Principality of Geza Szilagyi

Geza feledelemsege

I.Chapter

Principality of Géza.

Descendants of Árpád. Oligarchic form of government. Géza and Sarolt. Female rule in the age of
migration. Géza's character. Embassy to Otto. Bavarian conditions. The Vigilcounty. The marriage of
István and Gizella. The Nibelungen Song. The prince and the village. The army. The limes and
settlement. The brave ones. Struggle against genera. The prince and the chief judges. The end of the
village

AFTER ÁRPÁD, we hardly hear anything about the Hungarian princes. Neither history nor legend has
recorded any great deeds. We only know that their dignity remained, and that Gyula and Karkhás and
the other chieftains shared with them the work of managing the nation and the glory of leading the
wars. We only know the name of some of them, not even that exactly, and some have not even
survived. Their lack of personal excellence may have caused Hungary to not be seen as a monarchy at
this time, as it was at the time of the conquest. The Greek emperor addressed his gold-sealed letters of
double gold weight to the "princes of the Turks".

Taksony, who himself led an army to Italy in his youth, was the prince of the nation at a time when the
unfortunate turn of the German, Italian and Greek campaigns and, on the other hand, the conversion
that penetrated the country from Constantinople and won huge patronage in Gyula, prescribed new
paths for the destiny of the Hungarian nation . Only a very dubious tradition remains of him, that he
was a kind and good gentleman, to whom guests flocked from all over the world, and that his son Géza
was born to a Cuman woman, so she was not a Hungarian, but not a Christian either.2 The place of his
burial was more reliably known, because when he was already dominant among the Hungarians,
Christianity, the last pagan Arpad house ruler, designated his resting place next to the grave of Levente,
his ancestor, the last pagan Hungarian prince. 3 We do not know the year of his death, we can only
conclude from the new direction that appeared at the time that it was in 972 or at the beginning of 973
Húny and was buried according to "pagan rites" in the place named after him, next to the Danube.

Árpád's offspring were not long-lived. Géza, Taksony's son, could barely reach manhood when his
father's dignity fell upon him. It is true that he already had a wife, Gyula's daughter, Sarolt (the blonde),
who was then said to have held her master and the whole country in her hands.4 She was also called a
"beautiful princely lady", but her reputation was that she drank wine like a soldier: she rode the horse
and once in a fit of rage killed a man. "Certainly it would have been more appropriate if this infected
hand had quarreled with the spindle."5 Her beauty and wild strength exerted a great influence on her
husband, so that his possessions and dominion were hers, as it were.6 This influence, and even more so
her origin, was Christian his faith explains why he was given such an important role in managing the
great transformation that took place under Géza. In any case, she is the first Hungarian woman whose
name was indelibly etched in the history of our nation. 7

This female rule was not a rare phenomenon in the era of migration and the beginning of state
formation. There is no need to think of the intrigues in Rome and Lombardy caused by the Italian
depravity of that time, or of Byzantium, where lustful, power-hungry empresses conspired against their
husbands in a row and hoped that the lucky, purple murderer would then share the throne with them.
The examples of the Frankish Clotildis, Brunhilda, Fredegunda, and the Anglo-Saxon Edburga are closer.
The powerful Saxon kings Henrik and Otto show a clear example of how the queen's great, often
overwhelming influence, not only on family but also on national affairs, does not presuppose her
husband's weakness and helplessness. The authority of the lady was very large even under normal
conditions, and it extended a lot from the strictly family boundary into politics. The king is mostly on the
road, on campaign, and during his absence, his wife is not only the guardian of the royal treasures, but
also the manager of the royal goods. At his disposal was the servants, what was then called the familia,
that is, the true germ of court life. If she showed strength and justice in her activities, was able to win
the faithful and deter the partisans, if the desire to do so came in the practice of ruling, her personal
authority could certainly rival her husband's, if not surpass his own. We have to imagine the
relationship between Géza and Sarolt as such. The husband does not hand over the rule to his wife out
of weakness, but precisely because they are of the same nature, he shares it with her. He is left with the
act, the execution, his wife with the advice and preparation. Because Géza was a powerful, violent and
even cruel man. “He was above all a cruel man, and killed many in his sudden anger. When he became
a Christian, he raged against his reluctant subjects." 8 Hungarian tradition also attributes the prince's
blood to his hands, who, through bloodshed, became unworthy to be credited with the beginning of the
gentle rule of Christianity. 9

We can consider the first act of his reign to be the sending of ambassadors to Saxony, to the court of
Emperor Otto, at the beginning of 973. Twelve Hungarian nobles visited Quedlinburg at the time, where
Greek, Bulgarian, Danish and Russian embassies also visited the emperor at the same time.10 Otto, after
a reign rich in both long struggles and triumphs, was then the first prince in power and authority in
Europe. His empire extended from the North Sea to Naples, from the Maas to the Rába, and in this huge
area everyone bowed to his energy and luck. He won not only the Roman emperorship for himself and
his family, even in spite of the Roman pope, whom he forced to be crowned and then expelled, but also
the recognition of this dignity by the older Greek emperors, with whom he entered into a family
connection. Then his son II. He also crowned Otto as his successor, and by creating order everywhere in
his lands, he could wait for his imminent death. The Hungarians have not measured arms with him for
eighteen years, in peace,

If, therefore, Géza really intended to "negotiate carefully with all his neighbors about peace, which he
did not like before,"11 it was not a humiliation, but a recognition of the actual conditions, if he turned to
the highly respected forerunner of the European state system at that time. Otto reciprocated the
friendly message, sending Bishop Bruno of Verden to Hungary to his "king", leaving the Bishop of Passau
to supply his envoy with everything necessary all the way to the Hungarian border. 12 The emperor's
death in May of the same year did not disturb the good neighborliness. His son II. Otto was mostly busy
with Italy, then with the Danes and the French: he cared relatively little about Eastern affairs.

At the time of the Battle of Augsburg Bavaria, which had such a close bond with the kingdom, was,
under Duke Henrik, the most consistent and strongest vanguard of the anti-Hungarian movement.

This common aspiration found expression in the marriage that was most likely concluded in 995
between Henrik's daughter, Gizella, and Géza's eldest son Vajk, who was then called István as a
Christian.14 The German princess was seen as a hostage on the throne of Hungary (Geisel) for the good
friendship of the two nations and for the spread of Christianity. This can be considered the main
triumph of Géza's diplomacy. His family became connected with the brightest dynasty of Western
Christianity. With this marriage begins the close connection with the German nation in peace and war,
which immediately led to a radical change in national life, which attacked the Hungarian nation more
than once in its existence, but which, on the other hand, strengthened our nation financially and
spiritually during the most critical period. The conciliatory effect of this marriage is reflected at this very
time, in Bavaria, probably in the court of the bishop of Passau, in the great German heroic poem, the
Song of the Nibelungen, which was first written down. The German bride sets off with her faithful bride
to her powerful husband, to the country of the Huns; they feel well that the two nations are separated
by many things, but each of them respects the other and even when it comes to a bloody, exterminating
fight between them, it is not caused by national or national motives, but by personal passions. Attila
and his court appear to be Christians, but there were still many wild pagans, as it really was in 995.

The inclusion of the Árpádház in the ranks of the European ruling houses is the main result of Géza's
foreign policy. Two facts are expressed in it: firstly, that the Hungarian principality still represents
considerable power vis-à-vis the rest of the world, and secondly, that it had to enjoy a very strong
authority and influence in the country itself, and an impressive influence abroad as well.

We know nothing more about Géza's era-forming contacts with foreign countries than their beginning:
the Quedlinburg embassy, and their ending: the Bavarian marriage. We don't even have that much
accurate information about what he did and what he accomplished inside the country. We are only
hinted at: what was before it, what state it would be after. By way of comparison and conclusion,
perhaps we can indicate what part belongs to him in the work of state formation and government
arrangement, in the toil and struggle of which he undoubtedly shared with his more famous son, in
which the merit of coping with the difficulties of the beginning belongs to him, but whose glory belongs
more to the latter's sacred head radiates around.

The prince of the Hungarians, Árpád's offspring, was also a great and powerful lord before Géza. For
years, the gold, precious stones, and jewels of all classes of Europe flowed into his treasury, whether in
the form of taxes or sarces, or gifts or spoils, thousands of captives and slaves guarded his studs, colts,
and flocks that covered parts of the country, accompanied him on hunting trips, filled the corridors of
his court houses, waited your order at home or on the go. His origin and dignity commanded the
devout respect of his people, and the princes of foreign countries did not fail to shower with embassies
and gifts the man to whom they attributed the greatest part in managing the ever-threatening
destruction of their country or in his absence. Whether he himself led the army on horseback or sat in
council with the born and elected leaders of the nation, the hopes and concerns of the Hungarians and
their neighbors turned to him.

He had no other intention, could not have, other than to raise his own authority and power, to ensure
the future and dignity of his family. He wanted to use the people living with him for this, or if they
opposed him, to destroy him, he tried to solve the individual issues from this point of view. The
procedure is detailed and practical, only the final result of the many individual facts shows what is
general, an almost regular transformation going to the very core of the nation.

Among the pressing questions, none could be more vital than this: what should happen to the
Hungarian braves who have been living on the prey of other countries, who are used to war and
destruction as a normal occupation? It really was peace with all neighboring states. Forcible
disarmament is almost impossible, but even if it were to happen, it would paralyze the strength of the
nation and drive the wealth of its sons into the service of foreign courts.

As soon as the great lord of the Hungarians, as the foreigners called Géza,15 calls them into his service,
the Hungarian braves know a higher authority than that of their leaders and predecessors. Or even
more: the Hungarian team leaders offered their swords to natural lords and the loyalty of the mages and
their companions, instead of being in the pay of other princes or continuing raiding on the beards of the
mages. And the prince partly settles them on the ends, which they then began to strengthen and where
a strong guard was needed, partly keeps them around him as armed servants, and partly gives them
subjects and perpetual possessions in the interior of the country. Therefore, they and their descendants
are obliged to go to war for Géza and his descendants. This is how the mighty order of the valiant
(milites), the king's servants (servientes), was created, the source of the later Hungarian nobility, which
we find in the laws of Szent-István, but whose origin can most likely be traced back to Géza's
government and the measures that became necessary at that time.16

the resettlement of fighters in these rows was more difficult to create greater resistance. If the
command of someone, the prince, was sacred to the Hungarians, he also suffered discipline from him
more than from anyone else. If some adventurous hero didn't like the new base, he could go to the
world, just as wandering German and Italian knights at that time were hired by Géza. For the subjects,
this installation did not mean a big change either, at most they changed masters. But since the village,
the prince, the tribe and the land of the individual had not yet been separated in any way, it hit hardest
the still nomadic tribes who used the largest part of the country as public pastures. In their view,
settling the braves and giving them private estates was a real deprivation of rights and property, which
could not take place without bloody battles and their cruel suppression. These battles and the loss or
impoverishment of so many Hungarians obscured Géza's memory in the Hungarian tradition. The
isolated reporting, according to which the refugees from the Battle of Augusta came home and became
masters of the country, seems to be a distant echo of this era. "They forced the entire people into
servitude, which did not go to war with them, and only the nobles descended from them are now in the
land of the Hungarians, although the nobility groans under harsh servitude."17

In essence, this was the great constitutional, social and economic change, which our historians usually
refer to as "the overthrow of the national organization". We were trying to find content matching this
name.

As long as the order of the clan was one with the military structure, it stood firm; it made the nation.
We have seen that in the age of conquest and adventures, a certain division had to take place between
the two. Géza's great princely act was that he tied the viable military order, suitable for defense and
attack, to himself and the land and pitted the tribes and clans against the mass of the old, pagan
tradition and morality and its law. At the same time, it depended on the outcome of this struggle:
whether the Hungarian nation could become monarchical, settled, or Christian, or whether, divided into
tribes and not tied to the land, it would continue its existence without progress, until it was destroyed
by internal war, by the weapons of its neighbors, or by the murders of its despised slaves. . The victory
of Géza and his army was the first, perhaps the most important, step for our nation's European
existence.

it follows from the nature of things that this dispossession, this settlement did not take place
simultaneously in the whole wide country. The prince's armed servants and guards were probably the
first to stay at the ends, and beyond the Danube, where his tribe farmed and where he had the most
property. It is true that beyond the Tisza, the old way of life remained for a long time, even after Géza,
and the world still belonged to the shepherd. But the decisive step has been taken. That part of the
Hungarian nation, which was the most pressing in war and peace, was no longer governed by its aggi,
born forerunners, but by its leaders and officers, who were the prince's men, and governed on his
behalf. And the princely army no longer lived from raiding, not even from the profit of the flocks, but
from what the prince gave him from cultivating and owning the land.

Our writers used to state the matter as if, together with the overthrow of the clan structure, Géza had
abolished the ancient constitution and the dignity of Gyula and Karkhás. We have seen that the genera
and tribes did not exist in their full old strength even before Géza. We noted that their disappearance
did not happen at the same time, nor in all parts of the country. Géza could not strive for more than the
provision of his warriors, he overthrew what stood in his way and which in itself could have been a hard
task, but there was no reason to use his strength to destroy institutions that did not limit him, and could
even benefit him. Let's not forget that Gyula and Karkhás are only national – and not tribal – dignities,
like the principality itself. It is true that Gyula, as a relative of the prince and a Christian, was on his side.
In no case did this dignity cease, because István still had to fight with it. The karkhás also remained as a
minor judicial dignity; it occurs even in the time of Szent-Laszló.18 Historical development does not
proceed as smoothly and regularly as some mathematical progress. The fact that it is pushed to the fore
by the strong individuality of the representative of the princely power does not follow by any means the
immediate abolition of the other national institutions that are the same as it and that have sustained its
growth for a while.

Modern constitutional and public law aspects, rather than an accurate examination of the facts
themselves, guided our writers in characterizing the relationship that existed between the prince and
the village.

What was the village? the armed Hungarians grouped around their princes according to gender and
branch. In most cases, his convening had no other purpose than to go straight from the meeting to war.
The reason was eliminated: the nation did not have a single major war during Géza's administration, and
the convening of the village became unnecessary. The prince already had an army at his disposal. Thus,
our chronicles quite correctly date the end of the power of the communes to the time of Géza. There
was no need to erase it: it went away by itself as conditions changed.

Thus began the transformation that transformed the Hungarian nation from pastoral, patriarchal,
somewhat democratic tribes into a monarchical, aristocratic, military state, and as such, it was included
in the ranks of European countries. The crowned turul bird, which reminded troubled peoples of its
food, no longer flew around the world; the Hungarian people found a home and occupied their
homeland. The time has come when the fearsome symbol of pagan virtues will be replaced by the flag
of Christianity showing a gentler morality.
Konstantinos az udvar szertartásairól, II. 48. fej. bonni kiadás. I. 691. Azt hiszem, ezen archonok alatt már
nemcsak a fejedelem, a gülasz és karkhasz értendők, hanem a törzsfők is. Wert Konst., ki az Etelközben
vajdáknak nevezi a törzsfőket, az új hazában „archonnak” nevezi őket. Pedig, ha egyébhez nem,
czímezéshez csakugyan értett: „ecei de ekasth gehea arconta.” A czímezés ugyanaz, mint a besenyőkhöz
intézett levelekben.[VISSZA]

Személyleirása, mint a többi Anonymusnál, a trójai hősök képéből van átvéve. Anon. 55 és 57.[VISSZA]

Budai krónika.[VISSZA]

Bruno, Vita S. Adalberti 23. fej. Script. IV. k. 607.[VISSZA]

Thietmar, Krónika VIII. k. 3. fej.[VISSZA]

Bruno, u. o.[VISSZA]

Saroltát mondják Géza nejének az összes magyar krónikák és az Anonymus, ki Gyulát erdélyi vajdának
nevezi, a miben őt még a genealogiai tekintetben oly óvatos Pauler is követi. Később, a XII. sz. óta állítják
csak, hogy Adelheid, Micziszláv lengyel herczeg testvére, lett volna Szent-István anyja. Thietmár nem
mond nevet, de előadása szerint Géza neje magyar volt, és ő a leghitelesebb. Nehézséget csak az okoz,
hogy ő szláv névvel, (Bela Knegina) nevezi a fejedelemasszonyt. A lengyel rokonság tényleg megvolt:
Géza nővére neje volt Boleszlávnak, Micziszláv fiának, és ennek része lehetett a későbbi fölcserélésben.
[VISSZA]

Thietmár i. h.[VISSZA]

Hartvik, Szent-István legendája, kiadta Mátyás Flórián. 36. 1.[VISSZA]

Hildesheimi évkönyvek. Script. III. 62. 1. az elveszett hersfeldi évkönyvekből. A rnagyar követek számát
és rangját csak az altaichi évkönyvek közlik,[VISSZA]

Hartvik, i. h. 35. 1.[VISSZA]

Mabillon, vetera Analecta. 434. 1. A levél nincs datálva. Brunó 976-ban meghalt, tehát utazása nem
sokkal történhetett a magyar követség fogadása után.[VISSZA]

Dümmler, Piligrim von Passau und das Erzbisthum Lorch. 181. 1.[VISSZA]

Herm. Contractus, Chronicon. Script. V. 117–18. 1. „995. Huius soror Gisela, Stephano regi Ungariorum,
cum se ad fidem Christi converteret quasi vere iuxta nomen suum in conjugium data.”[VISSZA]

Bruno, i. h. Adalbert életében. „Ungrorum magnus senior.” Igy nevezték a török szultánt is: „grand
seigneur.”[VISSZA]
Herm. Contractus, Chronicon. Script. V. 117–18. 1. „995. Huius soror Gisela, Stephano regi Ungariorum,
cum se ad fidem Christi converteret quasi vere iuxta nomen suum in conjugium data.”[VISSZA]

Bruno, i. h. Adalbert életében. „Ungrorum magnus senior.” Igy nevezték a török szultánt is: „grand
seigneur.”[VISSZA]

Az ország határainak kitüzését az Anonymus Zoltán idejére teszi, a mikor annak semmi értelme. Freisingi
Ottó az ágostai csata után említi. „Azóta kezdi ez az ocsmány nemzet mocsaras helyeit ellenünk
sánczokkal és palánkokkal megvédelmezni.” Chron. IV. 20[VISSZA]

Albericus Trium Fontium, Chronicon. Leibnitz kiad. 1698. 957. 291. 1.[VISSZA]

„Judictus Sarchas nomine” Decr. S. Ladisl. III. 2.[VISSZA]