Horváth M. Ferenc (szerk.): Vác The heart of the Danube Bend. A historical guide for residents and globetrotters (Vác, 2009)
Tartalom
60 VÁC IN THE ÁRPÁD ERA (895-1 301) The Mongol Invasion (Illustrated Chronicle) defending the Verecke Pass, and broke into the Carpathian Basin. A smaller Mongol troop chasing the palatine and his escort, who were fleeing towards the middle of the country, reached Pest as early as 15 March.The barbaric horsemen appearing suddenly in the heart of the country were just teasing the Hungarian defenders behind the defences, riding alongside the walls and entrenchments of Pest for a few days. However, nobody foresaw how dangerous they were at that time. March 17 was a Sunday in 1241 - according to the liturgy the Sunday of the cruel death of Jesus Christ. The people living around the town ofVác might have heard on the previous day from the travellers coming from the south or the east that there was a troop of foreign horsemen foraying into Pest. Based on the chronicle we can also assume that some of the wiser and more cautious people went to the safer looking and more defendable episcopal see with their families and properties. The story of the mortal attack was told by the Italian Master Rogerius, prebend of Nagyvárad. He gained personal experience of the cruelty of the The Mongol Invasion (Illustrated Chronicle) Mongols while he was wandering as a miserable fugitive on the Great Hungarian Plain near the River Maros among rotting human remains and hiding in the environs of ravaged settlements. In a few days he fell into captivity and had to endure the bitter fate of slaves for nearly a year. However, he managed to survive his ordeals and saw the Mongols marching on, which was probably due to his frequent and devout prayers. Rogerius states that on that particular Sunday, March 17 the Mongols launched a savage attack on the town and managed to capture it. Even the reinforced area around the cathedral and the stone buildings were unable to resist the attackers and all of Christians died or were taken prisoners on that day. The Mongols robbed the treasury of the church, then they locked up all the common people, the prebends and the noble families into the cathedral and perhaps some other buildings, too, and burned them alive. This unheard-of cruelty might have made the surviving people of the vicinity run away into the forests, but starvation forced them to obey the call of the Mongols and return to their homes in a few days or weeks. The 3fngre!tu« Mrtarep in Ijwigarii temponbuo rcgí«»tl£*juaríi I The Mongol Invasion
