Magyar News, 1994. szeptember-1995. augusztus (5. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1995-04-01 / 8. szám
SAINT STEPHEN by Rev. Dr. Anthony Szilagyi Once the magyars had taken possession of their new homes, we find that for the next half-century they were the scourge of Europe. They ranged far and wide, striking terror into the hearts of their victims with the suddenness of their raids. Their small horses outdistanced any news of their coming. The ferocity of their attacks and their appearance, which to western eyes was something they had not seen before, and their blood curdling battle cries would be remembered for generations. Historians have counted 33 expeditions between 898 and 955, some of them to places as far away as Orleans in France and Constantinople. Most of the raids were simply for profit in which cities and churches were ransacked and gold and treasure being carried off, with captives to be used as personal slaves or to be later sold or ransom extorted. In addition the magyars often hired themselves out into the service of warring princes who saw in them a source of getting even with otherEuropean princes. In this half-century they inflicted dreadful damage on Europe. We should add, however, that these raids cost the magyars as well. Amulf of Bavaria almost destroyed one of their armies in 917. In 933 Henry the Fowler gave them a beating near Merseburg. Finally, in 955, Otto the Great inflicted a terrible defeat on them outside Augsburg. Their leaders were taken and shamefully hanged and, according to one legend, only seven of the whole army escaped, fated to wander as beggars and disgraced men. Indeed, the times were changing for the Magyars. What had happened was that Western Europe had organized its defenses and the Hungarian nation itself was changing. The raids were no longer as profitable as in the past. Another change was the introduction of Christianity. We have to remember that while the Magyars were securing their homeland, the two centers of Christianity, Rome and Byzantium, were competing for the souls of the newly arrived peoples from the east, including the magyars. Both churches were anxious to add the magyars to their side. In the middle of the century two Magyar chieftains were drifting to the eastern church, but nothing came of this flirtation. But it seems that the west, Rome, was to be the dominant influence. Why? Well, for one reason, Roman Christianity was the religion of many of the peoples that magyars now ruled such as the Moravians and the Slovenes. Also, there was the activity of Bavaria. The decisive moment came in about 970, when Arpad’s grandson Taksony died and was succeeded by his grandson Geza, who sent ambassadors to the court of Otto of Bavaria. This new alliance brought with it a new missionary activity. Geza, in fact moved his capital to what is today Esztergom. He hired Bavarian knights, to whom he gave vast amounts of land. The ties to the west were to grow even closer when the successor of Otto, Henry III, allowed his daughter Gisella, to marry Geza’s son, Vajk, who had already been baptized as Stephen or István. The marriage took place in 996. A year later Geza died. It was now Istvan’s turn. István or St. Stephen, as he is known today, became the best-loved, most famous and perhaps the most important figure in Hungarian history. He was proclaimed a Saint in 1083. It was because of his genius, that the Hungarian nation would take its place within the countries of western Europe. But before this could happen, Stephen had to consolidate his position and power. We have to remember that Stephen was still a young man when his father died and there were older members of the family who claimed the title of leader. One of these named Koppány, claimed the succession after Geza. It was only through the help of Stephen’s father-in-law that Stephen defeated the other members of the family who wanted to get rid of him and place themselves as leaders. The next step in his consolation came in 1000, when he applied to Rome for recognition as a king. You see, it was within the power of the pope to elevate individuals to kingship. It seems God was with him when he made his application. There were other rulers before him who wanted to be kings. It was up to the pope to reject or accept the various applications which came his way. For example, legend has it that the Duke of Poland also applied to the pope for the title of king. There was another obstacle to overcome. Sometimes the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire would not support the pope’s candidates. But in 1000 A.D. both the pope and the Emperor were realistic men of vision. So it happened that with the Emperor’s agreement, Pope Sylvester sent back word that Stephen’s petition was accepted. The tokens of this acceptance were an apostolic cross and a crown. These were tokens of Stephen’s royal authority and his authority to establish a national church. Stephen’s coronation took place on Christmas day 1000 A.D. It is impossible to over-emphasize the importance of this ceremony. Because of this ceremony Stephen’s own status and that of the Magyar people were transformed. The act of coronation mean t that the magyars were no longer looked upon as out-laws who any other Christian Prince was obligated to fight. Now the magyars were brought into the family of Christian nations. Also, future rulers of the magyars had new rights which other princes could not take away. The crown made the wearer a true king, perhaps not the emperor’s equal, but certainly not obligated to him. The apostolic cross also meant that Hungarian church was independent to all other authority except that of Rome. Coronation also transformed Stephen’s position in relation to his own people. He now had unlimited powers, kept in check only by Christian morality which meant that he exercised these powers with justice and mercy. Hungary was fortunate in that Stephen had the capacity to attack his new position seriously. Also his kingship would last the needed number of years needed for the new nation to build and grow. He died in 1038. During these early years, Stephen was fortunate that he did not have to fight many other princes or kings. Except for brief encounters with Poland and Bulgaria, his reign was untroubled by international conflicts. At home, he had to struggle against a relative, this time his uncle on his mother’s side, who wanted to establish a semi-independent principality in Transylvania. There was another very powerful prince in southeast Hungary, named Ajtony, whom Stephen overcame. With the defeat of these two men, Stephen’s authority now extended throughout Hungary. What did this authority mean? Stephen could now claim and exercise all of the prerogatives of medieval kingship: 1. to conduct international relation, 2. to appoint any man of his choice to any office, 3. the right to dispense justice. As I said, Stephen took these responsibilities seriously. Just how much so, we leam from his book of precepts which he wrote for his son Imre. In this book Stephen continued
