Arnold Ipolyi (Stummer)

* Ipolykeszi, Disznós, October 18, 1823 – † Nagyvárad, December 2, 1886 / bishop, art historian, ethnographer, member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences ; ; His father was Ferenc Stummer, a chief clerk, and his mother was Arzénia Szmrecsányi. He completed the first two grades of high school as a private student under the guidance of Ferenc Kamiss, and attended the subsequent grades in Korpona and Selmecbánya. Among his teachers, György Lőrincz, a Hungarian teacher, had a great influence on him. At the age of 13, he became a priest's student in Esztergom, then moved to Bratislava, and from there to Nagyszombat, where the history teacher Ferenc Gály also aroused his interest in history. He completed his four-year theological studies at the University of Vienna. In his free time, he read works on art history and archaeology and studied foreign languages. As a private tutor to the son of Baron Alajos Mednyánszky (1784–1844), the lord of Nyitra County, Dénes, he had the opportunity to organize and read the baron's collection of diplomas and manuscripts, as well as his library, and even took a trip to Europe with the young Mednyánszky. He was ordained a priest on August 4, 1847, and first entered church service as an assistant pastor in Komáromszentpéter. In October 1848, he was a preacher in Bratislava, and at the beginning of the following year, Count Lipót Ferdinánd Pálffy, the former lord of Bratislava, asked him to be a tutor to his children. At the end of 1849, he became a parish priest in Zohor and from then on he began to collect and process the material he had been collecting since 1846 for his great work, the Hungarian Mythology. In 1855, he was appointed conservator of the monuments in the Bratislava region, and in this capacity he traveled throughout the area entrusted to his care, searched for the monuments there, and had them drawn. The Hungarian Academy of Sciences elected him a corresponding member in 1858, and a full member in 1861. In 1860, he was appointed parish priest in Törökszentmiklós, near the capital, and this also promoted his scientific career, as he was able to become much more directly involved in the work of the Academy. In 1862, he traveled to Constantinople in the company of archaeologist Ferenc Kubinyi (Kóvár) and art historian Imre Henszlmann (Košice), and they managed to find several pieces from the Corvina Library. In 1863, he was appointed canon of Eger, and in 1867, abbot of Borsmonostor. In the meantime, he was elected a member of numerous domestic and foreign historical and other scientific societies. In 1869, he moved to Pest, after being made governor of the central seminary. At that time, he began to collect art treasures and paintings, and later donated the most precious pieces to the national gallery. In 1871, he became bishop of Banat. In the meantime, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences elected him a director in 1874 and he also became chairman of the historical committee. On several occasions, he advocated the creation of a national historical science and, starting in 1879, as chairman of the national public education council, he was able to take an active role in this regard. Between 1880 and 1885, he also served as president of the Hungarian Fine Arts Society. In February 1886, he was appointed bishop of Oradea, and he took up the episcopal seat a few months later, on July 12. He was given only five months in this position, as he died unexpectedly of cerebral hypoxia on December 2, 1886. It would be difficult to summarize his diverse scientific work in such a small space. He dealt with archaeology and the monuments of medieval Hungary, and he initiated the establishment of systematic monument protection. He advocated the establishment of rural museums and, with his thorough mapping of the Hungarian folk belief world, he also set a new direction for Hungarian ethnography. He published countless articles on various topics in contemporary newspapers, and he was often asked to write eulogies for deceased academicians. His lectures and speeches given on the occasion of various exhibitions and gatherings were also mobilizing. ; ; Place of birth: https://felvidek.ma/2017/02/mikor-es-hol-szuletett-ipolyi-arnold/ ; ; Main works: ; Hungarian mythology, 1854, ; Supplement to the 13th century topographic map and geography of Hungary, 1859, ; Monuments of Csallóköz, 1859, ; The 13th century Romanesque basilica of Deákmonostor (academic seat), 1860, ; Monuments of brick architecture. Old Hungarian cross wells and the monumental use of the coat of arms of Hungary, 1861, ; Hungarian archaeological repertoire. Hungarian Archaeological Chronicle, 1861, ; Medieval monumental architecture in Hungary, 1863, ; From the relics of medieval Hungarian painting. The 14th century historical mural painting in Szepesváralja, 1864, ; The finds believed to be from the Hungarian pagan period in Színhalm, 1870, ; Smaller works of Arnold Ipolyi, 1874, ; A sketch of the cultural history of the city of Bánya Biszterce, 1874, ; The history and restoration of the ecclesiastical monuments of Bánya Biszterce, 1878, ; The history and art historical description of the Hungarian holy crown and coronation insignia, 1886.