Upper Hungary

In the Church of the Archangel Michael in Markušovce an exceptional collection of sepulchral monuments has been preserved. They are remarkable not just because there are so many of them, at a number never before seen elsewhere in village churches in the Spiš region, but also for the information that they offer us as researchers. The church dates from the second half of the 13th century and since its origin served not just as the parish church but also as the estate church of the Markušovský branch of the Mariáši family (Máriássy, Markušovskí), which derived its predicate from the village that
was in its possession for centuries. This family was one of the oldest and most prominent noble families in the Spiš region. The inscriptions on the sepulchral monuments were copied in the late 18th century by the Spiš historian Carolus Wagner and later by other researchers. Despite this, more in-depth research was never carried out and the study at hand is the first ever analysis and contextual evaluation. Epigraphic study helped to fill in some dynastic prosopographic information and identify who commissioned the sepulchral monuments and how they came into existence. The oldest surviving sepulchral monument was created before 1516, when Štefan VI Mariáši, who both commissioned and ultimately occupied it, died. Besides this, there are also seven surviving inscribed heraldic
tombs or epitaphs(?) and one tombstone with just the inscribed segment, part of which is still in its original location. The sepulchral monuments of Žigmund I, Pavel II, and František V Mariáši all suggest they were the work of a local,
domestic workshop. On top of this collection of surviving sepulchral monuments is knowledge of several no longer existing monuments that were used in burial rites and the related but today little known heraldic slabs that belonged to Lucie Čaholi, the wife of Štefan VI Mariáši, and the latter’s patrons Ján and Juraj Zápoľský and their mother Hedviga, a Tešín princess and the widow of the Palatine Štefan Zápoľski. A larger and more significant collection of sepulchral monuments in Spiš can be found in the town parish Church of St Jakub in Levoča and St Martin’s Cathedral in Spišská Kapitula, but these are different types of church artefacts used also for different functions as the Markušovský church.

Ein Marientodrelief in Saybusch oder: Ein weiterer Beitrag zur Skulptur des Grangebiets am Anfang des 16. Jahrhunderts

Von dem spätgotischen Marientodrelief, das heute in der Saybuscher (poln. Żywiec, Polen) Hauptkirche in einem neugotischen Retabelschrein steht, wird in der Stadtchronik von Andrzej Komoniecki am Anfang des 18. Jahrhunderts berichtet, es stamme aus der ungarischen Hauptstadt Buda. Im ersten Abschnitt des vorliegenden Aufsatzes untersuche ich diese Nachricht, und komme zum Schluss, dass der ursprüngliche Aufstellungsort des Reliefs wohl die Pfarrkirche von Kisuc-Neustadt (slow. Kysucké Nové Mesto, ung. Kiszucaújhely, Slowakei) gewesen sein dürfte. Diese Herkunft wird im zweiten Teil stilkritisch geprüft. Weitere, qualitätvollere Werke derselben Bildhauerwerkstatt erblicke ich im Hochaltar von Liptovský Ondrej (ung. Liptószentandrás, Slowakei) und im Marienaltar von Poniky (ung. Pónik, Slowakei). Beide Retabel sind inschriftlich mit dem Jahr 1512 datiert, und auch ihre Malereien stammen aus einer gemeinsamen Werkstatt, deren Sitz aufgrund weiterer Zuschreibungen in Neusohl (slow. Banská Bystrica, ung. Besztercebánya) angenommen wird. Im dritten Abschnitt widme ich mich dem weiteren stilistischen Umfeld dieser Schnitzwerke. Während einige Charakteristika auch bei zeitgleichen Skulpturen der Neusohler Umgebung anzutreffen sind, besteht auch eine enge Verwandschaft mit den Werken jenes Breslauer Bildschnitzers, der mit dem aus Quellen bekannten Maler Jakob Beinhart identifiziert wird. Am Ende versuche ich diesen Befund auf die aktuelle Lage der Beinhartforschung und auf den Stellenwert geographischer Denkmuster in der Erforschung der spätgotischen Retabelkunst zu beziehen.

More photos of the Żywiec relief here: http://1100sor.hu/viewer.php?id=zywiec

Bardejov, as one of the most important and best preserved
historical towns in Slovakia, plays a key role in the process of learning about the issue of burgher sepulchralia. Not only by virtue of the large amount, in which they have been preserved to this day, but also thanks to the numerous archival sources or other material and immaterial artefacts on which we can
rely in the research of the sepulchralia of the Bardejov burghers from the first half of the 17th century. Also in the second half of the 16th century, a tradition of producing burgher sepulchralia undoubtedly existed in the town. Valuable
evidence of that is provided by archival sources. A record from the Bardejov Registry of the Deceased from 1588 literally transcribed the inscription directlyfrom the epitaph. The tombstone of the parish priest and elder Michal Radašin
confirms that in the town a thick layer of potential commissioners or authors of sepulchralia from the perspective of their literary dimension had already been created. The production of sepulchralia, whether already in their stone form or in the form of wooden epitaphs, was ensured by the class of master stone cutters, carvers or painters. We know some of them also by name thanks to their monogram preserved on the artefacts, or mainly thanks to the archival sources.
Such is the case of stonemason Antonius Lapicida, who produced Radašin’s sepulchralia or in the 17th century the brothers Ján and Matúš Grünwald. They were painters who were the authors of several epitaphs. A component of some
of these wooden epitaphs are glued prints, which is a specificity of Bardejov and it is necessary to perceive it in the context of local, known book printer who issued them. These prints contain epicedia, or poems expressing grief over the
death of a mortal and celebrating his acts in life. Their authors were leading men of letters, parish priests or the deacons and representatives of the school. Most often among the authors of epicedia, namely not only the wooden epitaphs,
but also the stone tombstones, we see the brothers Wagner, the parish priest and elder Martin and the rector of the school and later deacon Leonard.

The study of epigraphic sources has crucial importance for cultural history. The analysis and subsequent comparison of inscriptions from a formal and content point of view can contribute to the findings enriching the knowledge of the cultural development of our society. Several factors have to be taken into account in such research. In the first place, the inscription appears on a certain bearer (tombstone, bell, chalice, portal…). This can be key to the form and content of the inscription. Traditional conservative bearers such as bells and baptismal fonts in the middle ages contained texts that have not changed for a long time, either in content, linguistic or paleographic terms. Possible change indicates a new phase of cultural development for the region. Especially in the early modern age, sepulchral monuments are very important epi-graphic source. In our territory, it is primarily about gravestones, epitaphs and tombs. The variety and amount of sepulchral inscriptions, their subsequent analysis and comparison , may be a support for cultural historians. In the first half of the 17 th century, for example, the Old Testament text of the book Job dominated in sepulchral monuments of both, burghers and nobility. Another cultural phenomenon that has survived until today are graffiti inscriptions. It is clear that this was by no means just the matter of ordinary people. The most recent research confirms that the engraved or inscribed name as a memorial left also very important personalities such as the mayor of royal town, educated pastor or future Hungarian prime minister.

Pentapolitana was a league of the five most important royal free cities in Upper Hungary. Epigraphic monuments created to represent individuals or the urban community were important components of the extensive architecture, as well as various movable or immovable artifacts. Monumental but also simple spontaneous inscriptions often express the worldview of the community or the individual. They also point to the influences of the surrounding or remote countries from which the creators or recipients of inscriptions originated, helping modern observers to understand the cultural relationships between various regions. This article focuses on the content of medieval urban epigraphs and their urban character, discussing their contribution to our knowledge of the history of these five cities from a political and cultural point of view.

At present state of research we consider the 13th century to be the oldest phase of inscription palegraphy development, which is still connected with Romanic Majuscule. It is preserved in fragments in Romanic mural painting in St. Jacob Church in Veľký Šariš. Political and religious importance of Veľký Šariš in the 13th and 14th century was reflected in the fact that the same church also contains the oldest evidence of gothic majuscule, which at the same time is a unique evidence of the presence of Italian craftsmen of the early 14th century. Without a doubt the 14th century was a period when the inscriptions in Šariš were mostly written in gothic majuscule. It can still be found in inscriptions from the 1470´s, when it is already giving way to gothic minuscule. Based on the preserved material, we have evidence about the usage of gothic minuscule in Šariš epigraphs since the beggining of the 15th century. It is first lettering, in which the inscriptions at the Šariš sepulchers are preserved. The period of time when Early Humanistic Capital occured in Šariš region, and in other region of Slovakia, is connected with Late Gothic period and early phase of renaissance in Slovakia. Generally it is true that it covers the time frame on the break between 15th and 16th century. The second half of the 16th century and the following century become the definite domain of the modern capital.

The research of the forgotten sepulchral monument, which was secondarily placed next to the Chapel of John of Nepomuk in the municipality of Záborské near Prešov, has brought interesting findings. According to the fragmentally preserved inscription around the stone, it is most probably a funeral monument of a member of the Farkas de Hassag family from Záborské. The gradual identification of every stroke carved into the stone resulted in a rare discovery. When the author of this article, together with the Hungarian art historian Pál Lővei deciphered the text, they found out that it has two part of completely different origins (meaning they come from different sources). What links them is the topic that is typical for all sepulchral inscriptions, the death. The whole text reads: STATV[TVM] EST OMNIBV/S SEMEL MORI
VITA PE/RIT MORTIS GLORIA / NON MORITVR (All men must die once. Life may perish, but the glory of death dias not). The first part is a quotation from the New Testament´s Letter to the Hebrews (L-9:27). The second part comes from the 4th  century work of Roman poet Ausonius, Septem sapientum sententiae.
This custom of combining religious and ancient texts was practiced in our region throughout the first half of the 16th century. Another example can be found in nearby Bardejov. The renaissance town hall has a whole set of inscriptions mainly coming from biblical texts, in addition to a quotation from Sallust´s work the Conspiracy of Catiline. Similar combinations can be found in Prešov, on a burgher´s house at 65 Main Street. In both cases, the inscriptions were made using modern time´s (renaissance) capitala font. The renaissance texts on the Bardejov town hall are among the oldest of their kind in Slovakia.
Regarding the weathered condidion of the text on the Záborské monument, it is difficult to detect the writing type. Most probably it is a modern-time, or early-humanistic capitala font, best visible im letters L and F, undoubtedly initials, which are engraved in the upper part of the central field. With reference to the relief of the heraldic symbol in the central part of the stone, it si most likely a sepulchral monument of the most significant representative of the Farkas de Hassag family, the Šariš County Administrator, Ladislaus.

The article is a brief description of a journey across Slovakia toward the distant Venice. It aims to present how attractive the country situated to the south of Carpathian Mountains  is, especially  Slovakia’s monuments and works of art. The article also stresses a diversity of Spisz and Pohronie silver and gold minig regions as well as Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia where three different cultures – Hungarian, Austrian and Slovak - are mixed together.

An analysis of the structure of grammatical texts in relation to the doctrine of grammatical accidents and its terminology is presented in the article. It describes nominal species and figura accidents from late-ancient Artes grammaticae, which, after long historical development, formed the basis for the word-formation discipline as we understand it today. Special attention is paid to the position of species and figura accidents in the De nomine chapter of the part of the grammars devoted to Etymologia and to the way they changed over time. Alongside species and figura, additional accidents (motio first and foremost), which later enriched the species-figura basis, are taken into account. The focus lies in the period from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, when vernacular grammars (including grammars of Czech, Slovakized Czech, and Slovak) reflected the changes in the structure of Latin grammars. Within the
given topic, typical features of representative grammatical texts are also identified: e.g., the feat ures of Melanchthonian grammar, the Ramean ones, and the impact of Scaliger. The end of the eighteenth century, as demonstrated in the article, appears to be the crucial stage in the history of the establishment of word-formation as a self-contained linguistic discipline in the grammatography of Upper Hungary. At that time (specifically in 1791), Anton Bernolák, following in the footsteps of Rosa’s (1672) and particularly Doležal’s (1746) grammars, finally identified wordformation as an independent research area in his systematic treatise entitled Etymologia vocum Slavicarum.