Biblical criticism and congregational singing two Unitarian translations of the Book of Psalms in 16–17th-century Transylvania

Abstract

Within half a century, there were two Unitarian authors who created rhymed Hungarian translations of the Book of Psalms – Miklós Fazakas Bogáti at the end of the 16th century and János Thordai in 1627. There are still unanswered questions regarding these translations: why did Bogáti's translation not spread among Unitarian congregations? Was Thordai acquainted with Bogáti's translation? This paper explores the circle of possible answers to these questions from various perspectives. It also examines Bogáti's biography and the subsequent legacy of his Psalterium, taking into account the context of Church history and the history of publishing Unitarian songbooks. In addition, the poetics of the two translations are analysed. Based on these it transpires that there were several circumstances that made the spreading of the Psalterium difficult. However, Thordai's work should not be viewed solely as depending on Bogáti's translation, since it is not certain that Thordai was trying to fill a gap with his translation. The Transylvanian Unitarians did not necessarily intend to publish a complete Unitarian translation of the Book of Psalms in their songbooks.