Magyar Újság, 1976 (66. évfolyam, 1-50. szám)

1976-08-19 / 31. szám

4. OLDAL MAGYAR ÚJSÁG 1976. AUGUSZTUS 10. FAITH and FATE A SHORT CULTURAL HISTORY OF THE HUNGARIAN PEOPLE THROUGH A MILLENNIUM By Ferenc Somogyi Ph.D., LL.D. and Lél F. Somogyi III STANDING STEADFAST l TURKISH INVASIONS After the death of Emperor-King Sigismund, his son­­in-law Albert assumed the throne. He was also the hing of Bohemia. He realized the danger of Turkish invasion, but decided to bring internal order to Bohemia first. During his absence from Hungary, Sultan Murad and Walachian Voivode Vlad Dracul invaded the country. They captured 70,000 prisoners, carrying them off as slaves. Hurrying back, King Albert assembled a large army to march against the Turks. He appointed John Hunyadi as commander of his troops, but war did not break out due to a recurrence of the plague. Unfortunately, King Albert contracted the disease and quickly died. Vladislas, the brave, young king of Poland became the new king of Hungary. He immediately led a victorious campaign in the Balkans against the Turks with John Hunyadi, and then proceeded on toward the Black Sea. In 1444 he met and engaged in battle with the Sultan in Varna and lost. Not only did he lose his own life, but the papal representative Cardinal Cesarini who accompanied him was also killed. Hungary remained without a king. 'A council of seven military leaders (főkapitány), with John Hunyadi at the helm, ruled the country. Years later in 1446, the Diet elevated the now grown son of King Albert, Ladislas to the throne, but he was detained by German Emperor Frederick. John Hunyadi, as Regent, continued to wield the power of the government. At the fore of the military, he also continued to win victory after victory, though he had only the Pope as his supporter and backer. By 1453 Constantinople (Byzantinum) fell and the Byzan­tine Empire ceased. Events in Hungary suddenly took a turn for the worst when by 1456 the Turks were attacking Nándorfehérvár (Belgrad), the most important border fortress of Hungary. By special papal decree, all the churches in the world Vvere instructed to ring their bells at noon every day and offer up prayers to God for the victory of the Christian- TJungarian defenders over the pagan Turks. The Pope entrusted John Capistrapo with the task of raising an army to assist John Hunyadi in the defense of Nándorfehérvár. .With this assistance, they were able to defeat the Turks, „and the Pope subsequently declared August 6 as a special day of commemoration and thanksgiving in honor of the world-famous Hungarian victory. Even today, the tradition of ringing church bells at noon continues, though few know that was a papal declara­tion after the victory at Nándorfehérvár thas started the practice in 1456. t 2 KING MATTHIAS ■:r; 1 * John Hunyadi and John Capistrano did not live to « hear the joyous news. After the battle, internal political strife broke out. King Ladislas V finished off any possibility ,pf challenges from the powerful Hunyadi family by execut­ing the older son of Hunyadi, Ladislas, and taking the younger one, Matthias, with him to Prague. But the intrigue continued nevertheless and in Prague, the king was ^probably poisoned by Czech revolutionaries. Hunyadi s younger son Matthias was acclaimed king of Hungary. An immense task awaited the young king for the whole West ern World depended on Hungary to contain the Turkish menace. Pope Pius II (Aeneas Sylvius) convened a congress in Mantua for the purpose of organizing a new army of crusaders, however no one could be found to lead the army. He went into battle himself, leading a sea force, but died at Ancona. Of all the European Christian countries, only Hungary attacked the Turks according to plan. However, when King Matthias found he was alone against an over­whelming foe, he too decided to turn back. Afterwards, no more attacks were planned and the Hungarians con­centrated on defending their territories against Turkish attacks. Matthias attempted to unite the military strength of the West, but the general chaotic state of affairs in Europe prevented him from doing this. As probably the most able and enlightened ruler of his time, he inaugurated various administrative reforms, created a standing army (the famous “Black Army”) and promoted both the com mercial and cultural development of the nation. A brilliant statesman and army commander, he seriously disrupted the plans of the Turks. He skillfully used his excellent generals (Paul Kinizsi and others) and after many battles added Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia to Hungary. I hese additions made Hungary the strongest Central European power. In 1485 King Matthias occupied Vienna and two years later kept watch over 20,000 cavalry and 8000 troops in Wiener - neustadt. He was prepared to do battle with the Turkish Sultan, by supporting a pretender named Dsem to the Sultan’s throne; however in 1490 King Matthias suddenly died. I During his 32 year reign Europe had experienced the flowering of the renaissance culture. Hungary shared in the renaissance. Eminent humanists were members of Matthias court, such as Janus Pannonius, bishop of Pécs, who immortalized Hungary in his poems. He became the first world-famous Hungarian poet. With the support of John Vitéz, Archbishop of Esztergom and Primate of Hun­gary he developed a humanistic center in his court. This made it possible that later, in 1497 — with the suport of the younger John Vitéz, Bishop of Veszprém who was the nephew of the Archbishop Conrad Celtes founded a Central European academy in Vienna, named (in Latin) Sodalitas Literaria Danubiana”. The renaissance in Hungary heralded the appearance of the first works dealing with Hungarian history. In 1467 King Matthias founded a new university at Pozsony (Bratislava), where the world-renown astronomer, Regio­montanus, accepted a chair. Paul Lőcsei completed his gloriously beautiful altar-pieces and tablets during this period. The first Hungarian printing presses went into operation in 1471, established by Ladislas Kami. The first printed book in Hungary was prepared by Andrew Hess in 1473. branciscans around the world used the book of homilies by the Hungarian Franciscan Pelbart Temesvári. The library of King Matthias was held in high esteem by his contemporaries. Each volume was decorated with the crest of the Hunyadi family, the coatrof-arm showing a raven (in Latin corvus ). Thus the library was called the Bibliotheca Corvina and the volumes were caller j corvináé . The population of Hungary matched that of England) Of the four million people 75 to 80 percent were Hun-1 garian. Other ancient peoples living in Hungary had by this time melted into the cultural pool and the migration of Rumanians and Serbs into Hungary was just beginning as these people fled the advancing Turks. Of Matthias it is necessary to mention that he elevated many serfs and common citizens to the nobility, besides bestowing additional privileges on the masses. Matthits was not preoccupied with class distinctions, picking many of his advisors from the lower classes and mingling will the common people on their own level. Upon his death, tfe following saying became popular: “Matthias is dead, and so is justice . The people called him King Matth ias, tie Just ’. . 3 HEROIC RESISTANCES After the death of King Matthias the Just, the barons regained their former status. As a consequence of this, Hungary was soon embroided in strife, resulting in a bloody peasant rebellion against the landlords in 1514, the same year in which 1Tomas Bakócz, archbishop of Esztergom and primate of Hungary, organized a Holy Crusade directed against the Turks. 1 he rebellious peasant crusaders led by George Dózsa were defeated by John Zápolya, a Yugo­slavian by origin, when the Serb footmen switched their allegiance to the army of Zápolya s relation, Peter Petrovics. During the next decade, internal competition between the barons and the national party effectively rendered the nation powerless against its foreign foes. King Lof.i? T and I 5,000 of his men perished on August 29, 1526 when Sultan Suleiman utterly devastated the Hungarian army at Mohács. After the disaster at Mohács, John Zápolyai became king. He was a Transylvanian voivode (prince and leader of an army) and he had not been in the battle of Mohács. As a result of this, the baronS quickly became disenchanted with him and elected Ferdinand of Hapsburg as the new king. John Zápalyai asked the Turks for assistance and in 1541 they occupied Buda, the capital city of Hungary. The nation was split into two parts. Frater George, John s confident, secretly tried to unite the nation, engaging in intrigue with both sides. He was finally assassinated by German conspirators. The Turks mounted a war of revenge against the Hungarians. Again, the Hungarians stood stead­fast. As in 1532 under the leadership of Nicolas Jurisics at Község, Stephen Losonczi at Temesvár, and George Szondi at Drégely sacrificed their Iifes and their troops in defense of their country in 1552. Stephen Dobó defended Eger s fortress while in 1566 Nicolas Zrínyi blocked the Turks at Szigetvár. Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent died during the siege as did Zrínyi, but the Turks continued their attacks even as the Hungarians continued their resistance. In the course of the fighting the country was again divided into sections, this time into three parts. I he western section continued to fight against the I urks under the Elapsburgs, while the central section fell under I urkish rule and the eastern section, along with Transylvania, became a suzerain principality of the J urkish sultan. In this principality a strong national movement for Hungarian independence later grew against German and 1 urkish supremacy. 4 FOR NATIONAL UNITY AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM During the Reformation many Hungarians had aban­doned the Catholic Church, aggravating the Catholic Hapsburgs. Violence between the Hapsburgs and the Prot estants reached intolerable levels. The issue of religious freedom for tbe Protestants became a topic of concern equivalent to the struggle for Hungarian independence from the dominion of the Hapsburgs. 1 ransylvanian princes stepped to the fore in the^e disputes, their claims liberally backed by the occupying 1 urkish forces. Stephen Bocskai, Gabriel Bethlen, George Rákóczi I and his son George Rákóczi II emerged as the heroes of the struggle for religious and national freedom. In fact, Stephen Báthori, a Catholic, became one of Poland’s greatest kings. Even though the Protestants gained their freedom of worship, the Turkish stranglehold on the country did not diminish. When the counter-reformation had made remark­able progress in the Hapsburg section of Hungary, the Hungarians, especially the barons, abandoned their na­tionalistic fight against the Hapsburg rulers. Large sectors of the population went back to the Church under the per­­sonal influence of Peter Cardinal Pázmány, Archbishop of fzsztergom, primate of Hungary (who in fact had been born 5 DURING THE LIBERATION King John Sobieski of Poland and Prince Charles ol Lorraine commanding an army of Poles and Germans suc­ceeded in breaking the siege of Vienna. The victorious united Christian army continued to pursue the Turks. The war was conducted for more than 15 years. Between July 14 and November 3 of 1684 this united army marched on Buda, but failed to drive the Turkish forces out. Success finally came in the siege lasting from June 21 to September 2 of 1686 — fully two years after the first attempt. Germans, Spaniards, Swedes and 15,000 Hungarians — among the many former troops of 7 hököly —- took part, led by Prince Charles of Lorraine and Marquess Louis of Baden. Hun­garians fought on the front lines, fearlessly pressing forward under the direction of Petneházy and Fiáth. Finally the Turkish occupational force was defeated and Buda regained freedom after fully 145 years of Turkish rule. In memory of this victory, the Pope declared Septem­ber 2 a day of thanksgiving, a church holiday in honor of the virtues taught by St. Stephen and followed by the troops at Buda. In the next few years, more and more sections of LIungary were liberated. Prince Eugene of Savoya won a decisive turning-point battle at Zenta in 1697. The Hungarian legislative body, as a gesture of thanks, declared the crown of Hungary forever hereditarily invested in the House of Hapsburg. By the provisions of the peace treaty of Karlowitz in 1699, the Turks retained only a small part of Hungary called Bánát, a region they finally lost 19 years later. The Principality of Transylvania (Erdély) was also secured to the Hapsburg kings, who have since held the title of Prince of Transylvania. (To be continued) A visszanyert békesség és az önkínzás változatai, mint fény és árnyék követik egymást kötetében. “Frissen húzott nyugalom rajtam / hűvös paplanként elterül j így döbbenek magamra lassan / éltem, de élhetetlenül.” Az elszaladt évek után néz és önmagát vádolva kérdezi: “Mért nem álltái meg így, mint most, korábban? / Mért nem hallgattál több tücsökzenét?” A robbanó ifjúság: a tavasz és a nyár után most őszi fákat lát és fájdalommal veszi észre, hogy “a sűrű erdő egyre ritkul / kidől körötted sok barát / A fűrészfogú évek éle / lassan a gyökeredbe vág.” Egyik legszebb versében örök társának, Majának vallja: “köröttem tűnő arcok árnya, elsüllyed mind a messzeségbe, csak te maradsz magányom társa, hétköznapjaim menedéke.” Fölmerül bennünk a kérdés: vajon Tollas Tibor,.a szabad­ságharcos költő végleg megcsendesedett és befelé fordult, —­­mint ahogy néhány kritikusa írta — vagy az “Irgalma fák” csak egy átmeneti korszakot jelentenek? Néhány jel — szerintem — az utóbbi felé mutat. Hiába vette körül nappal a fák őszi csend­je, álmában a hársak most is “ágas karjaikra veszik” és vissza­viszik “a börtön udvarába, azokhoz, akik új vigaszra várnak.” Fájdalmasan állapítja meg, hogy hazátlanul nincs értéke a sza­badságnak. A börtönök kínzó emléke és az októberi dicsőségre hulló novemberi gyász örökre összeköti azokkal, akiktől csak testileg szakadt el, de lélekben soha. Értük ír a fák legnagyobb példájá­ról is: a helytállásról. Vészben és minden viharban ott maradni, ahova az Isten állította őket. És a 20. évfordulón nemcsak ne­künk, hanem főként az otthoniaknak szól reménykedő üzenete a “Végső magvetésében: “Az elvetett mag bizton kikéi egyszer. A zsarnokságnak szöges boronái ott lent a mélyben nem hagynak nyomot. Végső győztes mindig az elnyomott.” (Saáry Éva művészi képillusztrációi tökéletes egységbe fo­nódnak a könyvvel, mely a Nemzetőr címén rendelhető meg: München 34, Postfach 70. Ára színes borítólappal, fűzve $5, vá­szonkötésben $6.50.) Flórián Tibor MENEKÜLÉS A FÁKHOZ V Tollas Tibor: Irgalmas fák, versek, Nemzetőr, München, 1975 “A hazátlan szabadság”-ban élő költőnek ez a negyedik vers­kötete. 1959-ben, Brüsszelben “Csak ennyi fény maradt” címmel jelent meg első kötete. Ezt követte 1967-ben, Münchenben a “Járdaszigeten” és 1969-ben az “Eszterlánc”. Az “Eszterlánc” megjelenéséig a szabad világban úgy ismer­ték és becsülték Tollas Tibort, mint “szabadságharcos-költőt’'. Ezt a jelzőt nemcsak verseivel vívta ki, hanem lapjával, a Nem­zetőrrel és az általa szerkesztett antológiákkal is. A “Füveskert”­­ben a magyar börtönköltészetet és a “Glória Victis”-ben az 56-os csodálatos fölkelés nemzetközi visszhangját tárta a világ elé. Tollas Tibor az “Eszterlánc”-ban fordul el először a politikai költészettől, a család és három gyermeke felé. Mégis ebben a kötetében is még programot ad: “Hagyd el nyugalmad páholyát” — mondja — utolsó ítélet előtt (mentő-tanúid az anyák) legye­nek és a csecsemők.” Mint csendes, legyőzhetetlen fegyvert mu­tatja föl a magyar családot, mely — ha akarjuk — túléli törté­nelmünknek ezt a válságos korszakát. 1973-ban azonban “Gloria Victis 1848-49” címen megszer­keszti és kiadja egy 350 oldalas kötetben XIX századi szabad­ságharcunk páratlan nemzetközi visszhangjának hatalmas gyűj­teményét. Az egyre növekvő gazdasági válság, a Nemzetőr fenntartá­sának és a különféle kiadványoknak gondja újra kiűzi a család­ból a világ országútjára. Vancouver-től Délamerikáig, Észak- Európától Afrikáig és a távoli Ausztráliáig előadások százain át építi föl a Nemzetőr sajtóalapját. A börtönévek alatt szerzett betegsége azonban arra kény­szeríti, hogy évente egy-két hónapot töltsön a Starnbergi tó part­ján fekvő kórházban. Itt a kényszer magányban és csendben az ablakán betekintő két nyírfával beszélget és rádöbben arra, hogy a hajsza évei nem hagytak időt az önmagával és a transzcendens világgal való találkozásra. Itt írja meg az “Irgalmas fák” c. kö­tetét. Amig “a betonbőrű pusztaságon”, a városban élt, csak “néhány zöld sziget”-et látott, de itt egyszerre fölfedezi a fák oltalmazó és életet adó jelentőségét. Meglátja az egyedüli me­nedéket, a' természetet, ahova az önmagát pusztító civilizáció elől menekülni lehet. De a fák fölszakítják a honvágy sebét is. Gondolatban visz­­szajár a Bán patak partjára, “a fűzfák zöld sűrűjébe”. A barcai nyár emlékei térnek vissza és a Szeles tető oldaláról idevillan a lányok fehér inge. Szülőfalujának “felhőkarcolói”-t, a jegenyé­ket .kéri, hogy jöjjenek érte és halottan is hazavigyék. Az “égigérő fához” pedig azért mond pogány imát, hogy “a halál órájában fogadja be” s a vigyázó ősökhöz vezesse vissza. A “Három hús­véti kívánság”-ban pedig anyjára emlékezik és azt szeretné, hogy a végső órán vele lehessen és a sír helyett keblének vánkosára hajthassa fejét. Göre Gábor: Kátsa (8-cadik eresztés) 1 -00 Harcunk —< 1920-1945 — képek 11.00 Jaszovszky József dr.: Quo vadis Man-Gar? 2.50 Katona József: Bánk bán (Kötve) 1.25 Kossányi József: Szent György meg a sárkány 1,75 Kossányi József: Végtelen út (vászonkötésben) 5.00 Kővári Károly S.J.: A turzovkai jelenések 1.25 Magyarország politikai térképe t.00 Magyarország begy- és vízrajzi térképe 1.00 Márai Sándor: Föld, föld 8,00 Márai Sándor: Rómában történt valami (regény) 7.50 Mindszenty: Emlékirataim 15.00 Mindszenty-látogatás emlék albuma 16.00 Mindszenty kép (nagy, színes 9x12) 1.00 Probászka: Diadalmas Világnézet 10.00 Somogyi Ferenc dr.: Küldetés. A magyarság története 12.00 Somogyi Ferenc dr.: Magyar nyelv és irodalom 1825-ig 12.00 Színes levelezőlapok: Liszt Ferenc, Rákóczi Ferenc, Árpádbázi Szent Erzsébet, Széchenyi István, Szent István szobra, Mindszenty bíboros, Szent Korona. Szent Jobb, Szent Jobb az ereklyetartóban, Deák Ferenc. Darabja 10 cent. Mindszenty József (színes fénykép) 0.20 Tamási Áron: Ábel a rengetegben 2.00 Dr. Tótb Tihamér: Hiszem az örökéletet, kötve 5.50 Újszövetségi Szentírás (nagybetűs) (Kötve) 8.25 Vaszary Gábor: A nő a pokolban is úr 7.00 Vaszary Gábor: Hárman egymás ellen 7.00 Vaszary Gábor: Ö 7.00 Wass Albert: Javak könyve (meséskönyv) 1.50 Willam-Kótai: Máriának, Jézus anyjának élete (Kötve) 7.00 ~ ITT VÁGJA KI EZT A RÉSZT ÉS KÜLDJE BE RENDELÉS KÁRPÁT Publishing Co-P.O. Box 5348 Cleveland, Ohio 44101 Megrendelem a MINDSZENTY ALBUMOT .................példányban (á. 16.— illetve 10 pl.-nál több esetén 12..—). Megrendelem az alábbi könyveket: A csekket mellékelem. Név: ......................................................................................... Utca: ...................................................................................... Város: ....................................................................................... Állam:....................................... Zip cod«: ........ a jjotestant). Slowly and painfully it became obvious that onllwith tbe support of tbe Catholic Church and tbe west­ern countries could Hungary hope to free herself from the grb of tbe J urks. JTe process of extrication from tbe Turkish grip was deayed by various political blunders and miscalculations, however Count Nicolas Zrínyi, the great-grandson of the Sityetvár ? hero, was already pressing for the independence of Hungary. The national leaders were particularly dis­­heirtened by the overly cautious actions of Imperial General Mntecuccoli, particularly after the military victory of Szntgotthárd in 1664 when the Hungarian victors felt coipelled to accept a shameful peace treaty with the de­­fe.ted Turks. Under the leadership of Francis Wesselényi, nádor of Hmgary, the national leaders swore to act against the op­presing German rule. Of the participating men, three were ultinately executed by the Imperial German Court. Though of tfuse leaders no one was Protestant, the Protestant min­isters ívere accused of participation in the conspiracy and many were sentenced to galley-slavery. Ürese persecutions provoked a new revolutionary uprising in the Hungarian dominions of the Hapsburgs. The rebels won a series of victories over the forces of Emperor-King Leopold I guided by Count Emery Thököly. When the Turks marched against Vienna in 1683, Thököly’s troops naturally fought alongside the 1 urks. SZEREZZE BE A KÁRPÁT KÖNYVKIADÓ KÖNYVESBOLTJÁBAN... A LEGSZEBB, LEGHASZNOSABB AJÁNDÉK MINDEN ALKALOMRA...

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