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Benedek Elek
(1859–1929)
Tales

Elek Benedek was a Hungarian journalist and writer, known as "the great folk-tale teller".

Born in Kisbacon, Transylvania (today Băţanii Mici, Romania), he studied at Székelyudvarhely and later at Budapest. He went as a student with Job Sebesi to collect folklore elements. The result was a collection of transylvanian tales, what had so success critics, that the young Elek Benedek cut off his studies. He worked at first as a journalist for Budapest Hírlap("Budapest Newspaper") and for other newspapers.

He was a member of Parliament between 1887 and 1892. In his speeches he engaged in youth literature, folk poetry, folk language and public education.

In 1889 he started, together with Lajos Pósa, the first Hungarian literary magazine for youth, Az Én Újságom ("My Magazine"). He was the editor of Jó Pajtás ("Good Fellow") with Zsigmond Sebők. He also edited a series of books for youth, called Kis Könyvtár ("Small Library"); this later appeared as Benedek Elek Kis Könyvtára ("Small Library of Benedek Elek"). In 1900 he joined the Kisfaludy Group, a group of famous Hungarian writers and poets. He also wrote poems, dramas, novels and historical fiction books, but the most famous were his fairy tales.

In 1885 appeared the Székely Tündérország ("Transylvanian Hungarians' Neverland"), what contains the first original fairy tales from the authors. Six years later in 1891 appeared the Székely mesemondó ("Transylvanian Hungarian Storyteller"). The biggest challenge was the Magyar mese- és mondavilág ("World of Hungarian Tales and Legends"), what appeared in 5 volume between 1894 and 1896. This book was dedicated to the Hungarian Millenia.

Next to the original stories he made translations too. For example he translated many tales from Grimm's Fairy Tales and Arabian Nights to Hungarian. After the Treaty of Trianon (which confirmed Romanian sovereignty over Transylvania) he went back to his native village, where he edited the youth magazine Cimbora ("Friend") until he died.

Hungary, 2009, Elek Benedek and his Tales