Mihály Fazekas (6 January 1766 – 23 February 1828) was a Hungarian writer from

Debrecen Debrecen ( , is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and ...

. He was an army private for seven years before being commissioned as a Hussar officer. As a hobby, Fazekas studied the natural sciences (botany) and wrote poetry. His poetry expressed his disgust with warfare and violence, and brought to light the social injustices of his society. Fazekas' epic poem '' Lúdas Matyi'' (Mattie the Goose-boy), written in 1804, was based on a folk-tale of unexact origins. In the story, Matyi, the main character, tries to sell his

geese A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera '' Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the she ...

at the market, but runs into trouble with the servants of the local lord. The plot revolves around Matyi's scheme to get back at the lord. The story is popular because Matyi is the first commonfolk hero in Hungarian literature who is victorious over his social superior. Fazekas' poem was made into a film in 1949. It was directed by

Kálmán Nádasdy Kálmán Nádasdy (25 November 1904 – 17 April 1980) was a Hungarian film director. In 1959, he was a member of the jury at the 1st Moscow International Film Festival The 1st Moscow International Film Festival was held from 3 to 17 August ...

and starred the actors

Imre Soós Imre Soós (12 February 1930 – 20 June 1957) was a Hungarian actor, mostly known for his roles in communist propaganda films during the 1950s. He played the leading role in the 1956 film '' Körhinta''. Career Early years Imre Soós was b ...

and

Éva Ruttkai Éva Ruttkai (31 December 1927 – 27 September 1986) was a Hungarian actress, well known from her work on stage, cinema, and television productions. She was the wife of Miklós Gábor, and later Zoltán Latinovits. Life Éva Ruttkai (born Év ...

. A memorial plaque to Fazekas still exists on the wall of the house at No. 58 Piac Street in Debrecen, where the author once lived. Fazekas died on 23 February 1828 in Debrecen.

External links

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A History of Hungarian Literature
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fazekas, Mihaly 1766 births 1828 deaths Hungarian writers