Ferenc Hunyadi, an almost completely forgotten Transylvanian humanist

Abstract

Although the name of Ferenc Hunyadi is known in Hungarian literary history mainly for his Hungarian-language historical song about the peril of Troy, there also exist more than five thousand lines of Latin poetry by him which have not been collected or published since the 16th century. Another eleven of his poems are known from a manuscript written by a Unitarian pastor in the early 17th century. A further, one-distich poem was recorded by István Szamosközy. The date of composition of his poems in manuscript can be placed roughly between the end of 1586 and 1599. In addition to these, there is also a manuscript kept in Oxford in which Hunyadi gives prescriptions for febrile diseases. As a starting point for further research, this paper summarises what is currently known about Hunyadi and his works.