The Eighth Tribe, 1976 (3. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1976-09-01 / 9. szám
September, 1976 THE EIGHTH TRIBE Page 9 King Béla, Géza and László, led the party that sympathized with the Pope. As these latter prevailed, Solomon was replaced by Géza I (1074-1077). Thus Hungary weathered the European crisis well and with added strength, a condition permitting her further expansion southwards. The immediate results of all this were noticeable during the next two reigns. Kings László the Saint (1077-1095), and Kálmán “the Booklover” (1095- 1119), consolidated peace and prosperity, and even ventured on further expansion. The Tirpimir dynasty of Croatia becoming extinct, the widowed queen invited her brother László, the Hungarian King, to incorporate Croatia into Hungary. László and his successor took care to preserve the autonomy of their new domain. For more than eight hundred years, up to the end of the First World War, Croatia, while under a royal representative called the Bán, enjoyed a separate constitutional freedom based on its own historical traditions. King Kálmán extended his direct influence over the ports of the Adriatic, for which Venice competed down to the 15th century. Close political connections were also maintained with the Poles. The authority of the Hungarian state continued to grow, and the spiritual influence of the West became more pronounced, largely through the final establishment of Christianity. King Stephen, his son Prince Imre, and Bishop Gellért were canonized in 1083. King László founded a monastery for French monks at Somogy - vár. The ‘ Gesta Ungarorum”, the nation’s first historical treatise, lost in its original form, was written in Hungary at this time. László’s three legal codes clarified certain issues relating to law and order, while Kálmán, with his up-to-date legal reforms embodied in some eighty-four articles, lessened the rigors of written law. Besides the problems of the west, the defence of the eastern borders was a matter of no small concern. Nomadic peoples of Turkic organization—Cumanians and Petchenegs—urged in ever-renewed waves against the eastern bastions of the Christian Kingdom of Hungary. When they attacked the fortified border regions, they were met and defeated, then afterwards often accepted as settlers, converted to the Christian faith and taught the Western manner of life. King László was the great hero of these struggles with the pagan invaders. The “Illustrated Chronicle” describes one of his legendary engagements with the “Black Cumanians” thus: “King László spoke to his knights: T will die with you rather than see these heathens carry off your wives and children into slavery’. Having thus spoken, he led the attack against the Cumanians. And God crushed these pagans before the Hungarians. Then the King called to his warriors. ‘Let us not kill these people, but take them prisoner, and if they can be converted, let them leave in peace with us.’ ” Many such colorful sagas prove the constant defence of the Faith undertaken by the Hungarians. The middle of the 12th century was another trying period. King Stephen II (1116-1131), son of Kálmán and a Norman-French mother, Buzilla, was compelled to devote the greater part of his energies to adventurous campaigns. His brother, Béla H (1131-1141), married a Serbian Princess, thus strengthening Hungary’s position in the Balkans. During his reign began the political penetration that later brought the northern part of this peninsula under feudal allegiance to the King of Hungary. These connections were continued when the twoyear-old Géza II (1141-1162), was enthroned and the Palatine, Belos, exercised executive powers until Géza came of age. During the turbulent decades in the middle of the 12th century, the political centre of gravity shifted from west to east. Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, however, never seriously threatened Hungary, even at the zenith of his power. The Kingdom of Hungary was considered a strong and wealthy one, and was so described by Cosmas, well-known contemporary Czech historian. An outstanding German historian of the period, Bishop Otto of Freising traversed Hungary with an army of crusaders in 1147, and was surprised at the great authority wielded by the Hungarian King. For to one coming from the West already infiltrated with the feudal system, this must have been a novelty. “The Hungarians”; wrote Bishop Otto, “obey their ruler to such an extent that they deem it a disloyalty even to whisper among themselves any criticism of his person ... and should even the most powerful among the nobles offend him, the lowest servant of the court has power to place the offender under arrest, even if protected by his body guard.” But the attention of the German historian was further arrested by the fact that the King never acted in an autocratic fashion, that he listened to the counsel of others, and that every important step was preceded by lengthy consultations. Nevertheless, Otto of Freising had little use for the Hungarians. He marvelled at the patience of God in permitting such a beautiful country, an earthly Paradise as he termed it, to be inhabited by such “ugly men, who speak such a savage language.” (To be continued)
