One of the ten remaining copies of the book, known as ?Chronica Hungaricum? or the Buda Chronicles, will be placed in a closed display in building F of the Buda Palace building until January 5. There are two copies in Hungary, one of them in the Széchényi Library and the other in the Budapest University Library.
Chronica Hungaricum is an aggregate of several history books. The first part discusses the period between the first settlement of Magyar tribes in Hungary in the last years of the 9th century until the rule of the Charles I in 1334. The second part presents the events of Hungarian history between 1335 and 1342. The third part describes the story of Louis I the Great from the time he came to power until his death, and the fourth and final part describes the reigns of rulers between 1382 and 1468.
The chronicles were printed in the workshop of András Hess in Buda in 1473. The versals were illustrated by hand. Experts believe between 200 and 240 copies of the 70-page book were printed.
The chronicles are the second item to go on display in a series of exhibitions which aims to show a different national treasure every three months. The first book exhibited in the series was the Philostratus Corvina, one of the most decorated codices from the library of King Mathias. Other treasures to go on display include the original manuscript for Hungary?s national anthem, written by Ferenc Kölcsey, the second Hungarian national anthem by Mihály Vörösmarty, the National Song by Sándor Petőfi and a codex containing the laws of King Stephen.
Source: Múlt-kor / Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
