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The Origin of the Hungarian Dodecasyllable (a Hypothesis)

Pter BognrELTE, Budapest

Abstract

The first Hungarian poem (magyar Mria-siralom, RPHA 14641) was written around 1300,nevertheless, Hungarian poetry begins with the second half of the 15th century. Still, poems inlarge number appeared first in the 16 th century. There are only 18 poems written certainly before1500, while approximately 1500 poems survived from the following hundred years.

As far as metre is concerned, most of these poems are strophic. The structure of the stanzas isvery simple: most of them are built up from one type of line and usually four lines are tiedtogether with one rhyme. One of the most frequent types of stanza in the 16 th century contains

four twelve-syllabic lines divided into two six syllable hemistichs. In this paper I will try tooutline a hypothesis on the origin of this metre. I will suggest that it came into existence under theinfluence of the Asclepiadic line.

1. Theories of the origin

1.1. Theory 1. The ancient Hungarian origin

From among those who understand the Hungarian dodecasyllable (6+6) to be an ancientHungarian line (Csszr 1929; Gbor 1908, 1925, 1942; Vargyas 1952, 1966) the only one whoelaborated his theory in detail is Ignc Gbor. According to him, ancient Hungarian i.e. Finno-Ugric (Gbor 1908: 6384) versification used two hemistichs, similarly to the Old German,ancient Latin, ancient Hebrew or the recent Arabic (Gbor 1908: 3458). Later, by connectingtwo such short lines, the so called ancient Hungarian long line, containing four hemistichs, cameinto existence. The hemistichs, often beginning with anacrusis, were tied together by alliteration(Gbor 1908: 6384, 206228). The number of the syllables in the measures altered between oneand five (Gbor 1908: 127), or two and four (Gbor 1942: 32), arbitrarily. With the appearance ofthe rhyme developed the Hungarian dodecasyllable from this 718 (Gbor 1908: 127128) or 814 (Gbor 1942: 32) syllable long line. The poets in the beginning, trying to avoid the twoextremities, began to use a line consisting of 1113 syllables (Gbor 1908: 123137) till the

dodecasyllable, which was the most perfect in respect of rhyme, supplanted the less symmetrical11 and 13 syllabic lines. The caesura in this twelve-syllabic line still preserved the memory of the15 syllabic measures until the end of the 17th century: it could stand after any of the syllablesbetween the 4th and 8th (Gbor 1908: 175183; 1925: 2025; 1942: 3133).

1 The numbers written after the titles refer to the code under which they can be found in

RPHA.

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1.2. Theory 2. The Medieval Latin origin

Opposing Jnos Horvth, who considers the ancient Hungarian origin just as possible as theMedieval Latin one (Horvth J. [1928] 2004a: 264; [1948] 2004b: 464), Ferenc Zemplnyi deems

it to derive undoubtedly from the Medieval Latin versification. He answers to Jnos Horvthsremarks (Horvth J. [1928] 2004a: 264) in five paragraphs. 1. The oldest Hungarian poems(RMKTI) were noted down during such a short period of time (about 5060 years) that it is of nosignificance whether a copy of a verse survived from 1495 or from 1510. It means that onecannot say that the twelve syllable line divided into two six syllable hemistichs appeared at thevery end of the Hungarian Middle Ages. 2. Though it is true that there are only two poemswritten in dodecasyllable (6+6) among the oldest Hungarian poems (RMKT I), the fact thatimmediately after that period the form becomes overwhelmingly popular invalidates Horvthsargument. 3. However, it is true that the two Medieval Hungarian poems written indodecasyllable are definitely of a Hungarian origin, borrowing of a form does not necessarily

happen through translation. 4. However, it is true that the two poems are secular, borrowing of aform, of course, does not necessarily happen only in religious poetry. 5. The origin of theHungarian dodecasyllable can be illuminated by the routine methods of comparative literarystudies. The 13th century poem Cur mundus militat sub vana gloria (Raby 1953: 435.) written instanzas of four twelve-syllabic (6+6) lines was translated to Hungarian (Mit bzik e vilg lnoksgban, 1002; published in Gl Huszrs second hymnal [RMNy 353] in 1574) retaining itsform. This translation could have been made a hundred years earlier, as well, than at the time itwas finally printed (Zemplnyi 1989: 119120).

2. The appearance of the dodecasyllable (6+6)

Before the evaluation of the above two theories, it seems worth to review the poems written atleast in part in the 6+6 dodecasyllable. Since the type of stanza containing four 6+6 lines(which is the most frequent form of appearance of the dodecasyllable) became widespread by1550, in the following review only the poems (containing at least one Hungarian dodecasyllableverse) certainly from before 1550 will be considered. To make the listing easier to survey, I willdeal only with the poems that are noteworthy in some respect. The others will be referred to bytheirRPHA-codes and the number of their 6+6 dodecasyllabic lines.

2.1. The 6+6 dodecasyllabic line in non-syllabic poems

One group of the examined poems are not or not exactly syllable counting, thus in thesepoems there is actually no dodecasyllable line. However, since Gbor derives the Hungariandodecasyllable from such non-syllablecounting lines, it seems worth to collect those poems inwhich one can find verses readable as 6+6 dodecasyllables, as well. For instance, the translation

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of a Latin hexameter from before 1505 (, dics, kegyelmes, mltsgos kereszt, RPHA 1099) isbuilt up fromthe following measures, according to Cyrill Horvth (RMKTI: 97):

O Dycheo | kegelmes | melthosa- | goskeresth

3+3+3+3

ki menden | fanal | vagh nemesb: 3+2+3the engem | meg segez 3+3hog ne haliac | gonoz halallal. 4+5

Figure 1. Dodecasyllable verse in non-syllablecounting poem

Following this analysis, the first line can also be interpreted as a 6+6 dodecasyllable. Among theapproximately 340 non-syllablecounting poems from before 1550, 140 contain such twelve-syllable lines. From among these 140, 128 were written by Gbor Pesti. Therefore, it is worth todeal with his metrically uniform poems separately. The following three poems should bediscussed one by one: Orbn Batthinys poem (Btor rted, Uram Isten, krt vallank, RPHA167) in which the alternation of the number of syllables is limited; a one-line fragment (Szp valaorcval, de szebb vala hittel, RPHA 3229) which, according to Jnos Horvth, can be a trace of apoem written in 6+6 dodecasyllable verses; and one of Ferenc Pchys poems (Lgy mostsegtsg, Szent Mikls, mineknk, RPHA 836) translated form a Sapphic original. The number ofthe 6+6 dodecasyllable lines in the remaining nine poems is as follows (number of 6+6dodecasyllable verses/all verses):

1485: Emericus Trk kszn Krisztinnak(RPHA 354): 1/3Before 1505: , dics, kegyelmes, mltsgos kereszt(RPHA 1099): 1/4Before 1516: , dics szentllek, kinl jobb ajndkot(RPHA 1100): 2/48Before 1519: dvzlgy, mennyeknek kirlyn asszonya(RPHA 1402): 1/8Before 1526: rk, mindenhat Istennek hatalma(RPHA 1152): 1/13Before 1526: dvzlgy, kegyelmes Szent Lszl kirly(RPHA 1399): 4/72Before 1531: Istennek kegyelmessge(RPHA 609): 11/4074Before 1536: Jzus Krisztus, mi dvssgnk, ki mirlunk(RPHA 672): 1/18?Before 1536: Mi hisznk az egy Istenben(RPHA 910): 1/23

It should be noted at this point how remarkably low is the number of these potentiallydodecasyllabic lines.

In his Aesop-translation published in 1536 (RMNy 17), Gbor Pesti attaches a moral poem toeach fable containing usually three verses. As far as its metrics is concerned, these 185 poems areuniform. The lines are usually considered to contain two hemistichs. The number of the syllables

in each verse alters between 617 but the extremities are infrequent. The three-line morals aretied together by one rhyme, meanwhile, in the longer ones, either two or three verses are tiedtogether by one rhyme.

This corpus is neatly described by Gbors theory. The frequency of the different types ofverses (number of syllables [number of verses in the corpus]: 6 [8], 7 [3], 9 [3], 10 [7], 11 [44],12 [194], 13 [139], 14 [100], 15 [49], 16 [22], 17 [4]) seems to indeed show a non-

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syllablecounting verse beginning to settle around the arithmetic mean (11,8182) of the occurringlines. The twelve-syllable verses are usually (183/194) divided into two six-syllable parts.

The metre of Orbn Batthinys Btor rted, Uram Isten, krt vallank (RPHA 167) is

somewhat similar to the morals of the Aesop-fables, but in Batthinys verse the number ofsyllables per line is more settled, it alters between 1114 and there are two almost equallyfrequent types of line (11[16], 12[17], 13[7], 14[2]). However, among the twelve-syllabic lines,there are only four divided into two six-syllable hemistichs.

Regarding the fragment (Szp vala orcval, de szebb vala hittel, RPHA 3229) that waspreserved in three codices (Haader and Papp 53; Bognr and Levrdy 205 r; Dmtr, Farkas andPlya 28), Jnos Horvth suggests that it might have been a part of a 6+6 dodecasyllable poem.He bases his supposition on a note found in Horvt-kdex (Haader and Papp 53). If he is right,this verse copied earliest in 1510 would be the first Hungarian 6+6 dodecasyllable poempreserved at least in fragment. But it does not seem to be probable. Horvth also notes that the

Latin original of the Hungarian line (underlined) and the belonging introductory note (Undecanit...) have been preserved, too. Unde canit Ecclesia de virginibus et castis sic:Pulchra facie,sedpulchrior es fide , beata Catherina, respuens mundum, laetaberis cum angelis, intercede pronobis (Temesvri 2005, Pars aestivalis, Sermo CI., De sancta Catherina, Sermo tertius). TheLatin quotation makes clear that the model is far from the 6+6 dodecasyllable: it is a sung prose.The quotation is indeed a part of a Europe-wide well known responsory (Hesbert 1963).Consequently, it is rather improbable that the Hungarian fragment should be explained as a traceof a lost dodecasyllabic poem. The translators at the beginning of the 16 th century usually retainedthe form of the original poem or gave a simplified version of it (Horvth J. [1928] 2004a: 241). Itdid not ever happen that the form of the translation be more complex than that of the original.

The poem Lgy most segtsg, Szent Mikls, mineknk (RPHA 836) was translated from theItalian humanists, Antonius Mancinellus Sapphic hymn (Hymnus in divum Nicolaumpontificem) in 1529. The first three lines of the stanzas contain 1015, the fourth 57 syllables.There are 44 6+6 dodecasyllables among the 117 non-fragmental lines of the poem.

2.2. The Hungarian dodecasyllable in syllable-counting but as to their metric scheme notdodecasyllabic poems

There are poems in this group in which the 6+6 verse appears as an occasional deviation from themetre of the whole poem. For example, the 2828 verses of the poemJllehet nagy sokat szltunkSndorrl(RPHA 692) are usually divided into one six and one five syllable hemistich; there are170 verses in which the second hemistich is six syllable long, as well.

15411550:Egy istenfl, nagy szent ember vala(RPHA 315): 4/3481542:m, megromlottl, , j keresztynsg(RPHA 576): 11/1441544:Krnikkat rgiekrl kell most olvasnunk(RPHA 818): 1/303

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1544:Rgen vala a neves Perzsiban(RPHA 1189): 5/3921545: Csak tered, risten, kell magonkot bznunk(RPHA 225): 2/921545:Pldul neknk mit mondott az Isten(RPHA 1176): 2/3161546: Sok kirlyrl, csszrrl emlkeztem(RPHA 1261): 7/2801548:Jllehet nagy sokat szltunk Sndorrl(RPHA 692): 170/2828

1248: Sokat szltam n a rgi dolgokrl(RPHA 1286): 13/3241549:Histrit, hallom, igen mondattak(RPHA 539): 4/3601549:Leszen beszdem itten ez orszgrl(RPHA 844): 3/4841549:Nagy sok szent rsokat jelentettem(RPHA 1041): 10/2401549: Siess keresztyn lelki jt hallani(RPHA 1229): 3/4001550: Gondom nagy volt az elkezdett dolgomra(RPHA 432): 3/2281550:rnak vala ezertszz tven esztendben(RPHA 591): 3/2641550: Saxonia vala Nmetroszgban(RPHA 1210): 8/5281550: Vgan lakik Boldogasszony hava b pnzvel(RPHA 1486): 2/24

It is interesting that one quarter of the syllable counting but as to their metric scheme nondodecasyllabic poems from before 1550 contain occasionally 6+6 dodecasyllabic lines. All thepoems in this quarter were written after 1540 and most of them are epic (exceptions: Csak tered,risten, kell magonkot bznunk, RPHA 225; rnak vala ezertszz tven esztendben, RPHA591). The statistic of this list, however, sheds light on the fact that the proportion of the 6+6dodecasyllable lines is very low: 0,33%7,6%.

It is difficult to decide where to draw the borderline between syllable counting and non-syllablecounting poems. Beside the occasional dodecasyllable lines normally other measuresappear in the poems, as well, which I referred to as syllable counting but as far as the metre is

concerned not dodecasyllabic. The proportion of these verses is similar to that of the twelve-syllabic lines appearing in the actual poem. There is only one exception. Kristf Armbrustspoem (rnak vala ezertszz tven esztendben, 591) contains only three 6+6 lines but one third(88) of all the lines (264) deviate from the most frequent fourteen-syllabic type.

The frequencies of the different measures (10[3], 11[3], 12[5], 13[23], 14[176], 15[38],16[14], 17[1], 20[1]) shows us that, on the one hand, the most frequent measure is here the onewhich stands closest to the arithmetic mean (14,2) of all the measures but, on the other hand,contrary to the theory of Gbor, in Armbrusts poem this measure is the fourteen syllable one.

2.3. The dodecasyllable in partly 6+6 dodecasyllabic, heterometric poems

In this separate group are listed those heterometrical poems that contain 6+6 dodecasyllable lineas part of their metrical scheme. Here I give only the date and theRPHA-code.

15141526:Flelmes szvnek engem alttok(RPHA 403)1538:Jersze, emlkezznk az rk Istennek csodlatos nagy hatalmassgrl(RPHA 661)1540:Rgen ez vala, mikor Jzus urunk(RPHA 1191)

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1545:Rettenetes bn, lm, volt a fsvnysg(RPHA 1203)1545: Sokan kvnnak fejedelemsget(RPHA 1280)1546:Jersze, emlkezznk mostan mi nagy dolgokrl(RPHA 662)1546:Rgen, nagy idben, a vzzn utn(RPHA 1192)1546:Rgen trvnyben vala Jeruzslemben(RPHA 1194)

1549:Majd szp dolgot mondok, krlek meghalljtok(RPHA 4029)

There is one poem that must be taken out of this group, the Cantilena of Ferenc Apti (Flelmesszvnek engem alttok, RPHA 403) which is constructed of three 6+6 dodcasyllable and a sixsyllable one as the last line. First, this poem is an early one (was made before 1526) and, second,it is not epic. Two points were made by those who tried to illuminate the origin of the form of thispoem. One of them says, the Sapphic stanza was widened and transformed by Apti into asyllable counting form (Szabolcsi 1928: 103; Vargyas 1952: 134), the other argues, this syllablecounting stanza was taken over from the Medieval Latin versification (Zemplnyi 1998: 122). Byall means, we could see in the case of Ferenc Pchys poem (2.1.4.) that the eleven-syllable lines

of the Sapphic stanza could often be widened into a dodecasyllable.

2.4. The appearance of the dodecasyllable in the poems constructed purely of 6+6 dodecasyllabiclines

To this group belong the poems which contain mostly 6+6 dodecasyllabic lines. After the RPHA-code see the number of the non 6+6 dodecasyllabic lines (non 6+6 dodecasyllabic lines/all lines).

1525:E vg pusztasgrl megemlkezntek(RPHA 303): 1/24? (fragment)1539:Egy krnikt mondok, urak, hallgasstok(RPHA 318): 42/8241540:A hatalmas Isten, kirlyok kirlya(RPHA 12): 2/401541:Blcsnek mondsi neknk azt jelentik(RPHA 194): 1/721541:Dniel ezt rja, minden meghallgassa(RPHA 238): 5/2441541:Nosza, keresztyn np, hallgass nagy dolgokra(RPHA 1091): 1/1961541: Siralom adatk sok rendbli npnek(RPHA 1237): 4/2001542: Srva veszkel most szegny Magyarorszg(RPHA 1239): 3/1361543: Ti, szegny magyarok, nagy rm tinektek(RPHA 1382): 12/1801544:Az n beszdemet ti meghallgasstok(RPHA 124): 4/5641544: Siess, keresztynsg, gondolj jl gyedrl(RPHA 1230): 24/3081544: Tmaszta az Isten a keresztyn npre(RPHA 1355): 19/2601546: Sokat szentrsbl mostan emlkeztnk(RPHA 1284): 41/3961549:Hatalmas urakrl nektek emlkezem(RPHA 525): 7/4001549:Mostan emlkezznk a keresztynekrl(RPHA 1015): 6/6561549: Semmit ne bnkdjk, Krisztus szent serete(RPHA 1219): 2/481550:Minden embert erre szvem szerint intek(RPHA 958): 12/4041550: Seregeknek Ura s ers Istene(RPHA 1224): 10/64

The proportion of metrically different lines in the poems written in 6+6 dodecasyllable before1550 is between 0.5%15.6%. However, there are only two poems above ten percent (RPHA

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1284; 1224). The most popular genre is the epics (14/18), but there are two marriage-songs(RPHA 194, 1224), one consoling song (RPHA 1219), one political propaganda (RPHA 303).

3. Anomalies

A few components of the two theories on the origin of the Hungarian dodecasyllable (ancientFinno-Ugric and Medieval Latin) could be hardly refuted. It indeed seems that the metricstructure of Gbor Pestis poems is a non-syllablecounting one in which the most frequent type ofline is the dodecasyllable that is the arithmetic mean of all the used measures. Zemplnyi alsoseems to be right when he argues for the Medieval Latin origin referring to Aptis Cantilena(RPHA 403). Nevertheless, there are some phenomena which cannot be explained by these twotheories.

Half of the poems made before 1525 is non-rhyming. Between 1525 and 1600 the number ofrhyming poems falls beyond ten percent. It means that the transformation described by Gbor

must have started around the end of the 15 th century. If it is so, how is it possible that there arerather few traces of the measure from the transitional period in which the number of syllablesarbitrary changes between 1113 and the location of the caesura varies?

Whether the appearance of the 6+6 dodecasyllable is explained as the result of the slowtransformation of some non-syllablecounting verses or as an adopted Medieval Latin measure, itis hard to understand why is there only one poem written in 6+6 dodecasyllables (E vg pusztasgrl megemlkezntek, RPHA 303) that survived from before 1539. Another questionclosely related to this problem is that neither Gbors nor Zemplnyis theory can interpret theenormous popularity of this measure which arises at the end of the third decade of the 16 th

century. The importance of this question is shown by the fact that the most popular measures of

the 16th

century (11[4+7], 11[5+6], 11[6+5]) appear exactly at the same time (1540).Comparing the genre-structure of the 6+6 dodecasyllable with two different types (5+3, 4+4)of the octosyllable which was certainly imported from Medieval Latin a great difference can beobserved. While the most frequent genre among the eight syllables is the liturgical orparaliturgical (76/119 most of them are a translation of a liturgical Medieval Latin poem),among the twelve-syllables there is only one (1/115) such poem (Mit bzik e vilg lnoksgban, RPHA 1002). The genres of the dodecasyllable vary according to the frequency ofthe given genre: there are religious epics (20), biblical but non epic poems (29) dogmatics (7)other religious poems (33) and secular epics (20), morals (9) or erotic poems (2). If it is true thatthe 6+6 dodecasyllable comes from Medieval Latin poetry how is it possible that there is only

one poem proving this connection?By the end of the 16th century only one type (6+6) of the dodecasyllable appeared, whereas in theMedieval Latin poetry 5+7 was the more popular which developed from the quantitative iambictrimeter. If the 6+6 dodecasyllable was adopted from the Medieval Latin poetry, how is itpossible that at the same time there is not a single verse in Hungarian written in the 5+7 form?

4. The influence of the antique quantitative poetry

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These anomalies can be solved by the assumption of the influence of the Asclepiadic line( | ) coming from three different directions: education, medieval syllabicpoetry, metrical singing.

4.1. The change of education

There were three levels of education at the end of the 15 th century in Hungarian schools. On thelower grade the youngest students studied the letter of the alphabet, learned how to read and writeand, meanwhile, memorised Latin words and some morals from the collection attributed to Cato.On the second level students studied Latin linguistics from the hexametrical textbook ofAlexander de Villa Dei (Dorctrinale) and developed their fluency in Latin speech. On the highestlevel they studied those specialist books (such as theological dissertations, astronomical booksetc.) which prepared them for their later profession.

This structure of the syllabus transformed with the appearance of the new humanist type ofeducation (ludus litterarius). The students studied Latin linguistics in details accompanied bysome Greek already in the second level, and on the third level the classical authors by means ofwhich they learned about poetics and rhetoric (Mszros 1981: 1314). This type of educationdeveloped between the end of the 15th century and the first decades of the 16th (Mszros 1981:5861).

Ferenc Pchys above mentioned poem, which he translated from the Sapphic Hymnus indivum Nicolaum pontificem of the Italian humanist Antonius Mancinellus in 1529, is a goodexample for the influence of the antique versification coming from this direction. The poem wasmade for educational usage, as it turns out at its very beginning.

Esto tutela Nicolae nobis

Qui tuum festum colimus, subinde

Esto defensor Nicolae rerum

Discipulorum.

(RMKTII 373)

Lgy segtsggel szent Mikls mineknk,

Kik idnep[elnk?] s tged tisztelnk,

Lgy te szent Mikls tanol ifjaknak

Mi segedelmnk!

(RMKTII 6)

4.2. The influence of medieval syllabic poetry

As it is shown by Zemplnyi, the forms of antique poetry could have influenced the Hungarianthrough the already syllabic medieval versification, as well. The metre of Ferenc Aptis

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Cantilena or that of the translation of Cur mundus militat sub vana Gloria which Zemplnyiexplained as an evidence for the Medieval Latin origin of the Hungarian 6+6 dodecasyllable can be interpreted this way. However, the Latin text of the latter poem is also interesting fromanother point of view. Beside the carefully applied syllabic rules the quantitative structure of theAsclepiadic stanza can be observed in this poem, as well:

6+6

6+6

6+6

6+6

- - - - - - - - 6+6- - - - - - - 6+6- - - - - - - 6+6

- - - - - - - 6+6 Figure 2. The metrical structure of the Cur mundus (first stanza)

On the basis of this twofold metrical structure and the melodies of the poems Hungariantranslation, which we know from the 17th century, it is possible that the poem became popularunder the influence of the humanist metrical singing practiced in the schools (Csomasz Tth1958: 555).

4.3. The influence of metrical singing

The influence of the humanist metrical singing can be shown, beside the example of Cur mundusmilitat sub vana gloria, in other ways, as well. Conradus Celtis as a teacher of poetics andrhetoric lectured on metrical poetry and metrical singing in Ingolstadt between 1494 and 1497.Under his influence one of his pupils, Petrus Tritonius, composed and published the first metricalode-book (Tritonius 1507). The essence of Celtis and Tritonius innovation was that, contrary tothe medieval Gregorian singing, they started to sing the antique quantitative forms with suchmelodies in which the long/short positions of the syllables were mapped by the rhythm. Thispractice was introduced in the schools of Saxony in 1520 and later became widespread in othercountries as well (Csomaszt Tth 1958: 117).

The fist movement in Tritonius ode-book (Choriambicum Asclepiadeum) is a polyphonictreatment of the small Asclepiadic form. The text of this chorus is the ode beginning Maecenasatavis aedite regibus written by Horatius (Carminum Liber I, 1). Beyond many others thismovement, too, was taken over from the Melopoiea by the first Hungarian ode-book (Honterus1548). Either from this book or directly from the Melopoiae this melody became part of theHungarian singing practice. In his second hymnal Gl Huszr (Huszr 1574: II, IX/b) says thatthe poem which begins with the line risten, ki mennyben lakozol nagy dicssgben (RPHA1438) should be sung on the discant part of the Maecenas atavis aedite regibus. In another poem

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(Mikor Szennakerib a Jeruzslemet, RPHA 940), which was prescribed to sing on the melody ofthe risten, ki mennyben lakozol nagy dicssgben (RPHA 1438), we can see even thequantitative Asclepiadic metre (first stanza).

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -Figure 3. The metrical structure of the Mikor Szennakerib (first stanza)

It cannot be determined with certainty when precisely theMaecenas atavis aedite regibus melodywas taken over and how widespread it became. By the network of the references of the melodiesthe frequency of a melody cannot be estimated. The method ofRgi magyar dallamok tra(Csomasz Tth 1958), that is, trying to attach one text to one melody, is misleading, because atext published in different hymnals often uses different melodies. For example, the melody of thepoem beginning Dvid prftnak imdkozsbl (RPHA 242) is defined by Csomasz Tthafter the hymnal of Istvn Illys (1693), and he lists every poem referring to it as a melody as if itwere sung to the same tune. However, it is shown by the first hymnal of Gl Huszr (RMNy160/1, R1) which was discovered after the publication of Csomasz Tths book that the

coexistence of a text and a melody is not so permanent. Since here the same text appears withanother melody. In the light of this fact, we can only derive from the reference to the Maecenasatavis aedite regibus melody that in 1574 Gl Huszr thought it was well-known enough forreferring to it without printing the music as well.

Considering the poems which were sung to the second genus of Tritonius (Saphicum), it isapparent that the Melopoiae influenced the Hungarian versification certainly before 1560 andprobably before 1549. The melody of Sebestyn Tindis Siess, keresztyn, lelki jt hallani(RPHA 1229) written in 1549 can be traced back to the melody of Tritonius Sapphic Jam satisterris navis atque dierae (Csomasz Tth 1958: 45051).

Consequently, the following hypothesis can outlined: there is almost no trace of thetransitional line described by Gbor, since the 6+6 dodecasyllable came into existence as animitation of a line (Asclepiadic) in which the number of syllables was fixed. There is almost notrace of this form before the 1540 because the 6+6 dodecasyllable became popular mostly underthe influence of the humanist schools and the humanist metrical singing in the first half of the 16 th

century. This answers the questions why the liturgical or paraliturgical genre is missing from the6+6 dodecasyllables, and why is it the 6+6 but not the 5+7 form that appeared and becamewidespread in the Hungarian versification.

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References

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