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Miklós Telegdi, a Roman Catholic bishop of the reformation period, was an important figure of his generation. The confessional guide of his Agendarius, first published in 1583 in nagyszombat (Trnava, now in Slovakia), is particular as to its structure and content. in Hungary, this is the first penitential guide that was written in a unique style, including vernacular parts and containing exhortations in a large number. The confessional includes a text discussing the strict obligation on the seal of confession as well as a confession mirror which, according to its genre, is a tool of individual self-examination. In my paper, I attempt to answer the question whether Telegdi’s confessional guide is only unique from a national point of view or also in a wider, international context.

In his 1583 ritual entitled Agendarius, which was innovative in many respects in comparison to its Hungarian predecessors, Bishop Miklós Telegdi of Pécs, the administrator of the diocese of Esztergom, added sample-like sermons to the rituals of the administration of the sacraments accompanying the great turning points of life (viz. baptism, confirmation, wedding etc.). He was presumably guided chiefly by pastoral considerations. For the second edition of 1596 (published after Telegdi’s death), the editors added a second funeral sermon, clearly intended for a more educated, urban audience – judging from the scholarly Latin quotations and the general tone. A comparison of the structure and content of the two speeches provides useful conclusions as to what the ecclesiastical authorities of the time considered advisable to preach at the time of death to mourners lacking basic schooling and what to the more learned audience.

Although István Beythe (1532-1612) is usually remembered for his botanical works, his main achievement is his four-part sermon collection (Németújvár, 1584). The first volume contains the Sunday gospels, the second the apostolic epistles he based his lessons on, the third includes excerpts from the Gospel used on feast days of the saints, and the fourth the explanation of the epistles dedicated to the main holidays. My study is about the genre and structural characteristics of these writings, with special emphasis on the denominational lessons of the book on the feasts of the saints.

My study focuses on the various apocalyptic calculations in the fifth postil written by Péter Bornemisza. According to the theologians of the magisterial Reformation, the exact time of the end cannot be calculated because only God knows this, as the Gospels clearly state it. Although Bornemisza accepts this doctrine too, he shares some assumptions about the approximate time of the second coming in a sermon of his postil. As my study demonstrates, Bornemisza follows the treatise of the German theologian Andreas Osiander (Coniecturae de ultimis temporibus ac de fine mundi, 1544). In this work, Osiander enumerates four calculations which can predict the time of the Apocalypse. The common feature of these calculations is their biblical origin, except for the first one, which is the apocryphal prophecy of Elijah about the 6000 years of the world. The other assumptions are based on the allegorical passages of the prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse.

The sermons written for the first Sunday after the epiphany, according to the medieval order of the pericopes, are based on the story of 12-year-old Jesus teaching in the temple (Luke 2:41-52). Therefore, the duties of parents and children are usually presented in these sermons. A following of this pericopal tradition can be found among 16th-century Hungarian publications in the books of the pastors Péter Bornemisza, István Beythe and György Kulcsár, and the priest Miklós Telegdi. Through their sermons, I examine how these authors wrote about the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’ child as well as what methods they offered for improving the behaviour and morals of said ‘bad’ child.

The study of the historicity and change processes of dance culture requires a specific theoretical methodology in dance anthropology and dance folklore studies, especially since such research has been relatively rare in the Hungarian anthropological scene and has produced a number of questionable results in the field of dance folklore studies. several aspects of an anthropological approach, as well as adopting a comparative and interpretive approach to critical dance studies can assist in deploying a historical perspective in the examination of dance culture. On the other hand, I will also argue that certain schools of the research methodology of social history may facilitate this as well. Utilizing the findings of new social history can also greatly enrich the current methodology of historical dance research.

Adorjáni Zoltán: Alexandriai Philón: De vita contemplativa - Tunyogi Lehel. Geréb Zsolt: A kolosséiakhoz és a Filemonhoz írt levél magyarázata - Bekő István Márton. Evangelische Theologie - Balogh Béla