New medieval history books from CEU Press

Ever since the Department of Medieval Studies has been established at the Central European University (Budapest) in the early 1990s, CEU Press has been publishing a number of important books on medieval subjects. Most of these books are dedicated to the medieval history of East Central Europe. The series of Central European Medieval Texts made important primary sources from this region available in English translation. CEU Medievalia, on the other hand, is a series largely dedicated to publications by members of the Department. A couple of new books have recently been published in these two series.


The latest book is dedicated to one of the founders of the Department, Gábor Klaniczay:


Promoting the Saints Cults and Their Contexts from Late Antiquity until the Early Modern Period. Essays in Honor of Gábor Klaniczay for His 60th Birthday. Eds. Ottó Gecser, József Laszlovszky, Balázs Nagy, Marcell Sebők, Katalin Szende (CEU Medievalia - CEU Press, 2010). For the contents, click here.

Another new volume, the 13th in the CEU Medievalia series is a monograph on a long-neglected subject: Zsolt Hunyadi: The Hospitallers in the Medieval Kingdom of Hungary, c. 1150–1387  (CEU Press, 2010). For more information, click here.

The fifth volume in the Central European Medieval Texts Series has also just been published: Anonymus and Master Roger [Central European Medieval Texts Series Volume V]. Ed. János M. Bak, Martyn Rady, László Veszprémy (CEU Press, 2010). For more information on the book and the series, click here.

This book, along with János Bak's collected studies (János M. Bak: Studying Medieval Rulers and Their Subjects: Central Europe and Beyond (Variorum Collected Studies Series). Ed. Balázs Nagy, Gábor Klaniczay. Ashgate, 2010) will be presented on November 10 at the Department of Medieval Studies at CEU. For an invitation and the detailed program, click here. For other medieval history books published or distributed by CEU Press, see here.

The CEU Medievalia series and the Central European Medieval Texts Series are both available from Amazon (click on the covers below for more information).

Hungarian medieval paintings exhibited in Bruges

Virgin and Child from Bártfa (Bardejov)
Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest 

A major exhibition, titled Van Eyck to Dürer can be seen starting from tomorrow at the Groeningemuseum in Bruges (from October 29, 2010 to January 30, 2011). The aim of the exhibition is to survey the far-reaching impact of early Netherlandish painting on Central Europe. The press release states the following:

"In the fifteenth century the Flemish Primitives triggered an artistic revolution in Central Europe. Talented painters like Jan van Eyck with his brilliant eye for detail, introduced new painting styles and techniques. Their influence spread rapidly and inspired scores of artists, including the painter, draughtsman and etcher Albrecht Dürer. Van Eyck and Dürer are two great masters from the period 1420-1530. A pioneering exhibition brings together first-rate works by them and some of their contemporaries, drawn from notable European and American collections. Paintings and other art forms will illustrate the interaction between the Flemish Primitives and art in Central Europe."

No doubt, an overview of painting in this one-hundred years should be a feast for the eye, and juxtapositions of famous works could provide numerous art historical insights. The exhibition does not seem to have an extensive website, but you can read on it at the Brugge Centraal website, of which the exhibition is part of.

Crucifixion from the altar of Jánosrét
Hungarian National Gallery 

More information is available in a tourist brochure (pdf here) and images of works to be exhibited can also be seen here. A catalogue, published in several languages and edited by Till-Holgert Borchert, should also be available starting from tomorrow (link to the German, English and French versions at Amazon).

In addition to focusing only on Germany, the exhibition also includes several paintings from East Central Europe. The Hungarian National Gallery is loaning a few panel painting to the exhibition, to illustrate the impact of Netherlandish painting on 15th-century Hungarian painting. The works were selected by Gyöngyi Török, who also contributed to the catalogue. Works on loan include a wing of the altarpiece from Jánosrét (Lučky, SK) and panels from the altarpiece of Mosóc (Mošovce, SK), both dating from the 1470s. Two smaller panels illustrated here - a Virgin and Child from Bártfa (Bardejov, SK) and a Man of Sorrow from Kassa (Košice, SK) - are also in the exhibition.

Man of Sorrows from Kassa (Košice)

Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest

These works are perhaps not the most sophisticated examples of Hungarian painting showing the influence of Netherlandish painting. It also has to be said that this influence was for the most part not direct, as new painterly ideas were transmitted to Hungary through Germany and Austria. Finally, some of the best works in this artistic trend - including the main altars of Kassa in Upper Hungary, or Medgyes (Medias, RO) and Berethalom (Biertan/Birthälm, RO) in Transylvania - are still standing in their original location, the same spot where they have been erected in the 15th century. One of these unmovable works is, however, evoked at the Bruges exhibition. A monumental fresco of the Crucifixion in the parish church of Nagyszeben (Sibiu/Hermannstadt, RO), painted in 1445 by Johannes de Rosenau will be shown through a large-scale copy, painted at the beginning of the 20th century, and also lent by the Hungarian National Gallery. I will use this opportunity to include a photo of this fresco here (without the upper part, which was heavily repainted in the 17th century).

(I don't think I will be able to go and see this exhibition. If you have a chance to visit it - please add a comment with your impressions. Other places to see examples of medieval Hungarian paintings include the exhibitions at the Royal Academy in London and at the Musée Cluny in Paris).

Presentation of new book by Vladimir Goss

On Friday (October 22, 2010), an art history workshop - or a discussion and debate - will be held at Collegium Budapest. The topic will be the new book by Vladimir Goss, titled: Four Centuries of European Art, 800-1200 - A View from Southeast (Četiri stoljeća europske umjetnosti: 800-1200. Pogled s jugoistoka) (Zagreb, Golden Marketing, 2010).

The program is the following:

Xavier Barral i Altet – Presentation of the book

Ernő Marosi and Béla Zsolt Szakács – Critical comments

Vladimir Goss – Responses

Vladimir Goss is a Professor of Art History at the University of Rijeka, he has taught several years in the US (Michigan-Dearborn, Michigan-Ann Arbor, North Carolina - Chapel Hill), among other works, he is author of Early Croatian Architecture (London: Duckworth, 1987) and Pre-Romanesque Architecture in Croatia (Zagreb: Art Studio Azinović, 2006). He was President of the Governing Board of the Institute of Art History, Zagreb (2005 -2007).

Xavier Barral i Altet, Professor Emeritus of Art History at the University of Rennes, is currently a Fellow at Collegium Budapest; Ernő Marosi, senior researcher, Institute for Art History at the HAS, Professor Emeritus at the Eötvös Loránd University, is a former Fellow at Collegium Budapest; Béla Zsolt Szakács, Associate Professor of Art History at the Pázmány Péter Catholic University and the Dept. of Medieval Studies at the Central European University, is also a former Fellow at Collegium Budapest.

Vladimir Goss is also the main coordinator of the website ROMANIKA.NET. The website is dedicated to the research project The Romanesque between the Sava and the Drava Rivers and European Culture, and contains a wealth of information on the subject.

(Source: Collegium Budapest)

Hungarians in the Crusader Castle of Margat

View of Margat castle, photo by Éva Galambos

The Crusader castle of Margat (Marqab) is the largest such building in the former Principality of Antioch (present-day Syria). After its capture from the Muslims in the early 12th century, the castle was incorporated into the Principality and later - in 1186 - it was sold to the Hospitallers. In 1188, Saladin was unable to capture it, and it remained in the hand of the Hospitallers for almost another century (until 1285).
King Andrew II of Hungary, leader of the Fifth Crusade (1217-1218) spent some time in the castle, and made a sizable donation to the Hospitallers.  It is interesting to note that the mother of Andrew II, Anne (Ágnes) of Chatillon stems from the Principality of Antioch, as she was the daughter of Raynald of Chatillon - the same Raynald executed by Saladin in 1187, a year before his army reached Margat.

The castle was built into a huge edifice by the Hospitallers, organized around a large circular keep (donjon). The main buildings of the castle - including the great hall, the chapel, the chapter house, the dormitories and the kitchen - survived largely intact to this day. Since 2006, the Syro-Hungarian Archaeological Mission, led by Balázs Major has been conducting research and excavations at the site.

The big breakthrough came in 2008, when frescoes were discovered inside the castle chapel. The frescoes are the remains of a large Last Judgment, likely painted at the end of the 12th century by western painters. So far large areas of the depiction of Hell have been cleaned on the wall to the left of the apse, and traces of Heaven have been uncovered on the opposite wall. Jaroslav Folda, in his book Crusader Art in the Holy Land from the Third Crusade to the Fall of Acre, 1187-1291 (Cambridge-New York, 2005) dates the construction of the chapel to 1186-87, so immediately after the Hospitallers took over the castle. He also describes the frescoes known before the current excavation campaign, located in the sacristy. The newly discovered frescoes are not only on a much larger surface than those known before, but their rare iconography makes them the most important discovery in the field of Crusader art. Their style is also different from those described by Folda as the work of a Byzantinizing locally trained painter (p. 33).

Thanks to the kindness of one of the restorers working on these frescoes, I am able to include a few illustrations here. These photos were all taken by Éva Galambos, and have never appeared before.

Géza Jászai in Budapest

Domkammer,
St. Paulus-Dom, Münster

Art historian Géza Jászai is in Budapest these days, and he will take part in a round-table discussion dedicated to his career at the Art History Department of Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest on October 21. After leaving Hungary, Géza Jászai studied in Munich with Hans Sedlmayr, Wolfgang Braunfels, and Wilhelm Messerer. He played a key role in editing Kirschbaum's Lexikon der christlichen Ikonographie.

Later he spent the bigger part of his career at Münster, where he worked at the Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte and created the Cathedral Museum at Münster. He worked as the first curator of the institution from 1981 to 2000. In addition to publishing extensively on the medieval objects in the collections of Münster, Géza Jászai wrote on other subjects, such as Giovanni and Nicola Pisano's pulpits in the cathedral and the baptistery of Pisa (1968, 2010, respectively), and also on Botticelli. You can see his selected works by entering the Regesta Imperii Opac, or even more publications if you carry out a search in the Union Catalogue of the Art Libraries Network. For more information and photos of Münster cathedral, in addition to the website of the cathedral, click here.

You can read the Hungarian-language invitation to the event here.

Virtual visits to Transylvanian medieval churches

Gelence (Ghelinta)

A new website provides a number of very-well done virtual visits (360° panoramas) to Transylvanian sites. The site, called Treasures of Szeklerland introduces monuments and sites from the eastern part of Transylvania, the territory of the Szeklers. Several of the medieval churches on the site contain important fresco cycles - including some of my favorites. 




These are all small village churches, and in most cases the 14th century decoration of the naves survives. The cycles occupy the uninterrupted north wall of these churches, painted in several rows. Generally the upper row on the north wall is dedicated to the legend of King Saint Ladislas (ruled 1077-1095), more specifically the story where he frees a Hungarian girl abducted by the invading Cuman warriors.


Other cycles generally include the Passion of Christ, and often the Last Judgment. On the Treasures of Szeklerland website, some of the most important such cycles can be studied. I cannot provide direct links to different parts of the flash-based site, but upon starting, you will land inside the church at Gelence (Ghelinta). I also recommend the virtual visit of the following churches: Bögöz (Mugeni), Székelyderzs (Dirjiu, with frescoes from 1419), and Kilyén (Chilieni). Csíkrákos (Racu) has fewer frescoes, but here the entire western tower is decorated, probably from the 16th century. The Apor-mansion at Torja (Turia) preserved interesting secular painting from the mid-17th century. Inside the (virtual) churches, be sure to look up at the 17th-18th century painted coffered ceilings! A great advantage of the website is that it provides succinct information on the sites in English (as well as in Hungarian and Romanian).

Three conferences on medieval Hungary

Three interesting conferences in the next few days will focus on different aspects of Hungarian medieval history and art.

The first conference, to be held on October 16 at Székesfehérvár, focuses on King Charles Robert (1308-1342), Hungary's first king of the Neapolitan Angevin dynasty. The conference, organized by the Museum of the Bishopric of Székesfehérvár, is to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the coronation of Charles Robert. Although Charles ruled from 1308, only his third coronation in 1310 was accepted as fully legal (with the Holy Crown, by the archbishop of Esztergom and at Székesfehérvár). The conference is titled Charles Robert and Székesfehérvár, and talks will focus on aspects of his coronation, his heraldic representation, seals and coinage. Art historical topics will include Hungarian luxury manuscripts from the Angevin period, and also the Angevin royal tombs at Székesfehérvár.

The program can be seen below, or at this link. (Language: Hungarian)

The following day (Oct. 17th) a workshop will begin at the Central European University, running until October 19. Organized by the Department of Medieval Studies and the King Matthias Museum of Visegrád, the workshop is titled Centers of Power and Spiritual Life in the Middle Ages and in the Early Modern Period: Mendicant Orders in the Context of Urban Development and Royal Patronage. The workshop focuses on the role of the mendicant orders in the life of Central European urban centers, and will include visits to a number of such sites in Budapest and Visegrád. A description and the full program is available at the website of the Medieval Studies department.

The third conference, to be held on October 19-20 at Budapest and Piliscsaba, will focus on the first monastic order, the Benedictines. Titled Heritage and Mission: The Benedictines in Hungary, the conference is jointly organized by the Hungarian Benedictine Congregation, the Sapientia Theological College and the Faculty of Humanities of the Pázmány Péter Catholic University. Various sections in the program of the conference will be dedicated to art historical topics, such as Benedictine architecture in medieval Hungary. The full program is available on the websites of all three organizers: here, here and here. (Language: Hungarian)