Note on the decorative flags in the atrium of the university library

1. Codex manuscript from the Chronicon Pictum (Illustrated Chronicle)

On the flag furthest away, we can see the letters of the Chronicon Pictum. The most precious relic of Hungarian codex literature was created in the mid-14th century, in the court of Louis I of Hungary. The beautifully carved script and the magnificent illuminations still inspire admiration even in the eyes of those pampered by the codices of French Gothic art. Not only for its unparalleled beauty among contemporary European codices but also as the most extensive narrative source of early Hungarian history, it is worthy to be placed on our flag that evokes the oldest time period with its Gothic textual script.

2. Misztótfalusi Kis Miklós’s Culinary Booklet

While this might not be our world-renown 17th-century punchcutter and printer’s most famous work, it is very precious for us here in Szeged because the only known copy of the 1698 edition can be found in our collection. Altho ugh the work was published in the Baroque period, Misztótfalusi’s punchcutting and the typography of the book show late Renaissance traits. Taking into account the delayed development in Hungary, it can even lead us back to the the literacy of Renaissance humanism , to the period when the great printing workshops were operating, from where Misztótfalusi himself learned the art of bookmaking in the Low Countries.

3. The Alliance Letter of Ferenc Wesselényi and Péter Zrínyi

The central flag depicts the founding document of a conspiracy. After the Peace Treaty of Vasvár in 1664, the measures taken by the Viennese court left little doubt that both religious and political liberties were under threat. One of the earliest examples of a Habsburg-opposing coalition at the highest level is the Wesselényi conspiracy. Therefore, the handwritten, calligraphically penned, and sealed alliance letter of Ferenc Wesselényi and Péter Zrínyi is not only a beautiful relic of Baroque ornate cursive handwriting but also a reminder of the “kuruc” (a group of armed anti-Habsburg insurgents in the Kingdom of Hungary between 1671 and 1711) independence traditions spanning from István Bocskai through Imre Thököly to Ferenc Rákóczi II.

4. The dedication of István Széchenyi’s work Hitel (Credit)

The words of dedication addressed „to the noble-hearted women of our homeland” can be seen on the second flag. The Reform Era stands out as one of the most impressive and progressive historical movements which aimed for the grand modernization of Hungary in the early 19th century. The key figure of this era was Széchenyi and his key work Hitel (Credit), of which a clean and elegant first edition was printed by the Tattner workshop, using those distinctive serif fonts that were also used in Tudományos Gyűjtemény, the scientific journal of the time, or in printing the pages of the works of poets like Pál Szemere, Mihály Vörösmarty, and their peers.

We appreciate this dedication addressed to women, especially because it signals the combination of love and creation, since the work was written during Széchenyi’s secret-yet-known relationship with Crescence Seilern. Széchenyi was then hopelessly in love with her and this impassioned dedication remains a lasting tribute to this relationship.

5. Attila József: My God

Attila József’s poem, written in 1924 when he was still a young philosopher in Szeged, exhibits a painful resignation. The poem was included in the Medvetánc collection as well, published ten years later, so he must have considered it important. Beyond its origin in Szeged, the poem also echoes the beautiful tradition of divine poetry in Hungarian literature. In this tradition, the most abstract transcendence can coexist with human proximity where man and God bicker, ask or converse as old friends or family members.

 On the last flag, the lines of a poem from Zoltán Latinovits’s wonderful recitation transform into binary code. In this way, this metaphor is no longer interpreted in the traditional literary and punchcutting context but rather reminds us of a new era of computer literacy, transposed in the poem of a poet who was both the namesake of our university’s predecessor institution and one of its greatest students.