Dr. Péter Balázs: Guide to the archives of Hungary (Budapest, 1976)

A Váci Püspökség Levéltára (Vác Episcopal Archives)

diocesan synods (1752-1824), canonical visitations (1713-1815), appointments of canons and journals of the chapter sessions (1789-1880), tables on the basic estates of the bishopric and the chapter. The foundation charter of the Szombathely diocese and bequests of several bishops, canons and priests are in archival custody as well. There is material on the role of the deputies of the chapter in the diet (1780-1820) and the activity of religious associations and ecclesiastical institutions (e.g. the diocesan press). Separate "fontes" contain the correspondence of the archivist Ignác DESICS (18901920) and the notes on the history of families (seventeenth and eighteenth centuries). * Research is possible from 8 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. on weekdays. If more time is needed, the chapter loans its records to Vas County Archives, where the research room is open from 8 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. Dr. Péter BALÁZS A VÁCI PÜSPÖKSÉG LEVÉLTÁRA (VÁC EPISCOPAL ARCHIVES) 2600 VÁC, Vak Bottyán tér 1. Tel. 11-124. Ernő DOJCSÁN, episcopal senior clerk is in charge of the archives Up to the 1240s the records of the episcopal chancellery of the extensive Vác diocese, founded by King Stephen I., were preserved in the residence of the bishop. In 1241 the invasion of the Mongols annihilated them. The records of the following centuries were kept in two groups: "de spiritualibus" and "de temporalibus". The Humanist bishop, Miklós BÁTHORI (1474-1507) entrusted the archives to an Italian Humanist, Francesco BANDINI. Alas, this material became the victim of Turkish devastation, the bishop himself fled to unoccupied territory in the sixteenth century. It happened only after the expulsion of the Turks, in 1699, that the bishop of Vác returned to his seat; continuous serieses of records of church government are preserved from the eighteenth century only. Their first arrangement was ordered in 1761 by bishop Károly ESTERHÁZY. The still valid "fontes" system was established during the rearrangement, begun in 1852.