Századok – 2023

2023 / 3. szám - FRANK TIBORRA EMLÉKEZÜNK - Elbe István: A Shakespeare-ház. Egy Kossuth-emlékjel az Országos Széchényi Könyvtárban

A SHAKESPEARE-HÁZ THE SHAKESPEARE-HOUSE A Kossuth Memorial Sign in the Hungarian National Library By István Elbe SUMMARY In the antechamber of the main entrance to the Hungarian National Széchényi Library, as part of the standing exhibition featuring the treasures of the Library, there is a book container in the form of a miniature replica of the house where Shakespeare was born at Stratford upon Avon. The wooden house, with the eight-volume edition of Shakespeare’s complete works in ornate bound, was ceremoniously offered to Lajos Kossuth in London’s Tavern Hall on 6 May 1853. The occasion which eventually led to the gifting ceremony was the four-week triumphal journey of Kossuth to England which started on 23 October 1851. In its course, Kossuth held several hugely successful speeches from Southampton to Birmingham. Already on the first days of his stay in England, Kossuth used with remarkable efficiency the tools of modern political marketing. In response to those who inquired about the sources of his knowledge of the English language, he came forward with the topos that it was by reading Shakespeare in the original during his prison years that he had learnt the language. Driven by their enthusiasm for both the Hungarian case and Kossuth himself, 9215 English citizens offered one penny each for a material realisation of the topos, and make it a part of his cult as a memorial sign. In the paper, the changes and variations of this cult are followed through the history of this memorial object. 492

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