18. századi agrártörténelem. Válogatásd Wellmann Imre agrár- és társadalomtörténeti tanulmányaiból (Officina Musei 9. Miskolc, 1999)

18th century agricultural history. Selection from Imre Wellman's writings on agricultural and social histort

18TH CENTURY AGRICULTURAL HISTORY Selection from Imre Wellman's writings on agricultural and social history The recent volume of the series Officina Musei (Museum Workshop) published under the title 18th centurz agricultural history by the Herman Ottó Museum of Miskolc, gives a selection of Imre Wellmann's (1909-1994) writings on agricultural and social history. His literary remains of agricultural and social historiography and relevant library are being preserved by the museum. By republishing the most important scientific writings of Imre Wellmann, one of the greatest expert of modern European agricultural history, the editors undertook supplying a great want. Most of his papers are more and more difficult to obtain, and of one or another of his early volumes no copy at all can be obtained today except the sample copies in libraries at the most. „This is the reason why this very publication is of great significance even from the point of view of university education" - emphasizes the publisher's reader of his selected works. Imre Wellmann's activity was focused on the Hungarian history of the „long 18th entury" which involved both the problematics of the last third of the 17th entury and the history of economy and society of the first half of the 19th century. He made such durable analyses of the period intentionally chosen by him, without which no further research of the epoch - and in many respects even that of historical periods - could be made. As it is said by one of his follewers, Peter Gunst. „Imre Wellmann's outstanding performance of historiography is considered to be a basic step without which no further research can be made". Who, in reality, Imre Wellmann was? With his death two years ago we buried not only one of the most talented historiographers of our century but also a very learned historian, collègue and friend, and a living lexicon, encyclopedia, and - last but not least - dictionary of German and Latin studies of the 18th century Hungary. His father wanted him to be an agroculturist. So he finished the relevant faculty at the university of economics in Budapest (1926-1930) Then, between 1930 and 1932 he attended the faculty of arts. After that he studied, for a semester, in 1932 and 1933, at the university of Leipzig which, at that time, was the centre of modern economic, social and cultural historiography of contemporary Europe. It was as early as the beginning of the century when the Institute of Cultural History operating at the University of Leipzig proclaimed, as a programme of historiography, the day-to-day study of society, the remodelling of the people's subsistance, the role of small community frameworks, the putting of farming and family life into focus - breaking with the traditions of European historiography relevant to the history of State and ideas. It was just 24 years ago when, in 1933, his doctoral dissertation appeared also in print as the 7th volume of a series on domain history published by Sándor Domanovszky. Based on thorough archival researches and the sound knowledge gained at the University of Leipzig, he - in his doctoral dessertation - described and analysed in detail the farming and management of the Grassalkovich Domain of Gödöllő during the period between 1770 and 1815. From the academic year of 1934 and 1935, he became a pro-seminar leader, an assistant to professor István Hajnal, at the Faculty of Arts. In 1937 the whole elite of this branch of science turned their attention to him when with brilliant theoretical