Hungarian history, and may be assigned to the middle of the 12th century, the Carmen Mzserabzle of Rogerius; the Liber Cromcorum I of Simon Kezai, belonging to the end of the 13th century, the so-called “ Chromcon Budense, ” Cromca Hungarorum, dfmfudes printed at Buda in 1473 (Eichhorn, Gesohzchte der Lztteratur, 11 319); and the Chromcon Rerum Hungarzcarum of John Thuroczi 1 An extraordinary stimulus was given to literary enterprise by King Matthias Corvinus, who attracted both foreign and natiye scholars to his court Foremost amongst the Italians was Antonio Bonfini, whose work, Rerum Hungarwarum Decades IV, comprising Hungarian history' from the earliest times to the death of King Matthias, was published with a continuation by Sambucus (Basel, 1568) 2 Marzio Galeotti, the kmg's chief librarian, wrote an historical account of his reign. The most distinguished of the native scholars was John Cesmge, alzas Janus Pannomus, who composed Latin epigrams, panegyrics and epic poems. The best edition of his works was published by Count S. Teleki at Utrecht in 1784.
As there are no traces of literary productions in the native or Magyar dialect before the 12th century, the early condition of the language is concealed from the philologist It is m:§ ';'; e however, known that the Hungarians liad their own Faruest ' martial songs, and that their princes kept lyre and lute gms players who sang festal odes m praise of the national heroes In the 11th century Christian teaehers introduced the use of the Roman letters, but the employment of the Latin language was not formally decreed until 1114 (see Bowrmg, Poetry of the Magyara, Introd xix). It appears, moreover, that A'7”'"'"' up to that date ubl1c business was transacted in fggfolid' Hungarian, for the dgecrees of King Coloman the Learned Mah (1095-I 1 14) were translated from that language mto Latin. Among the literary relics of the 12th century are the “Latiatuc” or Halotlz Beszéd funeral discourse and prayer in Hungarian, to which Dobrentei in his Régz Magyar Nyelzfemlékek assigns as a probable date the year 1171 (others, however, 1182 or 1183). From the Mar it-Le enda or “Le end of St g g, g Margaret, " composed in the early part o the 14th century, ” it IS evident that from timc to time the natiy e language continue to be employed as a means of religious edification. Under the kings of the house of An]ou, the Magyar became the language of the court A"/""' That it was used also in official documents and ordinances S'gjs';'""d is shown by copies of formularies of oaths, the import of gg: ' which proves beyond a doubt that the originals belonged H31 to the re1gns, of Louis I and Sigismond; by a statute of the town of Sajo-St-Peter (1403) relating to the wine trade; by the testament of Kazzai-Karacson (1413); and by other relics of this period published by Dobrentei in vol ii. of the R M. Nyelvemlé/eek To the early part of the 15th century may be assigned also the legends of “ St Francis ” and of “ St Ursula, ” and possibly the original of the Enek Pannoma megvélelérol, an historical “ Song about the Conquest of Pannonia." But not until the dawn of the Reformation did Magy ar begin in any sense to replace Latin for literary purposes. The period placed by Hungarian authors between 1437 and 1530 marks the first development of Magyar literature.
About the year 1437 two Husslte monks named Tamas and Bahnt (1 Th d V Gospels, the Jészay or Mumch Codex (finished at Tatros e omas an a entme) adapted from older sources a large portlon of the Bible for the use of the Hungarian J”-9'°"'5' refugees in Moldavia. To these monks the first extant M“""i" Magyar version of part of the Scriptures (the Vtenna or Zrfm' Révaz Coderf) is directly assigned by Dobrentei, but the u;:m"' exact date either of this copy or of the original translapermd tion cannot be ascertained With approximate certainty (MSL may be ascribed also to Tamas and Balint the original of 1530) the still extant transcript, by George Nemeti, of the Four in Moldavia in 1466) Amongst other important codices are the Jordanszky Codex (1516~1519), an incomplete copy of the translation of the Bible made by Ladislaus Batori, who died about 1456; and the Dobrenlez or Gyulafehérvzir Codex (1508), containing a version of the Psaltcr, Song of Solomon, and the liturgical epistles and gospels, copied by Bartholomew Halabori from an earlier translation (Korny ei, .I Magyar nemzetz zrodalomlorlénet uizlata, 1861, p. 30). Uther relics belonging to this period are the oath which John Hunyady tool. when elected governor of Hungary (1446); a few verses sung by the children of Pest at the coronation of his son Matthias (1458),
1 example of this work, printed on yellum in Gothic letter (Augsburg, 1488), and formerly belonging to the library of Matthias Coryinus, king of Hungary, may be seen in the British Museum. Of the three first mentioned chronicles Hungarian translations by Charles Szabo appeared at Budapest in 1860, 1861 and 1862.
2 Both this and the later editions of Frankfort (1581), Cologne (1690) and Pressburg (1744) are represented in the British Museum
3 The only copy existing at the present time appears to have been transcribed at the beéinnmg of the 16th century Both this and the Ilugoltz Beszéd (Pray odex) are preser ed in the National Museum at Bu .1 est
4 "ffiis codex contains Ruth, the lesser prophets, and part of the Ap0cr pha .Accordlng to Toldy, it is copied from an earlier one of the 14th century.
the Szralomének Both Janos veszedelmén (Elegy upon John Both), written by a certain “ Gregori, " as the 1n1t1al letters of the verses show, and during the reign of the above-mentioned monarch; and the Emlékzlal Mritytis /emily halzilrira (Memorial Song on the Death of King Matthias, 1490). To these may be added the rhapsody5 on the taking of “ Szabacs ” (1476); the Katalm-Legenda, a metrical “Legend of St Catherine of Alexandria, " extending to over 4000 lmes: and the Feddoének (Upbraidmg Song), by Francis Apathi.
In the next literary period (1530-1696) several translations of the Scriptures are recorded. Among these there are-versions of the Epistles of St Paul, by Bcnedict Komjati (Cracow, 1533); of the Four Gospels, by Gabriel (Mizsér) Pesti Rd Vienna, 1536); of the New Testament, by John Erdosi tjggtferin (Ufszigct, 1541; 2nd ed, Vienna, 15746), an by Thomas 2506; Fe egyhazi (1586), and the translations of the Bible, b Caspar Heltai (Klausenburg, 1551-1565), and by Caspar Igaroli (Vizsoly, near Goncz, 1589-1590) The last, considered the best, was corrected and re-edited by Albert Molnar at Hanau in 1608 7 Heltai published also (1571) a translation, improved from that by Blasius Veres (1565), of the Trzpartztum of Verboczy, and Chromka (1575) adapted from the Decades of Bonfini. Karadi in 1569 brought to light the earliest national drama, Balassz Illenyhért Among the native poets, mostly mere rhyming chroniclers of the 16th century, were Csanadi, Tinodi, Nagy-Baczai, Bogati, Ilosvay, Istvanfi, Gorgei, Temesvari and Valkai. Of these the best and most prolific writer was T1n6di. Szél-ely wrote in prose, with verse introduction, a “ Chronicle of the World ” under the title of Cromca ez wlzignac yeles dolgazrél (Cracow, 1559). Csaktornya and Kakony imitated the ancient classical poets, and Erdosi introduced the hexameter. Andrew Farkas and the homihst Peter Melius (juhasz) attempted didactic verse; and Batlzi busied himself with sacred son and Biblical history. Durmg the latter part of the 16th century andgthe bcgmnmg of the I7th two poets of a higher order appeared in Valentine Balassa, the earliest Magyar lyrical writer, and his contemporary John Rimay, whose poems are of a contemplative and p easing character.
The melancholy state of the country consequent upon the persecutions of Rudolph I., Ferdinand II. and Leopold I, as also the continual encroachment of Germamzi influences un g oer the Habsburgs, were unfavourable to the development of 'nf the national literature during the next literar period, °e"t""~" datln from the Peace of Vienna (1606) to that ofISzatmar perind (171 5. A few names were, however, distinguished in aff theology, philology and poetr In 1626 a Hungarian > version of the Vulgate was published at Vienna by the Jesuit George Kald1,8 and another complete translation of the Scriptures, the so-called Komtiromz Bzblta (Komorn Bible) was made m 1685 by the Protestant George Csipkés, though it was not published till 1717 at Leiden, twenty-nine years after his deathg On behalf of the Catholics the Jesuit Pcter Pazman, eventually primate, Nicholas Eszterhazy, Sambar, Balasfi and others were the authors of various works of a polemical nature. Especially famous was the Hodaegus, kalauz of Pazman, which first appeared at Pozsony (Pressburg) m 1613. Among the Protestants who exerted themselves in theological and controversial writings were Németi, Alvinczy, Alexander Felvmczy, Martonfalyi and Melotai, who was attached to the court of Bethlen Gabor. Telkibanyai wrote on “ English Puritanism" (1654) Tl1e Calvinist Albert Molnar, already mentioned, was more remarkable for his philological than for h1s theological labours Parispapai compiled an Hungarian-Latin Dictionary, Dzctwnarzum magyar és dedk nyelven (Locse, 1708), and Apaczai-Csere, a Magyar Encyclopaedza (Utrecht, 1653). John Szalardi, Paul Llsznyai, Gregory Petho, John Kemeny and Benjamin Szilagyi, which last, however, wrote in Latin, were the authors of various historical works. In polite literature the herolc poem Zrznyzzisz (1651), descriptive of the fall of Sziget, by Nicholas Zrinyi, grandson of the defender of that fortress, marks a new era in Hungarian poetry Of a far inferior character was the monotonous Mohzicsz veszedeiem (Disaster of Mohacs), in 13 cantos, produced two years afterwards at Vienna by Baron Liszti. The lyric and epic poems of Stephen Gyongyosi, who sang the deeds of Maria Széchy, the heroine of Murany, Murzinyt Venus (Kassa, 1664), are samples rather of a general improvement in the style than of the purity of the language. As a didactic and eleglac poet Stephen Kohari is much esteemed. More fluent but not less gloomy are the sacred lyrics of N yéki-Veres first published in 1636 under the Latin title of Tmtmnabulum Trzpudzanlzum. The songs and proverbs of Peter Beniczky, who lived in the early part of the 17th century, are not without merit, and have been several times reprinted From the appearance of the first extant printed Magyar
5 First made known by Coloman Thaly (1871) from a discovery by MM E Nagy and D. Veghelyi in the archives of the Csxcsery family, in the county of Ung
6 One of the only seven perfect copies extant of the Vienna (1574) edition is in the British Museum library
7 A copy, with the autograph of the ed1tor, ls in the British Museum
8 A copy IS in the Brttish Museum library .
9 l'hcre are to copxes of this edition 1n the British Museum
l1 rary.