My Shepherd Stick is Better than the Crown

The image of the shepherd in 18th-19th century Hungarian popular literature

Abstract

habitual. This is related both to the consolidating agricultural conditions and to the rich pastoral culture of the multi-ethnic country, as well as a better understanding of mountain pastoralism in Slovakia and Romania. Antique topoi and real ethnographic experiences blended with each other in a specific way and became the props of new literature. From the beginning of the 19th century, broadside literature also helped the spread of this motif, especially genre songs, including herdsmen’s songs by Gergely Édes and József Mátyási, pastoral songs by Mihály Vitkovics, and later poems by Sándor Petőfi about the Hungarian plains (“puszta”). The heroes of the early outlaw ballads were originally also horsemen and herdsmen, only later taking the path of robbers. By analyzing some main motifs, the study would like to nuance the representations of shepherds in Hungarian literature.