H. Bathó Edit – Kertész Róbert – Tolnay Gábor – Vadász István szerk.: Tisicum - A Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok Megyei Múzeumok Évkönyve 12. (2001)

Listen to Sibyl's Prophecy... (Effects of a Type of Religious Chapbook Upon Folklore)

McGINN, Bemard 1995 Antirisztus. Az emberiség kétezer éve a gonosz bűvöletében. Budapest NAGY Olga-LAMMEL Annamária 1986 Parasztbiblia. Budapest POLNER Zoltán 1980 A Teknyőkaparó. in: Csongrád megyei könyvtári füzetek 13. Szeged SZÉKELY István 1907 A Sibyllakönyvek. Budapest TAKÁCS Edit 1997 Petrák-krónika, in: Tanulmányok Csongrád megye történetéből XXV. Szentes-Szeged TANCZOS Vilmos 2000 Eleven ostya, szép virág. Csíkszereda VARGA János 1877 Babonák könyve. Arad VARGHA Balázs 1960 Csokonai-emlékek. Budapest Vasárnapi Újság 1866 Cs. Szatmári Károly: Csokonai mint jövendőmondó in: 37.szám. VERESS Éva 1956 „Rezerénus" gyülekezet Dunapentelén in: Ethn. LXVII. 562-578. ISTVÁN TÖROCSIK LISTEN TO SIBYL'S PROPHECY... (EFFECTS OF A TYPE OF RELIGIOUS CHAPBOOK UPOIM FOLKLÓRÉ) After the second millenary of the Christian era there is probably no need to emphasize that a sudden end of the world is one amongst the main concerns of humanity. I have started to collect the doomsday folklóré prophecies of the Jászság region (Eastern Hungary), and I am writing my Ethnology MA thesis of the same topic at the Szeged University. Taking intő consideration the matériái collected by earlier scholars as well as the results of my fieldworks, one can classify the elements of these prophecies intő three subgroups: Signs within the humán universe: - Signs of technical aspect, objects: chariots without a horse, irón birds, stone fences, stone chimneys, people will talk to each other from the two poles of the world, etc. - Signs of mentái or morál aspect: son against father, brother against brother, terrible wars, women and men will have the same ciothing and appearance, Sunday will not be different from the rest of the week, growth of impious behavior, theft, murder, nothing will be shameful, etc. Signs within the realm of nature: - Earthly signs: winter and summer will be the same, bad harvest (instead of wheat only rye will grow), the rivers will flow backward, earthquakes, floods, the queen ann's lace will have white blossom, etc. - Cosmic signs: the Sun will rise on the West, three-day darkness, comet, etc. Supernatural signs: - The coming of the Antichrist, delusion, Elias' and Henokh's proselytisation, triumph over the Antichrist, the glorious arrival of Christ, the last judgement. The informants in the Jászság region believe that the source of these prophecies is a given "Jesuit Book" (Jezsuita Könyv). Concerning other written records, I am providing a detailed analysis of the Sybil-prophecies published in chapbook formát. In the Classical Era Sybil was the name of the prophetesses who prophesized in delirium. One can find their reminiscences in the Christian tradition as well; for instance the queen of Sába who paid a visit to Salamon had the same name. The text of the prophecy reached its fixed form in the laté Middle Ages. Traces of this textual tradition can be collected from oral folklóré nowadays. As somé of the prophecies' motifs derive from different sources than this Sybil-type ones, their identification needs somé further investigation. 309