Polish - Hungarian friendship: the foundations

 

 

 

 

In looking for the foundation, the essence or that original quality which brought our nations together, I would like to start by focusing on the concept of freedom. It seems that the Poles adopted the understanding of "freedom" from none other than the Hungarians.

Well, as described by Ernst Kantorowicz, an outstanding historian, according to medieval thought in Europe, the ruler had two bodies: first is the natural one and the second is the body politic, mystical body which unites the state, its lands and population. And that indirectly affected the way people of the period understood things. Louis XIV of France was spot on when he said "I am the state". Thus, the European civilisation developed along a path conducive to the establishment of absolute monarchies in many countries, where the monarch wielded unquestionable power over its subjects.

However, in Hungary the ruler's natural body and body politic became separated. The latter body began being identified with the Crown of Saint Stephen - the Holy Crown. That is how Szentkorona-tan came to be - which can be translated into English as the Doctrine of the Holy Crown.

 

The King of Hungary was no longer above the law, he became bound by it. Instead of subjects, a group of nobles - citizens was formed, who elected a ruler, a ruler who should serve them. For us it may seem obvious that the authorities should act for the common good. We should bear in mind that that was not so obvious in the Middle Ages. However, Hungary took it a step further and the nobility was granted such seemingly basic rights as the right to oppose a king acting against the common good. To realise how progressive this step was, compare it against the writings of Bodin, who conceived the theoretical foundations of absolutism according to which there is only one option available to someone who does not approve of what the King of France is doing: forced emigration. Whereas in Hungary, through the national assembly or county regional assemblies, citizens were able to influence the politics of their state.

 

Now, the connections between the Piast dynasty and the House of Anjou meant that this freedom also reached the banks of the Vistula. It was Louis the Great, in Poland known as Louis the Hungarian who granted the first privileges in Koszyce which were later to give rise to the Polish nobility. And the standards adopted from Hungary contributed to the development of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland as a legal concept. Together with the Crown of the Kingdom phrase, the rights protecting the individual from authoritarian rule were transplanted to Poland. This made it possible for the Sejm and regional assemblies of the nobles to form and citizens acquired the right to oppose, or rokoszin Polish. And that word came to Poland from Hungary.

 

Thus the political progress in Poland and Hungary took a completely different path to those in absolutist West Europe. There, the ruler was a tyrant with absolute power whereas along the banks of the Vistula and the Danube, kings could only act within the letter of the law an in agreement with the citizens.

In Poland the concept of the state evolved unhindered into a noble's democracy. A form of democracy far from perfect, with defects but one wherein the individual had the most freedoms out of all European countries of the time. In Hungary this process was partially halted as a result of the disintegration of the state brought about by the catastrophic battle of Mohács. And the historic experience shared by Poles and Hungarians entailing coming face to face with the world of Islam, deepened the common perception of reality.

The kereszténység védőbástyája (bastion of Christendom) phrase was coined in Hungary, whereas Poles used the antemurale christianitatis(bulwark of Christendom) term. Poland and Hungary became the shield which saved Europe from the flood of Islam. The myth of borderland knights, protecting the country from enemies brandishing the flags of Islam was born at that time.

Legends, tales and songs to the honour of those protecting Christianity were commonplace. In Hungary, Bálint Ballassi paid homage to such soldiers. In Poland, Jan Kochanowski in his Pieśni o spustoszeniu Podola [Song about the desolation of Podole] called to take up arms against the Turks.

Szigeti veszedelem [The Peril of Sziget] by Miklós Zrínyi was the most important Hungarian work of the Baroque period. Transakcja wojny chocimskiej [The Battle of Khotyn transaction] was the Polish national epic poem, celebrating Polish victory over the Turks in the said series of battles in 1621. In both works, authors emphasized the moral high ground and heroic defence of the Poles and Hungarians, in their battles with the overwhelmingly superior Turkish forces.

The bulwark or bastion of Christendom were concepts which in the minds of both Poles and Hungarians justified their place in Europe. Furthermore, a common enemy was conducive to defensive alliances, personal unions and over a longer period the lower social strata getting to know one other. This resulted in positive stereotypes about the other nation arising.

However, can enmity to the world of Islam be motivated solely by religious reasons? After an in-depth source analysis, it seems that this wasn't the primary cause. First and foremost the Ottoman Empire presented a threat to freedom. Kelemen Mikes and his work will serve as an excellent example here. The author of Törökországi levelek saw the reasons for the lack of freedom in the Ottoman Empire in its genesis. Constant wars, which accompanied the establishment of that country meant that there could only be one objective in its development: conquest, conquest and conquest once again. According to Kelemen Mikes the philosophy behind the functioning of a state, based on the Sultan's absolute rule and no individual freedoms whatsoever should be understood in such a context. 

And Kelemen Mikes found it incomprehensible that the Turks could be proud to be "Sultan's slaves". No Hungarian and no Pole would ever call themselves a slave.

 

The symbolic scene also described by Kelemen Mikes played out in April 1738. The author of Törökországi levelek witnessed the sale of people captured during the Habsburg - Turkish war. He was moved by the fates of mothers being separated from their children, as the mother and the child would be purchased by someone else. However, the story of a German prisoner, whom its Turkish master was unable to sell and finally purchased a single cup of coffee using the slave as payment made the biggest impression on the author. This was a striking example that the Turks valued a cup of coffee over and above human life. For us, in Central Europe, such an attitude is beyond comprehension.

And it wasn't only the Turks who posed a threat to Polish and Hungarian freedoms. Absolutist neighbours proved even worse, looking to conquer both countries and then take away the freedoms and privileges from their inhabitants. For Hungary it was Austria and for Poland - Prussia, Russia and Austria. 

From the moment the Hapsburgs assumed control over West Hungary following the battle of Mohács, they consistently began destroying Hungarian freedom. They curbed ever more privileges, opposed the noble's regional assemblies, oppressed the subjects financially and finally retracted the right to oppose, effectively eradicating the edicts of the Golden Bull.

For Poland and Hungary, two nobles' and civic nations, the true common enemy were those looking to impose absolutum dominium - an absolute dominion.And it wasn't particular dynasties or countries that were the real enemy, but rather rulers who wanted to forcibly enslave the people inhabiting both sides of the Carpathian Mountains. An eternal alliance of free citizens, the Hungarians and the Poles was the only salvation.

It seems that only the Hungarians are able to understand the Polish love for freedom. And vice versa. That comprehension of freedom and the shared threat from aggressive despotic neighbours and ultimately identification with the Western culture constitute the foundations of Polish - Hungarian friendship. It helped both nations to support one another in difficult times throughout history: during national uprisings and in the struggles against totalitarian regimes of the 20th century. 

And what about now, in the 21st century? Today, in the 21st century, we want to shout out the slogan of our ancestors:

 

Lengyel, magyar – két jó barát,

Együtt harcol s issza borát!

 

 

 

 

Author: dr Adam Szabelski

 

Note: Text of a paper delivered on the 8th of December 2018 at the National Assembly of Hungary during a ceremonial conference to commemorate Poland's 100th independence anniversary.