The ELKH Research Centre for the Humanities (BTK) has published a three-volume English edition titled "Psalmus Hungaricus: A Hungarian Cultural History", which provides an overview of Hungarian cultural history from the beginning until 2000. This richly illustrated work was completed through an unparalleled collaboration of participants of Hungarian academic sphere and is an excellent contribution to the promotion of Hungary and its culture abroad.
Similar publications providing an overview of the history of Hungarian culture have been produced earlier, but Psalmus Hungaricus differs in its concept and level of detail from all previous attempts. The book, written by 72 authors, includes a selection of 1,170 images from the collections of 22 institutions, mostly national and county museums and art galleries. In addition, it features a gazetteer and index of personal names, a unique atlas with 100 maps, and a recommended reading list.
In the publication edited by József Szentpéteri, Hungarian cultural history from the beginnings up to the year 2000 is discussed for each period in separate chapters dedicated to public history, language, literature, arts, belief systems, churches and religion, landscape, and the people living within it, including administration, settlement structure, public administration, as well as lifestyle, including economy, society, schools, crafts, and daily life.
The background of Psalmus Hungaricus dates back to the millecentennial events. Experts from scientific institutes, universities, and the museum network, as well as the Encyclopaedia Humana Association specializing in multimedia teaching aids, jointly produced a comprehensive, nine-part CD-ROM series titled Encyclopaedia Humana Hungarica (1995-2001), the first six parts of which were also published in German and English. The book version of the series, the Hungarian Codex I-VI (chief editor: József Szentpéteri, Budapest, Kossuth, 1999-2001) was created based on the Hungarian version of the series. In the English version – due to the extraordinary progress in recent times – the topics of Hungarian prehistory and the era of the Hungarian conquest were completely rewritten, while the other parts were condensed, updated, and re-edited.
BTK is a significant actor in Hungarian scientific publishing and places great emphasis on settling the long-standing debt of Hungarian scholarship by providing foreign, mainly English-language publications that convey Hungarian achievements and self-image to the international readers. The translation of works received significant support from the Hungarian National Bank, thanks to which the Psalmus Hungaricus was also completed after several years of work.
Further information about the publication available at the BTK website.