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

, Prince Csaba was the youngest son of

Attila Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns 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 traditio ...

, King of the Huns. A fierce and skilled

warrior A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have been p ...

, 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 (, Székely runes: 𐳥𐳋𐳓𐳉𐳗), also referred to as Szeklers,; ro, secui; german: Szekler; la, Siculi; sr, Секељи, Sekelji; sk, Sikuli are a Hungarian subgroup living mostly in the Székely Land in Romania. ...

. 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 * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

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 '' gy ...

and the

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...

, brother tribe of the Huns, over the Carpathians and into the

land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various islan ...

that is today known as

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 ...

. 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 ( 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 ...

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'', beginning its composition in 1358 and finishing it between 1370 and ...

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 Kéz ...

''
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'' (Latin for "illustrated chronicle", English language, English: ''Illuminated Chronicle'' or ''Vienna Illuminated Chronicle'', hu, Képes Krónika, sk, Obrázková kronika, german: Illustrierte Chronik, also referred to ...

''
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 ( hu, Árpádok, hr, Arpadovići). They were the ruling dynasty of the Principality of Hungary in the 9th and 10th centuries and of the Kingd ...

, ''

''
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, ..

Family tree

According to

's ''

'' and

's ''

'':

Notes

{{notelist

References

Hungarian mythology