The Hungarian Student, 1958 (3. évfolyam, 1-2. szám)
1958-10-01 / 1. szám
Ferencz Rákóczi II A fter the unsuccessful plot of the Hungarian gentry, led by Wesselényi against Emperor Leopold I, oppression of Hungary greatly increased. The Hungarians fought this tyranny again and again. During this time, the national, anti-Hapsburg Kurucz battled the Labancz, troops who had remained loyal to the Hapsburgs. The soldiers on both sides were of varied backgrounds: soldiers who no longer received pay, gentry who were forced to flee because they had lost their land, aristocrats who fought for their political beliefs. The victories of the Kurucz were not due to their superior organization as much as to their enthusiasm. The whole Hungarian nation awaited a leader who would embody the nation’s unanimous demands. Ferencz Rákóczi II (1676-1735) fulfilled this expectation. He came from a long line of Hungarian gentry to whom fighting for freedom had become a family tradition. He chose the motto: Pro Patria et pro Libertate. Rákóczi sacrificed his great family fortune and in a short time united the whole nation under his leadership and command. By 1705 his sway extended as far as Transylvania. At the National Assembly in Ónod the Hapsburgs were deposed from the throne of Hungary. But Rákóczi’s ally, the King of France, I.ouis XIV, who had lost his battle against the Hapsburgs, left the rebel Hungarians to their fate, thereby forcing them to seek peace. At the peace treaty of Szatmár in 1711 Hungary was assured of religious freedom and an amnesty for the Kurucz. Rákóczi, who would not be satisfied with such a treaty, had already left the country to seek help. Many other freedom lighters left with him. Rákóczi died in Rodostó, Turkey. The most beautiful Hungarian battle songs originated in the camps of the freedom fighters and are therefore called Kurucz songs. These songs at first spoke hopefully of battles and victories and of the joys of fighting felt even by the horses prancing in the sunshine. Later the songs became the sad melodies of the homeless soldier. Winter had come, and snow covered the fields and the tracks made by red riding boots. The songs were accompanied on a characteristically Hungarian wind instrument, the tárogató, resembling a wooden trumpet, whose tones sounded sadly and far into the night. Ferencz Rákóczi II, sovereign of Hungary, led one of the nation s desperate uprisings, between 1703 and 1711, against Hapsburg oppression. 18 the Hungarian student
