Lehel (; died 955), a member of the
ĂrpĂĄd dynasty
The ĂrpĂĄd dynasty consisted of the members of the royal House of ĂrpĂĄd (), also known as ĂrpĂĄds (, ). They were the ruling dynasty of the Principality of Hungary in the 9th and 10th centuries and of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 to 130 ...
, was a
Magyar chieftain
A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is a leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom.
Tribal societies
There is no definition for "tribe".
The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of weste ...
and, together with
BulcsĂș, one of the most important figures of the
Hungarian invasions of Europe
The Hungarian invasions of Europe (, ) occurred in the 9th and 10th centuries,
during the period of transition in the history of Europe of the Early Middle Ages, when the territory of the former Carolingian Empire was threatened by invasion by th ...
. After the Magyar defeat at the
Battle of Lechfeld
The Battle of Lechfeld also known as the Second Battle of Lechfeld was a series of military engagements over the course of three days from 10â12 August 955 in which the Kingdom of Germany, led by King Otto I the Great, annihilated the Hungaria ...
, he was executed in
Regensburg
Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...
.
Origin
The medieval chronicler
Anonymus calls Lehel the son of Tas, who was one of the "
seven chieftains of the Magyars", and a descendant of late Grand Prince
ĂrpĂĄd
ĂrpĂĄd (; 845 â 907) was the head of the confederation of the Magyar tribes at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries. He might have been either the sacred ruler or '' kende'' of the Hungarians, or their military leader or '' g ...
. Most historians agree that there is a mismatch in the timing, though he should be the son of Tas, who is mentioned as a grandson of ĂrpĂĄd by Emperor
Constantine VII
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 â 9 November 959) was the fourth Byzantine emperor of the Macedonian dynasty, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, an ...
.
Lehel's dukedom from about 925 was the
Principality of Nitra
The Principality of Nitra (; ), also known as the Duchy of Nitra, was a West Slavic polity encompassing a group of settlements that developed in the 9th century around Nitra, in present-day Slovakia. Its history remains uncertain because of a ...
, where he ruled in the former
Kabar
The Kabars (), also known as Qavars (Qabars) or Khavars, were Khazar rebels who joined Magyar tribes and the Rus' Khaganate confederations in the 9th century CE.
Sources
The Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII is the principal source of the Kaba ...
ian lands. The historic cities of
AlsĂłlelĂłc and
FelsĆlelĂłc (in present-day
Slovakia
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
) kept the name of Lél. His dukedom could also refer to the status of Lél being a crown-prince and duke-to-be.
Battle of Lechfeld
In the military conflict with
East Francia
East Francia (Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's empire created in 843 and ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was established through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided the for ...
, Lehel, together with
BulcsĂș, who presumably was not a descendant of ĂrpĂĄd, and
SĂșr, led the Magyar forces under Grand Prince
ZoltĂĄn ZoltĂĄn () is a Hungarian masculine given name. The name days for this name are 8 March and 23 June in Hungary, and 7 April in Slovakia. "Zoli" is the short version of ZoltĂĄn. "Zoli" is commonly used.
ZoltĂĄna is the feminine version.
The name i ...
into the
Battle of Riade
The Battle of Riade or Battle of Merseburg was fought between the troops of East Francia under King Henry the Fowler, Henry I and the Principality of Hungary, Magyars at an unidentified location in northern Thuringia along the river Unstrut on ...
in 933. When, in Spring of 954, the Magyars again attacked the
Duchy of Bavaria
The Duchy of Bavaria () was a frontier region in the southeastern part of the Merovingian kingdom from the sixth through the eighth century. It was settled by Bavarians, Bavarian tribes and ruled by List of rulers of Bavaria, dukes (''duces'') ...
, Lehel also led the Nitrian Kabars. The Hungarian troops advanced up to
Lotharingia
Lotharingia was a historical region and an early medieval polity that existed during the late Carolingian and early Ottonian era, from the middle of the 9th to the middle of the 10th century. It was established in 855 by the Treaty of PrĂŒm, a ...
, where they signed an armistice with the
Salian
The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty () was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages. The dynasty provided four kings of Germany (1024â1125), all of whom went on to be crowned Holy Roman emperors (1027â1125).
After the death of the last Ottonian ...
prince
Conrad the Red and fought against his rival Duke
Bruno the Great
Bruno the Great (May 925 â 11 October 965) was the archbishop of Cologne''Religious Drama and Ecclesiastical Reform in the Tenth Century'', James H. Forse, ''Early Theatre'', Vol. 5, No. 2 (2002), 48. from 953 until his death and the duke of ...
. The next year, they met with the united East Frankish forces under King
Otto I
Otto I (23 November 912 â 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...
at the Battle of Lechfeld near
Augsburg
Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...
.
The battle ended with the decisive defeat of the Hungarians. According to the ''
Annales Sangallenses maiores'', the three Hungarian military leaders were captured by
Bohemian troopers. With BulcsĂș and SĂșr, Lehel was arrested, handed over to King Otto's brother, Duke
Henry of Bavaria, and hanged at his residence in Regensburg. By his victory, Otto put an end to the Hungarian invasions; he was crowned
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...
in 962.
Lehel's Horn myth
The 14th-century ''
Chronicon Pictum
The ''Chronicon Pictum'' or ''Illuminated Chronicle'' (, , , also referred to as the ''Illustrated Chronicle'', ''Chronica Hungarorum'', ''Chronicon Hungarie Pictum'', ''Chronica Picta'' or ''Chronica de Gestis Hungarorum'') is a medieval illust ...
'', written in
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
by Marci de Kalt, tried to picture Lehel as a Hungarian hero who was defiant even in captivity:
In 955, (...) the Hungarians reached the city of Augsburg. Close to the city, at the Lech field, the Germans smashed the Hungarians, part of them were killed brutally, some others were imprisoned. At that place Lehel and BulcsĂș were also imprisoned, and taken in front of the emperor. When the emperor asked, why the Hungarians are so cruel against the Christians, they replied, "We are the revenge of the highest God, sent to you as a scourge. You shall imprison us and kill us, when we cease to chase you." Then the emperor called them: "Choose the type of death you wish". Then Lehel replied, "Bring me my horn, which I will blow, then I will reply". The horn was handed to him, and during the preparation to blow it, he stepped forward, and hit the emperor so strongly he died instantly. Then he said: "You will walk before me and serve me in the other world", as it is a common belief within the Scythians
The Scythians ( or ) or Scyths (, but note Scytho- () in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians, were an Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian noma ...
, that whoever they killed in their lives will serve them in the other world. They were taken to custody and were hanged quickly in Regensburg.
This fiction cleverly re-interpreted the fact that Duke Henry of Bavaria died shortly after the battle of disease, in Lehel's favour. It may also refer to Lehel's former ally Conrad the Red, who, according to
Widukind of Corvey, was killed in the battle, when an arrow pierced his throat.
The legend, which initially spread through oral tradition by the ''regĆs'' story tellers, was already rendered in the 13th-century chronicles by
Magister Ăkos and then depicted in the ''Chronicon Pictum'', compiled about 1360 under the rule of King
Louis the Great. Nowadays there is a horn described as "Lehel's Horn" on display at
Jåszberény
Jåszberény is a city and market centre in Jåsz-Nagykun-Szolnok county in Hungary.
Location
Jåszberény is located in central Hungary, on the Zagyva River, a tributary of the Tisza River. It is about from Budapest.
History
The oldes ...
, in the Museum of JĂĄsz.
Horn of Lehel
/ref> This is a Byzantine ivory horn from the 10th to 11th centuries.
Already the 13th-century chronicler Simon of Kéza
Simon of Kéza () 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 1270â1271, bearing the title "master" (''magister''), Simon was part of a diplomatic mission ...
(Ăkos' near-contemporary) remained skeptical about the reliability of the legend; "Of course this is quite implausible, and anyone believing such a tale would be making an exhibition of his credulity. After all, felons are normally brought before princes with their hands bound".[''Simon of KĂ©za: The Deeds of the Hungarians'' (ch. 40), pp. 92â95.]
References
{{Authority control
Magyar tribal chieftains
Medieval Hungarian military leaders
Medieval Hungarian nobility
955 deaths
10th-century Hungarian people
History of Slovakia
People executed by the Holy Roman Empire by hanging
Hungarian people executed abroad