The other eagle

Abstract

The literary cult always tries to define the first national poet. In the Hungarian literary history it was Rimay, who declared Balassi Bálint for the first poet. He wrote that Balassi as a leading eagle was untouched by little birds. This metaphor may stem from Dante: he marked out Homer for eagle, the very first poet ever. We know other examples for this type of metaphor. Sigmund Birken, the literatory organizator in Nuremburg presented the young poetess Catharina Regina von Greiffenberg as follows: She is not only a tinkling swan but a high flying eagle, who is the first before all. This metaphore is present in several different literature.