Mausoleum and the “new poetic style now in vogue”

Abstract

This study examines the German translation of the collection of eulogies titled Mausoleum, published in 1664 with the support of Palatine Nádasdy Ferenc. Although the volume is a work of central importance in Hungarian cultural history, the poetic characteristics of the German version prepared by Sigmund von Birken have received little attention to date. Using the tools of microphilology, the author demonstrates how Birken applied the “new poetic style” of the era in his translation work. Building on a comparison of the Latin and German versions, the study analyzes Birken’s translation methods in detail, examines rhetorical devices in both textual versions, and seeks to determine whether elements characteristic of German Baroque language can be identified in the German text. It also pays special attention to the rendering of references to ancient mythology, which, as the analysis reveals, reflects Birken’s increasingly radical and dismissive poetic views. The analysis also uncovers several significant conceptual modifications in the German version: these suggest that Birken – in contrast to the Latin text – shifted the emphasis to the printed medium. Finally, the article examines the function of the German translation, interpreting it primarily in the context of Nádasdy’s self-representation, and highlights the significance of the nobleman’s endeavor to ensure that the German version of the text was consciously crafted according to the most modern poetic principles of the era.