Magyar Hírek, 1983 (36. évfolyam, 1-26. szám)
1983-12-24 / 25-26. szám
The Vizsoly Bible The church at Gönc was once Calvinist, but it has been Roman Catholic Church ior almost three centuries. It is the burial place of Gáspár Károli, the first Hungarian translator of the complete Bible. Gönc is in a district Where people, fleeing from the Turks after the lost battle of Mohács in 1526, found a resting place before proceeding further to North or West. Gáspár Károli was born a few years after that tragic battle. He became the minister of the Gönc Calvinist congregation in 1563. He had years of studies in Wittenberg. Martin Luther’s town, and of journeying in Switzerland behind him, when he settled in this remote district. The Protestant preachers and schoolmasters returned from study abroad lead not by careerism, but because they felt a call. Károli was a minister of religion at Tállya, also in County Zemplén, for a short time in the 1580s, then returned to Gönc, where he began his great work, the translation of the Bible. He took the Latin text as his basis, but referred to the original Hebrew and Greek on obscure points. Although their names were not recorded, we know that he had helpers in this immense undertaking. According to Balázs Vargha the “Bible of Gáspár Károli was the greatest technical achievement of 16th century Hungary”. It is known as the Vizsoly Bible, because it was printed at the nearby Vizsoly. A total of ten thousand operations with movable type were necessary to compose the 2,400 pages of the tome. Eight hundred copies were printed. The vast undertaking that began on the 18th February 1589 was nevertheless finished on the 20th July 1590. At the time Károli had one more year to live. An original copy is displayed in a small cabinet in the portico of the home of the Vizsoly Presbyterian minister. A facsimile edition was recently published. “I should like to call your attention also to the church”, with those words the minister went off to get the keys. We passed a low, yet impressive building along the ditch-lined main street. “That is where the old printing office used to be”, the minister said. The garden of the tiny church is surrounded by a wall reminiscent of a miniature fortress. Scaffolds, evidence of restoration, are around Layers of wall painting fragments are on the walls. “We found a Romanesque gate as well as a Gothic one", he said. “And have a look at these wall-paintings.” We looked at the sanctuary ceiling. There is no scholarly consensus on the age of this church. István Genthon believed it was built in the 13th century, but it is possible that the current restoration will modify earlier views. Gáspár Károli was fully aware of the importance of his understaking when translating the Bible, but he could hardly guess what a rich spring he had tapped. When a large part of Hungary was conquered by the Turks, and when the Habsburg rulers tried to force back the reformation in the Northern districts the very existence of the Hungarian Bible signalled the power of survival. It left the forceful language of the Reformation to posterity, as a powerful influence on the Hungarian literature of later years. LÁSZLÓ MARAFKÓ PHOTO: VIKTOR GABOR STEPHEN THE KING A folk opera in the Budapest City Park Strangely enough, the founder of the Hungarian state, Hungary’s first king, Saint Stephen is still an enigmatic figure. Documents and legends about his life intertwine, and it is almost impossible to separate fact from legend. Miklós Boldizsár’s play, „Millennium” telescoped the birth pangs of a state 'into an hour and a half. The duration of the drama spans the gap between the death of Prince Géza, Stephen’s father, and the coronation of Stephen himself, throwing light on several repeatedly recurring problems of Hungarian history. It was not the straight play itself, but a rock-opera based on it that was performed on the 3rd of August 1983. The opera is the joint work of leading Hungarian rock musicians, Levente Szörényi and János Bródy, and the music, which welds the influence of Gregorian and ancient peasant chants, heavymetal and musicals flooded from loudspeakers, that surrounded the Royal Hill, which will come into its own when snow falls as the site of children’s sledging. Ten thousands saw and listened to the open-air performance. A profane passion play? A modem folkopera? Perhaps it was both. The reassembled Illés rock-group came on stage, and, as an overture, posed this question to the audience: “Tomorrow somebody will have to overcome darkness, tomorrow someone will have to re-write the old legends, tomorrow somebody will have to redeem this world, comebody will have to burst, the fetters tomorrow, whom would you choose?” The characters of the principality of Géza appear on stage: the missionaries, the courtiers, Stephen searching for his God, his faith, and the Bavarian Gisella, his wife, unable to find sympathy for the barbarian Hungarians. In the other camp, the daughter of Chieftain Koppány argues with Lahore, a follower of her father. The problem of succession triggers of the first clash, when Prince Géza dies. The story centres on the inheritance of Géza, but more than that is at stake. Stephen a good Christian, abhorrs carnage: “Ah, my dear Lord Jesus said: he who takes to the sword will perish by the sword, but only a fool would put his faith in peace in a dilemma between two fires. Tell me, what is a man worth if he is without sin, but weak? Tell me, What is he worth, if he prepares for bloody victory?” Koppány is gathering an army: “I do not ask how long we will tolerate our fate. We could be new conquerors. The only thing I ask, I pray for your answer: should we be slaves, or free men?” The Hungarian warriors gather in Koppánys camp. Stephen’s fighting strength is based on Gisella’s German knights who fight for what they can get. Stephen and Koppány meet face to face for a moment, but they can no longer understand one another. Koppány committed himself to Byzantium. Stephen leads his people towards Rome. The armies of Stephen and Koppány fight it out near the town of Veszprém. Koppány suffered an annihilating defeat. The supporters of Stephen lose no time in presenting the bills: the German knights demand castles and estates. Abbot Astrik brings the blessings of Rome, and the promise of a crown in exchange for Stephen’s pledge to hold the country in the fold of Christendom. Koppány is quartered. Abbot Astrik appears with the crown. He places it on Stephen’s head. The new king invokes God in the midst of the celebration: “Because of Thy will, my Lord, I am a king, the king of all Hungarians, and I want this people to have a country.” The success of the opera meant more performances a week later. Over one hundred thousand saw them. A record, complete with the unabridged libretto, was published ready for the Christmas season. PÉTER JANOS SŐS 62
