Dr. Péter Balázs: Guide to the archives of Hungary (Budapest, 1976)

(Special Archives of Churches) - (Archives of the Catholic Church) - Esztergomi Prímási Levéltár (Esztergom Primatial Archives)

SPECIAL ARCHIVES OF CHURCHES ARCHIVES OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ESZTERGOMI PRlMÁSI LEVÉLTÁR (ESZTERGOM PRIMATIAL ARCHIVES) 2500 ESZTERGOM, Berényi Zsigmond u. 2. Tel. 1. Head: Pál ROSDY The archbishopric of Esztergom was founded by our first king, St Stephen. As the first prelate (from 1394 primate) of the country, the archbishop of Esztergom played a leading role in the life of Hungary both as to church administration and as to public life and politics. Being not only the pastors of the Esztergom archdiocese, but also the heads of the Esztergom metropolitan area, commanding numerous suffragan bishops, nay primates of the land, they exercised certain rights over the whole Catholic Church of Hungary, as a curiosity in canon law. As to politics, being barons of the country, played the role of royal chancellors or of various dignities of public law, changing according to periods. Consequently the records of the archbishops of Esztergom are important and indispensable sources for the history of the whole country. Up to the age of Enlightenment (in our case up to 1776, the enthronement of the primate József BATTHYÁNY), in lack of special historical sense and demand, the preserved records and charters were valued as deeds securing certain rights. This is why they were guarded also prior to 1526 jealously (among them the first authentic transscript of the Golden Bull from 1318). When the archbishopric fled the Turks, it removed almost its entire archival material from Esztergom to Nagyszombat and let it to be arranged several times there (1608, 1699, 1726, 1765). The period of the primate József BATTHYÁNY has brought a decisive