Hungarian Heritage Review, 1987 (16. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1987-07-01 / 7. szám
^feature of ©tje piontlf ROZSA SÁNDOR: THE “ROBIN HOOD” OF HUNGARY — by — ENDRE HARASZTI (Translated from the Hungarian by Zoltán Solymosi) PART II During his eight years as a fugitive Rozsa’s criminal record substantially increased. He allegedly murdered some “official persons”; on one occasion he was said to have slain a gendarme officer and his two associates. These gendarmes were created by the Habsburgs on the French model. But their main purpose was to keep rebellious serfs in check. Such activities, needless to say, did not diminish Rozsa’s reputation among the serfs; rather they increased it. When he was sentenced, in absentia, the public regarded this action as unjust. And at the trial the various witnesses sharply contradicted each other. And Rozsa himself successfully eluded all attempts to find and capture him. In 1845 Rozsa applied for clemency from the authorities, pleading innocence of the multiple murders. People felt that if there had been sufficient evidence to prove him guilty, he would not have declared himself innocent. And when his application for clemency was denied, sympathy for his outlawed plight became widespread, even among patriotic intellectuals. Rozsa became a frequent topic of conversation, not merely in the country inns, but in the stylish salons and stately mansions as well. And in 1845 Petőfi, still admir-Rozsa Sándor in Prison ing of Rozsa’s career, wrote two poems honoring the famous betya: ‘ ‘Liliom Peti must have been a fine, splendid lad: A nicer person that himself the world has not had. ” “But he received a strange necktie — yes, the hangman’s noose. Why? Because Angyal Bandi ’s soul guided all his moves. (“Liliom Peti — [Lily White Pete] — Pest, June 25, 1845) Petőfi hints at another aspect of the betya: ‘ ‘Don’t be afraid of me, my dear lady! I’m not holding you up, don ’t you blame me. 17n only asking that before you leave, Look into my eyes, at least once, please. ’’ (Pest, October 16, 1845) 1848 — The Revolution When the War for Independence broke out in 1848, the citizens of Pest and the hinterland were in a devil-may-care frame of mind. What was the mood of Sándor Rozsa? It is likely that he was elated at the first news of the outbreak, because it meant that his pursuers might become the pursued — a complete reversal of roles. In October, 1848, Louis Kossuth appeared at Hodmezovasarhely to recruit volunteers for the new revolutionary army. On that occasion Kossuth assigned Mór Jókai, then part of his entourage, to find Sándor Rozsa and tell him that the free Hungarian government would grant him and his men a complete amnesty. The title of the official document that Kossuth signed for this —continued next page 20 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW JULY 1987
