Hungarian Studies Newsletter, 1978 (6. évfolyam, 16-18. szám)
1978 / 16. szám
Joseph Str. 1.1975.171 pages, maps, notes, introduction (in German). DM 36.00 paper. The Finno-Ugric Seminar publishes three series of studies in attractive paper binding. Series “A” is concerned with historical place names of Hungary; Series “B” with research on Ob-Ugrian languages; and Series “C" with miscellaneous topics. The present volume consists of two parts. “The General Description of Hungary." pp. 1084; and “A Journey from Komara or Gomora, to the Mine-Towns in Hungary; and from thence to Vienna," pp. 85-144. The volume was incorporated into a larger book containing other travelogues and republished in 1685. (A Brief Account of Some Travel in Diverse Parts of Europe.) Brown (1644-1708) was a physician and a Fellow of the Royal Society. He undertook his East Euopean travel at a time when a good part of Hungary was still under Turkish rule. His notes are most extensive on cultural geography, mining, and thermal baths, but in the course of such descriptions he commented generously on people, institutions, and events. For example, he comments on the value and fate of King Mathias’s famous library, and on the feelings of the people toward the crown of St. Stephen and a legend as to its origin. The Seminar has produced a laudable contribution to the availability of information on 17th century Hungary. Csizmadia, Ernő. SOCIALIST AGRICULTURE IN HUNGARY. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó', 1977. 179 pages, tables. $11.00 cloth. The author focuses on the development of Hungarian agriculture and food production-nutrition in the context of the overall Hungarian economy and socialist transformation. Most all of the nine sections of the book have references to social-cultural consequences of the changeover. The vanishing agricultural way of life is replaced by urban lifestyles even in the villages and other non-urban settlements. Separate sections deal with such topics as historical development of agriculture and nutrition in the interwar period; food production and consumption; the social structure emerging from the changeover; internal organization of both, agricultural enterprises (such as cooperatives and state farms) and the food industry; land, labor, credit, price policies and taxation; productivity and efficiency levels; plant-level partnerships, joint enterprises, and cooperative federations in agriculture. An index would have been helpful. Endrey, Anthony. THE HOLY CROWN OF HUNGARY. Hungarian Institute, c/o Dr. A. Endrey, Owen-Dixon Chambers, 205 William Street, Melbourne 3000, Australia. 118 pages, biblio, illust. $8.50 cloth. The book traces the historical development of the mystic concept of the Holy Crown of Hungary back to the time of the Árpád dynasty. It describes both, the physical and symbolic properties of the crown, how it became a symbol of constitutional authority in its own right, how it included first the king and the nobles, later all the nonobles as well, and how it evolved into the symbol of the supreme power of the country as exercised jointly by the monarch and the nation. The crown possessed the supreme political power of the land and no king, no matter how legitimate by succession, was recognized unless he was crowned by this particular crown. BOOKS (Continued) This theory developed to its sophisticated modern form during the 19th century when the emancipation of the peasantry took place, and it stood the test after the death of the last king when Hungary remained a parliamentary monarchy in which the role of the king was assumed by an elected regent. The author expresses his opinion that “the validity of the doctrine of the Holy Crown does not depend on the form of constitution or government adopted in Hungary and does not postulate that Hungary should be turned into monarchy again,” but could serve as a symbol of a federal system in the Carpathian Basin, acceptable to all nations involved. The author is one of the founders of the Hungarian Institute of Melbourne and is a practicing attorney-at-law in the same city. HUNGARIAN PROBLEM BOOK. Vol. I and II. Based on the Eötvös Competitions, 1894-1905 and 1906-1928. Originally compiled by József Kurschák; revised and edited by G. Hajós, G. Neukomm, and J. Surányi; translated by Elvira (Rapaport) Strasser. The Mathematical Association of America, 1225 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20036. 1963. Vol. I. 111 pages, Vol. II. 120 pages. $3.50 each for members of the MAA, $4.50 for non-members. Paper. Nos. 11 and 12 in the New Mathematical Library series. One frequently encounters the question how a small country like Hungary has been able to produce such a disproportionately large number of outstanding scholars and scientists during the 20th century. No one has studied this phenomenon thoroughly, but these two volumes indicate that rigorous training and competition must have shared responsibility with other factors. The Eötvös Contests in elementary mathematics have been open to Hungarian students in their last year of high school since 1894. The Mathematical and Physical Society, in honor of its founder and president, Baron Lóránd Eötvös, initiated the contest and awarded two prizes annually. The two volumes which contain the problems, their solution, and the lists of winners between 1894 and 1928, were originally published by Kurschák in 1929. The problems, mostly from high school material (not including calculus), were somewhat more advanced in Hungary than in the U.S. The Mathematical Association of America has rendered a valuable service to science by publishing and reprinting the volumes in English. High school teachers and college instructors of mathematics will find these books enjoyable and useful. Kurschák (1864-1933) was Prof, of Mathematics at the Technical U. of Budapest. Rapaport Strasser is Prof, of Mathematics, at SUNY, Stony Brook. Kiss, Attila. AVAR CEMETERIES IN COUNTY BARANYA. Budapest; Akadémiai Kiadó, 1977. 174 pages plus 92 plates, 71 figures. $25.00 cloth. Vol. 2 in the Cemeteries of the Avar Period (567-829) in Hungary series. This volume concentrates on Avar finds in Baranya County. The earlier volume described finds held by the National Museum (see HSN no. 10, p. 4). Both volumes are skillfully illustrated and make the reader appreciate the high level of craftsmanship the Avars possessed as revealed by the multitude of objects. Some 1,200 graves were excavated in Baranya’s 43 sites of Avar burials. The book first describes the sites, then gives a catalogue of finds. The archaeological NO. 16, 1978 HUNGARIAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER 3
