The Siege of Sziget
The Siege of Sziget or The Peril of Sziget (
The poem recounts in epic fashion the
Kenneth Clark's renowned history Civilisation lists the Szigeti veszedelem as one of the major literary achievements of the 17th century. While John Milton's Paradise Lost is often credited as resurrecting the classical epic, it was published in 1667, a full sixteen years after the Veszedelem. Petar Zrinski, the author's brother, published a Croatian version of the epic in 1652. The first English translation was published in 2011.[1]
Title
The book is today best known under its long-standing Hungarian title, Szigeti veszedelem, literally "The Peril of Sziget." Zrinski's original Latin title, however, was Obsidionis Szigetianae, literally "The Siege of Sziget." This discrepancy is explained by the fact that 17th-century Hungarian had no distinct word for "siege:" (the paucity of contemporary Hungarian vocabulary is, in fact, lamented by Zrinski in the epic's foreword) the modern-day "ostrom" ("siege") was taken from the German sturm at some later date, at which point "veszedelem" took on the exclusive meaning of "peril," thereby changing the apparent meaning of the title. The English translation was released as The Siege of Sziget, from the original Latin rather than the later Hungarian.
Summary
Prologue
The book begins with a short introduction in prose. The author first sets out to place his text in the tradition of Homer and Virgil. Though he declares that his work is not comparable to theirs, they were poets first and foremost, and he is a warrior who only has a little spare time to devote to literature. He also states that he has not once proofread the epic. He then goes on to make a short explanation of the work, stating first that he has mixed legend and history, and that the distinction should be obvious to the discerning reader. He recounts how he researched the death of Sultan Suleiman, and that it is his considered opinion, based on historical consensus, that the Sultan died at Zrinski's hand. Furthermore, he defends his use of romance as a theme, saying that he himself has been afflicted by love in the past, and that even Mars pined for Venus.
Parts I–II
The story begins in heaven, describing God's anger at the Hungarians for having abandoned their faith. He decides to send
Parts III–V
As the Turkish invasion force marches towards their destination of
Parts VI–XIII
The battle of Szigetvár begins in earnest. A Turkish expeditionary force is brutally crushed by Zrinski and his men, most notably Deli Vid. On the next day of the battle, with the arrival of the Sultan's army, Demirham and Deli Vid do battle, but neither is able to gain the upper hand. They agree to meet the next day, which again leads to a stalemate.
In one sub-plot, two Croatian soldiers try to covertly break through the enemy lines by night to deliver a message to the emperor. They inflict grievous casualties on the Turkish forces, including killing the sultan's high priest, Kadilsker. They are eventually discovered and killed.
Part XII tells of the illicit romance between Deliman and Cumilla. This canto combines themes of romance, eroticism, and death. They have several liaisons, and both characters are presented in a negative light. In the end, Cumilla is accidentally poisoned and Deliman, goes mad with grief for several days, killing hundreds of Turks.
In contrast to this is Deli Vid and his bedouin wife Barbala. In Part XIII, after Vid has been captured by the Turks during a battle, his wife, who does not even speak Hungarian, dons his armor and rides into the camp to effect his (successful) rescue.
The Turks suffer grievous losses the entire time, and finally the sultan decides to decamp. In Part XIV, Zrinski, having nearly exhausted his own men, sends a final letter of farewell to his son and to the emperor. In another act of divine intervention, the
Parts XIV–XV
The seer Alderan is entrusted with planning the final assault. He takes several captive Hungarian youths into a forest clearing, where he slaughters them and paints arcane circles with their blood. Opening a portal to hell, he summons forth a demonic army to attack Szigetvár. Although the fiends are reluctant to come, Alderan prevails upon them after threatening to invoke the name of Christ. After a lengthy description of the infernal hordes, which figures from Greek mythology, the ;ast to arrive is Ali, who informs Alderan that Muhammad's sword has been broken, and that both he and Muhammad are now are eternally tormented in hell. Ali then drags Alderan down to hell in exchange for the help he has received.
In
Not daring to approach the Hungarians, janissaries open fire, and Zrinski with his band of heroes is gunned down, completing the prophecy. Each soul is taken up by an angel to heaven, with Gabriel escorting Zrinski personally.
Epilogue
There is a five-line epilogue, which is the only section of the work which breaks the quatrain mold. It is a short prayer to God, recapping Zrinski's devotion and martyrdom, and asking for favor on behalf of the poet himself by virtue of the elder Zrinski's merits.
Influences and translations
Zrinski acknowledged, in his prologue, emulating Homer, specifically the Iliad. Italian Baroque poets Torquato Tasso and Giambattista Marino were also clearly a great source of inspiration.[2] The Croatian poet Brne Karnarutić of Zadar wrote Vazetje Sigeta grada ("The Conquest of the City of Sziget") sometime before 1573, but was posthumously published in 1584. This first Croatian epic dealing with national history, itself inspired by Marulić's Judita, was used by Zrinski in his epic.[3] However, the epic "remains profoundly original and Hungarian".[2]
Five translations are known to have been completed. The work was immediately translated into Croatian by Miklós's brother Petar Zrinski, who is mentioned in the fourteenth chapter of the epic, under the title of Opsida Sigecka. This version's first 1652 printing also proved to be its last for a long period of time as the only known extant copy was in the Croatian central library in Zagreb, until it was released by Matica hrvatska in 2016.[4] A German and Italian translations were produced in the late 1800s and 1908 respectively. A new German translation was published in Budapest in 1944; the translator, Árpád Guilleaume, was an officer in the Hungarian military, and his work was suppressed by the subsequent Communist regime. An English translation was published in Washington, DC in 2011 by László Kőrössy, and is still currently in print. In 2015, a French translation of the complete poem by Jean-Louis Vallin, rendering the Hungarian meter into French alexandrine, was published at the Presses Universitaires du Septentrion in a bilingual edition.[5]
Legacy
According to
See also
References
- Catholic University of America Press)
- ^ a b Tibor Klaniczay, Denis Sinor, George Gömöri. "Hungarian literature: Effects of the Counter-Reformation". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ The influence of Krnarutić and Marulić
- ^ Josip Bratulić (2016). "Adrijanskoga mora Sirena & Obsida sigecka" (in Croatian). Zagreb: Matica hrvatska. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ^ La Zrinyiade ou Le Péril de Sziget
- ^ "Miklós Zrínyi". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
- ^ Ivana Sabljak (2007). "U povodu 660 godina od bilježenja imena plemićke obitelji Zrinski: Dva brata i jedna Sirena". Vijenac (in Croatian) (349). Zagreb: Matica hrvatska. Retrieved 27 May 2019.