János Erdélyi

Who was János Erdélyi?

János Erdélyi was a Hungarian poet, critic, author, philosopher and ethnographist.

He was born in 1814 at Nagykapos, in the county of Ung, and educated at the Protestant college of Sárospatak. In 1833 he removed to Pest, where he was, in 1839, elected member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He began his literary career with poems written in folk style.

His literary fame was made by his collection of Hungarian national poems and folk-tales, Magyar népköltési gyűjtemény, népdalok és mondák. This work, published by the Kisfaludy Society, was supplemented his ilnon Hiinaarian national ooetrv afterwards partially translated into German by Stier. Erdélyi also compiled for the Kisfaludy Society an extensive collection of Hungarian proverbs Magyar közmondások könyve,and was for some time editor of the Szépirodalmi Szemle. In 1848 he was appointed director of the national theatre at Pest; but after 1849 he resided at his native town. He died on 23 January 1868. A collection of folklore was published the year after his death, entitled A nép költészete: népdalok, népmesék és közmondások. This work contains 300 national songs, 19 folk-tales and 7362 Hungarian proverbs.