Magyarország 1526-ban
Hungary in 1526

Krúdy and his King Novels

Summary/Abstract: Between 1926 and 1931 Gyula Krúdy has dedicated three novels to the decisive events around 1526. Although the first novel, entitled Mohács, is the most popular, it is worthy to read and investigate all three works as a whole, since it is obvious that Krúdy’s intention was towrite a trilogy about the “damned” year,1526. The most important figure of the novels is Queen Mary, who is in close connection to all Hungarian Kings of this period. Louis II is her husband, John Szapolyai is her would-be-fiancèe, and Ferdinand I is her brother. In all the three novels, we see the events through Mary’s eyes and from her point of view. But the real protagonist is the tragic year, 1526, considered as the fall of the old Hungarian Kingdom and the dawn of a new period, that of the Habsburg-era. Although Krúdy was a novelist and nota historian, he made ample preparations before writing his novels by reading themost relevant and up-to-date literature (i.e. the works of Pál Jászay, Tivadar Ortvay and Vilmos Fraknói), and in some cases he followed them word by word. On the other hand, however, he wrote a novel, therefore he gave ample room to fantasy in his works, e.g. in the scene in which a certain fictitious Knight Crudy (the alter ego of the writer) escorts the disguised Queen Mary to the cathedral of Székesfehérvár to take part at the burial ceremony of King Louis, where Mary was not present in historical reality.

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