HISTORY OF ART
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HISTORY OF ART

After Sigismund's death the seat of Austrian princes and heirs to the imperial throne, Vienna became the most important cultural and political centre in Central Europe. At the 1459 lodge conference of Regensburg the master of the building lodge of the Viennese Stephanskirche, Laurentz Spenyng considered Hungary to come under his authority. This was not only a formal demand, since we know from the history of art that the Viennese style was widespread in Hungary, but local traditions of the age of Sigismund were also discernible in the art of the period. In fine arts there was a significant change in the 1440s: the former soft style was replaced with a new, realistic one which appeared in Western-European, especially in Netherlandish artistic centres. This was transmitted to Hungary by way of the South-German and Austrian territories. The leading style of this period in this region was the so-called hard style.

Castles in the Middle of the 15th Century

In the chaotic, troublesome years after Albert's death, a lot of older castles were fortified. In Kisnána the Kompolthis incorporated into their new castle not only their former curia but also the parish church of the village. This example was followed by the Újlakis in Várpalota, but here a representative form was used with four corner towers. During the same time, the Marótis added new wings and a chapel to their castle in Gyula to make it more commodious. The Archbishop of Kalocsa, Stephen Váradi protected his residence at Bács from the imminent Turkish attacks with an enormous fortress. John Hunyadi first fortified his residence at Vajdahunyad, then enlarged it by the addition of a chapel and a new palace wing including two large rooms one above the other. Certain characteristic moulding forms indicate that French masters may have worked on these constructions. A similarly splendid great hall decorated with a row of balconies was started in Esztergom by the Archbishop Denis Szécsi, and continued by his successor, John Vitéz.

Building of Village Churches in the Middle of the 15th Century

In Vas county, on the estates of Monyorókerék (Eberau, Austria) of the Ellerbach family a characteristic late Gothic brick architecture developed parallel with the art of the neighbouring Austrian territories. A typical example of this is the church of Szentpéterfa. In the eastern part of the country John Hunyadi's building activities are relevant from the same period. On his estate in Debrecen, a hall church with a large ambulatory was erected. In Transylvania the Franciscan church of Tövis (Teius) was built for him by the mason Conrad of Brassó. Similar to this puritan structure was the parish church of Vingárt, built by John Geréb of Vingárt, a relative of the Hunyadi family. These buildings had stone walls with few carved stone elements in them.

Church Building in Part of the Country in the Middle of the 15th Century

According to the date inscribed on a stone that bears King Matthias' coat of arms, in one of the tower windows, the construction of the southern tower of the parish church of Our Lady of Buda was completed in 1470. The walls of the high, octagonal upper part of the tower, which included three floors, were perforated by pointed windows with deep and moulded frames. In the central region of the country there were only minor constructions in this period. A typical example is the reconstruction of the St George chapel next to the cathedral of Veszprém, which was transformed by the Bishop Albert Vetési into his own tomb chapel. He had a tower-shaped late Gothic tabernacle added to the southern part of the apse, whose corbel bears the name of the builder, his coat of arms and the date: 1467. This inscription is the oldest record in Hungary written in "antiqua" style letters. The portal of the chapel was also replaced by a new, representative one of red marble, crowned by a gable and framed by pinnacles.

The Architecture of Pozsony in the Middle of the 15th Century

The death of King Sigismund did not slow down the development of big towns, which had become important in the preceding decades. The most significant work in Pozsony was the completion of the nave and aisles of the parish church, where the vaulting of the side aisles is closely related to the vault of the nave in the Stephanskirche of Vienna, built by Hans Puchspaum. The plans for the vault of the Pozsony church have also been preserved in Vienna. They were almost certainly made by Puchspaum himself, and built by stonemasons from Vienna. Lorentz Spenning, the leader of the Viennese lodge corresponded with the city after 1456. The works on the new chancel of the church started at that time, but progressed very slowly. The final consecration of this part of the building took place only in 1497.

Kassa and North-East Hungary in the Middle of the 15th Century

The construction of the St Elisabeth parish church of Kassa was directed by a workshop whose members previously worked in Vienna. The vault of the church was completed before 1440. The star vaults follow Viennese prototypes, and also appear in another building in Kassa, in the chancel of the Franciscan church. After 1440 the west gallery and the southern tower were completed, and side-chapels were added to the church. The construction of the St Elisabeth church must have been directed by a city architect called István. He also built the new vaulting and the tabernacle in the chancel of the parish church of Bártfa (Bardejov, Slovakia). The new main chancel of the parish church of Kassa was built at the same time as the western parts, but was executed by masters trained in southern Germany.

The Architecture of Upper Hungary in the Middle of the 15th Century

The towns and market towns in Upper (Northern) Hungary transformed their parish churches into representative three-vessel hall- or pseudo-basilican structures with late Gothic net vaults. During the reconstruction of the parish church of Csetnek new vaults were made and a chancel with three apses was started. In Gyöngyöspata also a three-vessel pseudo-basilical building of rather low proportions was built with star vaults. In the Szepesség (Spiš region, Slovakia) the parish church of Késmárk (Kezmarok, Slovakia) received a wide chancel with a net vault, and the collegiate church of the Szepes was very similar. The chapel built by Imre Szapolyai by the side of the parish church of Csütörtökhely (Spišsky Štvrtok, Slovakia) in the Szepesség is outstanding in the region on account of its high quality. The plans of this two-storey building originated from the Viennese lodge.

The Architecture of Transylvanian Towns in the Middle of the 15th Century

In the towns of Transylvania the former large-scale church constructions were continued. These preserved much from the local forms of the late Sigismund age. The western facade of the St Michael church of Kolozsvár (Cluj) was completed at the same time as the portal. The vaulting was executed afterwards. The bottom of the southern tower received its final form when the chapel of the parish priest Gregor Schleuning was completed. In Brassó (Brasov) a splendid entrance hall was erected in front of the south-eastern portal of the parish church. An enormous entrance hall called ferula was raised in front of the western facade of the parish church of Nagyszeben. In Szászsebes (Sebes) the 13th-century side aisles were rebuilt.

Sculpture in the Middle of the 15th Century

Besides the simple and traditional tombstones, the aristocrats and the prelates usually had full-figure tombstones made in this period (for example, the tombstones of the younger John Hunyadi in Gyulafehérvár (Alba Iulia, Rumania), of George Bazini Szentgyörgyi († 1467) and of Denis Szécsi, Archbishop of Esztergom († 1465). The tombstone of George Schönberg, dean of Pozsony (Bratislava) and the chancellor of the Pozsony university, is of outstanding quality and shows a stylistic relationship with the sculpture of Nicolaus Gerhaerts and Hans Multscher, representatives of the hard style. Another important master of this style was Jacob of Kassa, who was of Hungarian origin but worked in the German-speaking territories. The characteristic features of the hard style, which replaced the soft style, can be seen on the first Madonna of Tüskevár carved in the middle of the 15th century.

Altar Art in the Middle of the 15th Century

In the middle of the 15th century winged altarpieces became widespread throughout the country. They consisted of movable wings and a central case. The simpler pieces were made of painted panels crowned by a row of painted triangular gables. A typical work of this type is the altarpiece of Mateóc (Matejovce) in the Szepesség (Spiš region, Slovakia) painted by an artist who also worked in Lesser Poland. The altarpiece of Liptószentmária (Liptovská Mara, Slovakia) also has close ties with the art of Poland. The high altar of the Transylvanian Almakerék (Mălîncrav) represents a type of winged altars enriched by carved gables. The master of another Transylvanian altarpiece, the high altar of Prázsmár (Prejmer), also used elements of Netherlandish painting in his work. An example of the richest altar form with statues is the St Barbara altarpiece of Bártfa (Bardejov, Slovakia). According to the usual arrangement of the type of altarpiece known as Viereraltar the central figure, here a Madonna, is surrounded by the figures of four small saints. The statues and painted panels of the altarpiece all represent the hard style.

Book Painting in the Middle of the 15th Century

The influence of the Viennese style also made itself felt in book illumination. The Viennese master Michael decorated the special volume of Donatus' Grammatica made for Ladislaus V. Another Viennese master named after his work on Maximilian of Habsburg's school book - the so-called Lehrbüchermeister - illuminated the register of Hungarian students at the university of Vienna, then decorated for King Matthias the so-called Franciscan missale with the king's portrait. The greatest bibliophile of the age was John Vitéz, who ordered numerous codices from Florentine workshops. Among the charters of donations of coats of arms there were more Hungarian works than foreign ones. The charter of the Bod family of Bodfalva was painted in 1460 in Buda. The charter of the town of Késmárk (Kezmarok, Slovakia) donating a seal to the town, is one of the most outstanding examples of a Hungarian painting of coats-of-arms. But the 1459 charters of coats of arms of the Szentgyörgyi and Bazini families, counts of the Holy Roman Empire, were made in Vienna.

Minor Arts in the Middle of the 15th Century

The most outstanding piece of metalwork from the period is a chalice with filigree enamel decoration, which was given to the cathedral of Gyulafehérvár by the Transylvanian nobleman Benedict Suky. A viaticum box for the Host, with carved mother-of-pearl and filigree enamel decoration, was the product of the same Transylvanian workshop that made the Suky chalice. Also monstrances resembling the grand Gothic altars became widespread in this period. The most beautiful example of these was the one in the St Martin church of Pozsony (Bratislava, Slovakia). Bronze baptismal fonts were also part of the usual church equipment. The older, traditional forms were usually preserved on these, as can be seen on the baptismal fonts of the parish churches in Késmárk (Kezmarok) in the Szepesség or in Brassó in Transylvania. The most beautiful piece among seals was King Matthias's royal seal and golden bull, which he began to use at his coronation in 1464.

Art in Hungary Between 1476-1526

King Matthias became a significant art patron only after his marriage to Beatrix. In the beginning his buildings followed the late Gothic Viennese style towards which earlier architecture was oriented. In the first half of the 1480s, when Italian artists settled in Hungary, also Renaissance elements appeared on his most important buildings at Visegrád. In the second half of the 1480s there was a major change in style. The late Gothic style of Saxon origin reached Hungary through Silesia and Poland and became prevalent in the eastern and central parts of the country. At the same time, however, the Italian Renaissance exerted a strong influence on the architecture, sculpture and book illumination of the court in Buda. These two styles developed side by side in the Jagello age as well, but were no longer confined to the art of the court. The first entirely Renaissance buildings appeared around 1500, and the Italian style spread in all fields of art throughout the country. Nevertheless, the parallel use of the late Gothic and Renaissance styles remained characteristic during the whole period.

Visegrád and its Architectural Connections in the Late Matthias Period

King Matthias started the constructions at Visegrád after 1476. These were directed by the provisors (provisores curiae) of Buda. The royal palace became a magnificent country residence during the next decade. The buildings from the Sigismund age were modernised: the window and door frames, ceilings, balconies, loggias, and fountains were all replaced by new late Gothic structures occasionally mixed with Renaissance elements. Italian stone carvers carved the Hercules fountain and the fountain of the Muses, the furnishings of the chapel, and the loggia in the interior courtyard in Renaissance style. The late Gothic architectural workshop also worked on the citadel. The work of the same workshop, or at least its style, could be seen at other royal constructions, mainly on estates under the authority of the provisors of Buda such as the castles of Tata and Zsámbék, or at the rebuilding of the castle of Vajdahunyad (Hunedoara, Rumania) and the monastery building of the abbey of Pannonhalma, also rebuilt under the commandership of the provisors of Buda. The palace building of Urban Nagylucsei, bishop of Győr, also followed the style of the constructions at Visegrád.

Buda in the Late Matthias Period

During the rebuilding of the Buda castle in the second half of the 1480s, King Matthias had the buildings from the Sigismund period renovated. The palace chapel was entirely refurnished, and the Corvina library was moved to the rooms of the adjacent eastern wing. Bronze statues and representative fountains were set up to decorate the courtyards. In the west wing of the inner courtyard a large hall was created on the second floor and a two-storey loggia raised on the arcades on the ground floor. The entrance of the eastern wing of the Sigismund-period courtyard was decorated with red marble stairs and a decorative double portal. The Italian Renaissance played an important role here. Matthias had the big cistern on the southern part of the castle rebuilt, and a hanging garden created above it after Italian examples. There was a garden in the western side of the Castle Hill. The constructions were not finished in Matthias' lifetime, and continued under Wladislas II's reign.

The Spread of the Renaissance in the 1480s-1490s

Nicholas Báthory, Bishop of Vác and one of the best educated humanists among the Hungarian prelates, was building his castles in Nógrád in 1483 and Vác in 1485, probably still in late Gothic style. In 1489 he occupied the abbey of Mogyoród, on the site of which he later built a castle decorated with a Renaissance loggia. At the same time he probably had another Renaissance loggia built in his palace in Vác. The Bishop of Nagyvárad, John Filipec (1476-1491) had the episcopal palace of Várad (Oradea, Rumania) rebuilt. The red marble Renaissance structures originating from Buda also appeared on these constructions together with late Gothic elements.

Cathedrals Rebuilt in Late Gothic Style at the End of the Matthias Age and in the Jagello Age

Bishop Osvat Laki Thuz had the vault of the chancel of the cathedral of Zagreb rebuilt by masters from Vienna. One of the original designs for the vault can still be found among the plans of the Viennese lodge today.

The re-vaulting of the nave of the collegiate church in Székesfehérvár started in the first half of the 1480s. Then an enormous hall-chancel with an ambulatory was began, which in 1490 was still incomplete. There were similar constructions in Eger, where Urban Nagylúcsei commissioned a new chancel, but this part of the building was still unfinished in 1539, and destroyed three years later.

North and East Hungary in the Late Matthias Age

At the end of the 15th century, several developing market towns in the eastern part of the country had large hall churches with ambulatories built for their parish churches, following the example of the churches in Pest, Szászsebes, Brassó, and Debrecen. There are no data about the building of the St Bartholomew church of Gyöngyös and the St Demeter church of Szeged (the present-day Calvinist church), but the construction of the St Stephen church of Miskolc was dated in a charter and in an inscription to around 1489.

In the Szepesség building activities on the churches of Késmárk (Kezmarok) and Szepeshely (Spišská Kapitula) were continued. In Szepeshely Stephen Szapolyai had a beautiful side-chapel added to the renewed church. In Okolicsnó (Okolicné, Slovakia) in Liptó county the three-vessel hall church of the Franciscans was built with the support of Matthias and John Corvin.

The Architecture of the Transdanubia in the 1480s-1490s

A typical example for the residence of the growing number of big landowners was the complex of Ladislaus Egervári in Egervár, which comprised the castle, the Franciscan friary and church of the nearby Fancsika. These buildings were built with shaped brick structures the use of which was widespread in Vas and Zala counties in the 15th century. Paul Kinizsi established his residence in Nagyvázsony (castle, Paulian friary, parish church). The late Gothic forms represented by the Nagyvázsony building complex became widespread in the whole region to the north of Lake Balaton. A monument in this architectural group that survived largely intact is the parish church of Zalaszántó. After 1490 Renaissance elements also appeared in some places. The castle of Kőszeg, then occupied by Emperor Maximilian I, was also rebuilt. The Renaissance row of windows of the large hall date from this time.

Royal Constructions in Buda and Visegrád in the Jagello Age

Building activities in the Buda palace started by Matthias continued under Wladislas II. Red marble, used in the Matthias age, was replaced by the yellowish Buda marl, which was discovered by the Italian stone carvers working there. The Late Gothic style still played an important role at these constructions. The most important example was probably the vault of the palace chapel, where three-dimensionally curved ribbed vaults were used. This type of vaulting was perfected by Benedict Ried, the architect of the royal palace in Prague. The influence of Ried and his colleague in Prague, Hans Spiess, can be felt on the Franciscan friary rebuilt next to the Visegrád palace. Among the carved stone fragments from the Buda palace some pieces survived which represent the late Gothic style of Saxon origin, widespread in the eastern part of the country from the 1490s on.

The Activity of the Nyék Workshop Around 1500

Wladislas II had the Nyék hunting lodge from Sigismund's time converted into a splendid Renaissance castle. Near the church of the village two large buildings were raised. The main facade of the residential quarters was decorated with a two-storey loggia; the other building, partly of timber, was surrounded by a porch. Moses Buzlai Gergellaki commissioned the workshop working in Nyék to make several carvings for his castle at Simontornya from Buda marl, including the Renaissance loggia along the courtyard of his castle. Emeric Perényi set up his residence in Siklós, where he also employed masters who previously worked at Nyék. The Late Gothic style had an important role in the construction of both castles. The beautiful castle chapel of Siklós, which followed Saxon prototypes, is still standing.

The Architecture of Pécs in the Jagello Age

In the southern part of the country Pécs became an important artistic centre. Bishop Sigismund Ernuszt had the castle and the city walls rebuilt and a new vault made in the cathedral. The architect of the cathedral, master Demeter may have also built the star net vault of the Dominican church. Ernuszt's successor, Bishop George Szatmári, was an important patron, and continued with the decoration of the cathedral, from which a red marble tabernacle has survived. Besides the cathedral, he had the building of the chapter rebuilt and the episcopal palace reconstructed in Renaissance style. Outside the city walls, at Tettye he had a Renaissance villa raised. Primarily Dalmatian masters may have worked on these constructions.

Renaissance Constructions of Ecclesiastical Centres at the Beginning of the 16th Century

The castle of Bács was rebuilt by Peter Váradi, the Archbishop of Kalocsa. The building was fortified with round corner towers and a barbican, and decorated with a late Gothic chapel and Renaissance palace wings.

The Renaissance rebuilding of the episcopal palace of Nagyvárad took place under Bishop Sigismund Thurzó. At Gyulafehérvár canon John Lászai had a late Gothic chapel added to the side of the cathedral. The chapel had a net vault and its facade was decorated with Lombard Renaissance elements. In Esztergom Archbishop Thomas Bakócz had a tomb chapel raised at the side of the basilica. This red marble building, built on a cross-shaped ground-plan and with a metal dome structure, was the clearest example of high Renaissance architecture in Hungary. Its white marble altar was carved by Andrea Ferrucci. Bakócz's successor, Archbishop George Szatmári, had a new residence building raised in the inner part of the palace, to which a hanging garden decorated with a Renaissance loggia was added.

The Architecture of Buda and its Environs in the Jagello Age

At the constructions of the town of Buda several trends of the late Gothic style can be distinguished. The two western bays and the western tower flanked by two chapels of the Mary Magdalene parish church show Viennese connections. A similar tower was added to the parish church of Nagymaros. The style of Saxon origin, present in the castle of Buda, can also be observed on the rebuilding of the Dominican St Michael church in Buda. Both the vault of the nave and the tower, part of which is still standing, were also built at this time. Near Buda, at the Paulians' main friary in Szentlőrinc, St Paul the Hermit's tomb chapel and his relic tomb carved by Brother Denis was finished, then the new chancel and the chapter room were built.

Transylvania in the Jagello Age

The region where the late Gothic style of Saxon origin was especially widespread was the eastern part of the country. The nave and aisles of the former Franciscan friary in Farkas street in Kolozsvár were rebuilt by brother John after 1490. The rich stone carvings and drawn-in buttresses that characterise this building also appear on the former Dominican friary of Kolozsvár. Similar buttresses were used also at the parish church of Dés (Dej). Related stone carvings can be found on the nave of the parish church of Ótorda (Turda) and on the parsonage of Nagyszeben (Sibiu). This style was spread in the Saxon region of Transylvania by the stone carver Andrew of Nagyszeben, his most outstanding work being the parish church of Muzsna (Mosna). The hall church of Berethalom (Biertan) was also very similar. These and other Transylvanian churches were surrounded by thick walls and towers because of the repeated Turkish attacks.

The Architecture of North-East Hungary in the Jagello Age

The stylistic features of the late Gothic style of Saxonian origin can be observed on the side chapels of the parish church of Pest. Probably contemporary with these are the two inscribed Renaissance tabernacles, and probably a Renaissance altar as well. Later waves of Saxonian influence can be seen on the parish church of Nyírbátor, built by Andrew, son of Andrew Bátori. The church had a magnificent net vault and was decorated with Renaissance elements. Perhaps Andrew Bátori's carved Madonna from 1526 was also created during this construction. The late Gothic vault of the nave of the Franciscan church in Szeged, built well after the consecration of the building in 1503 but before 1543, is similar to that of Nyírbátor.

The Architecture of Upper Hungary in the Jagello Age

The one-vessel St Catherine church in Selmecbánya (Banská Štiavnica), a mining town which became increasingly affluent from the late 15th century, was built and consecrated in the centre of the town. On the hill above the town a large, three-vessel parish church was built. At the edge of the town Erasmus Roessl built the rich vault with three dimensionally curving ribs for the chancel of the church of Our Lady of the Snow. The most perfect Hungarian example of this special type of vaulting is the vault of an oratory in the parish church of Besztercebánya (Banská Bystrica), which is closely related to Anton Pilgram's works in Vienna. In Sáros county the parish church of Eperjes (Prešov) was rebuilt by Johannes Bregyssen in late Gothic style. The surviving account books of this construction are unique records for the history of architecture of the period. The nearby town of Bártfa (Bardejov) made a contract with master Alexius in 1507 for the construction of the town hall. On this building late Gothic forms are already mixed with Renaissance elements.

Tomb Sculpture in Hungary in the late 15th and early 16th Centuries

The most splendid tombstones of the period were the full-figure knight and prelate tombstones. The change of style from the late Gothic to the Renaissance in the last decades of the 15th century can be clearly seen on these. In Szepeshely (Spišská Kapitula, Slovakia) the tombstone of Emeric Szapolyai († 1487) was still decorated with late gothic elements, while the tombstone of Stephen Szapolyai from 1499 is already Renaissance. In the 1490s a new type of Renaissance tombstone appeared, in the upper part of which there was a coat of arms; in the lower part, a field with inscription. The earliest example of this type is a tombstone from Buda, made in 1496 for Bernardo Monelli, the castellan of the Queen's castle in Óbuda. Around 1500 another variant of this new type appeared, in which the coat of arms was surrounded by a so-called Italian wreath, as on Nicholas Acatius Szentléleki's tombstone in Csatka from 1516.

Renaissance Sculpture in Hungary in the late 15th and early 16th Centuries

King Matthias decorated his palaces with works of art ordered from Italy. One such piece was the tabernacle in his Visegrád palace chapel carved from Carrara marble. Several Italian masters used Hungarian red marble at the court. The leader of the workshop working on the Renaissance fountains of the Visegrád palace carved the marvellous sculpture of young Hercules fighting with the hydra of Lerna. A lunette relief, known as the Visegrád Madonna, and the two supplementary putto reliefs are the work of a less talented Italian stone carver. The two outstanding altar fragments from Carrara marble, found in the castle of Diósgyőr and the Paulian friary, are related to Giovanni Dalmata's works. Tabernacles similar in structure to that in the Visegrád palace chapel became increasingly popular in Hungary in the 16th century. Besides the ones in the parish church of Pest the most significant example of this type is George Szatmári's tabernacle in Pécs.

Wood Sculpture in Hungary in the late 15th and early 16th Centuries

A unique work of this period is the Easter sepulchre from Garamszentbenedek (Hrnosk Benadik, Slovakia). The most monumental winged altars are also characteristic of this age. A new high altar was set up in the St Elisabeth church in Kassa, the magnificent sculptures of which can be linked to the most modern trends of South-German sculpture. The sculptor of the enormous carved high altar of the St James parish church in Lőcse (Levoca, Slovakia), Master Paul may have been trained in Veit Stoss's workshop in Cracow. Stoss had a great influence on other artists as well, such as the sculptor of the St Barbara altar of Besztercebánya (Banská Bystrica, Slovakia). The destroyed main altars from Pozsony and Selmecbánya, from which only a few sculptures survive, were related to contemporary trends of sculpture in the Bavarian territories.

Painting in Hungary in the late 15th and early 16th Centuries

While the central cases of large altars were decorated with sculptures, the wings consisted of painted panels. Several altars from the same workshop have survived from the 1470-1480s in Garamszentbenedek and in the church of Jánosrét (Lúcky), near Körmöcbánya (Kremnica, Slovakia). They are all characterised by a lively, realistic manner. This realism originating from Netherlandish painting determines also the style of the high altar of the church in Medgyes (Medias, Rumania), painted by a master with Viennese experience. After 1500 the Danube school became influential in Hungarian painting, exemplified by altars from Zólyomszászfalu (Sásová, Slovakia). The most important painter of the age was Master MS, who painted the wings of the high altar of Selmecbánya. Very little survives from the Renaissance painting of the period. The most significant of these is a series of frescos of virtues in the studiolo of the Esztergom palace, where Queen Beatrix resided after 1490. The vaults or wooden ceilings of churches were often decorated with late Gothic or Renaissance ornamentation.

Book Illumination

King Matthias enriched his Corvina library with books of Renaissance decoration bought in Italy, but he also set up a book copying and miniature workshop in Buda. This workshop continued to function after Matthias' death, working for Wladislas II. Private customers also followed the example of the rulers. The breviary and other codices of Dominic Kálmáncsehi, dean of Székesfehérvár between 1474-1495, were decorated by Franciscus de Castello of Milan. Simon Erdődy's (Bishop of Zagreb, 1519-1543) Esztergom gradual or Francis Perényi's (Bishop of Várad, 1514-1526) Esztergom missal - this latter a Venetian incunabulum decorated with miniatures after its arrival in Hungary - were also represent the style of the Buda workshop. Other works reflect the influence of German painting, as, for example, the miniatures of the Pannonhalma evangelistarium, which are based on the prints of Dürer and Schongauer. The influence of the traditions of late Gothic art can also be observed, for example on the decoration of the Kassa gradual in which late Gothic and Renaissance elements are mixed.

Charters for the Donation of Coats of Arms

The late Gothic traditions of the previous period can also be noticed in the decoration of charters of coats of arms in the late Matthias age. Besides the miniatures of nobles' coats of arms, the backgrounds of which were decorated with rich late Gothic helmet covers (Nagylucsei, 1480; Ambrust 1518), coats of arms with Renaissance decorations were also becoming widespread from around 1500 (Pethő Gersei, 1507). The painters of the Buda miniature workshop also participated in decorating these: the painter of Simon Erdődy's codices executed the coats of arms of Dorothy Kanizsai (1519) and of the Forgách family of Gyimes (1525). Not only the rich Renaissance ornamentation of the frame decorations is worthy of attention, but also the realism of coats-of-arms (for example, Radák, 1514).

Textiles and Metalwork

The Hungarian coronation mitre richly decorated with late Gothic fittings and pearls was made in the second quarter of the 15th century. The late 15th-century horn cup of Esztergom represents a typical late Gothic vessel form. By this time Renaissance goldsmiths' work also appeared in Hungary: Matthias commissioned Lombard goldsmiths to make the Renaissance base of the so-called Matthias Calvary, then kept in the royal treasury. A chasuble decorated with Italian Renaissance embroidery was part of the equipment of Archbishop Thomas Bakócz's tomb chapel in Esztergom. The tradition of filigree enamel decorations continued in Hungary in the 16th century, too; a high quality work with this technique is chalice of Thomas Bakócz. One of the most beautiful pieces of late Gothic metalwork in Hungary is the monstrance from Németjárfalva, which may once have belonged to the Poor Clares of Óbuda.

Majolica, Glass

Matthias and Beatrix ordered several sets of colourfully painted majolica dishes with white tin glaze from Italy, and even invited masters to Buda who established a majolica workshop there. The majolica floor tiles of the Buda and Visegrád royal residences and of the episcopal palace of Vác were made there. Soon another majolica workshop was founded in Pécs. Not only from Italy were decorative dishes imported to Hungary but also from Moravian (Lostice) and German (Dreihausen, Siegburg) territories, from where hard ceramics were arrived by trade. Besides the import of crystal clear and paper-thin glass vessels from Venice, also Hungarian glass was produced from the second half of the 15th century. The Hungarian glassworks copied Venetian forms, but their thick, greenish glass products were far below the quality of the workshops of Murano.

Stoves, Furniture, and Hangings in the Matthias and Jagello Age

For the decoration of the royal palaces built in the late Matthias period new types of late Gothic stoves were erected. Perhaps the so-called knight-figure stove was originally made for Frederick III, but the stove with Matthias' coats of arms was definitely made for the king himself. Stoves with multicoloured tiles came into fashion during this period. The representative stoves and their copies were found not only in the royal residences, but also in private castles and manor houses. Of the furniture of the period mainly church furnishings have survived. The choir stalls from the parish church of Bártfa (Bardejov, Slovakia) are late Gothic in style. The Renaissance stalls with wood intarsia from the Franciscan church of Nyírbátor were made in the Florentine Marone workshop. From the 15th-century hangings only King Matthias' throne hanging has survived, designed probably by Antonio Pollaiuolo in the 1470s.

HISTORY OF MUSIC

From the point of view of the history of music the period spanning the 14 and 15th centuries was the beginning of a new era. The western European orientation of the Angevine kings led to the flourishing of intellectual life (including music) in Hungary. Although the network of towns appeared somewhat later, and thus did not allow for a significant concentration of intellectuals - as happened in the west - the bourgeoisie became an important social group in the country, and this fact had positive consequences in music practise and teaching. There are a lot of musical data from the Middle Ages with reference to Gregorian songs and some polyphonic memories, and in addition to musical notations in manuscripts it is possible to read about the everyday practise of music. For example, we know about the songs of paid student groups at foundation masses and weekend services, or musical service next to a holy tomb, or music services at funerals.

Musical Life in the Church

In this period communal singing in the mother tongue also became popular alongside solemn liturgical (Gregorian) songs (first of all under the influence of Franciscan and Dominican monks). However, the Paulian order also had a flourishing musical-liturgical life - from the 14th century - which was equivalent to that of the communal chapters. It was typical, for example, that the number of monks participating in the service in Budaszentlőrinc was more than a hundred in the 15th century. In this monastic order (which was the only order founded in Hungary) the Gregorian tradition of Esztergom was kept and exercised faithfully, together with its liturgical characteristic features and variants in melody. Unison singing still dominated at the end of the Middle Ages in Hungary, but this situation slowly changed from the 14th century. Then old music techniques became part of everyday practice (which was regarded as too unimportant to write down), well documented church polyphonies appeared only from the 15th century in Hungary.

In medieval music Gregorian songs dominated - in this respect the liturgical practice of schools, bishopric and monastic centres, parishes and royal chapels were unified. According to experts Gregorian music could be heard in medieval churches for at least 3-4 hours per day. The liveliness of the old musical style is proved but the fact that singing movements were increasing in certain genres (for example, the hallelujah-s, Kyrie-s, sequentia-s and readings).

The most important manuscripts containing musical notations were the decorated antiphonies dating back to the middle of the 15th century, which were kept in the library of Esztergom. These were the guardians of Hungarian liturgical-musical traditions. Besides these the Graduale (1463) of Francis Futaki was also quite significant, which might have reached Istambul via Buda. Another important Gregorian source from the second half of the century was the special antiphony made for the church of Várad at the request of bishop John Pruisz-Filipecz. It is very interesting that its musical notation follows Czech examples, and its content mixes Hungarian melody variants and traditions with the traditions of the neighbouring regions. The same can be said about the service books of the chapter of Szepes, and the graduales of Kassa, Kolozsvár, and Brasso from the beginning of the 16th century and the famous Ulaslo graduale.

Central traditions of Esztergom are preserved by a few codices of Buda from the turn of the 15-16th centuries, the most outstanding one was the two-volume Bakócz-Graduale. The codices of the Paulian order, which contained musical notations which also preserved Hungarian traditions, such as the antiphony of Zagreb or the graduale of the parish of Nyitra.

Besides the Esztergom line, other traditions were represented by the southern codices (from the Kalocsa-Zagreb church district): for example, the antiphonies made at the request of the bishop of Zagreb, and Osvat Thuz (end of the 15th century).

Franciscan and Dominican codices from the turn of the 14-15 centuries, which contained musical notations, are special ones in the Hungarian musical tradition, because their music writing, the order of liturgy and melody variants all followed the traditions of their centralised order, and did not adopt the musical customs of the neighbouring territories. The famous Matthias Graduale was also a special codex, isolated from the main stream of general musical education, since it also followed the melody variants and liturgical traditions of the Franciscan order (and in an indirect way those of the papal court).

Apart from recorded melodies, the cursive notes in books tell us a lot about the musical life of the medieval church, which also prove the high level of music writing and reading. Later Archbishop of Esztergom, Ladislaus Szalkai's musical notes survived from the end of the 15th century, from the time when he was a student at Sárospatak. In this booklet we can find a thorough practical and theoretical summary of Gregorian chants, including the aesthetic discussion of the topic.

Folk Songs in the Mother Tongue

The Hungarian Te Deum melody, which can be found in the 16th-century Peer codex, was probably quite popular in the Middle Ages (a variant of this is still sung in Transylvania), and as it was generally used it can be considered the first folk song in the mother tongue. Another folk song - Christ Resurrected from his Great Suffering - was recorded in four languages in the so-called Fragment from the Sigismund Age (15th century), and probably it was sung at Easter in the four languages of the town in the Felvidék, where it was recorded. In the Nádor codex of 1508 there are three folk songs: Ave Honourable Host, Ave Holy Mother of God, and Graceful Help for Sinners. The other recordings (about 20-30) are just texts, which can be interpreted on the basis of later sources or folk practice. The most significant of these were the Christmas Dies est lateittiae - The Day of Happiness - and the Franciscan Andrew Vásárhelyi's song from 1508: The Lady of Angels.

Other folk songs from this period, which were preserved by living folk tradition, are Shepherds, On the Day of Whitsun, and Oh, Bright Beautiful Dawn. These songs can be divided into three categories according to their music and text: 1. paraliturgic (which are not closely related to ceremonies) movements with dogmatic messages, 2. the translations of Latin songs known throughout Europe (the so-called chants), 3. songs for local offices.

Epic Songs

It is known that the praise of predecessors was sung in Hungarian at king Matthias's table. The famous St Ladislaus song was recorded quite late, at the beginning of the 16th century; this song praised the knight king, but in the framework of the thinking of king Matthias's time. The song Good King Matthias was sung to the tune of this. The recitative, dirge style of Hungarian folk music had an influence on later historic songs of the 16th century. These had several verses with a common epic style behind the 12-syllable parlando tunes.

The Medieval Layers of Folk Music

In this period, between the 14th and 16th centuries, a rich habit appeared, the forerunners of which were certain melodies. What kind of songs could they be? John Sylvester mentioned love songs in the 16th century, which would have been the preservers of rich Hungarian love lyrics - if they had survived (only one text of a chorus was recorded in a fragment from Sopron: Little flower, let me tell you I have to leave you and be in mourning because of you). In folk melodies such choruses survived in wedding songs, matchmaking song and Midsummer Night's songs (Fly away, fly; Spring Breeze). Apart from the customs of Midsummer Night, children's games (bridge, marching and pair changing kinds) might have preserved the traces of a once very rich and ceremonious medieval game. Nativity plays and song became more dramatic in this period. The custom of Ceremonious greetings (recordances) is also of medieval origin (Greetings at name days, Gergely marches). The influence of schools was also quite significant. For example, we can find the traces of reciting poems, memorisation behind the tunes of the Wedding song of Nyitra.

The music of shepherd-dance melodies - which had similar roots to popular vagant poetry - might have preserved the memories of medieval Hungarian dance music (just like nativity plays and the dance parts of Whitsun plays). There are written records about dirges (mourning Robert Charles). The tunes of contemporary dirges may have been the same as today's (it was a prosaic genre with improvised text, a textual-musical set of formulae, fixed cadence points), and the octave-size, so-called big form - in contrast with melodies of smaller ambitudes - probably became generally used in this period, too. A great number of verse types might have been separated from improvised, prosaic recitatives at this time.

One of the most typical medieval styles was the so-called Révész melody circle, the melodic basis of which originated from a common root with Gregorian songs: they had the same structure as the 7th tone antiphonies. At the end of the Middle Ages the volta-rhythm melodies and their developed versions formed a rich circle of variants.

The Musical Life of the Aristocracy

It can be generally said that in medieval thinking the earthly world reflected the heavenly hierarchy. Thus the hierarchy of man, for example, - oratores (praying people), bellatores (warriors) and laboratores (workers) - was also reflected in music, so in accordance with this clerical and profane music took separate paths. Tinctoris (Queen Beatrix's musical instructor) wrote around 1475 that at a dinner party singers and pipers had to present a picture of heavenly joys.

The noise and harsh sounds of a feast was the reflection of earthly power and respect or they had a strategic importance. For example, in the battle of Nándorfehérvár the blare of trumpets threatened the enemy - as it was written by a chronicler. Sigismund's trumpeters and his choir were famous throughout Europe. At the 1412 kings' meeting music was provided by 86 pipers and trumpeters (Sigismund's choir was later taken over and respected by king Albert). At the synod of Constanz (1414-1418) a contemporary person's estimation of the number of present musicians was 1,700. In 1485 king Matthias was escorted by musicians, when he met the Czech king. Besides the royal court there were other centres of art and music: bishop John Vitéz's court in Vrad and Esztergom and bishop Michael Báthori's court at Vác. Thomas Bakócz, the Archbishop of Esztergom and Janus Pannonius, bishop of Pécs were also dignitaries, who liked music very much.

From among the aristocratic centres the most important one was the royal court. By the 15th century it was famous for its singing and music throughout Europe. The number of people in the royal choir in king Matthias's time was 40, and foreign guests praised it unanimously as Europe's best choir, which could compete with the papal choir in quality. The choir had its own school, organist and wind musicians, and besides performing Gregorian music (with foreign guest singers and Hungarian soprano boy singers) there were polyphonic songs composed in the most sophisticated style on their repertory. Matthias had a special correspondence, and he wanted to attract foreign musicians to Hungary. Singer-composer Johannes Stockem worked in the country in the 1480s, as did Verjus (Jean Cornuel) and Erasmus Laicida. Queen Beatrix had her own choir, and she herself played the harp. The musical pomp of the wedding of the royal couple in Székesfehérvár was praised with enthusiastic accounts. At a later date Pietro Bono was also a guest musician in Matthias's court, and the king made enormous efforts to invite the famous organist Paul Hofhaimer to his court. After Matthias the Jagellos also sponsored music. The famous organist, Master Grympeck, worked for them, and the Silesian composer Thomas Stolzer also worked at Buda for a couple of years.

According to 15th-century descriptions it was not only church ceremonies and public events which were accompanied by music, but dinners too - mostly by string and lute music, but some of the sources mentioned trumpets as well. As it was described in a 1518 source, the streets of the castle district of Buda were echoing with trumpet and drum sounds, which shows that this habit was quite usual. Musicians playing church and secular music were often the same people: experts, for example, and members of court chapels or choirs, including the organists. Trumpeters played a special role, because they were the sounding symbols of secular power (they were at the front of the marching procession) and because of the singing function of their instruments (signals for troops in battles, signaling fires, tower music in cities). At social gatherings the most important musical instrument was the lute, and the small portable organ (portative). At home chapels and party pipes as well as string instruments were popular.

Medieval Polyphony

Although the practise of polyphonic music was not widespread in the 14-15th centuries, written sources prove that it was used and performed to a certain degree. For example, the Paulians banned it in the 14th century (so it definitely existed), while in the Alexander codex polyphonic singing was considered as a heavenly joy from the beginning of the 16th century. Polyphonic music could also be heard outside churches, as sources mention singers greeting Sigismund, Polish prince. However, there are only a few sources with musical notations: the Fragment from Sigismund's age is from the first half of the 15th century, and the Fragment from Kassa is from the second half of the century. Together they contain about 30 polyphonic movements. When analysing these movements we can see that Hungarian common practice did not follow the most modern western European trends, but older teachings - sometimes more than a hundred year older, as in other regions on the European border. This technique included parallel or counter organum, and the modern, more flexible, polyphonic chants. The texts of these movements are usually connected to church festivals or ceremonies, or comment on those. Polyphonic pieces with secular texts have not survived at all. In contrast to this the musicians of the royal court followed the most modern polyphonic trends of the age - according to contemporaries. This phenomenon, however, - just as the decorated Matthias Graduale - remained isolated, since it was just an import, and it did not have an influence on Hungarian culture.

Musical Life in the Cities

In the development of music in Hungary there was a backwardness from the age of knights, which was also noticable in the development of towns. As a result of this lag of several hundred years, there were only 25-30 towns in Hungary in the 15th century. However, as far as the musical life of these towns was considered, they were very similar to western European ones. The trumpet was the symbol of aristocratic, then bourgeois power (as a special privilege, Sigismund allowed the use of the trumpet in certain German cities). Music was also part of the public/official life of cities (during initiations, advertisements, weddings, processions). The several altar and mass foundations showed the devotion and desire of rich city people to preserve their memories. These foundations required the service of singers and musicians. (For example, in the first half of the 15t century in Sopron there was a Corpus Christi association with 220-250 altarists.) The procession became more and more colourful and pompous (dating from the 13th century): in 1494 in Pozsony it was accompanied with canon shots and trumpets). Besides celebrations and processions music was part of family life in the cities. Rich city people and their children learned to play musical instruments. The most popular musical instrument of home music in the 15th century was the clavichord. With the enrichment of people the use of the organ became quite popular, and young monastic orders (Franciscans, Paulians, Dominicans) showed a good example in this process. Gypsies playing music were first mentioned at the beginning of the 16th century.

If Hungarian musical life is summarised before the battle of Mohács it can be seen that a Minorite monk, Pominóczky, recorded the verse lines Brother, brother, which way goes to Becskereke?, which was a musical idea to the tune of a prayer. At Queen Maria's court we can find high-quality, sophisticated music with well-paid musicians (1525). There were a lot of guest musicians at the royal court: among whom Heinrich Fink, Johannes Langus, Thomas Stolzer were the most outstanding, who visited and worked in Hungary. The twenty-year old Valentine Bakfark came to Buda from Brasso to learn music from the luter of the Szapolyai court. In contrast with all of these, at most of the places old polyphonic techniques were used - in the villages people sang together in one voice. On the basis of the several musical notations in liturgical books it can be said that musical reading and writing was of a high quality and rather widespread. Unfortunately the two kings of music playing: the old style, but generally widespread music practice and the imported top art of the royal court was not in balance - history did not give it the chance.

HISTORY OF DANCE

Most of the records on contemporary court dances can be traced to king Matthias's famous renaissance court. The majority of these were mentioned by Antonio Bonfini, king Matthias's court historiographer, who was an eager dancer himself, a true renaissance man. In his chronicle he described the dance-music scenes of court festivals and celebrations in detail. From his writing we know that the people of Buda started to dance when Matthias was chosen to be king. The king himself liked dancing, too. In 1470, for example, during his visit to Emperor Friedrich, he was very good at the tournament and Hungarian dances. Matthias liked entertainment even during states of war. In the course of the siege of Boroszló, in 1474 he invited the dignitaries of the town and the Czech-Polish armies to a dance party. The wedding of Matthias and Beatrix was also a great party. According to the humanist writer Hans Seybolt, the minister of George a Bavarian prince, Beatrix danced with her brother the Prince of Naples in a dance called the Zäuner.

According to the report of the Pfalz's minister, Beatrix and Ulaslo (son of the Polish king Casimir III) danced a quick Germanica Pyrrichia (the German dance) in Olmütz as a pompous renaissance festival organised by king Matthias. In Bonfini's opinion the Hungarians were badgering their king on a daily bases not to spend taxes on useless things, as he led a different life-style to his predecessors. He turned away from local strict morals, stopping old traditions and turning to Latin and Spanish entertainment and comfortable habits. Beatrix was blamed for this, and it was said "...Queen Beatrix forced King Matthias to turn to Italian customs ...and brought ugly men, dancers, pipers, luters and fiddlers: because Queen Beatrix took pleasure in them". Knowing about Beatrix's Italian connections (mainly from Ferrara), we can assume that the dances in Domenico de Ferrara's collection also reached Hungary.

Louis II's Commitment to Dance and the Moresca

After Matthias's death kings Ulaslo II and Louis II were not able to maintain the luxurious renaissance court. King Louis II and Queen Maria's commitment to dance was too much for the poor treasury, and all of Europe knew about this. From their childhood they had been used to pompous festivals and spectacular court performances, so they could not give them up later. Marquis George of Brandenburg, uncle and tutor of king Louis II, wrote in 1519 in a letter to the chancellor of Brandenburg that he had had fun and he had danced at King Louis's court, which was otherwise very poor, and that the king himself danced happily in the company of noblemen. "I came in a fancy dress (Mummerej) with 17 other colleagues, I was wearing a short coat and red pointed shoes, as those were wearing them earlier, then an old man turned up in wooden shoes and danced two special dances with a stick (the Tanz mit Stecken)".

A carnival dance with weapons and masks is also worthy of note, and was recorded by Prince Sigismund (Ulaslo Jagello's younger brother) in his steward book in Buda. According to this mote, on 21 February, 1501, at the end of the carnival season students from Buda performed a sword dance for him at the place of his accommodation. On the very same day masked jesters appeared with horses and also performed a sword dance for him, and they were rewarded. These sword dances and woodcuts made for Emperor Maximilian at this time showing masked Hungarian dancers with weapons, or the Hungarian figure among the moresca dancers at the town hall of Munich all refer to the fact that the "moresca" was a very popular dance in Europe and Hungary as well. The Hungarian kings love of pomp and dances at the beginning of the 16th century would not have been uncommon, and Louis II would not have picked up the nickname "the rascal dancing king", if he had been rich enough, Turkish threat had not been approaching.

Dance in Poetry

Among the products of the slowly developing Hungarian literature and poetry there are lines about dance, too. The first one dates back to 1505 from Körmöcbánya; it was a dance term, which is very important from the point of view of linguistics, literature and dance. The second record is the satiric lines of Francis Apáti's Cantilena of 1526 about girls who pretend to be meek. It was form 1526.

In the seventh part of the Book of Parables, known as the Alexander codex, which was made by the Dominican nuns of the Island of Rabbits (Margaret Island) in 1521, there were some beautiful lines about the dance of saints in Heaven.

War Dances, Soldiers' Dances, the First Record of Dance of Liveried Attendants

The fashion of war dances continued during the 15-16th centuries and it developed in the direct battles with the Turks. Three examples will be mentioned, all of which are special and unique in Central and Western Europe: The first one took place at the siege of Nándorfehérvár in 1456. According to Giovanni da Tagliacozzo who was a Franciscan monk and John Kapisztrán's escort, the defenders of the castle were to have a merry time by Kapisztrán's order: "some of them were singing with the horns, others were screaming, some of them were dancing or crying and jumping with their arms in the air ... with this they wanted to break the Turks' confidence and breviary, and thus attempted to threaten them...". The other example is the case which took place at the victory party after the battle of Kenyérmező in 1479. Antonio Bonfini reported it on the basis of stories told by eye-witnesses: "At dinner war songs were sung (militari cantu), in which they praised the leaders and commanders".

Then, excited by the wine they drank, they started to dance a war dance (the militarem pyrrhychiam). They danced with their weapons (the Martiales choreas), and there was a big noise. At the peak of the party every soldier made the others laugh, they used strange and funny movements and gestures. Kinizsi was also invited to dance, he stood in the middle of the circle, picked up a Turkish dead body with his teeth without touching it with his hands. Then he started to jump with the body around. The people were just staring at him, shocked at this Herculean dance (choream se et Herculeo). They had a good time after that, and did not even go to sleep that night. The third example is about George Dózsa's execution. Several contemporary sources recorded this event, which was especially cruel. According to Antal Verancsics's report: "[He]ordered that George the Székely's clothes be taken off to the belt, and had him tied to the chair and the tree. He also had his warriors dance a recruitment dance (alias dance of liveried attendants), during which the soldiers bit George's body upon each round".

Peasant Dances - Common "Hungarian" Characteristic Features

By recording feudal customary law - in Hungary it meant when Werbőczy compiled his Triple book in 1514 - peasants appeared as a different political group, and it slowly led to the separation of noble culture from peasant culture. Peasants became the spreaders of traditional dance culture, while noblemen (and the western European bourgeoisie) started to follow new European dance fashions. The layer between these two cultures, which showed common characteristic features, became thinner and thinner. Galeotto Marzio, king Matthias's Italian librarian, was surprised at the fact that both the aristocrats and simple people still understood the language of songs, in which the deeds of Hungarian heroes were sung in Hungarian at the table of the king, accompanied by the lute. In his own country, in Italy, it was not possible any more, as the language and culture of different social groups were totally separated. Bonfini also mentioned that at the court there was no dinner without military songs - cantus militaris -, when their heroes were praised by improvised songs.

If we compare this with the war dances and songs mentioned at the description of the battle of Kenyérmező, we can find an old, surviving line of contemporary culture, which was a special genre of improvised folk poetry performed with music and pantomime. This 'genre' also included circle dances accompanied with singing and music, jumping-stamping-pattering dances of undifferentiated genres in solo, pairs or groups, and dances with accessory tools or without them. These must have been the special Hungarian dances of the early renaissance period, according to which the dances of dignitaries, soldiers or simple pilgrims were defined as Hungarian. This did not mean that there were no similar dances at other places, but these dances were dying out in Central Europe, and they were replaced by free individual pair dances, representing love lyrics.