Hungarian literature
Hungarian literature is the body of written works primarily produced in Hungarian,[1] and may also include works written in other languages (mostly Latin), either produced by Hungarians or having topics which are closely related to Hungarian culture. While it was less known in the English-speaking world for centuries, Hungary's literature gained renown[2] in the 19th and 20th centuries, thanks to a new wave of internationally accessible writers like Mór Jókai, Antal Szerb, Sándor Márai, Imre Kertész and Magda Szabó.
Earliest writings in the 10th-14th century
The beginning of the history of Hungarian language as such (the proto-Hungarian period) is set at 1000 BC, when according to current theory, the language had become differentiated from its closest relatives, the
In earliest times the Hungarian language was written in a
The oldest complete, continuous text in Hungarian is
During the Middle Ages and well into the Renaissance, the language of writing was mostly Latin. Important documents include the
Among the first chronicles about Hungarian history were Gesta Hungarorum ("Deeds of the Hungarians"), by an unknown author, 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 Chronicon Pictum ("Illustrated Chronicle"), which was written for King Louis the Great by Mark of Kalt in 1358.
Further,
Renaissance and Baroque during the 15th-17th centuries
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The 15th century saw the first translations from the Bible. Two Transylvanian preachers, Thomas and Valentine, followers of the Bohemian religious reformer Jan Hus, were responsible for this work, of which the prophetic books, the Psalms, and the Gospels have survived. A great part of the vocabulary created for the purpose is still in use.[1]
Renaissance literature flourished under the reign of
The Buda Chronicle was published in 1473, it was produced by András Hess in Buda, and is the first incunabulum ever printed in Hungary.[3][4][5] Thus, the year 1473 is considered the beginning of Hungarian book printing.[5] The Chronica Hungarorum from the Hess printing house in Buda is unprecedented in Europe in the 15th century, because no other country's history of printing begins with the publication of a folk's history. This is the first example, that the printing history of a country begin with the publication of the history of a people.[3][4] The Hungarian book printing preceded England, Spain, and Austria.[6] In fact, the number of printing houses was not too high at that time. At the end of the 1470s, 66 printing houses could operate in Europe, of which two were in the Kingdom of Hungary (in Buda and Pozsony (now Bratislava)).[4]
In 1526 most of Hungary fell under
Translation of Roman authors produced also some works:
Historical works were even more numerous: the chronicle of
Latin works in the period are more numerous.
Among
Enlightenment and the language reform
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The Hungarian enlightenment arrived, via
The most prominent figure of Hungarian language reform was Ferenc Kazinczy, who helped make the Hungarian language a useful tool for scientific theorization; many new words were coined for describing new inventions, for example, mozdony (locomotive). Previously, the loanword lokomotív had been used.
Gallery
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Mihály Csokonai Vitéz
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Miklós Zrínyi
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Hungarian literature, Encyclopædia Britannica, 2012 edition
- ^ Lóránt Czigány, A History of Hungarian Literature: from the earliest times to the mid-1970s, Clarendon Press, 1984
- ^ ISBN 978-963-200-723-6.
- ^ a b c Regényi, Huba (28 May 2023). "Megjelent a Budai krónika újabb hasonmás kiadása" [Another similar edition of the Buda Chronicle has been published]. Magyar Nemzet.
- ^ a b "1473. június 5-én jelent meg a Budai krónika" [The Buda Chronicle was published on 5 June 1473]. József Attila könyvtár, Dunaújváros (Attila József Library, Dunaújváros). 30 May 2023.
- ^ András, Hess (1473). Ranschburg, Gusztáv (ed.). Chronica Hungarorum (PDF) (in Hungarian and Latin) (A Budai Krónika : A legrégibb hazai nyomtatványnak a Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum Könyvtárában levő példánya után készült lenyomata ed.). Budapest (published 1900).
External links
General
- A History of Hungarian Literature (From the Earliest Times to the mid-1970s) by Lóránt Czigány
- A Short History of Hungarian Verse by László Gáldi and Adam Makkai (an appendix of “In Quest of the Miracle Stag” — The Poetry of Hungary)
- Albert Tezla: Hungarian authors – A bibliographical handbook
- An overview of Hungarian literature by Daniel Abondolo
- A briefer view of the previous source
- Hungarian literature
- Hungarian Literature Online
- The Hungarian Electronic Library
- Magyar poetry
- Poetry of the Magyars
- Selected bibliographies of important Hungarian authors
- Writing for the ages: Prose & Poetry from 20th Century Hungary (Hungarian Books and Translations Office – PIM, 2014)
- Database for translations of Hungarian literary works[dead link]
- Magyar poems (corrected text version), Scanned page images with uncorrected OCR'd text
Specific sources
- Funeral Oration and Prayer
- Sermon above the grave or the Funeral Oration
- Hungarian poems in English Archived 2021-05-16 at the Wayback Machine
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.)