The strongest Hungarians – myth, literature, history; part 1

There is a wide range of legends and myth connected to the origins of Hungary and to Hungarian folklore. We already wrote about several aspects of Hungarian culture, for example, the famous Turul bird and some animals our culture regards with special significance. Today we will introduce you to the strongest of Hungarian people, some of them only exist in myths, while others were historical persons, but time elevated them to legendary heroes who are often called ‘vitéz’ – a word dedicated to the biggest heroes – in Hungarian.

Botond

Our first candidate is Botond, whose legend dates back even before the Hungarian Conquest of the Carpathian Basin.

The myth:

The Hungarians could not rest, their fighting spirit has not been broken even after the calamity in German land. They rallied their forces and did not stop until the doorstep of the Byzantine Empire. The Emperor got frightened by the sight of the Hungarian army and closed all seven of his doors to stop them from entering. He advised them to spare the lives of both the Greek and Hungarians. The Emperor recommended the sending of champions from both sides. He said that if the Greek win, the Hungarians must leave but if the Hungarians win, they will pay whatever tribute the Hungarians demand. “Deal” – said one of the Hungarian leaders – “Let that champion come!”

Not even a full hour has passed when a giant came out the gate of the city. He proudly shouted to the Hungarians: “Who dares to take the fight with me?” The Hungarians looked at each other and their gaze filled with rage. A hundred shouted that they will take on the fight, but the boldest among them was Botond. A stubby and husky man stepped forth from the crowd. He said to the Greek champion: “Hear me, you Greek giant, Botond is my name. The smallest ’vitéz’ among Hungarians. You should have two other Greek help you in the fight against me.”

Botond seized his mace, span it above his head twice and threw it with such force that the gate was cracked in half. The weapon made such a huge gap that a five-year-old could easily go in and out. “It is a pity that you threw your mace.” – said the giant. “I need no mace, nor sword” – Botond answered and threw himself at the champion bare-handed. Botond grabbed the giant and smashed him to the ground with such a force that if the Greek had seven souls, all of them would have been torn out of him.

The Greek Emperor was ashamed. They sat on top of their castle and thought that their giant could defeat any of the Hungarians, yet he was unable to overcome the smallest. The Greek withdrew into their castle and paid as much tribute as the Hungarians liked, just to be left in peace by the Hungarians.

Miklós Toldi

The second ‘vitéz’ on the list is Toldi, who became a major part of Hungarian literature thanks to the works of János Arany.

His person was believed to be fictitious for a long time because only a few information survived about his life. With the help of awards, they proved that Miklós and Görgy Toldi lived in the era of Lajos the I. What is certain is that he was an intellectual person as well, he probably learned Latin. He served under Meggyesi and, as he took part in Lajos Nagy’s campaign in 1351-52, it is probable that Toldi was part of his entourage.