The Transylvanian Trilogy, also called A Transylvanian Tale ( Hungarian: ''Erdélyi történet'') or The Writing on the Wall, is a novel in three parts by the Hungarian writer

Miklós Bánffy Count Miklós Bánffy de Losoncz (30 December 1873 – 5 June 1950) was a Hungarian nobleman, liberal politician, and historical novelist. His books include '' The Transylvanian Trilogy'' (''They Were Counted'', ''They Were Found Wanting'' and '' ...

, published from 1934 to 1940. The trilogy tells about the moral decline of the Hungarian nobility and the loss of (Austria-)Hungary as a nation, in the ten years preceding the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The novel tells the story of two cousins, the socially engaged count Bálint Abády and count László Gyerőffy. Their lives are set against the background of the political events in and outside Hungary. A part of the storyline takes place on the

Transylvanian Plain The Transylvanian Plain ( ro, Câmpia Transilvaniei; hu, Mezőség, ) is an ethnogeographical area in Transylvania, Romania, located between the Someșul Mare and the Someșul Mic rivers to the north and west and the Mureș River to the south and ...

, the area where Bánffy himself grew up. The trilogy appeared just before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, after which a communist regime came to power in Hungary. This regime initially gave no room for publishing a novel in which the life of the aristocracy stood so central. Only in the 1980s was the book published again in Hungary. The first English translation was published in 1999.

Volumes

First part

The first part of the trilogy is called "Megszámláltattál" ("You are counted") in Hungarian and was finished in 1934. The title is a reference to Daniel 5, 26. In the Biblical

Book of Daniel The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th century BC setting. Ostensibly "an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon", it combines a prophecy of history with an eschatology (a ...

the words " Counted, counted, weighed, divided", which are written on a wall, are interpreted by Daniel to the Babylonian crown prince in the sense that the days of the king are counted, the king weighed but found wanting and his kingdom will be divided among the Medes and the Persians. This book is translated into English with the title ''They Were Counted''. In this book, Bálint Abády is confronted, among other things, with his impossible love for Adrienne Uzdy (for whom Bánffy's muse

Carola Szilvássy Carola is a female given name, the Latinized form of the Germanic given names Caroline or Carol. People named Carola include: Acting * Carola Braunbock (1924–1978), Czech-born East German actress *Carola Höhn (1910–2005), German actres ...

stood model) and defends Romanian farmers in the mountain domains that are his family property. His cousin László gets into trouble because of his gambling addiction. The story begins in 1904 and takes place against the background of, among others, the ''

handkerchief vote The handkerchief vote (Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''zsebkendőszavazás'') was a parliamentary vote which took place on 18 November 1904 in the Diet of Hungary. History Background The Austro-Hungarian compromise and its supporting parlia ...

'' and the Hungarian crisis of 1905–1906. As a member of the House of Representatives, Bálint is closely involved in these developments. The author, Bánffy, who himself was a member of the House of Representatives, presents his view of things in this way.

Second part

The original title of the second part (1937) is "És hijjával találtattál" ('And you were found wanting'), from Daniel 5, 27. The English translation has been published under the title ''They Were Found Wanting''. The story of the first book continues. The political background includes the arms race and the Bosnian Crisis.

Third part

The Hungarian title of the third and final volume (1940) is ''Darabokra szaggattatol'' ("You are torn to pieces"), to Daniel 5, 28. The storyline coincides with the run-up to the

and the Austrian mobilization against Serbia. This book appeared in English under the title ''They Were Divided''.

Other languages

The novel was originally written in Hungarian and has been translated into English, German, French, Dutch, Spanish, Italian and Romanian.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Transylvanian Trilogy

Transylvanian Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...

Transylvania in fiction 1930s novels 1930s in Hungary Novels set in the 1900s Novels set in Hungary