The Eighth Tribe, 1974 (1. évfolyam, 1-7. szám)
1974-11-01 / 6. szám
November, 1974 THE EIGHTH TRIBE Page Seven the one who sat on the box and bent the cross. Helen Koltaner was her name. For 300 years, until 1301, the Crown was handed down in a direct line of St. Stephen’s descendants— the Arpad family. It was threatened by invading Turkish hordes, by the internal chaos following the dying out of the Arpad male line, and by the religious dissension introduced by Calvinism. In 1683 Christopher Erdody, the Guardian of the Crown, travelled quietly from town to town in order to keep it from the Turks, who once again had invaded Hungary. In 1784 Joseph II declined to wear the Crown. In 1849 Louis Kossuth, a great spirit of emancipation, buried the Crown and the orb and scepter and mantle in the reeds along the banks of the Danube. He could hear Austrian guns firing into the darkness as Austrian soldiers combed the countryside for him. Franz Josef, after taking a coronation oath to keep inviolate the lawful independence and territorial integrity of Hungary, had the crown placed on his head by the Archbishop. And during World War I, Charles I, Emperor of Austro-Hungaria, accepted the Crown. Miraculously surviving the Nazi occupation, the Crown was safely delivered to the Allies toward the end of World War II. As we have noted earlier, only the President, the Pope, and a handful of officials know exactly where the Crown is now kept. The postwar Communist government of Hungary has been demanding that America return the Crown to Hungary. At one time there was even some speculation that the Crown would be returned in exchange for Cardinal Mind- 8zenty. But despite Communist pressures, President Nixon, in February of 1972, assured Mindszenty that the Crown would remain in the United States. Since “he who holds the Crown rules Hungary,” Mindszenty, an anti-communist who regards the communists as “usurpers” in Hungary, argues that the Crown must be protected until Hungary gets back her freedom. Incidentally, in the absence of a ruler the Crown passes to the leading Primate, Cardinal Mindszenty himself. But mindful of the air of legitimacy the Crown would bring to their government, the present Communist regime would like nothing better to have it, to claim itself the rightful heir of Hungarian history. The present Hungarian Government also argues that the Crown belongs in Hungary regardless of the nature of any current government. This strong argument has been given editorial support by no less than The New York Times. Another point of view is that the Crown might as well be relegated once and for all to history, since it existed merely as a “thinly disguised legal fiction designed by successive generations of royalist politicians and the Catholic Church to legitimize ethnic Hungarian rule over the non-Magyar nationalists of the Carpathian basin.” As spiritless as this view is, it makes some sense in light of the harsh realities of recent Hungarian history: occupation by the Nazis, then the Communists, a revolution, reprisals, continued struggling for freedom if not independence. Why bother with a museum piece, a sentimental momento revered only by outmoded generations? Yet interest in the Crown persists, and evidently some people think this jewel studded survivor of 1,000 years of history, bent cross and all, is still of importance to the spirit of a living nation. S. G. Radhuber Portland, Oregon 97201 Stanley Gregory Radhuber is Professor of Literature, Poetry and Short Writing at the University of Oregon. Degrees: M.A. from Columbia University; Ph.D. from University of Michigan. In 1963 he won the Avery Hopwood Awards in both poetry and fiction at Ann Arbor. His numerous publications include poetry in “Chicago Review”, “Concerning Poetry”, “The Human Voice”, “Local Earth”, “Poetry”, “Poetry Northwest”, and “Quixote”. He recently completed his first novel “Ferdie” and is now preparing “Naming the Dark”, a volume of poems for publication. Stanley Gregory Radhuber is a second generation Hungarian- American. We congratulate him on his many achievements LETTER TO THE EDITOR — November 7, 1974 Mr. Sándor E. Chomos, Editor The Eighth Tribe Dear Mr. Chomos: Congratulations! Your article of my family’s musical history is wonderful. You and your associates are masters of your craft. You cut out lines where it did not alter the contents and fitted the article to the alloted space. Further, the photo reproduced very well. Even the strings on the instruments are visible. All in all, a fine job. Incidently the articles by Mr. Wass, translated by his wife are very interesting. Wishing all of you greater and greater success in your arduous task. Respectfully, Gus Janossy
