Page:A history of Hungarian literature.djvu/251

 JOHN ARANY 237 In the Hangarian traditions the histori cal Bléda, wh o appears in the Nibelunge n-Lied, un der the name of Bloedelin, is called Buda. This King divided his kingdom into two parts and gave one to his you nger brother Attila. The folly of this policy soon became app arent, for the energetic, chivalrous and able Attila rapidly acquired power and fame, 'l l hile Buda became the mere shadow of a king. These differences were accentuated by their respecth·e queens, fo r Ildikó, the wife of Attila, offended Buda's wife, Gyöngyvér. Their quarrel poisoned the relations between the two brothers, · until the sword was invoked to settie the matter. Attila attacked the town which the king had built and which had been named Buda after him, and slew his brother, thus gai ning the throne for himself. The second part of the trilogy is called Ildikó, and the third, of which there are but a few fragments, is Prince Csaba. The background of this epic is one of th e greatest events in history. The crisis in the war between th e H uns and the Gerroan ic races was the hattie of Chalons. Had the resolt of that hattie been different, it might have altered the course of European history. Eastern races instead of .western would ·probably have been the masters of Europe. The wh ole plan of Arany's epic, had he compteted it, would have been as fo1lows : Attila kills his brother, but he bimself is soon murd ered by his wife, the Germao Ildikó (Krimhield). In the hattie between his two sons, Csaba conquers Aladár, but later on he is compelled to leave Europe and return to th e original home of the Hun s in Asia. The lil.J.!1S leClve behilld them the Székely race, however,