Fügedi Márta szerk.: B.-A.-Z. megye népművészete (Miskolc, 1997)

ANGOL NYELVŰ ÖSSZEFOGLALÁS Fügedi Márta

precisely in the critical period of the development of middle class status among the peasantry that these links were cut off, adversely affecting the chances of the regions and ethnic groups for urbanization and middle class status achievement, and preventing the spread of innovations and new trends. Formerly open regions became thus isolated, which was not only decisive in terms of their culture but these new borderlines have created such disadvantageous conditions for them the effect of which can still be felt. As regards geographical conditions, the area of the present BorsodAbaúj- Zemplén county is divided among two big geographical regions, the Northern Mountains and the Great Plain. More than two third of its area is covered by medium height mountains and hills which form a kind of slope through the dividing river and brook valleys towards the flatland - in both a geographical and a cultural sense. For centuries the culture of the plains gradually found its way to the highlands through the valleys forming natural communication lines, while the various ethnic groups of the highlands also brought their culture with them when they undertook some seasonal work or settled down in the flatland. The continuous communication between the big geographical regions is a usual part of the culture of this population just like the adaptation to the geographical conditions of the hilly and mountaineous region and the many types of handicraft supplementing agricultural production. In the territory of the present county handicraft appeared at the same time as agriculture - it has been a decisive characteristic feature of the population and the production activities of the small regions since the Hungarian conquest. These two types of production linked very early in the division of labour between the regions. In the special configuration of handicraft centres and regions inside and outside the county (especially in the highlands) strongly influenced each other. The guilds in South Borsod and Miskolc kept contacts with the centres in the Great Plain but also sent a large number of journeymen to the North, from where they themselves also received craftsmen. There was also bustling trade between the highlands and the flatland with the products of handicraft establishing contacts between manufacturers and end users for centuries. The guild industry, which was highly organised under feudal conditions, and the manufacturers produced only a part of the material goods. The significance of the domestic industries can be traced until the beginning of the 20th century. The wooden agricultural and household tools from the Bükk and Zempléni Mountains were extensively used by the peasants living in the plain. Until World War II a domestic textile industry was common with its centres having their special ornaments and styles. Along the rivers, especially the Tisza, wickerwork products were traded. At the end of the 19th century a school of wickerwork was set up in Tokaj, which kept up the traditions of handicraft in an organized framework. Along the Tisza and the Bodrog settlements specialized in rushwork weaving. A good number of the artisans possessed a special double culture: they did not cut off their ties with agriculture but in a part of the year cultivated land. During the 19th century brown coal mining and iron