CushingThe Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 71, No. 3 pp. 502-503
2013.06.13 16:02
Az egri főegyházmegyei könyvtár cirill betűs és glagolita könyvei by Sándor Földvári; Eszter
OjtoziReview by: G. F. CushingThe Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 71, No. 3 (Jul., 1993), pp. 502-503.
Published by: the Modern Humanities Research Association and University College London, School ofSlavonic and East European StudiesStable
[...]
The lengthy study preceding the catalogue is of particular interest. It
surveys the history of the numerous libraries in Eger and discusses the
provenance of the collection. For centuries there was a Serbian Orthodox
community in the town, indeed Eger was the birthplace of Mihaly Vitkovics
(Mihailo Vitkovic), one of the notable literary figures of the early nineteenth
century who wrote in both Serbian and Hungarian. The Serbian church, in
whose parsonage Vitkovics was born, possessed a library and might therefore
appear to be a source of the relevant books in the Archdiocesan library, but
most of its stock was transferred to the much larger collection in Szentendre
when the church was closed for worship and became a museum; the few
remaining books are on display there.
Another line of enquiry leads to possible Uniate links with Eger. There was
a Uniate diocese of Munkaics (Mukacevo), which was geographically near to
Eger; moreover places were offered for six Uniate students to study in the
theological college there, though relations between the two bishops were never
cordial and on one occasion all six students fled. It would therefore seem
unlikely that the majority of the books were donated by the Uniates in
Munkacs. On the other hand the places of publication suggest a strong Uniate
connection: fourteen of the books were published in Pochaev and eight in
Lvov, both places where Uniate activity was strong. Further research in this
field might solve this problem.
[...]
The study does not confine itself to the Eger collection. It also provides a
useful survey of the evolution of Slavonic bibliography in Hungary, with
special reference to the collections at the pilgrimage venue of Mariapocs and
the Uniate Theological College in Nyiregyhaza.
This is a well-researched and welcome venture. It is to be hoped that the authors will extend their work to include wider discussion of the problems they have met in this necessarily brief work, which amply demonstrates their competence in this field.
London G. F. CUSHING