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 Bela (probably Bela III) of Hungary wrote a Latin Gesta Hungarorum (ca 1200/10), 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 inventionsA" 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 Keza 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 1241-2, beginning with an analysis of the political conditions under King Bela IV and ending with the king's return to the devastated country.

About the Author
Martyn Rady is Emeritus Professor of Central European History at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES), University College London. Janos M. Bak, professor emeritus CEU (Budapest) and UBC (Vancouver) was editor in chief of Decreta Regni Mediaevalis Hungariae. The Laws of the Medieval Kingdom of Hungary (DRMH), and member of the editorial board of Central European Medieval Texts. Laszlo Veszpremy, DSc is medievalist, paleographer, visiting professor at CEU, Department of Medieval Studies, director of the Institute of Military History. Books: co-author of the series Mittelalterliche lateinische Handschriftenfragmente (1988-98); editor, among other books, of Simonis de Keza, Gesta Hungarorum (1999 CEMT 1); and (with B. K. Kiraly) A Millennium of Hungarian Military History (2002).

Reviews
"...series of critical Latin texts with English translations are much needed to give undergraduates access to these sources, and I am personally very glad to see work progress on this series. The translations of both Anonymus' and Rogerius' works are generally well done with introductions that are judicious in detail and scope, and they would make wonderful additions to students' readings lists. The critical Latin edition makes this work useful to scholars as well." * Medieval Review *



Book Information
ISBN 9789639776951
Author Martyn Rady
Format Hardback
Page Count 324
Imprint Central European University Press
Publisher Central European University Press
Weight(grams) 628g