Herkules és diadalkapu. Illusztráció a Rákóczi-szabadságharchoz egy erdélyi szász kéziratban
Authors: Szirtes Zsófia 
Published: April 2010

The study provides addenda to the interplay of politics and art and the appearance of the baroque in Transylvania, through the presentation of two illustrations whose creation was related to the freedom fights led by Ferenc Rákóczi II (1703–1711). Hydra Transylvanica (1708) written by a Transylvanian Saxon minister Daniel Wolff describes the Transylvanian events of the war of liberation. Several handwritten copies of this work can be found in various Romanian archives. The illustrated work is in Brassó (Braşov, Romania), in the Trausch collection of the Honterus Archives. The title-page of this copy shows a black-and-white drawing of the struggle of Hercules with the hydra of Lerna. The allegory widespread among European rulers, especially in the courts of Louis XIV and Leopold I, was part of the monarchic representation. The ancient hero was also used by personages of Hungarian history to express their power. Ferenc Rákóczi II commissioned a Swedish medallist to make a commemorative Hercules medal during his reign. While in Rákóczi's interpretation of the symbol the prince himself was represented by Hercules and the imperial adversary was the hydra, the scene acquires a polarly opposite reading in Daniel Wolff's illustration calling attention to the struggle between the “Transylvanian Hydra” (“Hydra Transylvanica”) and the “German Hercules” (“Teutscher Hercules”), clearly revealing the political stance of the draughtsman. The other picture in the manuscript is a fold-out supplement showing the triumphal arch erected in honour of Ferenc Rákóczi II in Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca, Romania) in 1705. The temporary edifice was the Jesuits' tribute to Rákóczi about to be installed as prince of Transylvania. The historical background to the arch is rooted in the connection between Rákóczi and the Order of Jesus, which has recently been revalued by historians. Underlying the triumphal arch was the Jesuits' effort to separate from the Austrian province, and they relied on Ferenc Rákóczi II's mediation on this issue. Rákóczi supported the creation of an independent Hungarian province both politically and diplomatically. Though the Jesuits' attempt failed, the triumphal arch they erected expressed their political conception. Surviving eye-witness accounts suggest that the gate was an outstanding achievement of art in the Rákóczi age, and although several that-time and recent studies address themselves to the history of its construction and demolition as well as its symbolism and political background, no visual representation has been found so far. After comparing the descriptions and the illustrations in the manuscript, I tried to define the date and circumstances of the pictures. The discord between the contents of the writing and the illustration precludes Wolff's authorship. A further problem is that the drawing of the triumphal arch includes several minute details that are different in various accounts. The Latin verse lines on the back include two distichs alluding to the castles of Nyitra (Nitra, Slovakia) and Görgény (Gurghiu, Romania) which refer to the year 1708 and are not included in accounts of 1705. These lines were most probably written by the draughtsman. The illustrated copy differs from the rest of the manuscript variants at several points, including allusions and additions that reveal the author's pro-imperial position as well as references to the city of Brassó. Therefore, the drawings must have been made by a monarchist copier living in Transylvania under Habsburg rule after the suppression of the freedom fights. This is also supported by an examination of the paper of the manuscript which contains the watermark of the Brassó paper mill and was made in the 1770s.