A project has begun to digitize thousands of pages of manuscripts and codexes on behalf of the Pedagogical Institute of the Hungarian Baptist Relief Service. The first stage of the work, which has spanned several points of the Carpathian Basin, was Gyulafehérvár, where 19 Anabaptist manuscripts in the Batthyáneum library were objectified.
Our specialists, Dániel Bedő and Márton Novák, processed nearly 6 000 pages of the highly sensitive, centuries-old documents in a week.
The library was founded on the initiative of Count Ignác Batthyány in 1804. It was previously part of the Batthyány Castle and later continued to function as an independent institution. The Batthyaneum is one of the most valuable libraries in Europe, with a rich collection of over 300 000 volumes. The building also houses the Transylvanian Museum Association. It houses rare and valuable books, manuscripts, prints, and maps. The Batthyaneum plays an important role in Hungarian and international academic life and also serves as a cultural center in Gheorghe. Exhibitions, events, and scientific conferences are regularly organized in the library.
During our stay there, we received the happy news that several of the library’s codices had been successfully declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Among the 11 codes are unique materials such as the Codex Aureus and the Codex Ada.
Materials digitized in the framework of the project:
1. JOHANNES DENCK: WAS GEREDET SEY DASS DIE GESCHRIFFT SAGT GOTT THUE UND MACHE, GUTS UND BOSES, I 128. Ms.
- ISAAC DÖLLER: ANKUFT DER KIRCHE CHRISTI ZU JERUSALEM nach seiner Geburt und Himmelfahrt ab a.1332-1570. Darneben wird auch des Antichristen Versammlung, wie diese jenige allzeit bio auf diese Stundt verfolgt hat verzeichnet. Von…geschrieben a.1638, Ms II 119
- CANTIONALE ANABAPTISTABUM, Ms III 62
- BRIEFE UND BEKENNTNISSE DES CHRISTLICHEN GLAUBENS, Ms III 90
- ANSCHLAG UND FURWENDEN DER BLINDEN VERKEHRTEN WELT UND ALIER GOTTLOSEN GEGEN DER FROMMEN: Ms III 91
- CHRONICA UND KURZE GESCHICHTE…WIE GOTT MIT SEINES AUSSERWEHLTEN GEHANDELTEN HAT 1630-1708, Ms III 93
- NICOLAUS BRAIDL, Ms III 96
- CANTIONALE ANABAPTISTARUM, Ms III 97
- JOHANNES DENCK: Ms III 100
- KURZE GESCHICHTE DER KIRCHE CHRISTI. AUSLEGUNG DER GLAUBENS- ARTICKEL. BRIEFE VON JÖRG FASSER, LEONHARD DAXEN, HANS AMON, Ms III 104
- SCHŐNER BERICHT UND UNTERWEISUNG DIE UNGLAUBIGEN VON IHREM IHRTUMB ABZUWEISEN, Ms III 107
- BIBLISCHE BEISPIELE AUS DEM A… UND N. TESTAMENT, Ms III 117
- AMBROSIUS RESCH, Ms III 118
- SIMEON LORENTZ, Ms III 168
- DAS GULDEN ABC MIT VERSCHIEDENEN RELIGIÖSEN BETRACHTUNGEN, Ms III 187
- BERICHT UND BEKANNTNUS ETLICHER GLAUBENS-ARTIKEL DER BRUEDER SO MAN DIE HUETERISCHEN ODER MAHRISCHEN NENNET, Ms III 188
- Historia anabaptistarum urbis Monasteriensis in Westphalia, auctore mag. Hermanno a Kersenbroch rectore scholae, Ms XI 90
- MANUSCRIS ANABAPTIST, Ms III 124.
19. Ambrosius Resch: EIN KLEIN GRÜNDTLICHS DENCK-BICHLEIN SEIT 1524- 1642 JAR mit den rechtglaubigen und frommen Menschen hatt zuegetragen und wie sich die Gmein Gottes wiederumb hatt angefangen und vermeert ist worden…, Ms I 122.
Because of these materials’ special sensitivity, they have been recorded using Phase One iXH reprographic systems and FADGI-4 star guidelines to ensure they are of the highest quality and are preserved for posterity.
Soon, all these manuscripts, which are relevant to the history of Transylvania and represent the Anabaptist community of Alvinci (16th-18th centuries), will be available on the Internet, making materials never before published to the public searchable. The project will be coordinated by László Balog, historian and staff member of the Pedagogical Institute of the Baptist Church of Hungary, and Dr. Csaba Szabó, Director General of the Baptist Pedagogical Institute.