Hereditas Antikvárium

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14. Könyvárverés

Antverpiae, 1621. Apud Abrahamum Verhovium. 8p.
The Dutch public viewed the events in Transylvania with great interest and sympathy. The main reason for this was the common faith (both followed the Calvinist direction of the Reformation), as a result of which – in addition to the close cultural and political relations – led to a large number of Transylvanian intellectuals attending one of the universities of the Netherlands. The Thirty Years' War focused the attention of Western public opinion even more on Transylvania, which was involved in it, and especially on Prince Gábor Bethlen. The relationship between the principality and the Ottoman Empire, which posed a threat to Christian Europe, particularly excited the West. Numerous reports have been published about all major events, and our piece is one of them. The work contains the text of a fictitious oath of allegiance, with the Sultan's reply. Based on the date, it was presumably inspired by Bethlen's election as Hungarian king the next day. Following the decision of the Diet of Besztercebánya on 25 August 1620, the prince held the title but was not crowned. The print is scarce, unknown by the reference books, and, as far as we know, no copy has been preserved in the Hungarian public collections. The only mention is found in a French-language catalogue published in 1840 in Ghent. The value of the item is enhanced by the charming woodcut on the title page, showing a seated figure of a distinguished Turkish soldier holding a flag in his left hand.
Modern paper.
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