Mattie the Goose-boy

Matti, the goose boy or Ludaš Matyi, is a Hungarian poem written by Mihály Fazekas ( 1766-1828 ). In 1804 and first published in 1817 It is based on folk tales of unknown origin.

History

Prologue

At the beginning Matyi is a no-good boy who eventually guards geese. He then tries which 16 geese for sale on the market, but the local landed gentry Dániel Döbröghy annoyed that Matyi imposing on him the price. The Lord confiscated the geese and orders to punish Matyi with 25 strokes. As Matyi, then declared he would pay it back three times, he will get again 30 Matyi silent now and walks away.

First Repay

After a few years in other areas Matyi comes back to the village and sees that Döbröghy builds a castle for himself. Matyi dresses like a carpenter. He introduces himself as a foreign master architect and brings Döbröghy to be hitting new trunks in the forest. To this end, he goes with it and woodcutters in the forest, and although so far that he is with Döbröghy alone. There he pays him back the punches and poses as Ludas Matyi to detect.

Second Repay

Dániel Döbröghy investigated in the whole area doctors to heal his wounds. Matyi comes disguised as a military doctor and sends Döbröghys people for collecting herbs. So he can repay him the second serving. Then he leaves the village freely the Griffon.

Third Repay

In winter, the fair Matyi comes as a horse dealer. Again through a ruse to lure Matyi to send away the other people and to be with Döbröghy alone. He lets all believe Matyi would be on the way out of the village. So Döbröghy now gets his third portion and Matyi moves to another area, married and leads a normal life.

Importance

The story is an ironic hint to the landed gentry, not to punish ordinary people for no reason. It also shows the shrewdness of ordinary people. Ludaš Matyi was the first folk hero of Hungarian literature, triumphs over his master. The story also shows the ratios of the nobility and the people in the agrarian society the end of the 18th century in Hungary. In the 20th century, the communist regime has recognized this story ( in movies and a satire magazine ) for his ideology.

• Literary work
• Literature (in Hungarian )
• Literature (19th century)