Editorial Procedures and Censorship

In my lecture I will present the preparation of the critical edition of Nicolaus Olahus’ correspondence, giving examples of fresh discoveries and particularities of his writing habits. The career of Nicolaus Olahus is appropriate to show how a gifted humanist made an illustrious career with his loyalty and brilliant strategy in the collapsing and nebulous Hungarian Kingdom after Mohács. For his success, it was not enough to be polite and intelligent, but had to be cunning and considerate as well. Editing his complete correspondence, I have found several signs of his censorship and editorship. In consideration of his life, we can confirm that he constructed this image consciously. First of all, he remains Catholic to the last, then he is loyal to the Habsburgs, and last but not least, he is a famous and acknowledged humanist in his own right. What he had to conceal from his readership, and how did it, I will reveal briefly.