
The Balint Balassi Memorial Sword Award is a European award for literature presented in
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
since 1997. The native form of this name is Balassi Bálint-emlékkard (
Balassi Bálint-emlékkard). This award commemorates the 16th century
Hungarian poet
Bálint Balassi
Baron Bálint Balassi de Kékkő et Gyarmat (, ; 20 October 1554 – 30 May 1594) was a Hungarian Renaissance lyric poet. He wrote mostly in Hungarian,István Nemeskürty, Tibor KlaniczayA history of Hungarian literature Corvina, 1982, p. 64 ...
. The memorial sword is presented annually to an outstanding Hungarian poet, and to a foreign poet for excellence in translation of Hungarian literature, including the works of Balassi. The sword itself is a replica of those sabres that the 16th century Hungarian cavalry wore during the sieges of fortresses. They are the work of a contemporary swordsmith. This award is presented each year on Bálint's (Valentine's) Day, February 14, in the city of Buda. The celebration venue is traditionally the
Hotel Gellért.
The advisory board
The founder of the new award is
Pal Molnar
Pal Molnar (born October 1952) is a Hungarian journalist and founder of art awards. The native form of his name is Molnár Pál (Molnár Pál
Molnár (or Molnar) is a Hungarian language, Hungarian surname meaning "miller". The name may be a loa ...
journalist, his fellows are ''Gabriella Lőcsei'' journalist, ''József Zelnik'' writer and ''András Rubovszky'' hotelier. In addition, all past award winners automatically become board members, so the literary profession makes up the majority.
Global focus
In the beginning only Hungarian poets received the Balassi sword, but since 2002, each year, a foreign literary translator has also been recognized. Since then the board has viewed Balassi's sword as a literary prize of European scope. But since then it has been received by Asian and American poets as well, making it an award of global scope.
Balassi Mass
Since 2008, the Balint Balassi Memorial Swords have been blessed during a Balassi Mass held a few days before the award ceremony. On January 25, 2013, in the presence of some three hundred Hungarians, Bishop Laszlo Kiss-Rigo blessed the two swords during a Mass celebrated in
Saint Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna
St. Stephen's Cathedral ( ) is a Roman Catholic church in Vienna, Austria, and the mother church of the Archdiocese of Vienna. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Schönborn.
The current Romanesque and Gothic form of the ca ...
.
The prize itself
In addition to the sharp, dangerous weapon – which is made by ''József Fazekas'' armourer – the winners receive a diploma, a limited-edition porcelain statue from the famous ''Herend'' manufacture and a bottle of wine. The particular wine is selected at a national tasting competition in the preceding year, and as a result this champion wine is entitled to don the “Balassi's sword” label.
Past recipients
* 1997
Bálint Tóth
* 1998
Kornél Döbrentei and
Albert Wass
Count Albert Wass de Szentegyed et Czege (; January 8, 1908 – February 17, 1998) was a Hungarian nobleman, forest engineer, novelist, poet, member of the Wass de Czege family.
Wass was born in Válaszút, Austria-Hungary (now Răscruci, Cl ...
* 1999
Gáspár Nagy
Gáspár Nagy (May 4, 1949, Bérbaltavár – January 3, 2007, Budapest) was a Hungary, Hungarian poet and writer.
Life
He graduated from the Benedictine Grammar School of Pannonhalma where he studied Library Science in Szombathely, then Aesthet ...
* 2000
Ferenc Buda and
Attila Gérecz (posthumously)
* 2001
József Utassy
* 2002
Árpád Farkas and, for translation, Ernesto Rodrigues (
Lisbon
Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
, )
* 2003
Benedek Kiss and, for translation, Teresa Worowska (
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
, )
* 2004
László Vári Fábián and, for translation, Armando Nuzzo (
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, )
* 2005
István Ferenczes and, for translation, Tuomo Lahdelma (
Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä () is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Central Finland. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Jyväskylä is approximately , while the Jyväskylä sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately ...
, )
* 2006
Sándor Csoóri
Sándor Csoóri (3 February 1930 – 12 September 2016) was a Hungarian poet, essayist, writer, and politician.
Biography
In 1950, he graduated from the Reformed College in the town of Pápa (:hu:Pápai Református Kollégium) and then studied ...
and, for translation, Lucie Szymanowska (
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
, )
* 2007
János Csokits and, for translation, Dursun Ayan (
Ankara
Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...
, )
* 2008
Simon Serfőző and, for translation,
Yuri Gusev (
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
, )
* 2009 István Tari and, for translation,
Ganbold Daváhügijn (
Ulaanbaatar
Ulaanbaatar is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Mongolia, most populous city of Mongolia. It has a population of 1.6 million, and it is the coldest capital city in the world by average yearly temperature. The municipa ...
, )
* 2010
István Ágh and, for translation, John Ridland
(
Santa Barbara, )
* 2011
Menyhért Tamás and, for translation, Ivan Canev (
Sofia
Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
, )
* 2012
József Tornai and, for translation, Gabriel Zanmaku Olembe (
Kinshasa
Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...
, )
* 2013
Márton Kalász and, for translation, Jean-Luc Moreau (
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, )
* 2014
Ferenc Kulcsár and, for translation, Sander Liivak (
Rakvere
Rakvere is the administrative center, or county seat, of Lääne-Viru County in northern Estonia, about 100 km southeast of Tallinn and 20 km south of the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea.
Rakvere boasts a distinctive architectural feature: th ...
, )
* 2015 Anna Kiss and, for translation, Muzaffar Dzasokhov (
Vladikavkaz
Vladikavkaz, formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () or Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of North Ossetia–Alania, Russia. It is located in the southeast of the republic at the foothills of the Caucasus, situated on the Terek (river), Terek River. ...
, )
* 2016
Sándor Agócs and, for translation, Harada Kiyomi (
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
, )
* 2017
János Szikra and, for translation, Nelson Ascher (
São Paulo
São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
, )
* 2018
László Lövétei Lázár and, for translation, Marin Georgiev (Sofia, )
* 2019
Gábor Nagy and, for translation,
Paskal Gilevski (
Skopje
Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...
, )
* 2020
Noémi László and, for translation,
Vahram Martirosyan (
Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...
, )
* 2021
László Kürti and, for translation,
Ross Gillett (
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, )
* 2022
Lajos Bence and, for translation,
Elena Lavinia Dumitru (
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, )
* 2023
Zalán Tibor and, for translation,
Peter V. Czipott (
San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, )
* 2024
Fekete Vince and, for translation,
Abdallah Al Naggar (
Cairo
Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
, )
* 2025
Erzsebet Toth and, for translation,
Endre Gyorgy Farkas (
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
, )
References
Sources
*
* — Past recipients
Petőfi— Irodalmi Múzeum
— Lotuskitap.Com
* — Litera.Hu
* — felvidek.ma
* — Report on felvidek.
* — Balassi Mass in Szeged, Hungary, 2012.
* — Balassi Mass in Vienna, Austria, 2013
* — Balassi Mass in Gyula, Hungary, 2014.
* — Balassi Mass in Hodmezovasarhely, Hungary, 2015.
* — Celebration in Budapest, 2016.
* — Interview with Ridland about the sword
* — The founder's home page
— Ridland is awarded
— Culture.Hu
* — Babelmatrix
* — John the Valiant from S. Petőfi and J. Ridland
* — A translation from Yuri Gusev
* — A translation from Ernesto Rodrigues
* — News about Dursun Ayan's book
* — Kormend.hu
* — Balassi Sword Wine Muster
* — Celebration '2015
* — Article about 21. celebratio
— Los Angeles Best DealsLövétei kapta a legrangosabb magyar irodalmi díjatHuszonharmadszor adták át a Molnár Pál által alapított díjat*
ttps://gondola.hu/cikkek/118786-Csok_a_vegvari_szablyanak.html
External links
*
Award celebration, 2010. (video)Award celebration, 2009Award celebration, 2008Award celebration, 2007Award celebration, 2007AllThatIsHungarian minden-ami-magyar.hukulturport.humno.hu{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612041228/http://www.mno.hu/portal/616161 , date=2011-06-12
kulturport.humunder.wordpress.comdemokrata.humusorujsag.mno.hulitera.huOsset translatorOfficial page
Balint Balassi Memorial Sword Award winners,
Hungarian literary awards
Awards established in 1997