The Dragon, the Tail of the Rabbit and something Wretched: Insights into the Discovery and Publication of a Manuscript

Abstract

The article follows the journey of a humanist manuscript from its discovery to its publication, with the help of two letters and a thank-you note from a library. In 1936, Oszkár Sárkány (1912–1943) came across Elias Corvinus' panegyric bearing the title Ioannis Hunniadae res bellicae contra Turcas. The talented young researcher discovered the manuscript in the ÖNB, while being on a scholarship awarded by the Collegium Hungaricum in Vienna. In the first quoted letter, Sárkány informed his friend, László Tarnói about the discovery of the manuscript. The second letter was written to Sárkány by his colleague, Emma Bartoniek, who proved that Sárkány’s discovery was indeed a work previously unknown to the scholarly community. The third document is sent to Sárkány by the archives of the University of Vienna, thanking him for the copy of the critical edition, fresh off the press.