A Debreczeni Magyar Kalendáriom verses rejtvényei

Abstract

This paper discusses the riddles that appeared in print in the almanac founded and edited by Mihály Fazekas, entitled Debreczeni Magyar Kalendáriom. A total of 48 poetic riddles were published in the appendix of the almanac between 1819 and 1828, without indicating the author. The aim of this paper is to review the previous findings and opinions on the authorship of the texts, as well as to address a few broader questions regarding the 18–19th century riddle tradition in Hungary. It touches upon the antecedents of publishing this text type in Hungarian almanacs and the meaning of the term rejtett szó (logogriph). The last section explores text parallels of the riddles published by Mihály Fazekas that can be found among literary, popular and folk riddles.