István Gyöngyösi (; 1620,
Rozsnyóbánya – 24 July 1704),
Hungarian poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
, was born into a poor but noble family.
His early abilities attracted the notice of Count
Ferenc Wesselényi, who in 1640 appointed him to a post of confidence in
Fülek castle. Here he remained until 1653, when he married and became an assessor of the judicial board. In 1681 he was elected as a representative of his county at the diet held at
Sopron
Sopron (; , ) is a city in Hungary on the Austrian border, near Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő.
History
Ancient times-13th century
In the Iron Age a hilltop settlement with a burial ground existed in the neighbourhood of Sopron-Várhely.
When ...
(Ödenburg). From 1686 to 1693, and again from 1700 to his death in 1704, he was deputy lord-lieutenant of the county of
Gömör.
He was the follower and competitor of the poet and warrior
Miklós Zrínyi, the author of the
Szigeti veszedelem, the greatest epic poem of that age. In contrast with
Zrínyi's rough technique and concise performing, Gyöngyösi always wrote in mild and elaborated style with perfect rhymes, but had little sense for composition. During the 18th century, Gyöngyösi was the most popular author in Hungary; he was called the "Hungarian Ovid".
Of his literary works the most famous is the epic poem ''Murányi Venus'' (
Kassa, 1664), in honour of his benefactor's wife Mária Szécsi, the heroine of Murany. Among his later productions the best known are ''Rózsa-Koszorú'', or ''Rose-Wreath'' (1690), ''Porábúl meg-éledett Phoenix'' or ''Kemeny-Linos'' (1693), ''Csalárd Cupido'' (1695 - transcript from
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...
's ''Metamorphoses''), ''Palinodia'' (1695) and ''Chariklia'' (1700 - verse transcript of
Heliodorus' ''
Aethiopica'').
The earliest edition of his collected poetical works is by Dugonics (
Pozsony and
Pest, 1796); the first modern selection is that of Toldy, entitled ''Gyöngyösi István válogatott poétai munkái'' (''Select poetical works of Stephen Gyongyosi'', 2 vols, 1864–1865); the best and complete edition is that of Ferencz Badics, entitled ''Gyöngyösi István összes költeményei'' (''Complete poetical works of Stephen Gyöngyösi'', 4 vols, 1914–1937). New revised edition in separate volumes: ''Márssal társalkodó Murányi Venus'' (1998), ''Porábúl meg-éledett Phoenix'' (1999), ''Thököly Imre és Zrínyi Ilona házassága - Palinodia'' (2000), ''Rózsakoszorú'' (2002), ''Csalárd Cupido - Proserpina elragadtatása - Dédalus temploma - Heroida fordítások'' (2003), ''Chariclia'' (2005).
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gyongyosi, Istvan
1620 births
1704 deaths
People from Rožňava
Hungarian male poets
17th-century Hungarian poets
17th-century male writers
Baroque writers