. 

Siren from Borosjenő (originally Dénesmonostora), Hungarian National Museum

No research on the castle of Borosjenő had been carried out since it was rebuilt in the 1870. The building stood empty since 2004, and the municipality is currently working on rebuilding the castle. Already during the surveys carried out in 2016, it was discovered that the walls incorporate a large number of pre-1200 stone carvings used as building materials. At that time, 9 early carvings were recovered. In 2019, with support of the Rómer Flóris Plan, another 14 smaller or larger stones were found, and dozens more were documented within the walls. This work was carried about by Zsolt Kovács and Attila Weisz, art historians from Cluj.

Borosjenő (Ineu) castle, awaiting restoration

The stone carvings are mainly capitals and bases of columns, decorated with various vegetal carvings in Romanesque style. They most likely date from around the middle of the 12th century, and are very important because from this region nothing similar has been found so far - now these finds can be analyzed through comparisons with carvings from such important ecclesiastiacal centers as Székesfehérvár or Pécs. The excavation of the site of the former monastery is also planned for the near future, which would certainly help place these objects in context.

A final remark: earlier this year I published a brief study on the churches of the Augustinian canons in Hungary, where Dénesmonostora was mentioned, but I could not say much about its church. As these investigations will continue, we will certainly know more about the canons regular in Hungary as well, an order which played an important role in the 12th century monastic reform in Central Europe. 

Photos by Attila Mudrák, used with permission of the László Teleki Foundation.

Exhibition of Medieval Stove Tiles at the Budapest History Museum

Tile from the knight-figure stove.
Buda, 1450s. © Budapest History Museum 

A major exhibition on medieval stove tiles from Hungary is on view at the Budapest History Museum in Buda Castle. The exhibition is titled Heartwarming Middle Ages - Stoves and Stove Tiles in Medieval Hungary, and its chief curator was András Végh, the director of the Castle Museum. The use of stove tiles (unglazed or glazed) was a Central European invention and such stoves became increasingly common in Hungary starting from the early 14th century. The exhibition presents the development of tile stoves at the royal court and in aristocratic castles, and it also provides an overview of the most popular motifs - biblical, historical, heraldic, etc. - on stove tiles. These motifs are explained through comparisons with other media - books, prints, seals and other objects. The exhibition also discusses the techniques and development of the making of tile stoves.

Because of the durability of glazed tiles and because of the relatively clear dates we can assign to them, these objects are favorites among archaeologists. The Budapest History Museum - which preserves all of the archaeological finds from the royal palace of Buda - has a very extensive collection of tiles, which formed the basis of the exhibition. The local material was extended through a large number of loans from Hungary and abroad alike. Taken all together, the exhibition provides an unprecedented overview of the development and richness of this medium.

 St John on a stove tile, from the Bothár-house, Besztercebánya
© Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest

Figural stove tiles from late medieval houses in Besztercebánya (Banská Bystrica, Slovakia) are among the most interesting sets displayed in the exhibition. The so-called Bothár workshop made good-quality glazed and unglazed tiles depicting saints and other figures. Most of the pieces are preserved today in the Museum of Applied Arts in Budapest - you can browse these and other tiles from that collection in the Museum's collection database.

The exhibition will remain on view until September 2, 2018. A catalogue is in preparation. An exhibition website (sadly only in Hungarian) provides more information and photos of the exhibition.

Additional photos:

Stove tile from the Sigismund-period. © Budapest History Museum

© Budapest History Museum

© Budapest History Museum

Connecting Early Medieval European Collections Project

Avar-period round fibula from Kölked (Hungarian National Museum)

Connecting Early Medieval European Collections (CEMEC) is an EU-funded cooperation project that aims to create a collaborative network, and a cost-effective business model, between eight European museum collections and six technical partners. The goal is to examine both the connections between Early Medieval collection objects (300-1000 AD) and the objects’ regions of origin with the aid of innovative IT solutions.

Drawing on objects from participating museum collections, the project will produce ‘CROSSROADS’, a travelling exhibition focusing on connectivity and cultural exchange during the Early Middle Ages (300 -1000) in Europe. The ’CROSSROADS, Europe (300-1000)’ exhibition will focus on the Early Middle Ages in Europe. This period is often defined as ‘the Dark Ages’, however the exhibition will shed new light on this misconception, presenting the period as a time of exchange, in objects, people and ideas. The exhibition will open at the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam (October 2017-March 2018). It will then move to the Byzantine and Christian Museum in Athens (April- September 2018) and end at the LVR Landesmuseum in Bonn (October 2018- April 2019).

The Hungarian National Museum is a partner in the project, and already staged a small display about Avars in the Early Medieval Carpathian Basin. The exhibitions Avars Revived was on view during March 2017.

You can read more about the CEMEC project on their website. On the website of the Hungarian National Museum, you can see one of the 3D models created in the framework of the project.

View of the exhibition Avars Revived (Photo: Hungarian National Museum, Budapest)

New Books on Medieval Buda

In this post, I would like to announce three new books which contain a lot of information about the history of art in Buda, the medieval capital of Hungary (part of modern-day Budapest). Each of the books has a different focus, and neither of them can be considered a survey of the art of medieval Buda - but together they definitely provide significantly more up-to-date information than earlier publications. Previously, the most accessible English-language overview of medieval Buda was László Gerevich's The Art of Buda and Pest in the Middle Ages, published in 1971, while somewhat more recent information in German was provided by the exhibition catalogue of the Budapest History Museum and the Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum from 1991 (titled Budapest im Mittelalter). Now all of a sudden we have three new books which can be consulted by anyone interested in the art of Buda and its environs.

The first book will likely become the standard volume on the subject, given its well-known publisher and the wide circulation made possible through them. The book is titled Medieval Buda in Context, and it was published in Brill's Companion to European History series. Edited by Balázs Nagy, Martyn Rady, Katalin Szende and András Vadas, the book was published in the middle of 2016. Here is a description by the publisher: 

"Medieval Buda in Context discusses the character and development of Buda and its surroundings between the thirteenth and the sixteenth centuries, particularly its role as a royal center and capital city of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. The twenty-one articles written by Hungarian and international scholars draw on a variety of primary sources: texts, both legal and literary; archaeological discoveries; architectural history; art history; and other studies of material culture. The essays also place Buda in the political, social, cultural and economic context of other contemporary central and eastern European cities. By bringing together the results of research undertaken in recent decades for an English-language readership, this volume offers new insights into urban history and the culture of Europe as a whole."

Although the book has a historical focus, it contains a number of very important art historical studies as well. There are essays about the medieval topography of Buda and its ecclesiastical institutions, and on the role of Buda as a power center in the late Middle Ages. For art historians, Szilárd Papp's study on the statues commissioned by King Sigismund and the essay by Valery Rees on Buda as a center of Renaissance are perhaps the most important.

You can take a peek at the book in Google Books or, in fact, you can go straight to the full online version, if you have access.

The second book has an archaeological and art historical focus, but it treats a geographically wider region: the central part of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. Titled In medio regni Hungariae. Archaeological, art historical, and historical researches 'in the middle of the kingdom', the book was edited by Elek Benkő and Krisztina Orosz and published by the Institute of Archaeology of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Budapest, 2015). The book is not in English - the bulk of the text is in Hungarian, but a long English summary of each study is included in the book. These extensive English summaries and the large number of high-quality illustrations make the book accessible even to those who do not speak Hungarian. The 764 page book contains on overview of current research about royal centers in medieval Hungary, including Esztergom, Székesfehérvár, Visegrád and of course Buda. Studies in the book are organized according to themes: thus after introductory studies by Ernő Marosi, Pál Lővei and others, material is arranged into units on ecclesiastical centers and residences, then on other castles and material remains. Given the nature of the surviving material - as well as the publisher of the book - it is no surprise that the book has a strong archaeological focus. The table of contents can be downloaded here. A review by József Laszlovszky was published in the Winter 2015 issue of Hungarian Archaeology (direct link to pdf).

Cover of the Hungarian edition

The third book is the English edition of an exhibition catalogue already discussed on this blog. It is dedicated to a comparative overview of the history and art of Budapest and Kraków in the Middle Ages. (On Common Path. Budapest and Kraków in the Middle Ages. Ed.: Judit Benda - Virág Kiss - Grazyna-Nurek Lihonczak - Károly Magyar, Budapest History Museum, Budapest, 2016.). The studies and catalogue entries in the book survey the parallel histories of Buda and Kraków from the period of their foundations to the high points of their development in the late Middle Ages.

The exhibition, shown earlier this year in Budapest, will be put on view in Kraków next year.

If you are interested in the history of Buda Castle, you should also have a look at the online database of architectural and municipal history of Buda Castle, created by the Budapest History Museum and the Research Centre for the Humanities of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. This well-illustrated site gives an overview of the history and monuments of the settlement on top of the castle hill, and is available in English as well.

Figure of a man with a chaperon, from the royal palace of Buda (Budapest History Museum)

Medieval treasure and mass grave discovered from the time of the Mongol Invasion

Photo: Újvári Sándor / MTI

A sensational archaeological find has been announced by the Katona József Museum of Kecskemét on March 31: during excavations of a medieval village near Kiskunmajsa, a buried treasure was found, along with the burned remains of the former inhabitants, among them mainly children. The treasure includes more than 250 silver coins as well as rings and other jewels. Most of the coins date from the reign of King Béla IV (1235-1270), thus the find can be convincingly dated to the time of the Mongol invasion, which struck Hungary in 1241-42. The excavations took place by chance, after signs of the remains were found during plowing a field. Work was lead by archaeologist and museum director Szabolcs Rosta, with the help of archaeologists from Kecskemét, Kiskunhalas and Baja. It was established that the finds - including the human remains - were inside two former houses.

Similar finds have been uncovered in several places in recent years. In 2005, at the site of a village near Cegléd, the remains of a family have been found inside a burned-down dwelling. In 2010, another mass grave was found at Szank (also in the Kiskunság area): the remains were found inside a house, which the Mongols burned down. Among the remains of men, women and children, a treasure was also found.

Silver coins excavated near Kiskunmajsa (Photo: Újvári Sándor / MTI)

The Mongol invasion of 1241-42 caused the sharpest interruption in the development of Hungarian ecclesiastical structures. Especially on the Great Plains and in several areas of eastern Hungary, settlements and their early parish churches were destroyed beyond repair. 

Ring from the Kiskunmajsa treasure (Photo: Újvári Sándor / MTI)

Larger abbey churches and more important centers were also destroyed during the invasion and then abandoned. Recent archaeological research has brought to life the former abbey church of Péteri near Bugac, dedicated to Sts Peter and Paul. The abbey church (which must have been Benedictine, although it is not well documented) was first mentioned in 1219, but the large, three-aisled basilica was most likely built around the middle of the 12th century. During the Mongol invasion, the church was ruined and never rebuilt. The excavations have brought to light important remains of this once thriving monastic community: a fragment of a processional cross, remains of a reliquary decorated with Limoges enamel plaques (of which the figure of a saint survives), etc. Smaller churches were similarly destroyed and often never rebuilt.

Detail from the Szank treasure, excavated in 2010

Finds from the current excavation, as well as from Szank will be displayed in a new exhibition planned for later this year at Kecskemét.

Finds from the monastery of Péteri, near Bugac (via Archaeologia.hu)

Exhibition on Buda and Kraków in the Middle Ages

 Poster of the exhibition 

A new exhibition, titled On Common Path - Budapest and Kraków in the Middle Ages opened last week at the Budapest History Museum. It is the result of a common project of the Hungarian institution and the Historical Museum of the City Kraków, and was realized in the larger framework of the cooperation of Hungary and Poland, as the first step of the Hungarian Cultural Year in Poland.

The exhibition surveys the parallel histories of Buda and Kraków from the period of their foundations to the high points of their development in the late Middle Ages. Both towns were among the major cities of medieval Europe. The exhibition presents common events in the history of the town, as well as personalities who played an important role in the history of both towns. Among other things, it focuses on the Anjou and the Jagiellonian dynasties, as well as on Stephen Báthory, Prince of Transylvania and King of Poland. Through these historical figures, the exhibition illustrated that not only the two cities, but also the history of the two nations is closely linked. The last period surveyed is the 16th century, which represents a break, especially in the development of Buda, which came under Ottoman Turkish occupation in 1541.

Most of the objects in the exhibition give insight into the everyday life of city dwellers as well as into festive occasions. A large number of archaeological finds are presented, including many objects never before shown (expecially from Buda). The parallel histories of the two cities are installed on two sides of the exhibition rooms, while showcases placed in the center of the rooms features historical figures and institutions - such as the University of Cracow - which represented points of contact for the two towns.

View of the exhibition - Buda (Photo: BTM - Bence Tihanyi)

The exhibition will remain on view until July 24 in Budapest, and later will be presented in Kraków as well, It is accompanied by a detailed and useful exhibition catalogue, which will also be published in and English-language edition.

View of the exhibition - Kraków (Photo: BTM - Bence Tihanyi)

Exhibition: Közös úton - Budapest és Krakkó a középkorban. On Common Path - Budapest and Kraków in the Middle Ages. Castle Museum of Budapest History Museum, March 19 - July 24, 2016. The poster, seen above, features the emblem of the Krakow Rifle Association, the "Rooster Company," a work of Gian Giacopo Caraglio from 1564/65. Krakow, Museum Historyczne Miasta Krakowa.

Photo: Nol.hu

Catalogue: Közös úton. Budapest és Krakkó a középkorban. Kiállítási katalógus. Ed. Judit Benda, Virág Kiss, Grazyna Lihonczak-Nurek, Károly Magyar. Budapest, 2016, 335 pp.

Martin Kober's portrait of Stephen Báthory from Kraków, 1583

Remains of Bonyhád church covered over

Virtual reconstruction of Bonyhád church 

I wanted to give an update about the situation with the excavation of the medieval church of Bonyhád. Unfortunately, the excavations could not be completed fully. Once the very short-term permit ran out, work on the excavations had to stop on October 7th. More than a month passed until the possibility of continuation was debated - a precious month with good weather, during which a lot of progress could have been made. Starting from mid-November, 2015, the excavated ruins of the medieval church were covered up and filled with concrete, so the new road could be built over them. As a results of this, unfortunately a lot of the questions surrounding the church could not be answered. I talked to the chief archaeologist, Géza Szabó, and he provided some information about the church. He explained to me that it is plain to see - even without a full excavation going down to sufficient depth, that the church had at least two phases of construction. The earlier phase can be dated to the period of King Sigismund, and is probably connected to the men found buried in front of the main altar. He was a strong, well-to-do man. Although no tombstone was found, a coin from the rule of Wladislas I. dates the burial to this period (1440-1444), and places the construction of the church to the Sigismund period. The church was later rebuilt, most likely in the early 16th century - this is the date of the late gothic net vault, the fragments of which were found during the excavations. Unfortunately, earlier phases of construction could not be adequately explored, and the area of the church also could not be excavated.

The excavation site during my visit in late October

Because of the very short period available for archaeological excavation, and the impossibility of examining the site in the future, documentation was of paramount importance. In the following, I would like to illustrate some of the techniques used during the work carried out. The site itself was documented in a 3D photogrammetric survey, recording all details by Interspect Research Group. 3D modelling company Pazirik also scanned the site, and carried out 3D scanning of the architectural fragments, which then served as the basis of a theoretical 3D reconstruction of the early 16th century phase of the building. 

Virtual reconstruction of the church at Bonyhád

Based on a keystone and several vault fragments, the intricate late Gothic net vault of the church was also reconstructed. These reconstructions, and initial results of research were published by Archeologia.hu. The articles published in this collection not only make preliminary results and wonderful illustrations available, but also reveal that there are still several questions surrounding the remains - questions, which largely could have been answered via a thorough and complete archaeological excavation. Current legislation in Hungary unfortunately makes it possible that the construction of a road could proceed, without the completion of this archaeological survey.

The site being covered over (mid-Novermber, 2015)

Sources:

A középkori templom feltárása Bonyhádon - article (pdf, in Hungarian), Archeologia - Altum Castrum Online Magazin. 

Photo documentation of the excavation

The lost medieval church of Bonyhád

It is rare that the excavation of a simple medieval parish church makes national news in Hungary. However, this is precisely what is happening these days with the remains of the medieval church of Bonyhád in southern Transdanubia: largely because there seems to be no time and no way to fully excavate and preserve the ruins. This is because of recent changes in Hungarian heritage laws, which favor construction and development instead of heritage protection.

The remains of the church of Bonyhád were discovered during the construction of a new exit from route 6. Current legislation only gives 30 days for any archaeological investigations in such situations, with a possibility of further extension granted by the Ministry of Culture. This extension has to be given by the Minister himself within 8 days - if he does not grant it, construction can continue without delay. The remains of the church of Bonyhád were discovered in late September. Thanks to the cooperation of a team of Hungarian archaeologists, the excavation was carried out during the last two weeks - but now work is coming to an end, as the construction of the road will commence on Wednesday.

Photo: István Huszti / Index

So let's see what was found: excavations have brought to light the nave of a medieval church (the sanctuary lies under the main road built a long time ago). It seems that the edifice was the medieval parish church of Bonyhád, which in the Middle Ages was located at some distance from the current center of the settlement. The church must have been destroyed in 1542 when the Ottoman Turkish army pushed through this area. The church burnt down, its walls were torn down some time later, and the site was abandoned. The site soon filled up with mud - thus the remains were preserved in good condition. A keystone and other fragments of the late Gothic vault of the church were found, along with the remains of the bell, as well as stone carvings from the portal of the church and other structural elements. Here are some photos of the stone carvings:

The excavation was one of the first times when the new heritage laws of Hungary were applied in a real-life scenario, and it became obvious that the regulations are not sufficient to protect archaeological heritage. Despite protests from the Association of Hungarian Archaeologists and even a statement by the ombudsman, it seems that the site will have to covered over before the excavations can fully be completed, as construction will resume as early as next week. Maybe the ensuing debate and national attention will help lawmakers rethink the current regulations.

Photos: Facebook - Save the Gothic church of Bonyhád! group

Photo: István Huszti / Index