Tolling the Bell – in Print

July 22, 2011 marks the 555th anniversary of the Nándorfehérvár Victory, when the armies of Hunyadi and Capistrano halted the Ottoman conquerors. In honor of the anniversary, in early July this year, the National Assembly declared July 22 the memorial day of the victory, and the book entitled “The Noon Bell in Hungary and the World" published by Zrínyi Media appeared on the occasion of the special jubilee. The volume edited by Zsolt Visy was presented on July 19 in the MoD Military History Institute and Museum.

The event was opened by Dr. Csaba Hende, who shared his thoughts with the audience about the volume. As the Defence Minister pointed out, history as the master of life, lectures us how our predecessors tried to live a contented, full and meaningful life. That’s exactly the reason why we must always bear in mind the events of the past.

Dr. Csaba Hende recalled the events taking place 555 years ago. As he said: with the Ottoman conquest, Europe at that time was facing an ‘unsolvable formula’, and what made John Hunyadi, John of Capistrano, and the heroes of Nándorfehérvár great was that for all that, they tried to find a solution to the situation that had evolved. Besides protecting their nation, they also safeguarded other nations from the Turkish rule that would have meant servitude and destruction.

Dr. Csaba Hende underlined: their example shows that we can turn back the wheel of history, if we do what has to be done. When remembering Hunyadi and Capistrano, the Minister said: they had understood what was at stake in the seemingly hopeless fight, they had been able to channel will, determination, enthusiasm and loyalty, and they had been able to address the best in all men. The Minister pointed out: their example testified that besides our responsibility for ourselves, we are also responsible for the community.

Since the Nándorfehérvár victory, the noon bell has given our lives a framework and reminds us that there is always hope, because nothing is unsolvable even in our hard modern life  said the Minister.

Dr. Csaba Hende stressed: people can cope with difficulties if loyalty is accompanied with expertise, determination by rational consideration, if hearts and minds are in the right place, and everyone finds his own commissions in life. The Minister said the volume helps in realizing that we belong together with the predecessors, the keepers of the memory, and by the tolling of the bell calling for prayer, we belong together with the values that had made the cause of our survival successful. The English translation serves the aim of emphasizing for the whole Europe the significance of belonging together. Finally the Minister thanked everyone who had contributed to the completion of the volume.

Following the Minister’s speech, Marcell Jankovics, the Chairman of the National Cultural Fund spoke in praise of the publication. He said today there are many people even in Hungary who unfortunately do not know about the origin of the noon bell, but with this beautiful book in their hands, they can read its history.

He reminded the guests that today the tolling of the bell inspires peace, but in the past it meant something else: in folk tradition, it keeps away the storm in a magical way, therefore tolling the bell as a sign of alarm had the same meaning as the bloody sword did once  mobilization. The tolling of the alarm bell, as a reminder of 1456, is also a symbol of unity today: the symbol of the joint action of Hunyadi, Capistrano and the people.

As Marcell Jankovics said, by taking the reader to the place where the two heroes rest, the book serves as a memento, a reminder, and food for thought at the same time, therefore it can be regarded as a sort of ‘tolling the bells in print’.

The editor of the volume, Zsolt Visy told us that his role model had been John Hunyadi ever since his childhood. He emphasized: July 22 is an important memorial day not only for Hungary but for Europe and Christianity as well. The Nándorfehérvár victory had secured peace and positive development for the duration of seven decades, and the Hungarian Renaissance and Mátyás (Matthias) Hunyadi’s Hungary could not have flourished without it. As the editor said, when compiling the volume the purpose of the authors had been to create a book that is easy to read, easy to handle, having an attractive appearance that will appeal to each reader.

Zsolt Visy thanked every contributing colleague for their invaluable work, with special mention to the Ministry of Defence, without the help of which the volume could not have been published.

The book entitled “The Noon Bell in Hungary and the World" is available for download in the Zrínyi Media Digital Library.

Photo: Mária Krasznai-Nehrebeczky

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