Fun Facts Friday: Mihály Vörösmarty

Mihály Vörösmarty (1 December, 1800 -19 November, 1855) was one of the most important poets in Hungary.

Books by Mihály Vörösmarty*

Fun Facts about Mihály Vörösmarty:

1. Mihály Vörösmarty was born in a village called Puszta-Nyék (Kápolnásnyék) to a poor noble family. In English his name would be Michael Vorosmarthy.
2. After his father passed away, 15-year-old Mihály Vörösmarty supported his schooling and law studies by tutoring.
3. He was a patriot who helped separated Hungarian literature from German influence.
4. Mr. Vörösmarty’s epic poem The Flight of Zalán (Zalán futása) published in 1825 described Árpád’s conquest of Hungary. Árpád was the had of the Magyar tribes in the 9^th and 10^th centuries, and he is known as the “founder” of Hungary.
5. The Flight of Zalán was so popular it was partially responsible for a patriotic increase in the country.
6. He also wrote plays and translated works such as Shakespeare and Thousand and One Nights into Hungarian.
7. Mr. Vörösmarty is the first Hungarian person who able to make a living from literature – even though it was a modest one.
8. In 1843 he married for the first time to Laura Csajághy who inspired him to write beautiful poems.
9. After the War of Independence (1848) Parliament member Mihály Vörösmarty who supported the radical political leader Lajos Kossuth had to go into hiding and exile with his three children. When he returned to Hungary he was already in poor health.
10. Mihály Vörösmarty created a new language for Hungarian poetry and is still considered one of the Magyars’ greatest poets.

Books by Mihály Vörösmarty*

Zohar — Man of la Book
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account, the money is usually spent on books

Sources:

Mihály Vörösmarty Hungarian writer | Britannica

Mihály Vörösmarty | Wikipedia

Mihály Vörösmarty | MEK (Magyar Elektronikus Könyvtár)

Vörösmarty, Mihály | encyclopedia.com