Bereczki Ibolya - Cseri Miklós (szerk.): Ház és ember, A Szabadtéri Néprajzi Múzeum évkönyve 22. (Szentendre, Szabadtéri Néprajzi Múzeum, 2010)
Gombosi Beatrix: Mestergerendák a Kisalföldön – „Isten kegyelmibül ípítette…”
Beatrix Gombosi CROSSBEAMS IN THE KISALFÖLD REGION "Built by God's grace ..." Relics of architecture with wooden ceilings and crossbeams originating in the Middle Ages are preserved in the Kisalföld region dating from the I 8 t h-19 t h century. The crossbeam served to support the ceiling and was laid lengthwise in the house. It was the region's speciality to provide the crossbeam not only with the year of construction and inscriptions but it was also richly ornamented. As a primary source, the date refers to the year of construction/reconstruction. The crossbeam is a decisive representative element of the dwelling house in the Kisalföld. It was made of excellent wood so that it could be used for a second or third time, sometimes with a change of function. The excellent grain production and the grain storing on the loft maintained the crossbeam's function as the economics justified the rich ornamentation. Ede PÁLOS (1870-1922), a drawing teacher in Győr drew the attention to the crossbeams of the region in his two studies in 1 906 and 1911. I present in my treatise the crossbeams of Rábapatona, a catholic village along the river Rába, 20 km in southwestern direction from Győr, where I carried out field research between 1 997 and 2000. In these years I organised ethnographical camps for the youth and here we documented 22 crossbeams. The crossbeams of Kisalföld are lacking individual style characteristics and show a homogenous ornamenting style. Specialities typical for villages cannot be established due to the sporadic relics. The carved ornaments continue the medieval Roman and Gothic traditions, which are completed with a significant ornamental impact of the Renaissance. The Renaissance motives are still present in the 18 t h-19 t h century together with some elements of the Baroque art. The crossbeams are excellent examples for a harmonic coexistence of styles of different periods. Not the object is emphasized but the aesthetic is subordinated to the function. It is in harmony with the painted furniture of the house, with the carved and painted door-posts, with the stuccoed ornaments on the gables. The painted wooden ceilings in mansions and churches, in secular and sacral buildings served as models for the painted beams in the villages. We hope that the documentation of the crossbeams of Rábapatona constitute a small contribution to the recovery of the village architecture in the Kisalföld region. The catalogue with the number of its items and the motives with their richness contribute to the reconstruction of a more comprehensive picture. Till the middle of the 20 th century not only the ornaments have disappeared but structures with crossbeams too. Due to the founding of cooperatives and the nationalisation of the land, no more grain was stored on the loft and the crossbeam lost its function. In the last two decades, however, we observe a conscious and growing attention to the local traditions. 64
