Dr. Szabó Lajos: A magyar ifjúság testi nevelésének története (A Sportmúzeum Kincsei 5. Budapest, 2004)

Egyházi nevelés - világi nevelés Testnevelés az Árpád-házi királyok időszakában

THE FIRST HUNGARIAN CLOISTER SCHOOL was established in the monastery founded by the Benedictine monks on top of the St. Martin Hill. In the 19th century it received the name Pannonhalma. During the 11-14th century a very strict order was ruling in the schools of monasteries. Corporal punishment, beating was very often used. Of course physical training did not form part of education in these clerical schools. Physical exercises served the aim of preparing men for wars, as part of knightly education. Five of the seven basic requirements of this education, riding, swimming, bowing, fencing and hunting directly, while chess and writting of poetry indirectly affected the successful fighting style. The first foreign armoured knights appeared in Hungary at the time of Prince Géza, who needed the help in the fights against the pagan Hungarian tribal leaders. During the reign of St. Stephen more and more knights arrived to Hungary. In 1189 King Béla III organized a huge tournament in Esztergom in the honour of Friedrich Barbarossa, passing through Hungary with his court. But it was still the traditional fights with light armature that remained characteristic in Hungary, supplemented with the folk gallantries known from chronicles (Legend of Zotmund and Botond). In 1052 Henrik III, German emperor attacked Hungary with a huge army and fleet. According to the Pictorial Chronicle a brave soldier saved the Hungarian army and brought victory to them. Zotmund was an excellent swimmer, and at night he cut the anchor-ropes of the German ships, and while the Germans tried to arrange their lines, the Hungarians succeeded. The Legend of Botond describes a short soldier, who defeated his much bigger and taller Greek rival at the gates of Byzantine and battered such a big hole on the gate of, through which a small child could easily walk in and out.