The Deeds of the Hungarians; Epistle to the Sorrowful Lament upon the Destruction of the Kingdom of Hungary by the Tartars (2010)

Title:Anonymi Bele Regis Notarii Gesta Hungarorum / Anonymus, Notary of King Béla: The Deeds of the Hungarians. Edited, translated and annotated by Martyn Rady and László Veszprémy; Magistri Rogerii Epistola in miserabile carmen super destructione regni Hungarie per Tartaros facta / Master Roger’s Epistle to the Sorrowful Lament upon the Destruction of the Kingdom of Hungary by the Tartars.
Author:
Translator:Translated and annotated by János M. Bak and Martyn Rady
Editor:
Language:English
Series:
Place:Budapest-New York
Publisher:Central European University Press
Year:2010
Pages:XXXVIII, 268
ISBN:9789639776951
File:PDF, 6.72 MB
Download:Click here

Anonymi Bele Regis Notarii Gesta Hungarorum / Anonymus, Notary of King Béla: The Deeds of the Hungarians. Edited, translated and annotated by Martyn Rady and László Veszprémy; Magistri Rogerii Epistola in miserabile carmen super destructione regni Hungarie per Tartaros facta / Master Roger’s Epistle to the Sorrowful Lament upon the Destruction of the Kingdom of Hungary by the Tartars. Translated and annotated by János M. Bak and Martyn Rady. Budapest-New York: Central European University Press, 2010, XXXVIII+268 p. ISBN 9789639776951

Contains two very different narratives: a work of literary imagination on early Hungarian history, and an eye-witness account of the Mongol invasion of 1241-1242. Both are for the first time presented in an updated Latin text with an annotated English translation.

An anonymous notary of King Béla (probably Béla III) of Hungary wrote a Latin “Gesta Hungarorum” (ca 1200/1210), a literary composition about the mythical origins of the Hungarians and their conquest of the Carpathian Basin. He wove into it stories of heroic ancestors of the great men of his time. Anonymus tried to (re)construct the events and protagonists – including ethnic groups – of several centuries before from the names of places, rivers, and mountains of his time, assuming that these retained the memory of times past. One of his major inventions was the inclusion of Attila the Hun into the Hungarian royal genealogy, a feature later developed into the myth of Hun-Hungarian continuity (by Simon of Kéza and other chroniclers). 

“The Epistle to the Sorrowful Lament upon the Destruction of the Kingdom of Hungary by the Tartars” of Master Roger includes an eyewitness account of the Mongol invasion in 1241-1242, beginning with an analysis of the political conditions under King Béla IV and ending with the king’s return to the devastated country.

Kitab iki kısımdan oluşuyor, ikisi de ilk el kaynaktır:

1) Gesta Hungarorum (Macarların Eylemleri) — Latince’de Macarların erken tarihi hakkında bilgi içeren tarihi bir eser. Eserin yazarı bilinmiyor: metinde kendisine Belae Regis Notarius (Kral Bela’nın noteri) olarak atıfta bulunur, ancak genel olarak, literatürde sadece Anonim olarak adlandırılır. Anonim yazar, muhtemelen Sorbonne’da okudu ve kroniklerin yazıldığı sırada Macar kralı Bela III’ün (1172-1196) curialarında noter (yazar) olarak görev yaptı. Mevzu bahis kronikül muhtemelen 1196-1203 yılları arasında yazılmıştır, ancak bazı akademisyenler yazarın kroniği daha önce XII.Yüzyılda yazdığını iddia etmektedir. “Macarların Eylemleri” yaklaşık 1200’cü yılında istinsah edilmiş el yazmasında korunmuş ve ilk kez 1746’da yayınlanmıştır.

2) Macar Kralı IV. Bela zamanında Cengizli ordusunun Macaristanı fethi (1241-1242).