Balázs Berke () was a Slovene poet, writer, and

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

priest in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, in the Slovene March (today

Prekmurje Prekmurje (; Prekmurje Slovene: ''Prèkmürsko'' or ''Prèkmüre''; ) is a geographically, linguistically, culturally, and ethnically defined region of Slovenia, settled by Slovenes and a Hungarians in Slovenia, Hungarian minority, lying betwee ...

and

Vendvidék The Slovene March or Slovene krajina ( ) was the traditional denomination of the Slovene-speaking areas of the Vas and Zala County in the Kingdom of Hungary from the late 18th century until the Treaty of Trianon in 1919. It comprised approxima ...

). Born was in

Kančevci Kančevci (; , Prekmurje Slovene: ''Kančovci'') is a village in the Municipality of Moravske Toplice in the Prekmurje region of Slovenia. Church The parish church, built to the east of the main settlement, is dedicated to Saint Benedict. It was f ...

in 1754 to the petty noble family which belonged to the local gentry. He studied in

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

in Saxony, and in 1782 he returned to Hungary. He worked in

Puconci Puconci (; in older sources also ''Pucinci'', , Prekmurje Slovene: ''Püconci'') is a settlement in the Prekmurje region in northeastern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Puconci. Prior to 1920 it was known as Battyánd. Church ...

, Surd, and

Nemespátró Nemespátró is a village in Zala County, Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to th ...

, and then in 1803 in

Hodoš Hodoš (; or , ) is a village in Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Hodoš. It is part of the Prekmurje region. Name Hodoš was first mentioned in written sources in 1331 as ''de Hudus-feu'' (and as ''Hodos'' in 1452 and 1453). The ...

. He married noblewoman Rosalia Gyenesse (Jenesse) with which he had multiple children. The fact that count Maximilian Batthyany was the godfather of Berkes children, it may be presumed that he was very respected man in the community. He died in

around 1821. Berke wrote the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

book ''Ode Saphica honori ac venerationi Adami Farkas solemnia suis nominis celebrantis'' (a commemoration of the poet Ádám Farkas) and a hymnal in the

Prekmurje Slovene Prekmurje Slovene, also known as the Prekmurje dialect, Eastern Slovene, or Wendish (, , Prekmurje Slovene: ''prekmürski jezik, prekmürščina, prekmörščina, prekmörski jezik, panonska slovenščina''), is the language of Prekmurje in Easte ...

titled ''Szlovenszke Dühovne peszmi'' (Slovene Hymns, 1768–1769).

Sources

Szinnyei József: MAGYAR ÍRÓK ÉLETE ÉS MUNKÁI

* Vilko Novak: ''Martjanska pesmarica,'' ZALOŽBA ZRC.

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

1997.

Sources

See also