The Eighth Tribe, 1979 (6. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1979-01-01 / 1. szám
Page 10 THE EIGHTH TRIBE January, 1979 was the first Hungarian royal diploma, the first piece of Hungarian historical writing is constituted by the fragments of the Annals of Pannonhalma, begun in 988, and preserved in the late twelfth-century Codex Pray. Similar annals were written by most of the monasteries at one or another time, but few of them survived. Moreover, because they were rather simple chronological notations, their innate value is nowhere near that of a gesta or chronicle of later years. As far as we know, the first attempt to write a cohesive history of the Magyars was made in the middle of the eleventh century. But this so-called Ancient Gesta (Ősgesta) did not survive; nor did its late eleventh-century version known as the Gesta of King Ladislas (Gesta Ladislai Regis). The first Hungarian history to come down to us is the Gesta Hungarorum (The Deeds of the Magyars) of the late twelfth century. It was authored by a certain “Magister P.,” generally known as “Anonymus,” who was a notary in the Royal Chancery of King Béla III. These early Hungarian chronicles — like their Western counterparts — were generally written to serve certain religious, social, or dynastic interests. As such, while they contain much useful and usable information, they cannot be treated as objective and fully reliable historical accounts. And this also holds true for Anonymus’s Gesta Hungarorum, which is a rather haphazard and romanticized presentation of the Magyar past. Driven by the desire to magnify the role of his conquering ancestors in their occupation of the Carpathian Basin, Anonymus populated the newly conquered lands with nationalities who did not get into the basin until three or four centuries later. We may even say that he projected the ethnic conditions of his own period back into the ninth century so as to make the Magyar conquest an even more glorious and heroic deed than it was. But in doing so, he placed the Vlachs (later: Roumanians) into ninth-century Transylvania, even though the latter did not begin to cross the Carpathians from their Balkan homelands until the late twelfth and the thirteenth centuries. (Yardy: Mod. Hung. Historiography, 1-3; Győrffy: Gesta Hungarorum, 7-23, 77-133.) Parallel with these early historical works, the Hungarian literary intelligentsia of that period (the clergy) also authored a number of original Hungarian works of religious significance. The earliest and most worthy of these are the lives of the pioneer Hungarian saints (hagiographies), which were needed as sources of inspiration for the young Hungarian Church. The best of these are the legends of Kings St. Stephen and St. Ladislas, the legend of the Christianizer of Eastern 125 PENNSYLVANIA JUNIOR MISS Susan Ann Horvath, daughter of Mr. and Mrs Andrew Louis Horvath, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania was named Pennsylvania Junior Miss and Kraft Hostess Awards winner at the recent Pennsylvania Junior Miss finals which took place in Laureldale. For her award-winning entry, “A Sketch Party,” a dinner party for artist-friends, she received a $300.00 cash scholarship. Susan is a 17-year-old multi-talented senior at Westmont Hilltop High School with her sights set on a career in law. She brims with homemaking and artistic talents. Perhaps more importantly, she knows how to laugh and how to cry. The new Junior Miss held up very well under pressure . . . pressure that included performing in the finals with the knowledge that her grandfather lay dying in a Johnstown hospital. (Actually, he had died Nevember 25, the final day of the pageant, but Susan was not told until the next day.) After relating how the Westmont girl had captured both the youth fitness and poise and appearance categories, a reporter wrote: “Her double victory, a rare happening in pageant history, sets her up as a key contender for the state title . . .” The writer was correct. A few hours latter Susan became the state winner. The 21st annual pageant was held Thanksgiving week at Muhlenberg High School in Reading, Pa. At High School Susan is captain of the cheerleaders and a member of the National Honor Society, Student Council and drama and glee clubs. She is a member of the Penn Wood Players and help tutor elementary children. She plans to attend Duquesne University. As Pennsylvania Junior Miss, Susan will compete for the title of America's Junior Miss in Mobile, Alabama in April. Also, she is eligible to enter the national Kraft Hostess Awards competition. The final night’s activities will be televised live by CBS. In 1977 America’s Junior Miss was M iss Christina Ellen Möller, also of
