After the Day of Hungarian Poetry – Turkish poetry and music culture of the Ottoman occupation

On the third eve of the lecture series, entitled Orientalists in NSZL and presenting the culture of the East, Balázs Sudár will deliver a lecture at 5 p.m. on April 12, 2017.

Entitled After the Day of Hungarian Poetry – Turkish poetry and music culture of the Ottoman occupation, his lecture will give the audience an introduction to the literary and music culture of the Ottoman occupation, both by talking and singing.

Although Ottoman conquerors arrived in Hungary with arms, and the conquered land was inhabited mainly by soldiers and their families, they did not lack their own culture’s goods. On the couple of dozens of settlements where they actually settled, social and cultural institutions, such as places of worship, elementary and high schools, monasteries and spas, started mushrooming. In the absence of Turks, Turkish folk culture had not reached Hungary, but the Ottoman culture of the elite did reach the country. The exact same poems had been written and read, and the same tunes had been played like the ones written, recited and played back in the centers of the empire.

Balázs Sudár (1972) graduated from ELTE’s Faculty of Humanities where he had majored in history and Turkish philology; later he received his PhD degree at Eötvös Loránd University. At present, he works for HAS RCH Institute of History as head of the Hungarian Prehistory Research Team.

His main area of research is the Ottoman–Turkish cultural life of the Ottoman occupation. Balázs Sudár deals with issues of literary and music history, and with Muslim religiousness, with special regard to the world of dervish orders.

In 1990 he joined Musica Historica Ensemble as a student of Tamás Kobzos Kiss. He remained an active member of the ensemble until 2011. In order to perform specifically classical Turkish music, he established the Canlar Ensemble.

Series editor and host: Dr. László Tüske, Director-General of National Széchényi Library
Venue: Ceremonial Hall on Floor 6 of NSZL
Date: April 12, 2017, 5 p.m.

Entitled Orientalists in NSZL, a lecture series presenting the culture of the East began on February 8, 2017.  On the first occasion, books on the Islamic State and the idea historical as well as geopolitical aspects of Islamism were presented. On the second occasion, Géza Komoróczy delivered a lecture entitled Literates and intellectuals in history.

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Poster of the series