HISTORY OF FIRST PERIOD-889-1301. CHAPTER I. HUNGARY FROM THE MAGYAR CONQUEST TO THE INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY (889-1000.) INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. I PROPOSE to treat, in the pages that follow, the History of Hungary from the day of its first appearance among the states of Europe, down to the year 1850. The annals of this long period, comprising more than 950 years, are for the most part steeped in blood, shed at first in daring adventures and fierce intestine struggles, subsequently in efforts to stem the tide of Eastern conquest that threatened to subjugate the whole of Christian Europe; and, in more recent times, in struggles against the oppressive rule of foreign princes. A 2 ORIGIN OF THE MAGYARS. The Hungarians, or Magyars, from whom the kingdom of Hungary received its boundaries, its name, and its laws, cannot be said to have originated any distinct principle of European civilization: their chief merit is to have become, after surviving all their calamities, both desirous and fit for its attainment. The best monument, in fact, of this people, is its very existence, still standing forth, after innumerable blasts, like a forest of oak-trees, deep-rooted and green. The settlement of the Magyars in Europe—the last successful invasion during the middle ages—though passed over almost in silence by the generality of historians, had a deep and world-wide meaning. The very date of this remarkable conquest impressively attests the wisdom of the superhuman Power that guides the migrations of mankind. The origin of the Magyars has afforded to antiquarians no small subject of controversy. According to some, they are the descendants of the ancient Scythians; others class them among the Turkish tribes; some pretend that they are descended from the Huns ; others, again, attempt to prove their Parthian extraction; while the great antiquarian of Hungary, Stephen Horvath, finds no difficulty in tracing back the pedigree of the Magyars to Noah. More recent and practical inquiries, however, enable us safely to throw aside all vague opinion and mere etymological speculation; and whoever reads Huc's Travels in Tartary, that is at all acquainted with the characteristics of the Hungarian race, will find sufficient evidence to conclude that the Magyar belongs to those Mogul-Tartar tribes which live, down to the present day, scattered along the confines of China. The Magyars (the idiomatic synonym for Hunga ARPAD LEADER OF THE CONQUEST. rians, and probably the proper name of one of their tribes), driven by internal dissensions from their native deserts, found a home for centuries around the Caucasus, and along the barren shores of the Wolga. About the end of the ninth century they suddenly struck their tents, and pressed irresistibly forward to the very heart of Europe. What the fate might have been of these wandering shepherds, had an arm like that of Charlemagne still swayed the sceptre in Pannonia: or rather, what the fate might have been of Christian Europe, had the conquest of the Turks preceded that of the Magyars, is a question on which it were idle to speculate. The Invisible Power had chosen his own time, and at the destined moment, these Asiatic nomades, as if borne on the wings of the gale, were all at once seen to cover the wide plains which divide the Eastern empire from that of the West. Immediately after crossing the eastern frontier (A.D. 889), the Magyars elected for their chief Arpad, the son of Almos, who conducted them to the frontiers of Hungary. The latter did not survive to see the conquest. The whole body under Arpad's guidance consisted of about a million, numbering among them about two hundred thousand warriors, and divided into seven tribes, each having its chief. The country which they prepared to take possession of, and the central part of which was then called Pannonia, was broken up into small parts, and inhabited by races dissimilar in origin and language; as Sclavonians, Wallachians, a few Huns and Avars, as well as some Germans. Before commencing the conquest, the Magyars entered into a compact, which throws some light on their general character. This compact 4 COMPACT OF THE INVADERS.-RELIGION. consisted of the following points: 1st, The chief power was to be hereditary in the family of Arpad, while the power of the chiefs of the respective tribes was to be hereditary also; 2d, Each successive prince was obliged to undergo an election before assuming the supreme power; 3d, Treason or faithlessness on the part of the chief of the state was to be punished with banishment, and, in the case of the chiefs of the tribes, with death; 4th, The fruits of the conquest were to be divided according to merit in the work of the conquest. Nor did these stern barbarians dispatch this solemn agreement with a mere verbal oath. In the centre of a circle was placed a rude vessel of hollowed stone. Around it stood the assembled chiefs of the tribes. Then Arpad, first baring his arm, pierced it with the point of his falchion, till the blood flowed into the basin of stone. The chiefs of the tribes followed his example in succession, till the vessel reeked with the warm blood. Each man then put his lips to the bowl, and quaffing the mingled draught, they testified, in the presence of the high sun, which they worshipped, their solemn purpose to conquer or die together. The religion of these invaders will give us a deeper insight into their character. The first thing we meet with in their creed is the doctrine of the two principles. This points sufficiently, without the help of etymological distortions, to the parent land of the Magyars. Isten, now the word for God, was the name of the principle of Good-the omnipotent Being whom they worshipped-whose ministers were the thunder, the lightning, and the storm. Armany (meaning intrigue) was the name of the principle of Evil. The next important point of belief was the immortality of the soul; hence their contempt of death, as well as the festivities, |