First Two Volumes of "Monumenta Ritualia Hungarica" Released

A new series of liturgical textual editions, entitled "Monumenta Ritualia Hungarica" has been launched. The main objective of the series is the publication of the extant sources of the medieval Hungarian liturgical tradition.

In the first volume is published the very first printed Missal of Esztergom (Missale Strigoniense 1484), the second volume contains a critical edition of a normative liturgical text regulating the celebration of the Esztergom Use, the Ordinal of Esztergom (Ordinarius Strigoniensis), of which we know six different editions from the period between 1493 and 1520. These representative volumes are introduced by lengthy and highly informative English studies, as well as supplemented by detailed indices.

These volumes may be obtained directly from the bookstore of the Publisher at a reduced price, 20% cheaper than from other retailers. The Publisher's bookstore in Budapest (Hungary) is open Monday through Friday, from 7:30 to 16:30 (on Fridays until 16:00). The street address is:

Argumentum Kiadó és Nyomda Kft.
Mária utca 46.
Budapest
H-1085
Hungary

The publications have not been distributed to retailers yet. In case of mail orders the cost of shipping will be added to the original price. If the payment is made through bank transfer, a handling fee of 2500 HUF (~10 EUR) will also have to be included (independently from the number of volumes ordered). Orders must be placed by e-mail or fax to the address and number indicated below. Delivery will be quick and the invoice will be enclosed with the package.

Ms. Dóra Ambrus
E-mail: arg-terj@vnet.hu
Fax: +36-1-4851041

Missale Strigoniense 1484

Description:

The royal and archiepiscopal city of Esztergom, and through it the entire medieval Hungarian church, followed a liturgical rite which was at once deliberately adapted to local circumstances and in perfect harmony with the wider Franco-Roman tradition. This volume is the normative and critical edition of the entire text of the first printed Missal codifying the solidified, 15th-16th century state of the Mass liturgy according to the Use of Esztergom. The main text unites the aspects of philological accuracy and transparency with being easy-to-handle, and it tries to meet the expectations of both expert scholars and students less well-versed in liturgical studies and the Latin tongue. For this reason its spelling is made uniform but it also preserves the medieval interpunctuation as the relic of linguistic and perhaps musical articulation. The text was arranged in a perspicuous manner with clear divisions between chapters, items, and italicised rubrics. The reader's orientation is assisted by headings and the clear indication of the original page numbers. The introductory study gives an account of the overall objectives, antecedent history, methodology and plans of the whole series which is followed by chapters explaining the wider context of the source material regarding the Use of Esztergom, as well as the historical background, significance and method of liturgical book printing in medieval Hungary. This study is concluded by the inevitable palaeo- and bibliographical description, a chapter describing the principles of this edition, and a rich bibliography. After the main text the reader finds a critical apparatus (including the supplementation of the hiatus at the beginning of the Mass Ordinary from the so-called Pálóczi Missal) with a detailed table of contents. A special feature of the appendices is the index containing each and every text of the traditional Latin Missal and made searchable on the basis of textual types, initials, liturgical use, and biblical loci. In all probability until date this is the most complete summary of the textual material of the Latin Mass liturgy.

Id est Missale secundum almae ecclesiae Strigoniensis, impressum Nurenbergae apud Anthonium Koburger, anno Domini MCCCCLXXXIIII (RMK III 7)
BALÁZS DÉRI (ed.)
Argumentum Publishing House, Budapest 2009.
(Monumenta Ritualia Hungarica I - Bibliotheca Scriptorum Medii Recentisque Aevorum XVI)
Hard cover, sewn binding
68 (introduction) + 659 (text) + 71 (indices) pages
7 coloured illustrations
ISBN 978-963-446-517-1
Price: 80 EUR

Ordinarius Strigoniensis

Description:

The Ordinal was the most characteristic normative liturgical text of the High Middle Ages. Beginning with the 12th century in this genre were united those textual types that constitute the secondary sources of liturgical ceremony: the collection of items to be sung, the symbolic, historical, and theoretical expositions of ceremonies, and the description of liturgical roles, musical performance, or spatial arrangement. Since only a few such sources survived from the Hungarian Middle Ages, each known surviving text is of great significance. One of these sources is the 15th century Ordinal of the Esztergom archcathedral which until 1520 saw at least six printed editions, and - since it was obviously re-edited several times - its antecedents go back at least to the 14th century. The present volume is the critical edition of this text, taking into account each of its surviving versions. The main text is based on the first, Nuremberg edition; its spelling and typography are reader-friendly, that is, in line with the methodology of the series, it realises contemporary principles by means of modern typography, at once satisfying the requirements of science and scientific literature intended for the general public. The introductory study summarises the editor's scientific results based on the history and typography of normative liturgical texts. After a short exposition on the Use of Esztergom, it provides a philological-bibliographical description of all the different editions and its surviving copies. Then, in separate chapters, the introduction treats of the text's retrospective aspects in reference to its manuscript antecedents, and explains the principles of the present critical edition. A special feature of the appendices is the description of the extraordinary ceremonies of the liturgical year in English translation. The main text is followed by a detailed table of contents and an index of liturgical days.

Impressum pluries Nurenbergae, Venetiis et Lugduni annis Domini 1493-1520 (RMK III Suppl. I 5031, RMK III 35, 134, 165, 166, 238)
MIKLÓS ISTVÁN FÖLDVÁRY (ed.)
Argumentum Publishing House, Budapest 2009.
(Monumenta Ritualia Hungarica II - Bibliotheca Scriptorum Medii Recentisque Aevorum XVII)
Hard cover, sewn binding
80 (introduction) + 188 (text) + 16 (indices) pages
8 black and white illustrations
ISBN 978-963-446-518-8
Price: 40 EUR