A Herman Ottó Múzeum évkönyve 50. (2011)
TÖRTÉNETTUDOMÁNY - HAZAG Ádám: Kékfestő műhelyek Északkelet-Magyarországon
Kékfestő műhelyek Északkelet-Magyarországon 363 The original making place and time of these cliches are questionable, as the workshops often took over these clichés from one another. Moreover, they changed the clichés themselves in most cases to restore their stocks. On that account, I do not deal with the pieces of this collection definitely, but the regional history, technology and trade of blue dyeing, in the hope that following researches can give sufficient answers to the questions. The history of dyer goes back to the 12 t h— 13 t h centuries in Hungary, and the first mention of them in the documents was in the 15 t h century. At that time more workshops and craftsmen worked. The widespread of dye works in Hungary can be accounted for the European historical processes. In the 17 t h century many craftsmen escaped from France and then from the German language area to Hungary because of the religion chasing. In Hungary they found peaceful circumstances in royal towns, western and northern area of the country and in Transylvania. This was guaranteed in the decree of tolerance in 1608. In the less developed north-east region of Hungary, the dyers appeared only in the 18 l h century. One of the earliest pegging of prices by dyers was made in Kassa, Abaúj County, in 1744. In Miskolc, the dyers appealed to the Council of General for the request to become free from the guilds of Eperjes and the Upper Hungary. Though the craftsmen of Miskolc could establish independent guilds but they could not keep pace up with the spreading manufactories and factories economically. This process led to the closing down of the handicrafts. In spite of the fact that the dyer guilds had been declined in Miskolc, on the rural areas of BorsodAbaúj-Zemplén — Putnok, Szendrő, Mezőkövesd — the tradition of the dyer crafts lingered on. Several craftsmen continued their work up to the middle of the 20 t h century. Due to the local craftsmen, we are allowed to study the technical and historical antecedents of this profession. Adám Hazag
