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Matthias Bel or Matthias Bél (german: link=no, Matthias Bel; hu, Bél Mátyás; sk, Matej Bel; la, Matthias Belius; 22–24 March(?), 1684 – 29 August 1749) was a
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
pastor and
polymath A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...
from the
Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
. Bel was active in the fields of
pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken a ...
, philosophy,
philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as the ...
, history, and theoretical theology; he was the founder of Hungarian geographic science and a pioneer of descriptive ethnography and economy. A leading figure in
pietism Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christian life, including a social concern for the needy and ...
. He is also known as the Great Ornament of Hungary (''Magnum decus Hungariae'').


Origin, life

Matthias Bel was born in Ocsova,
Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
(now Očová,
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to th ...
) to Matthias (Matej) Bel Funtík or Bel-Funtík, a Slovak wealthy peasant and butcher. Little is known about his mother Elisabeth born Czesnek ( hu, Erzsébet Cseszneky, sk, Alžbeta Česneková) except she was very religious. He described himself as ''"lingua Slavus, natione Hungarus, eruditione Germanus"'' ("by language a Slav/Slovak, by nation a Hungarian, by erudition a German"). In 1710, he married an ethnic German woman from Hungary, Susanna Hermann, and the couple had eight children together. Bel attended schools in Losonc (now
Lučenec Lučenec (; german: Lizenz; hu, Losonc; yi, לאשאנץ; la, Lutetia HungarorumLelkes György (1992), Magyar helységnév-azonosító szótár, Balassi Kiadó, Budapest, 508 p.) is a town in the Banská Bystrica Region of south-central Slovaki ...
), Kálnó (today Kalinovo) and Alsósztregova (today Dolná Strehová), and then grammar schools in Besztercebánya (today
Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica (, also known by other alternative names) is a middle-sized town in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica ...
), Pressburg (Pozsony, today's
Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...
), and briefly in
Veszprém Veszprém (; german: Weißbrunn, sl, Belomost) is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately north of the Lake Balaton. It is the administrative center of the county (comitatus or 'megye') of ...
and in the
Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...
college of
Pápa Pápa is a historical town in Veszprém county, Hungary, located close to the northern edge of the Bakony Hills, and noted for its baroque architecture. With its 32,473 inhabitants (2011), it is the cultural, economic and tourism centre of the r ...
. Between 1704 and 1706, he studied theology, philosophy, and medicine at the
University of Halle Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university ...
and he was appointed rector at the school of Klosterbergen near Magdeburg after that. Later, returning to the Kingdom of Hungary, became an assistant rector and became afterwards the rector at the Lutheran grammar school in Besztercebánya (Banská Bystrica), where he was also simultaneously a pastor. As a
Rákóczi The House of Rákóczi (older spelling Rákóczy) was a Hungarian noble family in the Kingdom of Hungary between the 13th century and 18th century. Their name is also spelled ''Rákoci'' (in Slovakia), ''Rakoczi'' and ''Rakoczy'' in some forei ...
-sympathisant, he was almost executed by General Sigbert Heister. Between 1714 and 1719, he was the rector of the Lutheran grammar school and then also a pastor of the German Lutheran church in Pressburg. He published his articles in the Latin language newspaper ''Nova Posoniensia'', the first regular periodical in Hungary. In 1735 Bel drew up a proposal for the creation of a scientific academy, to be based in Pressburg. Bel spoke Slovak, Hungarian, and German, and his works had been published mostly in Latin, which were steeped in the Hungarian national consciousness as had been manifested for instance in his writing, the ''Notitia Hungariae novae historico geographica'', which is an extolment of the Hungarian history, influenced by his deep affection for the Hungarian language. Bel died on 29 August 1749. He was buried in Pressburg, the cemetery has now disappeared.


Work


Religious literature

Bel was a translator, editor, publisher and distributor of several religious works. His long-term goal was to publish the Bible in a language intelligible to the community he served (that is, Biblical Czech used as a Church and literal language by Slovak Lutherans). In the preface for The New Testament ( Halle, 1709), he emphasized that the Bible was already translated, but it is barely available among common people and even among preachers. Bel then participated on the re-edition of
Bible of Kralice The Bible of Kralice, also called the Kralice Bible ( cs, Bible kralická), was the first complete translation of the Bible from the original languages into Czech. Translated by the Unity of the Brethren and printed in Kralice nad Oslavou, t ...
( Halle, 1722) during which he was responsible especially for the correction of Calvinisms. He also participated on publication of the Hungarian Bible (
Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as we ...
, 1714) and of New Testament (
Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as we ...
, 1717) and was the author of the preface for reprint of Sébastien Castellion's Latin New Testament (
Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as we ...
, 1724 and 1735). He translated and published several influencing works like ''The Compendium of Christian Revelation'' (
Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen (2 December 1670 in Bad Gandersheim — 12 February 1739 in Halle) was a theologian of the pietist Halle School and a scholar and follower of August Hermann Francke. He was the second director of the Franckeschen ...
, Hungarian translation), ''True Christianity'' (
Johann Arndt Johann Arndt (or Arnd; 27 December 155511 May 1621) was a German Lutheran theologian who wrote several influential books of devotional Christianity. Although reflective of the period of Lutheran Orthodoxy, he is seen as a forerunner of Pietism, a ...
, Czech translation supposed mainly for Slovaks), ''The Garden of Paradise'' (
Johann Arndt Johann Arndt (or Arnd; 27 December 155511 May 1621) was a German Lutheran theologian who wrote several influential books of devotional Christianity. Although reflective of the period of Lutheran Orthodoxy, he is seen as a forerunner of Pietism, a ...
, Hungarian and Czech translations).


Pedagody

As a teacher Bel wrote books, introduced natural science lessons, and emphasized the importance of using visual aid and experimental education. His methods spread and had a modernizing effect on the education system of the entirety of Hungary.


Linguistics

As a philologist, Bel was the first to study the
Hungarian runes The Old Hungarian script or Hungarian runes ( hu, Székely-magyar rovás, 'székely-magyar runiform', or ) is an alphabetic writing system used for writing the Hungarian language. Modern Hungarian is written using the Latin-based Hungarian alph ...
and also contributed to the evolution of the Hungarian
literary language A literary language is the form (register) of a language used in written literature, which can be either a nonstandard dialect or a standardized variety of the language. Literary language sometimes is noticeably different from the spoken langua ...
. He revised and republished
Gáspár Károli Gáspár is a Hungarian masculine given name, equivalent to English Jasper, and may refer to: *Gáspár Bekes (1520–1579), Hungarian nobleman * Gáspár Boldizsár (fl. 1990s), Hungarian sprint canoer * Gáspár Borbás (1884–1976), Hungarian ...
's Bible-translation. He wrote Hungarian, Latin and German grammars – in the latter he also reviewed the German communities and dialects in Hungary. His work as a translator and editor in the field of religious work is also copious. One of his notable writings is the ''Institutiones linguae Germanicae'' (Rules of the German grammar) written in
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
for Hungarians, of which special edition was published in Halle in 1730 for Hungarian students studying in Germany. He also wrote a popular book, ''"Der ungarische Sprachmeister" (Hungarian language master)'', on Hungarian grammar for Germans. He mistakenly suspected that the Hungarian language was relative of the
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
one. In the one work of him whose name is ''"Literatura Hunno-Scythica"'' published in 1718, Bél endeavoured to prove that there existed, at one time, a
Hun The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...
-
Scythian The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern * : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...
alphabet, of which he thought that that must have been known to the
Székelys The Székelys (, Székely runes: 𐳥𐳋𐳓𐳉𐳗), also referred to as Szeklers,; ro, secui; german: Szekler; la, Siculi; sr, Секељи, Sekelji; sk, Sikuli are a Hungarian subgroup living mostly in the Székely Land in Romania. ...
. In the introduction of Grammatica Slavico–Bohemica by Pavel Doležal, he commends biblical Czech as a language that positively influences cultivation of Slovak


History and geography

A pioneer of collaborative research in the history of the Kingdom of Hungary, Bel undertook a comprehensive historical and geographic examination of the territory in his well-known '' Notitia Hungariae Novae Historico Geographiaca''. His work about the
counties of Hungary , alt_name = , alt_name1 = , alt_name2 = , alt_name3 = , alt_name4 = , map = , category = Unitary state , territory = Hungary , upper_unit ...
was aided by many – while others accused him of espionage. The chancery entrusted Sámuel Mikoviny to supplement his work with detailed maps. The Notitia's complete edition could not be achieved during Bél's lifetime. Only eleven county descriptions were issued in print:
Szepes County Szepes ( sk, Spiš; la, Scepusium, pl, Spisz, german: link=no, Zips) was an administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary, called Scepusium before the late 19th century. Its territory today lies in northeastern Slovakia, with a very small a ...
's description was published in Bél's Notitia project introduction, the Prodromus, the other ten county descriptions – namely
Pozsony County Pozsony county was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now mostly part of Slovakia, while a small area belongs to Hungary. In 1969, the three villages that remained in Hungary were combined to form Dun ...
, Turóc County,
Zólyom County Zólyom county (in Latin: ''comitatus Zoliensis'', in Hungarian ''Zólyom (vár)megye'', in Slovak ''Zvolenský komitát/ Zvolenská stolica/ Zvolenská župa'', in German ''Sohler Gespanschaft/Komitat Sohl'') was an administrative county (comita ...
,
Liptó County Liptó County (, la, Comitatus Liptoviensis, , , ) was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in northern Slovakia. Geography Liptó county shared borders with the Austrian land Galicia and the ...
, Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun County,
Nógrád County Nógrád ( hu, Nógrád megye, ; sk, Novohradská župa) is a county ( hu, megye) of Hungary. It sits on the northern edge of Hungary and borders Slovakia. Description Nógrád county lies in northern Hungary. It shares borders with Slovakia an ...
,
Bars County Bars (Latin: ''comitatus Barsiensis'', Hungarian: ''Bars'', Slovak: ''Tekov'', German: ''Barsch'') was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in central and southern Slovakia. Today in Slovakia, Teko ...
,
Nyitra County Nyitra County ( hu, Nyitra vármegye; german: link=no, Neutraer Gespanschaft/Komitat Neutra; la, Comitatus Nitriensis; sk, Nitriansky komitát / Nitrianska stolica / Nitrianska župa) was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of ...
,
Hont County Hont County was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Most of its territory is now part of Slovakia, while a smaller southern portion is part of Hungary. Today, in Slovakia Hont is the informal designation of the corres ...
,
Moson County Moson ( German: Wieselburg, Slovak: Mošon) was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary, situated mostly on the right (south) side of the Danube river. Its territory is now divided between Austria and Hungary, except a sm ...
– were published in five volumes of the Notitia. The remaining 37 county descriptions along with the Jász-Kun districts' description were left in manuscripts due to the revising county authorities' negligence or hostility, and the problems with the printery. These manuscripts have been scattered to several archives or collections. In his works, he notes greatness of the Slavic people, also mentioning many positive characteristics of Slovaks, as well as their autochthony in the Kingdom of Hungary.


Honours and awards

Bel's works met with recognition and respect beyond the Kingdom: he was a member of a number of learned societies abroad (e.g., Prussian Royal Academy ( Berlin),
Royal Society of London The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, r ...
,
Societas eruditorum incognitorum in terris Austriacis Societas eruditorum incognitorum in terris Austriacis ( en, The Society of Anonymous Scholars in the Austrian Lands) was the first learned society in the lands under control of Austrian Habsburgs. It was established, formally, in 1746 at the univ ...
(
Olomouc Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019). Located on t ...
),
Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...
,
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
). He was elevated to noble rank by Charles VI of Austria, and received a golden medallion with his (Bel's) own portrait from
Pope Clement XII Pope Clement XII ( la, Clemens XII; it, Clemente XII; 7 April 16526 February 1740), born Lorenzo Corsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1730 to his death in February 1740. Clement presided over the ...
.


Legacy

Recently Hungarian historians and philologists began to publish a critical edition of the county descriptions remained in manuscripts, based on the results of a comprehensive research made by the Hungarian historian Gergely Tóth. Calculating the length of the descriptions, they find it achievable to publish all the descriptions left in manuscript in 10 volumes. The first volume, which contains the descriptions of Árva and Trencsén counties, has already been published.
Matej Bel University Matej Bel University (commonly referred as Matej Bel or UMB), ( sk, Univerzita Mateja Bela) is a public research university in the central Slovak town of Banská Bystrica. The university was established in 1992. It bears the name of Matthias Be ...
(''Univerzita Mateja Bela'') in
Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica (, also known by other alternative names) is a middle-sized town in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica ...
is named after him, as well as elementary schools in Očová (''Základná škola s materskou školou Mateja Bela Funtíka'') and in
Šamorín Šamorín (; hu, Somorja, german: Sommerein) is a small town in western Slovakia, southeast of Bratislava. Etymology The name is derived from a patron saint of a local church Sancta Maria, mentioned for the first time as ''villa Sancti Marie'' ...
(''Základná škola Mateja Bela'').
Encyclopaedia Beliana ''Encyclopaedia Beliana'' is a Slovak encyclopedia. When completed, it will contain ca. 150,000 headwords in twelve illustrated volumes, as well as supplements. ''Beliana'' is prepared by the Slovak Academy of Sciences The Slovak Academy of S ...
is also named in his honor.


Publications

*''Forma sacrorum verborum (Halle, 1707)'' *''Compendium (1713)'' *''Invitatio ad symbola conferenda dum historia linguae hungaricae libri II...edere parat... (Berolini, 1713)'' *''Grammatica Latina (Leutschoviae, 1717)'' *''Rhetorices veteris et novae praecepta (Lipsiae, 1717)'' *''Institutiones linguac germanicae et slavicae in Hungaria ortu (Leutschoviae, 1718)'' *''De vetera literatura hunnoscythica exercitatio (Lipsiae, 1718)'' *''Christophori Cellarii latinitatis probatae et exercitae liber memorialis naturali ordine dispositus (Norimbergae, 1719)'' *''Flos medicinae scholae Salernitanae (Posonii, 1721)'' *''Hungariae antiquae et novae prodromus (Norinbergae, 1723)'' *''Preces christianae (Lipsiae, 1728)'' *''Die Gatt suchende Seele (1729)'' *''Der ungarische Sprachmeister. (Pressburg, 1729)'' *''Adparatus ad historiam Hungariae. Decades II. (Posonii, 1735–46)'' *''Notitia Hungariae novae historico-geographica. Partis I. Tom. I–IV. Partis II. Tom. V. Viennae, (1735–42)'' *''Compendium Hungariae geographicum (Posonii, 1753)'' *''Kurze und zuverlässige Nachricht von dem Zustande der protestantischen Kirche in Ungarn'' *''Compendiolum regnorum Slavoniae, Croatiae, Dalmatiae, Gallicae et Lodomeriae. Posonii et Cassoviae (1777)'' *''Miscellanea Berolinensia (1734)''


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * *


External links


Bel, Matthias (Bél Mátyás): Notitia Hungariae novae historico-geographica... Comitatuum ineditorum Tomus II. in quo continentur... Comitatus Soproniensis, Castriferrei, Szaladiensis et Veszprimiensis. Ed. Gregorius Tóth. Textum recensuerunt notisque instruxerunt: Bernadett Benei (et al.) Budapestini, 2012. (Prefaces, samples from the text edition)
(pdf)
Matthias Bel: Notitia Hungariae novae historico geographica... Comitatuum ineditorum tomus primus, in quo continentur... Comitatus Arvensis et Trentsiniensis. Edd. Gregorius Tóth, Ladislaus Glück, Zoltanus Gőzsy. Budapestini, 2011. (The introduction in Hungarian and in English can be read on this link)





Catalogus manuscriptorum Matthiae Bél, quae in bibliotheca Lycei Evangelici Posoniensis asservantur

Tóth, Gergely: Discipuli Posonienses Matthiae Belii. Lymbus 2007. 179–208.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bel, Matthias 1684 births 1749 deaths People from Zvolen District People from the Kingdom of Hungary Cseszneky Hungarian nobility Hungarian Lutheran clergy Slovak Lutherans Hungarian scientists Slovak scientists 18th-century Hungarian people Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences Fellows of the Royal Society