György Györffy
Encyclopedia
György Györffy was a Hungarian
historian, and member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
.
István Györffy and Anna Papp. He finished his secondary schooling in the St. István Grammar School
in 1935. Between 1935 and 1939 he studied at the Peter Pázmány University (now Eötvös Loránd University) under the historian Sándor Domanovszky, Elemér Mályusz, and the linguist
and turkologist
Gyula Németh.
Towards the end of this time he took a sabbatical around the Baltic Sea
, Finland and Lapland
. When he received the news of the start of World War II he returned to Hungary, arriving back in October 1939.
In June 1940, he was awarded a Doctorate in Hungarian Cultural History with his thesis ("Pechenegs and Hungarians").
From September 1940 until the end of 1941 he worked in the university library as a trainee. From 1942 he was a trainee in the Department of Historical Research within the Pál Teleki
Scientific Institute, where he later became a lecturer. From 1945 to 1949 he was the Head of the Department of Ethnology
at the Institute.
At the end of 1951 he received an offer for the position of Senior Lecturer at the University of Debrecen
but he refused it because of the serious political situation in Hungary at that time.
At the Department of History of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
(MTA) he became a Fellow
, a Senior Fellow and then a Consulting Fellow. In 1987 he started using a computer to ease editing his work. He used it to process details of Pozsony (Bratislava
), but this work was left unfinished.
In 1988 he retired and became a Fellow Emeritus.
Dynasty, the exploration of the Far East, topography
, and ancient given name
s and settlement names. He excelled in linguistics
and was a Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He contributed to the Academy's learned journal ("Hungarian Language").
In 1957 he introduced ideas that would later make up his ("History of Hungarian Geography during the Árpád Dynasty"). In this work he recorded regional geographical names, settlement names, names of areas and borders, rivers, hills, forests and so on, and a great number of given names. He recorded the names in the original spelling
. He recorded the names of trees in the border regions and other features of the landscape. His work is important in Hungarian linguistic studies.
("Studies of the Evolution of Hungary. From Roots to Shire Counties, from Clans to Country. Lord Kurszán
and his Castle.") Budapest, 1959. ("History of Hungarian Geography During the Árpád Dynasty.") I–IV. Budapest, 1963–1998. ("Discovery of the Far East. Dispatches of Friar Julian
, Plano Carpini and Rubruk.") Budapest, 1965. ("Hungarian Ancestry and the Great Migration. Contemporary and Chroniclers' Dispatches.") 2nd edition, enlarged. Budapest, 1975. ("Friar Julian and the Exploration of the Far East.") Budapest, 1986. ("Anonymus. Mystery or Historical Resource?") Selected studies. Budapest, 1988. ("Eastern Hungarians.") Budapest, 1990. ("Chroniclers and Hungarian History. Old Questions – New Answers.") Budapest, 1993. ("Evolution of Pest and Buda. History of Budapest from the Great Migration until the End of the Árpád Dynasty.") Budapest, 1997. ("King Stephen and his work.") 3rd edition, enlarged and revised. Budapest, 2000.
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
historian, and member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
The Hungarian Academy of Sciences is the most important and prestigious learned society of Hungary. Its seat is at the bank of the Danube in Budapest.-History:...
.
Biography
Györffy was born in Szucság, Hungary the son of ethnographerEthnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
István Györffy and Anna Papp. He finished his secondary schooling in the St. István Grammar School
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
in 1935. Between 1935 and 1939 he studied at the Peter Pázmány University (now Eötvös Loránd University) under the historian Sándor Domanovszky, Elemér Mályusz, and the linguist
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
and turkologist
Turkology
Turkology is a complex of humanities sciences studying languages, history, literature, folklore, culture, and ethnology of people speaking Turkic languages and Turkic peoples in chronological and comparative context...
Gyula Németh.
Towards the end of this time he took a sabbatical around the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
, Finland and Lapland
Lapland (region)
Lapland is a region in northern Fennoscandia, largely within the Arctic Circle. It streches across Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Kola Peninsula . On the North it is bounded by the Barents Sea, on the West by the Norwegian Sea and on the East by the White Sea...
. When he received the news of the start of World War II he returned to Hungary, arriving back in October 1939.
In June 1940, he was awarded a Doctorate in Hungarian Cultural History with his thesis ("Pechenegs and Hungarians").
From September 1940 until the end of 1941 he worked in the university library as a trainee. From 1942 he was a trainee in the Department of Historical Research within the Pál Teleki
Pál Teleki
Pál Count Teleki de Szék was prime minister of Hungary from 19 July 1920 to 14 April 1921 and from 16 February 1939 to 3 April 1941. He was also a famous expert in geography, a university professor, a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and Chief Scout of the Hungarian Scout Association...
Scientific Institute, where he later became a lecturer. From 1945 to 1949 he was the Head of the Department of Ethnology
Ethnology
Ethnology is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the ethnic, racial, and/or national divisions of humanity.-Scientific discipline:Compared to ethnography, the study of single groups through direct...
at the Institute.
At the end of 1951 he received an offer for the position of Senior Lecturer at the University of Debrecen
University of Debrecen
The University of Debrecen is a university located in Debrecen, Hungary. It is the oldest continuously operating institution of higher education in Hungary .-History:...
but he refused it because of the serious political situation in Hungary at that time.
At the Department of History of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
The Hungarian Academy of Sciences is the most important and prestigious learned society of Hungary. Its seat is at the bank of the Danube in Budapest.-History:...
(MTA) he became a Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
, a Senior Fellow and then a Consulting Fellow. In 1987 he started using a computer to ease editing his work. He used it to process details of Pozsony (Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
), but this work was left unfinished.
In 1988 he retired and became a Fellow Emeritus.
Awards
- 1952 – of Historical Science.
- 1969 – Doctor of Historical Science with his thesis ("Early History of Hungarian Cities and the Evolution of Budapest")
- 1988 – Herder PrizeHerder PrizeThe Herder Prize, established in 1963 and named for Johann Gottfried von Herder, was a prestigious international prize dedicated to the promotion of scientific, art and literature relations, and presented to scholars and artists from Central and Southeastern Europe whose life and work have improved...
- 1990 – Associate Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
- 1991 – Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
- 1992 – Széchenyi PrizeSzéchenyi PrizeThe Széchenyi Prize , named after István Széchenyi, is a prize given in Hungary by the state, replacing the former State Prize in 1990 in recognition of those who have made an outstanding contribution to academic life in Hungary.-External links:*...
- 1997 – His work became a part of the ("Hungarian Heritage").
Work
Györffy's work concentrates on Hungarian history, such as the Great Migration from the Far East into Hungary, the ÁrpádÁrpád
Árpád was the second Grand Prince of the Hungarians . Under his rule the Hungarian people settled in the Carpathian basin. The dynasty descending from him ruled the Hungarian tribes and later the Kingdom of Hungary until 1301...
Dynasty, the exploration of the Far East, topography
Topography
Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
, and ancient given name
Given name
A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
s and settlement names. He excelled in linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
and was a Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He contributed to the Academy's learned journal ("Hungarian Language").
In 1957 he introduced ideas that would later make up his ("History of Hungarian Geography during the Árpád Dynasty"). In this work he recorded regional geographical names, settlement names, names of areas and borders, rivers, hills, forests and so on, and a great number of given names. He recorded the names in the original spelling
Spelling
Spelling is the writing of one or more words with letters and diacritics. In addition, the term often, but not always, means an accepted standard spelling or the process of naming the letters...
. He recorded the names of trees in the border regions and other features of the landscape. His work is important in Hungarian linguistic studies.
Selection of notable works on linguistics
(All works are in Hungarian; the translations of titles are not published English book titles.)("Studies of the Evolution of Hungary. From Roots to Shire Counties, from Clans to Country. Lord Kurszán
Kurszán
Kurszán , the Magyar sacral prince, was a partner ruler besides Árpád till his death. He had a crucial role in the Hungarian Conquest . In 892/893 together with Arnulf of Carinthia he attacked Great Moravia to secure the eastern borders of the Frankish Empire. Arnulf gave him all the captured...
and his Castle.") Budapest, 1959. ("History of Hungarian Geography During the Árpád Dynasty.") I–IV. Budapest, 1963–1998. ("Discovery of the Far East. Dispatches of Friar Julian
Friar Julian
Friar Julian was one of a group of Hungarian Dominican friars who, in 1235, left Hungary in order to find those Magyars who — according to the chronicles — remained in the eastern homeland. After travelling a great distance, Friar Julian reached the capital of Volga Bulgaria, where he...
, Plano Carpini and Rubruk.") Budapest, 1965. ("Hungarian Ancestry and the Great Migration. Contemporary and Chroniclers' Dispatches.") 2nd edition, enlarged. Budapest, 1975. ("Friar Julian and the Exploration of the Far East.") Budapest, 1986. ("Anonymus. Mystery or Historical Resource?") Selected studies. Budapest, 1988. ("Eastern Hungarians.") Budapest, 1990. ("Chroniclers and Hungarian History. Old Questions – New Answers.") Budapest, 1993. ("Evolution of Pest and Buda. History of Budapest from the Great Migration until the End of the Árpád Dynasty.") Budapest, 1997. ("King Stephen and his work.") 3rd edition, enlarged and revised. Budapest, 2000.
Sources
External links
- Hungarian Science, 2001/5
- Hungarian Encyclopaedia of Ethnography
- Historia.hu
- epa.osk.hu A biography of Gyöffrey