János Erdélyi
Hungarian poet and collector of national folk-tales and proverbs.
via Wikipedia: János Erdélyi · see source
János Erdélyi (1 April 1814 – 23 January 1868) was a Hungarian poet, critic, author, philosopher and ethnographist. Born at Nagykapos in the county of Ung, he was educated at the Protestant college of Sárospatak and moved to Pest in 1833. In 1839 he was elected member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His literary career began with poems in folk style published in 1844, but his fame rests on his collection of Hungarian national poems and folk-tales, Magyar népköltési gyűjtemény, népdalok és mondák (Pest, 1846–1847), issued by the Kisfaludy Society. He also compiled Magyar közmondások könyve (Pest, 1851), an extensive book of Hungarian proverbs, and served as director of the national theatre at Pest in 1848. After 1849 he lived in his native town and died in Sárospatak.
Quick Facts
- Born
- 1 April 1814
- Birthplace
- Nagykapos, Ung County
- Died
- 23 January 1868
- Place of death
- Sárospatak
- Occupation
- poet
- philosopher
- ethnographist
- Known for
- poems written in folk style
- Notable works
- Magyar népköltési gyűjtemény, népdalok és mondák ("Collection of Hungarian Folklore, Folk Songs and Tales")
Facts from the source article.
Background
Erdélyi's major work, Magyar népköltési gyűjtemény, népdalok és mondák (1846–1847), was published by the Kisfaludy Society and later partially translated into German by Stier (Berlin, 1851). He also compiled for the same society Magyar közmondások könyve (1851), a collection of Hungarian proverbs. In 1848 he was appointed director of the national theatre at Pest, but after 1849 he returned to his native town. A posthumous collection, A nép költészete: népdalok, népmesék és közmondások (Pest, 1869), contains 300 national songs, 19 folk-tales, and 7362 Hungarian proverbs. As a philosopher, Erdélyi was an utopian socialist influenced by Hegel. He once wrote: 'It was said that education harms folk poetry, and it's true, but should we curse the Sun for banishing the dawn?'
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