<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The folk epic songs of a nation are often associated with heroic actions of famous historical figures of the given nation, whose names are often known beyond Balkan folklore, thus becoming characters of epic folk songs and tales preserved in South Slavic or Romanian folklore. The paper analyses Hungarian, Serbian, and Romanian folklore sources about John Hunyadi’s ethnic origin, with the intention to present the biography of this historical figure from the aspect of Hungarian historiography and his folklore heritage through the eyes of some Hungarian and Serbian folklorists. One of these emblematic heroes was certainly John Hunyadi, whose feats (as well as the feats of other members of the Hunyadi family) are told throughout the cycles of Hungarian epic folk tales, as well as the folk tales of the peoples in the surrounding area. This paper is based on the analysis of the collection of Hungarian historical folk tales by Dénes Lengyel, which contains a dozen texts about John Hunyadi. These texts have several points of contact with Romanian and Serbian history and folklore. The second part of the paper presents the biography of John Hunyadi in the light of Hungarian historiography as well as the discussion of his origins.</p>
</abstract>

The folk epic songs of a nation are often associated with heroic actions of famous historical figures of the given nation, whose names are often known beyond Balkan folklore, thus becoming characters of epic folk songs and tales preserved in South Slavic or Romanian folklore. The paper analyses Hungarian, Serbian, and Romanian folklore sources about John Hunyadi’s ethnic origin, with the intention to present the biography of this historical figure from the aspect of Hungarian historiography and his folklore heritage through the eyes of some Hungarian and Serbian folklorists. One of these emblematic heroes was certainly John Hunyadi, whose feats (as well as the feats of other members of the Hunyadi family) are told throughout the cycles of Hungarian epic folk tales, as well as the folk tales of the peoples in the surrounding area. This paper is based on the analysis of the collection of Hungarian historical folk tales by Dénes Lengyel, which contains a dozen texts about John Hunyadi. These texts have several points of contact with Romanian and Serbian history and folklore. The second part of the paper presents the biography of John Hunyadi in the light of Hungarian historiography as well as the discussion of his origins.

John Hunyadi in Hungarian Folklore and Historiography

Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Philologica

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"John Hunyadi in Hungarian Folklore and Historiography"}

The folk epic songs of a nation are often associated with heroic actions of famous historical figures of the given nation, whose names are often known beyond...

John Hunyadi in Hungarian Folklore and Historiography

Published Online: Dec 30, 2021

Page range: 16 - 29

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ausp-2021-0025

Keywords
John Hunyadi, folklore, historiography, legends

© 2021 Ferenc Németh et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

John Hunyadi in Hungarian Folklore and Historiography

Published Online: Dec 30, 2021

Page range: 16 - 29

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ausp-2021-0025

KeywordsJohn Hunyadi, folklore, historiography, legends

© 2021 Ferenc Németh et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
John Hunyadi, folklore, historiography, legends