Mattie The Goose-boy (poem)
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''Mattie the Goose-boy'', or ''Lúdas Matyi'', is a Hungarian
epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...
written by
Mihály Fazekas Mihály Fazekas (6 January 1766 – 23 February 1828) was a Hungarian writer from Debrecen. He was an army private for seven years before being commissioned as a Hussar officer. As a hobby, Fazekas studied the natural sciences (botany) and w ...
(1766–1828) in 1804 and first released in 1817. It is based on a folk-tale of unknown origins. Most film adaptations place the story to the beginning of the 19th century, however based on hints in the poem, as well as the word "ludas" also being used to depict someone suspected of a crime already in the
Tripartitum The ''Tripartitum'' or ''Opus Tripartitum'' (in full, la, Tripartitum opus iuris consuetudinarii inclyti regni Hungariae, "Customary Law of the Renowned Kingdom of Hungary in Three Parts") is a manual of Hungarian customary law completed in 151 ...
, the original story can be placed at least to the early 16th century.


Plot


Prologue

In the beginning, Matyi, who is a young peasant boy, is trying to sell his
geese A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera '' Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the she ...
at the market. Trouble ensues when the local lord, Dániel Döbröghy, proclaims the geese belong to him. Lord Döbröghy orders his servants to punish Matyi with 50 lashes to his back. Matyi makes a vow to get vengeance, that he will repay the punishment three times to the lord.


The first repayment

Three years after Matyi's punishment, Döbröghy begins building a castle for himself. The construction goes on very slowly, because of the lack of carpenters. Matyi identifies this and dresses as an
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
architect-maestro, then he visits the construction site. Matyi lures the lord and his servants to the nearby forest to gather wood for the structure. He orders all the servants and guards to harvest the forest, he then lures Döbröghy away, ties him to a tree with a rope, and beats him the first time.


The second repayment

After being thrashed, Dániel Döbröghy is being cured in his fancy new castle. He orders his soldiers to get him a real doctor, because his wound isn't getting better. The servant go to seek a doctor. Matyi knows about the plan and he dresses as a
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
battlefield medic. He is brought to the lord and ordered to cure him. He sends the whole folk of the castle out to the nearby field to collect some special herbs. Certainly, he needs fictional plants, but he uses the silliness of the soldiers. While everybody is out harvesting, Matyi gives Döbröghy the second revenge. After that he frees the geese of the village, which formerly were imprisoned by the lord.


The third repayment

It's now winter and the date of the yearly market. Döbröghy knows that Matyi will surely repay the punishment, so he orders his servants to search to whole market for suspicious people. They don't find anything because Matyi now doesn't wear any disguise. He makes an alliance with a local horse rider boy. The boy lures the whole army away, because they think that they're chasing the real Ludas Matyi. But they make a mistake, because the real one stays at the place and finds Döbröghy. The lord now publicly gets his last third of punishment.


Edification

The poem was an
ironic Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique. Irony can be categorized into ...
advice to the lords of Hungary, not to penalize the peasants needlessly. It also emphasizes the
intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can be des ...
of the poor.


Importance

Lúdas Matyi was the first folk hero in Hungarian literature who is victorious over his lord. The poem represented the relationship between nobility and the folk as well, and it emphasized the problems of the Hungarian agro-society in the late 18th century. Much later the communist government created movies of the story and emphasized the superiority of the workers and the poor. The tale is a bent
mirror A mirror or looking glass is an object that reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the direction of the im ...
to the Hungarian society.


Lúdas Matyi in the media

* ''1867-1872'' - A paper with the title: Ludas Matyi - The entertaining pictured
newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...
of the Hungarian folk. The author,
Károly Mészáros Károly is a very common Hungarian male given name. It is also sometimes found as a Hungarian surname. The origin of this name is the Turkic Karul, which means hawk. Nowadays Károly is considered the equivalent of English Karl or Charles (because ...
, was imprisoned for 10 years for showing
Franz Joseph Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...
as the Crucified
Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
. * ''1922'' - The first Lúdas Matyi film, directed by
Alfréd Deésy Alfréd Deésy (22 September 1877 – 18 July 1961) was a Hungarian film director, screenwriter and actor. He directed 77 films between 1915 and 1947. Deésy also appeared as an actor in 28 films between 1913 and 1960. Biography Deésy wa ...
. * ''1949'' - '' Lúdas Matyi'' film, directed by
Kálmán Nádasdy Kálmán Nádasdy (25 November 1904 – 17 April 1980) was a Hungarian film director. In 1959, he was a member of the jury at the 1st Moscow International Film Festival The 1st Moscow International Film Festival was held from 3 to 17 August ...
and
László Ranódy László Ranódy (14 September 1919 – 14 October 1983) was a Hungarian film director. He directed 18 films between 1950 and 1980. His film '' Drama of the Lark'' was entered into the 1964 Cannes Film Festival. Selected filmography * ''Lo ...
. Starring:
Imre Soós Imre Soós (12 February 1930 – 20 June 1957) was a Hungarian actor, mostly known for his roles in communist propaganda films during the 1950s. He played the leading role in the 1956 film '' Körhinta''. Career Early years Imre Soós was b ...
. Music for the film was composed by Ferenc Szabó and arranged as a suite for orchestra. * ''1945-1992'' - The weekly paper Ludas Matyi was the only authorized Hungarian satiric paper during the communist era. Lúdas Matyi used irony and satire to portray the
dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship a ...
and Hungarian society with all of its participants. The paper was extremely popular, and sold a record number of about 650,000 papers. It was allowed to publish surprisingly frank caricatures of politicians, military leaders and society, but was suspended between 25 October 1956 and 21 February 1957 during the
Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...
and its aftermath. :Lúdas Matyi notably included a "Down with Bureaucracy" feature with unusually sharp criticism of the system. Its outlook on foreign affairs was biased towards the Soviet view but was aimed towards humor rather than shrill propaganda. It included an ongoing weekly dialog between two opposing soldiers, the wise and humane "Ivan" and the hapless "Joe". :The magazine also commented on the emerging sexual revolution with a mixture of sexist satire (the "Jucika" cartoon series being the notable example) and more balanced gender-equality advocacy. * ''1977'' - '' Mattie the Goose-boy'', an animated film by Attila Dargay * ''1978-1979'' – Over two years (and 24 issues) Ludas Matyi was one of the main characters in the monthly East German comic book magazine Mosaik. His first entrance was in issue 1/1978, last in 12/1979. Setting is the Habsburg monarchy in the beginning 18th century. Ludas Matyi is turned out to be a straying
Kuruc Kuruc (, plural ''kurucok''), also spelled kurutz, refers to a group of armed anti-Habsburg insurgents in the Kingdom of Hungary between 1671 and 1711. Over time, the term kuruc has come to designate Hungarians who advocate strict national ind ...
characterised by shrewdness and masquerading as someone else to attain a goal.


References

{{reflist


External links

* ''Ludas Matyi newspaper''
''Ferenc László: The history of Lúdas Matyi''''Ferenc László: The history of Lúdas Matyi Part 2''
Hungarian fairy tales Hungarian poems European folklore characters Fictional Hungarian people