Pannonian Plain

In Central Europe there is one place somewhat like Oklahoma.  The Pannonian Plain of Hungary is the westernmost steppe (grassland) of Eurasia.  Searing summer heat, droughty, flat, and the wind comes right behind the rain.  In the 900s Magyars invaded, the last of the barbarian invasions. They had originated in the Siberian Steppe at least 2000 years before.  But by the time these 10 Turkic tribes came to Europe, they had mixed with German and Slavic people. It is believed that their original homeland, just east of the Ural mountains, had undergone climatic warming and turned from forest to steppe.  The Magyars took up horse culture, sheep, and cattle herding.  Hence Hungary was perfect, not just for them but the former Huns, Cumins, and Avars with similar culture.  Fiercely tough pagans, they were a terror for the Gemans of the Alps.  Their peoples migrated in two groups, the Finns went north and the Magyars went south.  The isolated Finns have a similar language which is Ural-Altaic, considered one of the hardest languages to learn.  It has no prepositions and odd pronouns.

            Magyars were tribes and originally called Ungri by the Romans (Hence the Anglicized “Hungary”).  An overall leader was appointed and in the late 10^th century that was the chief Geza.  His son was Vajk was born in 975.  Seeing that all their neighbors were Christians, Geza thought it easy to tacitly accept that faith.  But he continued to do pagan rituals as he brutally punished other leaders if they didn’t superficially practice Christianity.  Geza was a gyula, a warrior, first. he died in 997 and the leadership didn’t naturally pass to his son.  The Ungri had a warrior seniority system where the ruler would be Koppany, an uncle.  But Vajk’s mother Sarolt had become influenced by the True Faith, and raised her son with Christian beliefs.  His education was hunting and war, just as most illiterate European kings.  Vajk truly converted,  He had to fight for his throne against Koppany, all of whose followers were pagan. Vajk had foreign knights on loan from Holy Roman Emperor Otto III, as well as his own Magyar supporters, Vecelin, Hont, and Pazmany.  They won the day and he was crowned “Istvan Kiraly”, King Stephen, on Christmas Day, 1000. The crown was a gift from Pope Sylvester II.  With a new name and new faith, Stephen began to conquer the holdout tribes and consolidate his people.

            Stephen established one archbishopric, 6 bishoprics and 3 Benedictine monasteries. The significance is that these were the only educated people in the Dark Ages. He not only enforced Christian customs but also begged his people to confess and pray. Those are true signs of a faith.  Soon he had to defend his land against foreign invasion from surrounding European kings of Gemany and Poland.  The era from 1000 until his death in 1038 was a strange era where suddenly one man had stopped the barbarian invasion in its tracks. Today he is celebrated as St. Stephen. When we sing about “Good King Wenceslaus (Czech king) looked out/ On the feast of Stephen (Christmas),” it is tribute to a man who is not honored as a king but as a saint.

            The hard-working, hard-fighting Magyars have made their mark.  They say their land is just good enough to make them work, but not so pitiful to make them distressed.  It is not the home of an over-refined culture that is divorced from reality (Ahem! Vienna.). It has transplanted as many Hungarians to the United States as live in Hungary. It’s been run over by every big power for a thousand years, yet still has emerged as a freedom-loving people. 90% are Catholic, 10% are Lutherans, many minorities. Any Okie would be at home on the Alfold (grassy  plains) meeting pusztas (Hungarian cowboys), talking ranching and listening to the fabulous fiddle music.