Bálint Balassi
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Baron Bálint Balassi de Kékkő et Gyarmat ( hu, Gyarmati és kékkői báró Balassi Bálint, sk, Valentín Balaša (Valaša) barón z Ďarmôt a Modrého Kameňa; 20 October 155430 May 1594) was a Hungarian
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
lyric poet. He wrote mostly in Hungarian,István Nemeskürty, Tibor Klaniczay
A history of Hungarian literature
Corvina, 1982, p. 64
but was also proficient in eight more languages: Latin, Italian, German, Polish, Turkish, Slovak, Croatian and Romanian. He is the founder of modern Hungarian lyric and erotic poetry.


Life

Balassi was born at Zólyom in the Captaincy of Cisdanubia and Mining Towns in the Kingdom of Hungary (today Zvolen, Slovakia). He was educated by the reformer
Péter Bornemisza Péter Bornemisza (c. 1535 – 1584) was a Hungarian Lutheran bishop of noble birth. His father was killed by the Turks around the time he was six years old. A scholar from England, at the University of Cracow, first interested him in Protestantis ...
and by his mother, the highly gifted
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
zealot, Anna Sulyok. His first work was a translation of Michael Bock's ''Wurlzgertlein für die krancken Seelen'', (published in
Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
), to comfort his father while in Polish exile. On his father's rehabilitation, Bálint accompanied him to court, and was also present at the coronation
diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...
in Pressburg (today's
Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...
), capital of Royal Hungary in 1572. He then joined the army and fought the Turks as an officer in the fortress of
Eger Eger ( , ; ; also known by other alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights. Eger is best known for its castle, thermal baths, baroque build ...
in North-Eastern Hungary. Here he fell violently in love with Anna Losonczi, the daughter of the captain of Temesvár, and evidently, from his verses, his love was not unrequited. But after the death of her first husband she gave her hand to Kristóf Ungnád. Naturally Balassi only began to realize how much he loved Anna when he had lost her. He pursued her with gifts and verses, but she remained true to her pique and to her
marriage vows Marriage vows are promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a wedding ceremony based upon Western Christian norms. They are not universal to marriage and not necessary in most legal jurisdictions. They are not even universal w ...
, and he could only enshrine her memory in immortal verse. In 1574 Bálint was sent to the camp of
Gáspár Bekes Gáspár Bekes de Kornyát (also ''Gáspár de Corniath Bekes'', ''Kornyáti Bekes Gáspár'', or ''Kaspar Bekes'', ''Caspar Bekesh''; 1520 – 7 November 1579) was a Hungarian nobleman who fought Stephen Báthory for the throne of Transylvania af ...
to assist him against
Stephen Báthory Stephen Báthory ( hu, Báthory István; pl, Stefan Batory; ; 27 September 1533 – 12 December 1586) was Voivode of Transylvania (1571–1576), Prince of Transylvania (1576–1586), King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1576–1586) ...
; but his troops were encountered and scattered on the way there, and he himself was wounded and taken prisoner. His not very rigorous captivity lasted for two years, during which he accompanied Báthory where the latter was crowned as
King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16t ...
. He returned to Hungary soon after the death of his father, János Balassi. In 1584 he married his cousin, Krisztina Dobó, the daughter of the valiant commandant,
István Dobó Baron István Dobó de Ruszka (c. 1502 - Szerednye (today, Середнє (Szerednye / Serednie, Ukraine), mid-June 1572) was a Hungarian soldier, best known as the successful defender of Eger against the Ottomans in 1552. Dobó was a member o ...
of
Eger Eger ( , ; ; also known by other alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights. Eger is best known for its castle, thermal baths, baroque build ...
. This became the cause of many of his subsequent misfortunes. His wife's greedy relatives nearly ruined him by legal processes, and when in 1586 he turned
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
to escape their persecutions they slandered him, saying that he and his son had embraced Islam. His desertion of his wife and legal troubles were followed by some years of uncertainty, but in 1589 he was invited to Poland to serve there in the impending war with Turkey. This did not take place and after a spell in the
Jesuit College The Jesuits (Society of Jesus) in the Catholic Church have founded and managed a number of educational institutions, including the notable secondary schools, colleges and universities listed here. Some of these universities are in the United Stat ...
of
Braunsberg Braniewo () (german: Braunsberg in Ostpreußen, la, Brunsberga, Old Prussian: ''Brus'', lt, Prūsa), is a town in northern Poland, in Warmia, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with a population of 16,907 as of June 2021. It is the capita ...
, Balassi, somewhat disappointed, returned to Hungary in 1591. In the 15 years war he joined the Army, and died at the siege of
Esztergom Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river Danu ...
- Víziváros the same year as the result of a severe leg wound caused by a cannonball. He is buried in
Hybe Hybe ( Hungarian: ''Hibbe'') is a village and municipality in the Liptovský Mikuláš District in the Žilina Region of northern Slovakia. Names and etymology The name is of Slavic ( Slovak) origin with uncertain etymology. Possibly, it derive ...
in today's
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
. Balassi's poems fall into four divisions: hymns, patriotic and martial songs, original love poems, and adaptations from the
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
and
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 ...
. They are all most original, exceedingly objective and so excellent in point of style that it is difficult even to imagine him a contemporary of
Sebestyén Tinódi Lantos Sebestyén Tinódi Lantos (c. 1510 in Tinód – 30 January 1556 in Sárvár) was a 16th-century Hungarian lyricist, epic poet, political historian, and minstrel. Biography Little is known about Tinódi's childhood. He attended various scho ...
and Péter Ilosvay. But his erotics are his best productions. They circulated in manuscript for generations and were never printed until 1874, when Farkas Deák discovered a perfect copy of them in the Radványi library. For beauty, feeling and transporting passion. there is nothing like them in Magyar literature until we come to the age of
Mihály Csokonai Vitéz Mihály () is a Hungarian masculine given name, It is a cognate of the English Michael and may refer to: * Mihály András (1917–1993), Hungarian cellist, composer, and academic teacher * Mihály Apafi (1632–1690), Hungarian Prince of Transyl ...
and
Sándor Petőfi Sándor Petőfi ( []; né Petrovics; sk, Alexander Petrovič; sr, Александар Петровић; 1 January 1823 – most likely 31 July 1849) was a Hungarian poet of Serbian origin and liberal revolutionary. He is considered Hungary's ...
. Balassi was also the inventor of the
strophe A strophe () is a poetic term originally referring to the first part of the ode in Ancient Greek tragedy, followed by the antistrophe and epode. The term has been extended to also mean a structural division of a poem containing stanzas of varying ...
which goes by his name. It consists of nine lines a a b c c b d d b, or three rhyming pairs alternating with the rhyming third, sixth and ninth lines.


Family tree

The family tree of the Balassi family:


Literary award

The
Balint Balassi Memorial Sword Award The Balint Balassi Memorial Sword Award is a European award for literature presented in Budapest since 1997. The native form of this name is Balassi Bálint-emlékkard ( Balassi Bálint-emlékkard). This award commemorates the 16th century Hung ...
is an annual Hungarian literary award founded by
Pal Molnar Pal Molnar (born October 1952) is a Hungarian journalist and founder of art awards. The native form of his name is Molnár Pál ( Molnár Pál). Biography Graduated from the grammar, literature and history faculty of the Teacher Training College ...
in 1997, and presented to an outstanding Hungarian poet, and to a foreign poet for excellence in translation of Hungarian literature, including the works of Balassi.


See also

*
Balassi Institute The Balassi Institute ( hu, Balassi Intézet) is a worldwide non-profit cultural organization funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (''Külügyminisztérium'') of Hungary. The institute spreads and promotes Hungarian language and culture abro ...
*
Balint Balassi Memorial Sword Award The Balint Balassi Memorial Sword Award is a European award for literature presented in Budapest since 1997. The native form of this name is Balassi Bálint-emlékkard ( Balassi Bálint-emlékkard). This award commemorates the 16th century Hung ...
*
Pal Molnar Pal Molnar (born October 1952) is a Hungarian journalist and founder of art awards. The native form of his name is Molnár Pál ( Molnár Pál). Biography Graduated from the grammar, literature and history faculty of the Teacher Training College ...
, founder of the Balint Balassi Memorial Sword Award


References


External links

* Homepage of Balassi Swor
www.balassi.eu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balassi, Balint Hungarian male poets Hungarian erotica writers Hungarian nobility 1554 births 1594 deaths People from Zvolen 16th-century Hungarian poets