Hungarian literature
Encyclopedia
Hungarian literature is literature written in the Hungarian language
, predominantly by Hungarians
.
There is a limited amount of Old Hungarian literature dating to between the late 12th and the early 16th centuries. Middle Hungarian texts of the 16th to 18th centuries are better preserved, with poets such as Bálint Balassi
(1554–1594), Tinódi Sebestyén and Miklós Zrínyi (1620–1664), and some Hungarian translations of Latin texts. The Bible was translated
in 1590 by Gáspár Károli
.
The language was reformed and standardized in the 19th century, notably under the influence of Ferenc Kazinczy
. Modern Hungarian literature has flourished as one of Europe's modern literatures since the 19th century. In 2002, Imre Kertész
was the first Hungarian author to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.
While virtually unknown in the Anglosphere
for centuries, Hungary's literature gained renown by the end of the 20th century thanks to a new wave of internationally accessible writers like Antal Szerb
, Sándor Márai
, Imre Kertész
and Magda Szabó
.
During the Middle Ages and well into the Renaissace, the written language in Hungary was mostly Latin. Important Latin-language documents include the Admonitions of St. Stephen, which includes the king's admonitions to his son, Prince Imre.
The oldest coherent Old Hungarian text is the Funeral Sermon and Prayer
(Halotti beszéd és könyörgés) (1192–1195), a translation of a Latin
sermon
. (See also Funerary text
and the links below.)
The oldest poem is the Old Hungarian Laments of Mary
(Ómagyar Mária-siralom), also a (not very strict) translation from Latin, from the 13th century. It is also the oldest surviving Uralic
poem.
Both the Funeral Sermon and the Lamentations are hard to read and not quite comprehensible for modern-day Hungarians, mostly because the 26-letter Latin alphabet was not fit to represent all the sounds in Hungarian language, as diacritic marks and double letters had not been developed yet.
Among the first chronicles about Hungarian history were Gesta Hungarorum
("Deeds of the Hungarians") by the unknown author usually called Anonymus, and Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum
("Deeds of the Huns and the Hungarians") by Simon Kézai. Both are in Latin. These chronicles mix history with legends, so historically they are not always authentic.
Another chronicle is the Képes Krónika (Illustrated Chronicle), which was written for Louis the Great.
Further, Rogerius
's 13th century work was published with Thuroczy Janos' chronicle in the late 15th century. In Split Thomas of Spalato wrote on local history with many information on Hungary in the 13th century (that time Dalmatia and the city was part of Hungary).
(1458–1490). Janus Pannonius
, although he wrote in Latin, counts as one of the most important persons in Hungarian literature, being the only significant Hungarian Humanist poet of the period. The first printing house was also founded during Matthias' reign, by András Hess
, in Buda. The first book printed in Hungary was the Chronica Hungarorum.
In the 1526 most of Hungary fell under Ottoman
occupation, which date is where the beginning of Middle Hungarian Period is set, in connection with various cultural changes.
The most important poets of the period was Bálint Balassi
(1554–1594), Tinódi Sebestyén and Miklós Zrínyi (1620–1664). Balassi's poetry shows Medieval influences, his poems can be divided into three sections: love poems, war poems and religious poems. Zrínyi's most significant work, the epic Szigeti veszedelem
("Peril of Sziget
", written in 1648/49) is written in a fashion similar to The Iliad, and recounts the heroic Battle of Szigetvár
, where his great-grandfather died while defending the castle of Szigetvár.
Translation of Roman authors produced also some works: Baranyai Decsi János
translated Sallustius
' Catalina and Jughurta's war in the late 16th century and a decade later appeared the translation of Curtius Rufus
' Aleaxander's life in Debrecen
.
Historical works were even more numerous: the chronicle of Heltai Gaspar (see on the right) published by him in Kolozsvar, Zay Ferenc's unpublished work on the siege of Beograd from the 15th century, Kemény János
', Transylvanian Duke's, and Bethlen Miklós' memoirs with Szalárdy János' volumeous, that time unpublished, work on contemporary Transylvanian history from the 17th century (from Bethlen' reign to 1660s), and Cserei Mihály's work from the early 18th century highlights the Hungarian-language literature.
Another category is historical verses in Hungarian, like that of Tinody Sebestyen from the 16th century, Ilosvay Selymes Peter, Szabatkai Mihaly and Gergely deak.
Latin works in the period are more numerous, Szamosközy István
, Baranyai Decsi János
, Istvánffy Miklós, Bethlen János, and Bethlen Farkas, Forgách Ferenc, Szerémi György, Somogyi Ambrus, Gianmichele Bruto, Oláh Miklós are the most important historical works from the 16th to 17th century.
In German Georg Kraus, Georg Zeiler wrote on Transylvanian history. In Spanish you can read Bernardo de Aldana's apologies for losing the castle of Lippa
in 1552 to the Turks.
Among the religious literary works the most important is the Bible
translation by Gáspár Károli
, the Protestant pastor of Gönc
, in 1590. The translation is called the Bible of Vizsoly, after the town where it was first published. (See Hungarian Bible translations for more details.) Another important religious work is the Legend of Saint Margaret
, copied by Lea Ráskai around 1510 from an earlier work that did not survive.
. The first enlightened writers were Maria Theresia's bodyguards (György Bessenyei
, János Batsányi
and so on). The greatest poets of the time was Mihály Csokonai Vitéz
and Dániel Berzsenyi
.
The greatest figure of the language reform was Ferenc Kazinczy
.
Hungarian linguistic purism
of the time introduced calques of loanwords, such as mozdony "locomotive", coined to replace the earlier lokomotív.
summarized at the administrative website of Hungary
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
, predominantly by Hungarians
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
.
There is a limited amount of Old Hungarian literature dating to between the late 12th and the early 16th centuries. Middle Hungarian texts of the 16th to 18th centuries are better preserved, with poets such as Bálint Balassi
Bálint Balassi
Bálint Balassi baron of Kékkő and Gyarmat, , was a multilingual Hungarian Renaissance lyric poet, who wrote mostly in Hungarian...
(1554–1594), Tinódi Sebestyén and Miklós Zrínyi (1620–1664), and some Hungarian translations of Latin texts. The Bible was translated
Bible translations
The Bible has been translated into many languages from the biblical languages of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Indeed, the full Bible has been translated into over 450 languages, although sections of the Bible have been translated into over 2,000 languages....
in 1590 by Gáspár Károli
Gáspár Károli
Gáspár Károli was a Hungarian Calvinist pastor.Károli started his school in Nagykároly and finished in Brassó. In 1556 he went to the Wittenberg Academy. In 1566 he ordered the Synod of Gönc....
.
The language was reformed and standardized in the 19th century, notably under the influence of Ferenc Kazinczy
Ferenc Kazinczy
Ferenc Kazinczy was a Hungarian author, the most indefatigable agent in the regeneration of the Magyar language and literature at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century...
. Modern Hungarian literature has flourished as one of Europe's modern literatures since the 19th century. In 2002, Imre Kertész
Imre Kertész
Imre Kertész is a Hungarian Jewish author, Holocaust concentration camp survivor, and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2002 "for writing that upholds the fragile experience of the individual against the barbaric arbitrariness of history"....
was the first Hungarian author to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.
While virtually unknown in the Anglosphere
Anglosphere
Anglosphere is a neologism which refers to those nations with English as the most common language. The term can be used more specifically to refer to those nations which share certain characteristics within their cultures based on a linguistic heritage, through being former British colonies...
for centuries, Hungary's literature gained renown by the end of the 20th century thanks to a new wave of internationally accessible writers like Antal Szerb
Antal Szerb
Antal Szerb was a noted Hungarian scholar and writer. He is recognized as one of the major Hungarian literary personalities of the 20th century.-Life and work:...
, Sándor Márai
Sándor Márai
Sándor Márai was a Hungarian writer and journalist.-Biography:...
, Imre Kertész
Imre Kertész
Imre Kertész is a Hungarian Jewish author, Holocaust concentration camp survivor, and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2002 "for writing that upholds the fragile experience of the individual against the barbaric arbitrariness of history"....
and Magda Szabó
Magda Szabó
Magda Szabó was a Hungarian writer, arguably Hungary's foremost woman novelist. She also wrote dramas, essays, studies, memories and poetry....
.
Old Hungarian
The oldest coherent Old Hungarian text is the Funeral Sermon and Prayer
Funeral Sermon and Prayer
The Funeral Sermon and Prayer is the oldest known and surviving contiguous Hungarian text, written by one scribal hand in the Latin script and dating to 1192-1195...
(Halotti beszéd és könyörgés) (1192–1195), a translation of a Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
sermon
Sermon
A sermon is an oration by a prophet or member of the clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, religious, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law or behavior within both past and present contexts...
. (See also Funerary text
Funerary text
Funerary texts or funerary literature feature in many belief systems. Its purpose is usually to provide guidance to the newly deceased or the soon-to-be-deceased about how to survive and prosper in the afterlife.-Antiquity:...
and the links below.)
The oldest poem is the Old Hungarian Laments of Mary
Old Hungarian 'Lamentations of Mary'
The Old Hungarian Lamentations of Mary is the oldest extant Hungarian poem, copied in about 1300 into a Latin codex, similarly to the first coherent written Hungarian text , which was written down between 1192 and 1195...
(Ómagyar Mária-siralom), also a (not very strict) translation from Latin, from the 13th century. It is also the oldest surviving Uralic
Uralic languages
The Uralic languages constitute a language family of some three dozen languages spoken by approximately 25 million people. The healthiest Uralic languages in terms of the number of native speakers are Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian, Mari and Udmurt...
poem.
Both the Funeral Sermon and the Lamentations are hard to read and not quite comprehensible for modern-day Hungarians, mostly because the 26-letter Latin alphabet was not fit to represent all the sounds in Hungarian language, as diacritic marks and double letters had not been developed yet.
Among the first chronicles about Hungarian history were Gesta Hungarorum
Gesta Hungarorum
Gesta Hungarorum is a record of early Hungarian history by an unknown author who describes himself as Anonymi Bele Regis Notarii , but is generally cited as Anonymus...
("Deeds of the Hungarians") by the unknown author usually called Anonymus, and Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum
Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum
The Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum , written mainly by Simon of Kéza around 1282-1285, is one of the sources of early Hungarian history...
("Deeds of the Huns and the Hungarians") by Simon Kézai. Both are in Latin. These chronicles mix history with legends, so historically they are not always authentic.
Another chronicle is the Képes Krónika (Illustrated Chronicle), which was written for Louis the Great.
Further, Rogerius
Rogerius of Apulia
Rogerius of Apulia was a medieval Roman Catholic monk and chronicler, born in Torremaggiore, Apulia...
's 13th century work was published with Thuroczy Janos' chronicle in the late 15th century. In Split Thomas of Spalato wrote on local history with many information on Hungary in the 13th century (that time Dalmatia and the city was part of Hungary).
Middle Hungarian
Renaissance literature flourished under the reign of King MatthiasMatthias Corvinus of Hungary
Matthias Corvinus , also called the Just in folk tales, was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458, at the age of 14 until his death...
(1458–1490). Janus Pannonius
Janus Pannonius
Janus Pannonius was a Croatian and Hungarian Latinist, poet, diplomat and Bishop of Pécs.He was the only truly significant poet of the Renaissance in the Kingdom of Hungary and one of the better-known figures of Humanist poetry in Europe. He was born in a small village near the Drava river in a...
, although he wrote in Latin, counts as one of the most important persons in Hungarian literature, being the only significant Hungarian Humanist poet of the period. The first printing house was also founded during Matthias' reign, by András Hess
András Hess
András Hess set up a printing press in Buda in 1472.He printed the first book in Hungary on June 5, 1473 in his Buda press. Hess was probably of German origin. He dedicated the book, the Chronica Hungarorum or Buda Chronicle to the person who had invited him to Hungary.Today a square is named...
, in Buda. The first book printed in Hungary was the Chronica Hungarorum.
In the 1526 most of Hungary fell under Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
occupation, which date is where the beginning of Middle Hungarian Period is set, in connection with various cultural changes.
The most important poets of the period was Bálint Balassi
Bálint Balassi
Bálint Balassi baron of Kékkő and Gyarmat, , was a multilingual Hungarian Renaissance lyric poet, who wrote mostly in Hungarian...
(1554–1594), Tinódi Sebestyén and Miklós Zrínyi (1620–1664). Balassi's poetry shows Medieval influences, his poems can be divided into three sections: love poems, war poems and religious poems. Zrínyi's most significant work, the epic Szigeti veszedelem
Peril of Sziget
Szigeti veszedelem was the title of the Hungarian epic poem in fifteen parts written by Miklós Zrínyi in 1647 and published in 1651 about the final battle of his great-grandfather Miklós Zrínyi against the Ottomans in 1566.The poem recounts in epic fashion the Battle of Szigetvár, in...
("Peril of Sziget
Peril of Sziget
Szigeti veszedelem was the title of the Hungarian epic poem in fifteen parts written by Miklós Zrínyi in 1647 and published in 1651 about the final battle of his great-grandfather Miklós Zrínyi against the Ottomans in 1566.The poem recounts in epic fashion the Battle of Szigetvár, in...
", written in 1648/49) is written in a fashion similar to The Iliad, and recounts the heroic Battle of Szigetvár
Battle of Szigetvár
The Siege of Szigetvár or Battle of Szigeth was a siege of the Szigeth Fortress in Baranya which blocked Suleiman's line of advance towards Vienna in 1566 AD...
, where his great-grandfather died while defending the castle of Szigetvár.
Baranyai Decsi János
János Baranyai Decsi is a Hungarian Renaissance writer who lived in the 16th century. He lived in the Transylvanian court of Báthory Zsigmond.-Life:...
translated Sallustius
Sallustius
Sallustius or Sallust was a 4th-century Latin writer, a friend of the Roman Emperor Julian. He wrote the treatise On the Gods and the Cosmos, a kind of catechism of 4th-century Hellenic paganism. Sallustius' work owes much to that of Iamblichus of Chalcis, who synthesized Platonism with...
' Catalina and Jughurta's war in the late 16th century and a decade later appeared the translation of Curtius Rufus
Curtius Rufus
Curtius Rufus was a Roman politician mentioned by Tacitus for actions during the reigns of the emperors Tiberius and Claudius. In all probability he is to be equated with the first century Roman historian Quintus Curtius Rufus.-Early life:...
' Aleaxander's life in Debrecen
Debrecen
Debrecen , is the second largest city in Hungary after Budapest. Debrecen is the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar county.- Name :...
.
Historical works were even more numerous: the chronicle of Heltai Gaspar (see on the right) published by him in Kolozsvar, Zay Ferenc's unpublished work on the siege of Beograd from the 15th century, Kemény János
John Kemény (Prince)
János Kemény was a Hungarian aristocrat, writer and prince of Transylvania....
', Transylvanian Duke's, and Bethlen Miklós' memoirs with Szalárdy János' volumeous, that time unpublished, work on contemporary Transylvanian history from the 17th century (from Bethlen' reign to 1660s), and Cserei Mihály's work from the early 18th century highlights the Hungarian-language literature.
Another category is historical verses in Hungarian, like that of Tinody Sebestyen from the 16th century, Ilosvay Selymes Peter, Szabatkai Mihaly and Gergely deak.
Latin works in the period are more numerous, Szamosközy István
Szamosközy István
Szamosközy István was a Hungarian humanist and historian.-Life:Szamosközy was born in Kolozsvar to a Calvinist family. He completed his studies at Heidelberg and Padova. In 1593 he returned to Hungary and started to work in Gyulafehervar for the archive of the Transylvanian court...
, Baranyai Decsi János
Baranyai Decsi János
János Baranyai Decsi is a Hungarian Renaissance writer who lived in the 16th century. He lived in the Transylvanian court of Báthory Zsigmond.-Life:...
, Istvánffy Miklós, Bethlen János, and Bethlen Farkas, Forgách Ferenc, Szerémi György, Somogyi Ambrus, Gianmichele Bruto, Oláh Miklós are the most important historical works from the 16th to 17th century.
In German Georg Kraus, Georg Zeiler wrote on Transylvanian history. In Spanish you can read Bernardo de Aldana's apologies for losing the castle of Lippa
Lipova, Arad
Lipova is a town in Romania, Arad County, located in the Banat region of western Transylvania. It is situated at a distance of 34 km from Arad, the county capital, at the contact zone of the Mureș River with the Zarand Mountains, Western Plateau and Lipovei Hills...
in 1552 to the Turks.
Among the religious literary works the most important is the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
translation by Gáspár Károli
Gáspár Károli
Gáspár Károli was a Hungarian Calvinist pastor.Károli started his school in Nagykároly and finished in Brassó. In 1556 he went to the Wittenberg Academy. In 1566 he ordered the Synod of Gönc....
, the Protestant pastor of Gönc
Gönc
Gönc is a small town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary, 70 kilometers from county capital Miskolc. It is the northernmost town of Hungary and the second smallest town of the county.- History :...
, in 1590. The translation is called the Bible of Vizsoly, after the town where it was first published. (See Hungarian Bible translations for more details.) Another important religious work is the Legend of Saint Margaret
Legend of Saint Margaret
The Legend of Saint Margaret is an important piece of Mediaeval Hungarian literature. The only specimen of the text was preserved in the Margaret Codex, copied by Lea Ráskay in 1510. The legend tells the life and deeds of Saint Margaret of Hungary....
, copied by Lea Ráskai around 1510 from an earlier work that did not survive.
Enlightenment and the language reform
The Hungarian enlightenment delayed about fifty years compared to the Western European enlightenment. The new thoughts arrived to Hungary across ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. The first enlightened writers were Maria Theresia's bodyguards (György Bessenyei
György Bessenyei
György Bessenyei was a Hungarian playwright and poet.-Works:* 1772 – Ágis tragédiája* 1777 – A magyar néző* 1777 – A filozófus* 1778 – Magyarság* 1779 – A holmi* 1781 – Egy magyar társaság iránt való jámbor szándék...
, János Batsányi
János Batsányi
János Batsányi was a Hungarian poet.In 1785, he published his first work, a patriotic poem, "The Valour of the Magyars"...
and so on). The greatest poets of the time was Mihály Csokonai Vitéz
Mihály Csokonai Vitéz
Mihály Csokonai Vitéz was a Hungarian poet.Having been educated in Debrecen, where he was born, Csokonai was appointed while still very young to the professorship of poetry there...
and Dániel Berzsenyi
Dániel Berzsenyi
Dániel Berzsenyi - February 24, 1836 in Nikla) was a Hungarian poet.Berzsenyi was one of the most contradictory poets of Hungarian literature. He lived the life of a farmer, and wished to be close to the events of Hungarian literature. This contradiction, which he believed he could solve, made him...
.
The greatest figure of the language reform was Ferenc Kazinczy
Ferenc Kazinczy
Ferenc Kazinczy was a Hungarian author, the most indefatigable agent in the regeneration of the Magyar language and literature at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century...
.
Hungarian linguistic purism
Linguistic purism
Linguistic purism or linguistic protectionism is the practice of defining one variety of a language as being purer than other varieties. The ideal of purity is often opposed in reference to a perceived decline from an "ideal past" or an unwanted similarity with other languages, but sometimes simply...
of the time introduced calques of loanwords, such as mozdony "locomotive", coined to replace the earlier lokomotív.
General
- A History of Hungarian Literature (From the Earliest Times to the mid-1970s) by Lóránt Czigány
- Albert Tezla: Hungarian authors – A bibliographical handbook
- An overview of Hungarian literature by Daniel Abondolo
- A brefer view, from the 'same' source
- Hungarian literature
- János Kőbányai,Sándor Márai: a smoldering within,"Eretz Acheret" Magazine
summarized at the administrative website of Hungary
- Hungarian Literature Online
- The Hungarian Electronic Library
- Database for translations of Hungarian literary works
- Selected bibliographies of important Hungarian authors
- Magyar poems
- Magyar poetry
- Poetry of the Magyars
Specific sources
Literary chapters from the Encyclopaedia Humana Hungarica (1–5)
- The Remains of Oral Tradition; The Beginning of Literacy (from the beginnings till 1038)
- The External Conditions of Literature; The Characteristics of the Contents of Literature; The Authors; The Works (1038-1301)
- The Level of Education; Authors, Genres, Works (1301-1437)
- Hungarian Literature; Latin Literature; Humanist Literature (1437-1526)
- Hungarian Literature; Turkish Literature (1526-1699)
- (The English translation of volumes 6 to 9 are in preparation.)