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 4 - Villages and Towns in the Second Half of the 15th century and at the Beginning of the 16th century (Piroska Biczó )31

27. Glass cup and cover with the crest of the town of Bártfa (Bardejov), Venice, early 16th century we have concerning the Bártfa (Bardejov), parish library comes from 1435. According to an inventory made in 1460, the library contained thirty volumes, among them ten missals. In 1539, when the church passed into the hands of the Protestants, the library was taken over by the town, and the town fathers augmented the collection (which included books on history, law, astronomy, and mathematics) with works by the religious reformers. They also opened it to the public at this time. Next to the bookcase is a stone-framed, Late Gothic iron door also from the Church of St. Giles at Bártfa (Bardejov). Over the chest there is a woven kerchief another work by Uplands masters (Fig. 26). Production of these woven items, which are of Italian origin, spread in Hungary in the 15th century through German mediation. In households they served as tablecloths and towels, while in churches they were used also as altar-cloths. RELICS OF TOWN LIFE The role of towns in commerce has already been mentioned, but not imports. The most important imported commodity throughout the period was broadcloth. From the expensive Italian, English and Flemish cloth to the cheaper Austrian, Bohemian and Moravian products the range was very wide. The relics of this commerce are the lead seals used on the bales. There was a great demand for foreign textiles in Hungary, since inside the country no cloth was made except a rough frieze. In the wardrobe of people of quality, fine Italian textiles, such as silk and velvet, also appeared. In addition, metal items in huge quantities (for example, knives from Austrian and the southern German regions), and spices of low weight but great value flooded into the country. Venetian glass goblets that have survived afford evidence of the high-quality Italian glass items imported into Hungary (Fig. 27). Throughout the Middle Ages the economies of the Hungarian towns were based on commerce. From the 15th century onwards relics of guilds active in Hungarian towns become frequent. The provenance of the summoning plate of the blacksmiths 'guild is uncertain. The pewter tankard of the shoemakers' guild of Gölnicbánya (Gelnica) bears the date 1524. In the households of town burghers we find a number of high-quality items, among