A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve: Studia Historiae Literarum et Artium, 4. (Szeged, 2004)

Orbán Imre: A Szeged-alsóvárosi ferences kolostor középkori fametszetei

Medieval wood engravings of the Franciscan monastery of SzegedAlsóváros Imre Orbán The eight small-sized, two-sided and hand-painted prints prepared by the Franciscans of Szeged is on display at the Exhibition of the Treasury of the Szeged-Csanád Diocese. They have two wood engravings on each side, making up a total of 32 engravings. They represent 16 types of pictures since each image has been preserved in two copies (Series A and B). While they are valuable pieces of Hungarian culture, the engravings do not represent rarities in international terms. So far, literature has mistakenly recorded them as icons, in fact, they are printed materials that should have been used as pages in a calendar. The images illustrating feast days display an indication (a, b, c, d, e, f) of the days on which a specific holiday is held in a given year. The prints were intended for use as pages in what is called „Bauernkalender", which was especially popular in areas of South Germany back in the 16th century. They were produced in a smaller printing-house in Graz or Vienna. The estimated time of their publication is between 1560 and 1580. The prints were not used, they became print maculature. The paper material was suitable for re-use for secondary purposes. Up to the 18th century, the prints were applied to support book covers. Six to eight pieces were glued on top of each other to make a strong cover. The brownish patches of the glue used to integrate the prints are clearly visible on the engravings. Identical signs of damage and insect bites suggest that the prints were used glued together over a long period of time. The prints were used to prepare covers for small-sized prayers or hymnals. The copies arrived in Szeged after the Turks had been driven out of the country. Life in monasteries was re-organized in the areas freed from pagan domination. Books were also much needed. The book whose cover hid the said engravings must have been received as a monastery gift. Later on, the cover fell to pieces and got damaged, disclosing the old images hidden inside it. The engravings were removed and preserved as precious relicts. Later on, they were displayed as „Biblia Pauperum" in frames that could be hung on the wall. The 16 engravings can be grouped according to topic into the following items: I. Holidays. 1. Permanent holidays (God's birth, first martyr St. Stephen, apostle and evangelist St. John, minor saints). 2. Variable holidays (Easter eve). II. Moral laws and acts. 1. The Decalogue (Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain! 2nd commandment. Honour thy father and thy mother! 4th commandment. Thou shalt not kill. 5th commandment. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house. 10th commandment.) 2. Virtues (clemency). 3. The Seven Deadly Sins (Pride, Greed, Lust). III. Eternal things (Hell). IV. Images with a general religious content. (1. Christ on the Cross. 2. The Sun-Clad Woman.) Of the 16 types that have been preserved, 14 images have a caption. To prepare the prints, black ink was used in accordance with the tradition of that time. The engravings represent pieces of mass production at that time, the printing blocks used for production were of a less refined type and the paper used was medium quality. Those applying colours - presumably nuns - used watercolour. The captions are not part of the blocks, they were set from cast metal letters and inserted below the images with the help of a print lath. In addition to conventual signs (&) and generally used abbreviations (dni), the person preparing the captions applied unique solutions, incomplete words and broken sentences. These were decoded by persons with church education. The fragments of writing that can be seen along the edges of the images were made at a later time. The „pater" (B/2) under the Christ on the Cross picture dates back to late Middle Ages, the broken sentence „Jesus et Maria vobis do cor et" (B/2), the „Anima mea" (B/4), and the „Iesus Ma" (A/3) were made in the 18th century. Our wood engravings are no products of art. The person making them followed a pattern. They lack elaboration, the drawing is simple, the events are often deliquescent. This is particularly true of the 14 pictures made by the same hand. A somewhat distinct engraving is that of the „Sun-Clad 17