H. Kolba Judit szerk.: Historical Exhibition of the Hungarian National Museum Guide 2 - From the Foundation of the State until the Expulsion of the Ottomans - The history of Hungary in the 11th to 17th centuries (Budapest, 2005)

ROOM 1 - The Age of the House of Árpád Kings (11th—13th centuries) (Júlia Kovalovszki)

5. Silver-gilt holy water font Byzantium, Beszterec, 12th century Church. Despite initial evangelizing work by the Byzantine Church, Hungarian Christianity joined the Western branch of Christendom. In parallel with the establishment of secular government, the king created an ecclesiastical structure as well. He divided the country in two archbishoprics (Esztergom, Kalocsa) and eight bishoprics. (Later on, the number of the dioceses increased.) Stephen's laws prescribed the building of churches. The king and the wealthiest of the nobles helped the strengthening of the Church by founding monasteries. Very early on Benedictine houses were founded. During the 12th century, just a few years after their establishment as an order, the Premonstratensians appeared in Hungary, along with the ecclesiastical orders of knighthood (Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, in the 13th century, the mendicant friars (Dominicans, Franciscans). A great number of monasteries were built for the Hungarian-founded Order of the Hermits of St. Paul founded in Hungary about 1250. The processional crosses, pectoral crosses, candlesticks, and fonts (Figs. 5-6) displayed here give just a modest picture of the onetime richness of ecclesiastical ornaments. The grave of an archbishop of Kalocsa from the 12th century yielded the chalice, paten, crozier, ring and pallium clasps (copies); the grave of a prelate the carved bone head of a crozier (Feldebrő, 12th century). The earliest extant written documents are from the age of King Stephen, although the general use of written records began only around 1200. These are charters (deed of foundation of Tihany Abbey in 1055, the registering of the estate of Pannonhalma Abbey in 1093, the deed of foundation of the Dömös provostship in 1138/1329). One of the basic documents of the history of Hungarian society is the copy of the socalled Golden Bull, issued by King Andrew II in 1222; it secured the right to liberty for the nobility against the king, and was considered as the constitution of the Hungarian monarchy. The statutes (the Admont Codex, a 12th-century copy of the statutes of St. Stephen), literary and historical works (the Gesta of Magister P. [Anonymus] on the exploits of the Hungarians in the 13th century, and the Legend of St. Stephen, 13th century, are for the most part written in Latin, but nevertheless a number of Hungarian words - personal and geographical names, even texts written fully in Hungarian - do occur in them {Funerary Sermon, Pray Codex, 12th century). These are the most precious relics of the early Hungarian language. The lettered people were members of the clergy, and many of them had studied at foreign universities.