Fraternity-Testvériség, 2009 (87. évfolyam, 1-3. szám)

2009-07-01 / 3. szám

THE BOCSKAI by Kathy A. Megyeri

Attend any Hungarian formal function and you will see men and even some women dressed in formal black coat attire with intricate braiding that decorates the front. This Bocskai, as it is known, has a colorful history that explains its highly- regarded status. In 2005, the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest held an exhibit to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Bocskai Uprising, and it is here that I learned more about the man and the fashionable coat that celebrates his life and victory.

István Bocskai (Kolozsvár / Cluj-Napoca, Romania) led the first Hungarian anti- Habsburg uprising on January 1, 1557. At the peak of his career, Bocskai was elected Prince of Transylvania and later Prince of Hungary during the Revolution. But even at an earlier age, he held a responsible position in Transylvania because of his family’s connections. He spent his childhood near the Viennese and Prague court of the Habsburgs, and at seventeen years of age, he became a member of the

young noblemen’s inner-court circle. Then, in 1576, he left Prague for the Prince of Transylvania’s court. Even on engravings of the Hungarian King and Transylvanian Princes, his likeness appears on coins, seals and paintings of that era. During the Fifteen Years’ or Long War (1591/93- 1606), his reputation grew. Eventually the Bocskai Uprising occured as a result of lawsuits, poor Turkish relationships, literary and religious disputes, and the Counter-Reformation which was gaining ground at that time. One relic of the Uprising was the red silk standard banner of István Bocskai. This flag shows the Bocskai coat of arms surrounded by a dragon with the abbreviation of all the titles of Bocskai above it (Stephanus Dei Gratia Pinceps Hungáriáé, Transilvaniae, Siculorum Comes), and both sides of the flag are dotted with painted golden flames.

Depictions of Bocskai’s large army of foot- soldiers called

Haiduks appeared in various publications through the 17th century. They were armed with sabres and guns, and on their right side, hatchets or an axe- adze hung from their belts. In 1605, Bocskai finally granted them privileges

in his Haiduk Charter of Emancipation.

In that same year in Rákosmező, next to Pest, Bocskai met with the Grand Vizier Lalla Mehmed who handed over the Sultan’s deed with a gold, gemstone crown and a ceremonial sabre. As soon as the Grand Vizier placed the crown on Bocskai’s head, he took it off and said that the object was not to be regarded as a royal insignia but

simply as a gift.

The peace treaties of Vienna and Zsitvatorok ended the uprising and the Fifteen Years’ War. In 1606, Bocskai died shortly after writing his will that eloquently expressed his views on the political situation of the Transylvanian Principality and its responsibilities:

“As long as the Hungarian Crown is possessed by a stronger nation than ours, the Germans, the Hungarian Kingdom will also depend on the Germans; therefore, it is an ever pressing and useful duty of ours to have a prince in Transylvania since that will be a safe guard for us and be beneficial to them too. And should God be so merciful to us that the Hungarian Crown comes into the hands of a Hungarian in Hungary, under a sovereign country, we will warn the Transylvanians against any kind of secession or resistance, but they should equally help this cause to the best of their ability and should accept the Crown, as was customary in the past. ”

Ironically, Bocskai’s memory doesn’t linger on like that of Ferenc Rákóczi II or Lajos Kossuth, but instead, he is remembered mostly by the formal wear named after him that was particularly fashionable in the first half of the 20th century. Traditional Hungarians still honor his memory by wearing this black ornately decorated coat with its fringed, collar tie. Whenever my husband dons his Bocskai for an HRFA event, I can’t help but think of this valiant leader of the Upraising who would have gladly rejoiced at the return of the Hungarian Crown to the sovereign nation he so gallantly fought for.

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