Ludas Matyi

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Matti, the Goose Boy , or Lúdas Matyi , is a Hungarian poem written by Mihály Fazekas (1766–1828) in 1804 and first published in 1817. It is based on folk tales of unknown origin.

history

prolog

In the beginning, Matyi is a useless boy who ends up tending geese. He then tries to sell 16 geese at the market, but the local nobleman Dániel Döbröghy is annoyed that Matyi tells him the price. The Lord confiscates the geese and orders that Matyi be punished with 25 lashes. When Matyi then declares that he will pay it back three times, he gets another 30. Matyi is now silent and walks away.

First repayment

After a few years in other areas, Matyi comes back to the village and sees that Döbröghy is building a castle for himself. Matyi dresses like a carpenter. He introduces himself as a foreign master architect and gets Döbröghy to have new logs cut in the forest. To do this, he goes into the forest with him and woodcutters, until he is alone with Döbröghy. There he pays him back the blows and identifies himself as Ludas Matyi.

Second repayment

Dániel Döbröghy is looking for doctors all over the area to heal his wounds. Matyi comes disguised as a military doctor and sends Döbröghy's people to collect herbs. So he can pay him back the second portion. Then he releases the geese in the village.

Third repayment

In winter at the fair, Matyi comes as a horse dealer. Again by a trick, Matyi manages to send the other people away and to be alone with Döbröghy. He makes everyone believe that Matyi is on his way out of the village. So Döbröghy now gets his third serving and Matyi moves to another area, gets married and leads a normal life.

meaning

The story is an ironic hint to the country nobles not to punish ordinary people for no reason. It also shows the shrewdness of the common people. Lúdas Matyi was the first folk hero in Hungarian literature to triumph over his master. History also shows the relationships between the nobility and the people in the agrarian society in Hungary at the end of the 18th century. In the 20th century, the communist regime appropriated this story (in films and a satirical magazine) for its ideology.

Trivia

  • Between 1945 and 1992 in the Kádár era , the official Hungarian satirical magazine was called Ludas Matyi
Ludas Matyi magazine 1945

Adaptations

  • Lúdas Matyi. Hungary 1949, director: Kálmán Nádasdy, László Ranódy , 101 min (first full-length Hungarian color film),
  • Matyi, the goose boy. Hungary 1976, director: Attila Dargay , 1 h 10 min, FSK 6 (animation, original title: Lúdas Matyi ).