Transylvania trilogy
The Transylvania Trilogy ( Hungarian : Erdélyi történet ) is a three-part novel by the Hungarian writer Miklós Bánffy , published from 1934 to 1940. The trilogy tells of the moral decline of the Hungarian nobility and the collapse of (Austria-) Hungary as a nation in the ten years before the outbreak of the First World War . The novel tells the story of two cousins, the socially committed Count Bálint Abády and Count László Gyerőffy. Your life takes place against the background of the political events in and outside Hungary. Part of the action takes place on the Transylvanian Heath, the area where Bánffy himself grew up.
The trilogy appeared shortly before World War II , after which a communist regime came to power in Hungary. This regime initially gave no room for the publication of a novel centered around the life of the aristocracy. It was not until the 1980s that the book was published again in Hungary. The first German translation was published from 2012.
First part
The first part of the trilogy is called Megszámláltattál ("They are counted") in Hungarian and was completed in 1934. The title refers to Daniel 5:26. In the biblical book of Daniel the words "counted, counted, weighed, divided" written on a wall are interpreted by Daniel the Babylonian Crown Prince to mean that the days of the king are numbered the king will be weighed but found too light and his kingdom divided among the Persians and the Medes. This book was translated into German with the title Die Schrift in Flammen .
In this book, Bálint Abády is confronted, among other things, with his impossible love for Adrienne Uzdy (for whom Bánffy's muse Carola Szilvássy was a model) and defends Romanian farmers in the mountain areas that are his family property. His cousin László gets into trouble because of his gambling addiction . The story begins in 1904 and takes place against the background of the handkerchief vote and the Hungarian crisis of 1905–1906 , among other things . As a member of the Reichstag, Bálint is closely involved in these developments. The author Bánffy, who was himself a member of the House of Representatives, presents his view of things in this way.
Second part
The original title of the second part (1937) is És hijjával találtattál ("And you were found to be too easy") by Daniel 5:27 . The German translation was published under the title Disappeared Treasures . The story of the first book continues. The political background includes the arms race and the Bosnian crisis .
third part
The Hungarian title of the third and final volume (1940) is Darabokra szaggattatol ("They are torn to pieces"), Daniel 5:28. The plot coincides with the preparation for the First World War and the Austrian mobilization against Serbia . This book was published in German under the title Torn in pieces .
Other languages
The novel was originally written in Hungarian and has been translated into English, German, French, Dutch, Spanish, Italian and Romanian.