Hungarian Heritage Review, 1991 (20. évfolyam, 1-11. szám)
1991-01-01 / 1. szám
large tent, with their people as witnesses around its square perimeter. Each chief in turn slit his forearm, and let his blood flow into a cup. Last to contribute his blood was Arpad, their newly chosen leader. The táltos (shaman) who presided at this rite mixed wine with the blood that had thus been collected. He then poured a small amount of the mixture onto the ground, sprinkled a few drops north, south, east, and west, and then passed the cup to the chiefs, who drank from it one by one. "From this day forward," the táltos declared, "the Magyars, the Huns, and the Kabars shall be one nation indivisible, just as your blood has become one in this cup." Arpad, the chosen Supreme Chief was last to drink from the cup. Thereupon, according to custom; he was raised on a shield and duly installed in his new role as Supreme Chief... In this manner, the Covenant of Blood forged one nation, thereafter known as the Hungarian nation. The terms of the Covenant of Blood were simple enough. Any land obtained by common effort would be shared fairly by all members of the nation. The land was to be held by individuals as their rightful property (not in fief from their lord, as in the medieval principle of feudalism). The elected sovereign (Arpad, in this case) was to rule by the will of the nation rather than by absolute Divine Right, and Arpad's descendants would be hereditary rulers. The covenant did not lay down exact rules of succession since it was assumed that, according to tradition, the oldest able-bodied male of the family would inherit the leadership. But this principle of succession, known as senioratus, was regarded as outdated in contemporary Europe, where the Christian rulers preffered the system of primogeniture, according to which the first-born son would inherit the throne. This conflict of principles would later result in bloody rivalries among Arpad's successors after the introduction of Christianity into Hungary. With the election of their new leader, it was only a matter of time before the Hungarians would set ferth to conquer the coveted land. When the Petchenges renewed their attack in 895 A.D., Arpad alerted his people to prepare for the crossing of the Carpathians. JANUARY 1991 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW 29
