The ''Lament for the Destruction of Hungary by the Tartars'' (Latin ''Planctus destructionis regni Hungariae per Tartaros'') is a prominent piece of
medieval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functioned ...
Hungarian poetry. It was written in 1242, shortly after the invasion of
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the 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 a ...
by the
Tartars
Tartary ( la, Tartaria, french: Tartarie, german: Tartarei, russian: Тартария, Tartariya) or Tatary (russian: Татария, Tatariya) was a blanket term used in Western European literature and cartography for a vast part of Asia bounde ...
of
Batu Khan
Batu Khan ( – 1255),, ''Bat haan'', tt-Cyrl, Бату хан; ; russian: хан Баты́й was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Khan. ...
, by a monk in the retinue of
King Béla IV.
In the lament, the poet expresses the view that the invasion is
God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
's punishment for the sins of the Hungarians. The poem is very visual, showing the gruesome invasion of Hungary and the atrocities committed by the Tartars.
The poem begins with an appeal to God, where the persona recognises His supremacy and that His judgement is perfect. In the final section, the persona implores God to deliver the nation from its troubles.
Sources
''Planctus destructionis regni Hungariae per Tartaros''at
The Latin Library
The Latin Library is a website that collects public domain Latin texts. It is run by William L. Carey, adjunct professor of Latin and Roman Law at George Mason University. The texts have been drawn from different sources, are not intended for rese ...
Hungarian poetry
Medieval Latin poetry
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