Novák László Ferenc: A „Mező Berényi Evang tótajkú egyházban létező” id. Kisjeszeni Jeszenszky Károly lelkipásztor számadáskönyve 1848-1890 - Chronica Bekesiensis 4. (Békéscsaba, 2011)

Képek jegyzéke

The heritage, included his economic diary, got into the collection of National Evangelical Archive after the death of Károly Jeszenszky sr. The book presents this work, completed with a systematic study.

Jeszenszky used the biblical Czech language at the level of his mother tongue. Worships in the temples and teachings in the schools were carried out in the lowland dialect of the Slovakian language. He wrote a book with the title Osada Mező-Berény published in 1861 in biblical Czech language. He had a good command of German acquired in Selmecbánya, Pozsony [Bratislava] and Jena and was familiar also with Latin. The Hungarian was also his mother-tongue, he kept his registration book in Hungarian.

Though the “household book” was written by Jeszenszky year by year, the topics in it necessarily divide the economic diary into more thematic groups. This scientific approach follows this arrangement. It mainly addresses Jeszenszky’s ministerial work, his family relations, building activities and the economic aspects; and in the document part it publishes the economic diary in a literal copy.

Jeszenszky was one of the greatest characters of his age who not only practised his ecclesiastical profession with great erudition but served the public interest with wide spectre of knowledge and a sense of business in almost all fields of life. This can be proved by his “household book” which can be read not only as registration book, but partly as a diary also. It is not an official record of the church but the notes allows an insight into the life of the church as well. Registration of the “other and household things”, the economic remarks have got source value with regard to agricultural history and ethnography of the second half of the 19th century of Mezőberény and its surroundings.

Translated by Attila B. Kis