The ELTE University Library and Archives will be closed due to technical reasons between the 30th of November and the 2nd of December 2023.
The ELTE University Library and Archives will be closed due to technical reasons between the 30th of November and the 2nd of December 2023.
From Monday (4 December 2023) we are waiting for our visitors according to the usual opening hours.
Thank you in advance for your understanding.
The ELTE University Library and Archives will be closed on the 24th of November 2023 due to a university event.
From Saturday (from the 25th of November 2023) we are waiting for our visitors according to the usual opening hours.
Thank you in advance for your understanding.
The ELTE University Library and Archives will be temporarily closed on the 16th of November 2023 (Thursday) from 14.00 due to technical reasons.
On Friday (17 November 2023) our library will be open as usual.
Thank you in advance for your understanding.
István Illyés (1650–1711/1712), the author of our adoptable book, was born in 1650 in Csíkszentgyörgy (Ciucsângeorgiu) in Szeklerland, as the younger brother of András Illyés, later bishop of Transylvania. He was educated in his native village, at the Franciscan school of Csíksomlyó (Șumuleu Ciuc), then in Ungvár (Uzhhorod), Szepes (Spiš) and Pozsony (Bratislava).
As an alumnus of the Pázmáneum, he studied in Vienna from 1672, where he obtained a master's degree. He completed his theological studies at the German-Hungarian College in Rome, after which he was ordained a priest (1677). On his return to Hungary he held several posts (e.g. parish priest of Nádszeg [Trstice]), canon of Esztergom and parish priest of Somorja (Šamorín) in 1688, archdeacon of Hont in 1689, archdeacon of Zólyom (Zvolen) in 1690, provost of Szenttamás (Србобран) in 1691, and later abbot of Szentjobb (Sâniob). In 1693, he became custos of Esztergom, in 1696 cantor, in 1707 lector, in 1708 grand provost of Esztergom, then vicar general and bishop of Szendrő (Smederevo). He died in 1711 or 1712.
The first edition of the Készület a jól meghaláshoz (’Preparation for Dying Well’) was published in 1693 by the Academy Press in Nagyszombat (Trnava), together with his psalms and funeral hymns, but a second, slightly revised edition was published in the same year (the University Library's copy contains the latter edition). After the greeting of the readers, the author presents in two parts how Christians should prepare for death: the first part deals with the necessary actions in a healthy age, the second with those necessary in sickness. Each of these two parts is divided into 10 further chapters. More than half of the volume is taken up by subsequent prayers, which are also necessary to prepare for death: a creed, a prayer for forgiveness of sins, a prayer against the fear of death, a prayer to the guardian angel and Mary, prayers for the terminally ill, etc. The whole work concludes with the text of the Litany of Loreto before the list of errors and contents. 25 leaves are bound behind the print (later hands numbered the leaves in pencil), on which several 17th-18th century hands inscribed prayers in Hungarian and Latin. The subjects of the hand-written prayers are diverse: a sinner's prayer to Mary; a powerful prayer to be said every nine days; a prayer for the peace of the Church and the kingdom; a rosary of the Holy Trinity against pestilence; a prayer to Jude the Apostle and Saint John of Nepomuk.
The book is part of the book adoption program of the Foundation for the University Library. Save a book, adopt a book! For more information visit our website: https://konyvtar.elte.hu/en/support-us/adopt-a-book
RMK I 346
Illyés István
Készület a’ jól meg-haláshoz, szép oktatásokkal, bíztatásokkal, főfő jószágos cselekedetek gyakorlásával, imádságokkal, és Istenhez-való fohászkodásokkal, fel-készíttetett, és először francziául, az-után olaszul, és deákül bévebben : most pedig Illyés István … által, magyarul rövidebben, és némely változással, ’s néhol hozzá-adással is, ki-bocsáttatott, a halandók, és halálos betegségben vonakodók vigasztalására, segédelmére, és az őket vigasztalók üdvösséges foglalatosságára
Nyomtattatot Nagyszombatban : az Academiai bötükkel Hörman János által, M. DC. XCIII. [1693] esztendőben
The CHARM-EU Open Science Day program will be held for the second time on October 26, 2023, which is a continuation of the first session. You can join the event in person in ELTE's Aula Magna (1053 Budapest, Egyetem tér 1–3.) or online via the Teams platform.
University/faculty leaders, representatives of partner universities, researchers, lecturers and PhD students of partner universities, employees of the Open Science offices, and participants of Pilot 2, Pilot 3 and Pilot 4 can register for the event.
The morning session will discuss how institutions can support researchers in relation to Open Science activities, and the afternoon session will provide researchers and staff with ready-to-use skills related to Open Access publishing.
The event is free, but prior registration is required. A detailed program description and registration is available on the Charm-EU website.
Czeke Marianne was born on 18 October 1873 in Sopron. The talented and ambitious girl decided to study at university after her travels in England and France. After successful high school graduation in 1901, she enrolled in the Latin – French – German department of the University of Budapest. On 17 June 1905, she received his doctorate with summa cum laude and wrote his doctoral dissertation on Lessing and Shakespeare. On 24 March 1906, she was awarded a teaching diploma.
After the successful completion of her studies, she applied for a job with the Minister of Religion and Education and the Rector of the University, who accepted her application and assigned her to the University Library. The Library Committee discussed the application and supported it with the following reasons: „Dr. Mariann Czeke meets the requirements of the post in question to an excellent degree and is therefore unanimously recommended to the good will of the Board of Governors, all the more so because, as she emphasizes in her application, she feels a calling to the library profession since she has already worked in this direction at the Bibliotheque nationale. The Committee also acknowledges that women are generally fitted for the library profession; hence the considerable number of clerks in America are women; their excellent sense and regularity of cleanliness and accuracy of treatment are a great help here. But, on the other hand, it must also be pointed out that in this case we are dealing with a pioneering new career for women, and that it is therefore not for more than one case, but only for this one, that the decision and unanimous recommendation is to be made. It therefore does not wish to make it a system for the time being, but takes into account the applicant is exraordinary readiness and desire; but at the same time it is reassuring to note that the applicant as a teacher, will enter the Vlassics College and that if the experiment should fall, she will be able to transfer to the teaching profession.” (ULA, University Archives, 19.b. Minutes of the 15 June 1906.) But the experiment worked.
Marianne Czeke worked at the University Library for two decades. Her main responsibility was the management of the special Shakespeare collection, for which she published a detailed catalogue. In the meantime, she was constantly publishing, translating, and active in public life, being a member of several women’s movement associations. From 1925 she was involved in the publication of the diary of Teresa Brunszvik. Her works include, among others, the Treatises on History and Politics, Lessing and Shakespeare, Montessori's Thoughts in the Diary of Count Teresa Brunsvik, and the Life and Character of Count Teresa Brunsvik. On the occasion of the 150th anniversary, her works are now available digitally on the ELTE Digital Institutional Knowledge Library (EDIT). The first Hungarian female librarian died in 1942, aged 69.
The life of Marianne Czeke is described in detail by Edit Fabó. The study is available: http://hdl.handle.net/10831/34135
In the frame of the Autumn Festival of Museums, between the 13th of October and the 10th of November 2023, we invite all science and book lovers to take part in our programmes and visit our exhibition entitled Unus non sufficit orbis – One world is not enough: Hungarian Jesuits in South America.
Our guests can take part in interactive guided tours of the Eötvös exhibition, as well as guided tours of the restoration workshop and the library history. Our book presentations will give you an insight into the special treasures of our library. All visitors are welcome!
Detailed programme plan:
Secrets in the pages – Book presentation from our museum collection
A tour of our museum books will give you an insight into our library's special publications, revealing the secrets of our old printed material.
Programme dates:
13 October 2023 (Friday); 16.30-17.00
20 October 2023 (Friday); 16.30-17.00
10 November 2023 (Friday); 16.30-17.00
Restoration workshop
Guided by our restorer, guests can get a taste of paper-casting and bookbinding techniques. They will learn about the process of book disinfection and old bookbinding techniques.
Programme dates:
13 October 2023 (Friday); 10.00-11.00
13 October 2023 (Friday); 17.00-18.00
20 October 2023 (Friday); 10.00-11.00
20 October 2023 (Friday); 17.00-18.00
10 November 2023 (Friday); 10.00-11.00
10 November 2023 (Friday); 17.00-18.00
Library tour
On our library tours you can learn about the history of the ELTE University Library and Archives.
Programme dates:
19 October 2023 (Thursday); 17.00-18.00
26 October 2023 (Thursday); 17.00-18.00
2 November 2023 (Thursday); 17.00-18.00
6 November 2023 (Monday); 17.00-18.00
9 November 2023 (Thursday); 17.00-18.00
Guided tour of the Eötvös exhibition
We welcome visitors to our exhibition of Loránd Eötvös's exciting experiments and life in physics, which will engage young and old alike.
Programme dates:
19 October 2023 (Thursday); 16.00-16.45
26 October 2023 (Thursday); 16.00-16.45
2 November 2023 (Thursday); 16.00-16.45
6 November 2023 (Monday); 16.00-16.45
9 November 2023 (Thursday); 16.00-16.45
Unus non sufficit orbis – One world is not enough: Hungarian Jesuits in South America
On the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the birth of György Pray, the father of Hungarian critical historiography and former director of our library, and the 250th anniversary of the abolition of the Jesuit order, we invite you to an exhibition of documents related to the missions of the Hungarian Jesuits in South America.
The exhibition offers visitors a special selection of manuscripts and printed documents. The South American continent was one of the main scenes of the Jesuit Order's flourishing in the 18th century. It was one of the most important places where the most enthusiastic and adventurous members of the Jesuit Order, including Jesuits of Hungarian origin, carried out their missionary work. If you want to know what adventures the friars had in the depths of the jungle, how they canoed down the Amazon or what experiences they had among the Indians, visit our exhibition!
The exhibition is available on weekdays between 10.00 and 15.00. Registration is possible at titkarsag@lib.elte.hu.
Programme available online:
Virtual Autumn Walks in the ELTE University Library and Archives (continuously available online programme).
Photo, audio and video recordings will be made of the events. The recordings will be published on the websites, publications, forums and social media of the participating institutions.
Due to the Cultural Heritage Days, the library services of the ELTE University Library and Archives will be inaccessible on Saturday, on the 16th of September 2023.
More details about our event are available on our website and on the official homepage of Cultural Heritage Days. All visitors are welcome!
On Saturday, the 16th of September 2023, as part of the Cultural Heritage Days, we will open our library doors to the public again.
The opening event will be a small Rosh HaShana (New Year) concert from 11.00 with Tamás and Anita Masa, the leaders of the Sabbathsong Klezmer Band. We would like to draw attention to the protection of our cultural heritage, with a wide range of activities for all ages, including library tours, calligraphic and bookbinding craft programs, presentation of our restorer workshop and old books, interactive Eötvös exhibition, university history display, as well as our jazz concert.
As part of this year's series of events, some special publications from our Jesuit collection will also be on display at our chamber exhibition Unus non sufficit orbis – One World Not Enough: Hungarian Jesuits in South America, opening at 15.00. For a detailed programme, please, visit the official website of the Cultural Heritage Days. All visitors are welcome!
Photo, audio and video recordings will be made of the events. The recordings will be published on the websites, publications, forums and social media of the participating institutions.
Ferenc Menyői Tolvaj (c. 1649–1710) published his first work in Debrecen in 1674, which he called ‘The Mastery of Arithmetic’. From the first edition it was taught in the arithmetic classes of the Debrecen Reformed College. Several further editions were published in the 18th century, for example in Bratislava (1727) and in Levoča (1729).
In his foreword, Tolvaj indicates that his book is intended primarily for students who can read Hungarian and for people working in commerce. It is relatively limited in content, as it deals only with the four basic arithmetic operations and does not mention fractions, but it can still be used as a coursebook for elementary education. Its language is not particularly revolutionary either, since it uses Latin equivalents of established Hungarian mathematical terms. However, his work can be entertaining for younger students, as he presents the rules of arithmetic in verse. One of his 18th-century critics, György Maróthi (1715–1744), a professor in Debrecen, also found that Menyői’s book is lacking more complex calculations, adding that he thought the ’whole work was very silly [...] and boring’, noting that Menyői himself did not seem to understand arithmetic. The present copy was once owned by Ferenc Kenesei, as attested by his ownership record: Sum Kenesei Francisci.
The book is part of the book adoption program of the Foundation for the University Library. Save a book, adopt a book! For more information visit our website: https://konyvtar.elte.hu/en/support-us/adopt-a-book
RMK I 345b
Menyői Tolvaj Ferenc
Az arithmetikának, avagy az számlálásnak öt speciesinek rövid magyar regulákban foglaltatott mestersége, taliter disponete Franc. Tolv. Menyői, Gyöngyösienen. sch. rectore, az arythmeticat tanuló magyarok kedvekért iratattot és bővebben kibocsátattot
Lőtsén : nyomtatt. Brewer Samuel által, MDCXCIII [1693]