Hungarian mythology Hungarian mythology includes the myths, legends, folk tales, fairy tales and gods of the Hungarians. Sources of knowledge Much of Magyar mythology is believed to be lost. However, in the last hundred years scholars of the history of Hungarian ...

, Prince Csaba was the youngest son of

Attila Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central Europe, C ...

, King of the Huns. A fierce and skilled

warrior A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal society, tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, social class, class, or caste. History ...

, he led the Huns to victory in all the battles they encountered over the ages. He is the legendary leader of the

Székelys The Székelys (, Old Hungarian script, Székely runes: ), also referred to as Szeklers, are a Hungarians, Hungarian subgroup living mostly in the Székely Land in Romania. In addition to their native villages in Suceava County in Bukovina, a ...

. But after Csaba's death, the Huns had no one to take his place. Seizing their chance, the enemies of the Huns launched an assault on the Hun kingdom. As they met on the field of battle, the enemy generals mocked the Huns, saying "and who will save you now that Csaba is gone?" But no sooner had those words been spoken, a bright pathway consisting of stars appeared in the night sky and Csaba rode down at the head of an army from the heavens. Csaba and his army routed the

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...

invaders and saved the Huns once again, and three more times he returned down the "Skyway of the Warriors" to defend his people. According to some versions of the legend, he was seen once more several centuries later leading

Árpád Árpád (; 845 – 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 ...

and the

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

, a brother tribe of the Huns, over the

Carpathians The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains ...

and into the

land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land sur ...

that is today known as

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. Consequently, the meaning of the Hungarian name Csaba (Csaba - "A gift from the sky" or "A gift from the heavens") is said to have been derived from this legend.

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 1270–1271, bearing the title "master" (''magister''), Simon was part of a diplomatic mission ...

and

Mark of Kalt Mark of Kalt (, ; ) was the canon of the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and chronicler of King Louis I of Hungary, known for his work ''Chronicon Pictum'', written in 1358 in Latin, with the last of the illuminations being ...

claimed that he was the legendary ancestor of the Aba clan;

, ''

Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum The ''Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum'Reader's encyclopedia of Eastern European literature'', 1993, Robert B. Pynsent, Sonia I. Kanikova, p. 529. (Latin: "Deeds of the Huns and Hungarians") is a medieval chronicle written mainly by Simon of K� ...

''
Károly Szabó's Hungarian translation
quote: "Tehát ez a Csaba Ethelének Honorius görög császár leányától született törvényes fia, kinek fiait Edeménnek és Ednek hívták. Edemén osztán, mikor a magyarok másodszor visszatértek Pannoniába, atyja és anyja igen nagy atyafiaságával bejöve, anyja ugyanis a korozmin nemzetből való vala; Ed pedig Scythiában marada atyjánál. Ezen Csabától származott az Aba nemzetsége."

, ''

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 ...

''
László Geréb's Hungarian translation
quote: "Csaba Attila törvényes fia volt, Honorius görög császár leányától; az ő fiait Edöménnek és Ednek hívták. Mikor a magyarok másodízben tértek vissza Pannóniába, Edömén atyjának és anyjának nagyszámú atyafiságával jött el, mert anyja khvarezmi származású volt. Ed pedig Szittyaországban maradt atyjánál. Csabától ered az Aba nemzetség." Mark additionally claimed that he was the legendary ancestor of the

Árpád dynasty The Árpád dynasty consisted of the members of the royal House of Árpád (), also known as Árpáds (, ). 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 ...

, ''

''
László Geréb's Hungarian translation
quote: "Ama kapitányok közt a leggazdagabb és hatalmasabb Árpád volt, Álmos fia, aki Előd fia, ez meg Ögyek fia. ..Miután a somnium a mi nyelvünkön álom, s ama fiú származását álom jövendölte meg, ezért nevezték Álmosnak, aki Előd, ez Ögyek, ez Ed, ez Csaba, ez Etele, ez Bendegúz, ..

György Györffy György Györffy (26 September 1917 – 19 December 2000) was a Hungarian historian, and member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (). Biography Györffy was born in Szucság (Suceagu, today part of Baciu, Romania), Hungary the son of ethnog ...

argued the character of Prince Csaba was compiled from real people, such as the 10th-century chieftain Csaba and the 11th-century ''comes'' Csaba (or Aba), a confidant of the first king

Stephen I of Hungary Stephen I, also known as King Saint Stephen ( ; ; ; 975 – 15 August 1038), was the last grand prince of the Hungarians between 997 and 1000 or 1001, and the first king of Hungary from 1000 or 1001 until his death in 1038. The year of his bi ...

. The former indeed left Hungary for the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

together with his tribe in the mid-10th century, while the latter was perhaps the father of

Samuel Aba Samuel Aba (; before 990 or 1009 – 5 July 1044) reigned as King of Hungary between 1041 and 1044. He was born to a prominent family with extensive domains in the region of the Mátra Hills. Based on reports in the ''Gesta Hungarorum'' and ...

and thus ancestor of the prestigious Aba clan.

Family tree

According to

's ''

'' and

's ''

'':

Notes

{{notelist

References

Hungarian mythology Attilid dynasty Mythological princes Székely people