Agria 24. (Az Egri Múzeum Évkönyve - Annales Musei Agriensis, 1988)

Szemán Magdolna: „Székesfejérvár juta pogánságra” (Erkölcsi példázat és história Wathay Ferenc költészetében.)

Magdolna Szemán „Székesfejérvár Became on Pogan People's Hands" (Moral apologue and story in Wathay's poetry) The literary history research has already dealt several times with the poetry of Wathay Ferenc, who is one of the representatives of the late Hungarian Renaissance period. Wathay's historical poems haven't been examined detailed, though these songs are considerable because of world ideas and moral apologues hidden beyond the lines. The writer of this essay analyses three of Wathay's historical poems: the Tenth, the Thirteenth and the Twenty-fourth ones. In the opening parts of the Tenth Song Wathay tries to give a moral lesson with the help of Jewish - Hungarian comparison much liked., among Protestants. Real pain is expressed by staggering strophes what the poet thinks to be fate of Hungarians. This song is illustrated by a colour-drawing which can be found in the first book. (I. 45a.) A little baby can be seen in this picture who was forgotten in a cradle. A raven is sitting there on the cradle. Behind the bird. Tartars are just appearing with shooting arrows on their horses. A woman is hanging up on a tree. A specifically Hungarian view of history is expressed in the Twenty-fourth song: Hungarian national vital questions are examined by this poem. Describing of heroic past and empty present has been going on till the middle of the 19

th century and used up by so famous poets as Zrínyi Miklós, Berzsenyi Dániel, Kisfaludy Károly and Kölcsey Ferenc too. Encouragement to the tolerable suffering and moral improvement are hidden in his epic poetry. These values of his poetry are worth of getting much interest.