János Arany

János Arany (1817–1882) was a Hungarian poet and a central figure of Hungary’s national literature. Born in Nagyszalonta, he worked as a teacher and journalist before gaining wide recognition with *Toldi* (1846), the first part of his epic trilogy about the hero Miklós Toldi; he later completed *Toldi estéje* and *Toldi szerelme*. Arany became closely associated with the writer Sándor Petőfi and played an important role in Hungarian literary life. He served as secretary-general of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and edited the journal *Koszorú*. Among his best-known ballads is “A walesi bárdok” (“The Bards of Wales”).