Kalla Zsuzsa: Beszélő tárgyak. A Petőfi család relikviái (Budapest, 2006)
Zsuzsa Kalla: The history of the Petőfi relics
Entrance-hall of the Petőfi House us bow our heads, let an inner voice whisper to our hearts that his way was the way of truth, that his faith, his virtue, his bravery, his illusions were not those of our everyday lives, and the guiding light that lit his path came from heaven above and guided him to different horizons at the same time.’ (Ferenczi 1909, 61-62) Just as, in the lives of saints, miracles occur as extraordinary phenomena, so the mystery of writing elevates the poet from ordinary life to a transcendent world. The moment of a work’s creation - the intersection of the wordly and the celestial - is the moment when many relics become objectified. One of the most popular relics, albeit solely through recollections, is the sword upon which Petőfi wrote the poem A magyar nemes [The Hungarian Squire]. The Sass family recall Petőfi having an argument with their guest Lajos Kiss, the district administrator of Simontornya, about whether the single most effective method for educating the people was the whipping post. The anecdote goes on to say that after the dispute the poet, returning to his room, noticed a Maria Theresa-period sword hanging on a coat rack, and set about composing the verse. WHY PETŐFI? In Hungary, the most powerful examples of secular cults and their associated relic collecting are connected with the 1848 War of Independence, primarily with Petőfi himself, and appeared with the propagation of the national idea. Almost immediately after his death, Petőfi became a legend and the symbol of the tragiheroic fate of a nation. In him Hungary mourned every failed revolution. From humble beginnings he achieved worldwide fame and kept national pride alive. ‘Behold, here is the modest furniture in Kiskőrös, the holy birthplace, Bethlehem, among which the genius appears as a poverty-stricken child soon to be robed in the golden mantle of divine endowment!’ (Császár- Havas [1936], 42) By the turn of the century the Petőfi cult had become official and was an integral part of culture and education. Since then its intensity has fluctuated, but it is nevertheless still very much alive today. It is a unique phenomenon in that neither before nor since has there been a movement like it which enjoyed the support of society. Perhaps the national celebrations for Jó- kai’s 50th literary anniversary or the events organised for the return of the remains of Lajos Kossuth, the leader of the revolution against Austria, were of a similar scale and as far-reaching, but both these cults faded because neither was able to establish itself in the everyday life of the nation. Although the power, clarity and simplicity of Petőfi’s poetic lyricism did in all probability play a part in his becoming a cult figure, it was his personality and life, or rather the image of the man gleaned from works about his life and contemporary recollections, which were significantly more important. This image was that of a puritan, revolutionary, prophetic poet with a sense of vocation, and at the same time also one of a loving boy, husband and brave soldier. In emphasising these characteristics the real Petőfi became distorted, the depth of his personality and lyricism was lost behind the statue, his life became formalised with the expansion of the cult, and facts, details and 190
