Magyar külpolitika, 1930 (11. évfolyam, 1-7. szám)

1930 / 6. szám - The Hungarian Situation. Lecture delivered in Hull by Count Rubido Zichy, Hungarian Minister in London, in the League of Nation lecture series

22 HUNGÁRIA LLOYD November 1930 The Hungárián Situation Lecture delivered in Hull by Count Rubido Zichy, Hungárián Minister in London, in the League of Nation lecture series T ara greatly obliged to you for your kind invitation which affords me the pleasure of addressing you oa the sabject of aiy country. I shall endeavour to give ia the short time at our disposal such information as wú\ onable you to fornj a generál idea on tbe past, present and perhaps alsó on the future of Hungary. I hope that the time you vül spend listeuing tó rue will not be entirely wasted. You will excuse me if sometimes 1 ara rather lenghthy, brit I think that all thai I am going to ay is essential for the full understanding of the present situation. 1 begin by giving you a very concise survey of Hungary's history j but of course only the, most important outlines can be squeezed into the framework of this address. The fifst appearance of the Hungarians dated from the 9th century, when our people crossed the Oárpathian Bíountains in aboul 8M_! A 1)., and descendcd into the fertiíe plains and hills of the Danul)ian hasin which subsequently became the nucleus of Historic Hungary. The occupation of the country was accomplished by 896 A. 1>. The territory itself was at that time practically no man's land. Since the decline of the Román Empire it had become the melting pot of migrating Gothic, Hun, Avar and Slavonic tribes, which were consumed in incessant strife pending their settlement in the Danubian valley. The early history of the Hungarians themselves has but recently been cleared up. Their cradle lies somewhere near the Ural, and they are the offspring of a mixture between Finnish-Ugrish and Turco-Tartar tribes. On their wanderings tbey must have been struck l)y the necessity of united leader ship and so the seven clans electcd one chief, Árpád, who was the leader of the clan called „Magyar". Hence the whole nation derived its name. This amalgamation has taken place not long before they crossed tbc (íarpathians. As far as we are able to reconstruct the jcharacter of the early Hungárián he seems to have been a courageous fighter, clannish but freedom loving, loyal and kind-hearted. Absolute master of his wiry little horse, he was a wonderful archer. Later on the Hungárián light eavalry became tbe model of that in all Western Armjés, the nam« of „Huszár" being of Hungárián origin. In the beginning they could not settle down and were raiding the Germán bordér towns until they were taught a lesson by the Germán Eínperor Ottó the Great who defeatéd them in 955 oear Augsburg and made the Hungarians reálisé the necessity of settling down seriously and of accommod.ating themselves to Western conditions. But in spite of these ráids I maintain my assertion of the Hungarian's fundamental good natúré which is illustrated by a little incident, handed down by a contemporary chronicle. The Monastery of Saint Gallen heard one day of approaching Hungárián raiders. The monks fled panicsticken with the exception of a Lay Friár, Brother Harribaldus, vrho made up his mind to have a look at tliose dreaded barbarians. His brethren, being unable to prevaíl upon him to leave, gave him up as a victim of the raid. After the Hungarians had withdrawn and the air was clear again, the monks returned titealthily to the monastery. They expected to find the cruelly mangled body of the reckless friar. They were astonished and, let us hope, shocked, when they found Brother Harribaldus drunk but happy, roaring fnigments of pagan ditties and, singing the praise of the invaders who, contrary to all expectation, had not saeked the monastery, and had given Brother Harribaldus a tégulai „bust". The final foundation of a Hungárián State in the European sense was accomplished by Saint Stépben who may bf> called one of the most far seeing statesmen of his time. He assumed leadership when the Hungarians stood at the cross roads bet-" ween East and West, and on his choice depended their future, and, to a certain extent the fate of Europe. Stephen did not hesitate for a moment and resisting all attractions and pressure emanating from Byzanz threw in his lot and that of his people for ever with the West, which then stood for Kome and the Pope. He joined the Western Church, seat emissaries to the Pope, obtaiued from him the still existing crown and the Apostolié cross and was crowned in 1001' as the first Apostolié King of Hungary. It was his decision to jóin the West that mapped out Hungary's future to stand for ever as an outpost of the West against everything else, be it Mongolian Invasion or Turkish aggression, Bizan tinism, Islam, Balkanism, Panslavism, Tsarism or Bolshevism. The first great battle in the defence of Western civilisation wan fought towards the middle of the 13th ceatury, when Hungary had to sustain the terrific shock of a Mongol invasion, which finally was repulsed but left the country without popuhv tion a heap of charred ruins. The West was saved, not a single Mongolian was ever alloved to crcss the Western Frontier of Hungary. But the great losses in life which led to the depopulation of whole districts, had to be made good in somé way or ofher. Immigrants were enccuraged to settle down in somé of the devastated areas, a poliey which, though undeniably sound and even inevitableinthose days, led eventually to digastrous consequences. I do not want to take up your time by explaiaíng the further developments of Hungary during the three centuries after the Mongolian invasion. The one outstanding ruler of this period was Matthias Corvinus, son of John Hunyadi, who was a very prominent personality. It will perhaps interest you that already in the 15th century. King Matthias conceived the idea of forming a kind of league of the European rulers and nations. This sebemé, however, was frustrated by the early death of Matthias. His successors were weaklings, ; and the authority of the Hungárián king:; declined so much during that time that young Louis II. ;could not resist the Turkish pressure, and the second great catastrophe overtook the nation, when in 152(3 Sultan Soliman the Great gained a críishing victory in