Preface

János Sylvester's work (c. 1504 - before 1552) is of innovative significance in the development of the Hungarian language approach and the grammatical literature. From the aspect of Hungarian literal and cultural history, it is especially important that Sylvester worked on the improvement of his mother tongue in Erasmus' and Luther's spirit with a scientific exaction. According to our present knowledge, he edited the first systematic Hungarian grammar, Grammatica Hungarolatina, published in this volume.

There is a document known since the 16th century according to which the Hungarian humanist poet, Janus Pannonius, working in the second half of the 15th century, prepared a Latin-Hungarian grammar. Later on, this work was mentioned again and again, and there were some in the 18th century who claimed to have seen Janus Pannonius's grammar with their own eyes. The debate on his possible authorship has gone on for a long time in Hungarian literature. However, no proof has appeared on the basis of which we could conclude that the lost or hidden Latin-Hungarian grammar assigned to Janus Pannonius is not really his work. Based on the available data, we can assume that in the second half of the 18th century specimens of an old bilingual grammar were known which were not those of János Sylvester's Grammatica Hungarolatina. Still, until we have unequivocal proof of an earlier, similar work, we must consider Sylvester the author of the first Hungarian Grammar.

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