The ''Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum''''Reader's encyclopedia of Eastern European literature'', 1993, Robert B. Pynsent, Sonia I. Kanikova, p. 529. (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

: "Deeds of the Huns and Hungarians") is a medieval chronicle written mainly by

Simon of Kéza Simon of Kéza ( hu, Kézai Simon) was the most famous Hungarian chronicler of the 13th century. He was a priest in the royal court of king Ladislaus IV of Hungary. In 1270–1271, bearing the title "master" (''magister''), Simon was part of a d ...

around 1282–1285. It is one of the sources of early Hungarian history.Múlt-kor történelmi portál
/ref> It is also known as the ''Gesta Hungarorum (II)'' (Latin: "Deeds of the Hungarians"), the "(II)" indicating its status as an expansion of the original ''

Gesta Hungarorum ''Gesta Hungarorum'', or ''The Deeds of the Hungarians'', is the earliest book about Hungarian history which has survived for posterity. Its genre is not chronicle, but ''gesta'', meaning "deeds" or "acts", which is a medieval entertaining li ...

'' (written around 1200). The work is dated to 1282–1285 as it includes the Battle of Lake Hód (1282) but does not mention the

Second Mongol invasion of Hungary The Second Mongol invasion of Hungary ( hu, második tatárjárás) led by Nogai Khan and Tulabuga took place during the winter of 1285–1286. Prelude The first invasion In 1241, a Mongol army under Subutai and Batu Khan invaded central and ...

in 1285. The work combines

Hunnish The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

legend with history. It consists of two parts: the Hunnish legend ("Hunnish Chronicle"), expanded with Hungarian oral tales; and a history of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coronation of the Hungarian monarch, c ...

since the original ''Gesta Hungaronum''. Simon of Kéza was a court cleric of King

Ladislaus IV of Hungary Ladislaus IV ( hu, IV. (Kun) László, hr, Ladislav IV. Kumanac, sk, Ladislav IV. Kumánsky; 5 August 1262 – 10 July 1290), also known as Ladislaus the Cuman, was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1272 to 1290. His mother, Elizabeth, wa ...

(reigned 1272–1290). He travelled widely in Italy, France and Germany and culled his epic and poetic materials from a broad range of readings. By Kéza's own admission, he used contemporary German, Italian and French chronicles, but it has been proved that he freely used Hungarian sources also. The ''Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum'' was edited and translated in 1999 by László Veszprémy and Frank Schaer for the

Central European University Central European University (CEU) is a private research university accredited in Austria, Hungary, and the United States, with campuses in Vienna and Budapest. The university is known for its highly intensive programs in the social science ...

Sources

External links

Hungarian translation of Simon's Gesta

Article about Simon of Kéza and the ''Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum''
Hungarian chronicles 13th-century history books 13th-century Latin books {{Hungary-hist-stub