It's almost Halloween so I thought I write something about the two most famous creatures. Why? Because they refer them to Hungary quite often. So I just collected some vampirish/werewolfs things which related to Hungarians at some point and other stuff.
As we know vampires originally came from Greek, Balkanian myths and poetics [Phlegon of Tralles, 2nd century AD], but blood-sucker/blood-drinker creatures/gods were in the Ancient Mesopotamian, Hebrew and Egyptian myths as well.
According on ethnography and cultural history this belief known more among Serbian, Romanian, Croatian, Ukrainian and Rusian folklore, but because of geographical proximity and historic events, the vampire belief interwove with the historical Hungary and within that, with Transylvania [below]. In modern Hungarian folklore vampires [vámpír] are unknown, although in the XVIII. century there were much more vampire-lawsuit in Hungary then in whole Europe...
Shortly about Transylvania and historical Hungary:
In a wider sense Romania came off from three regions, Wallachia, Moldavia [around 1887] and the former Hungarian territory Transylvania [1920].
In 1003 Transylvania became a part of the Kingdom of Hungary. The leader was the Transylvanian voivode [1] who was the procurator-general of the king. After the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the Hungarian Kingdom came apart, and after this Transylvania was under Ottoman authority, but it worked as an independent state. In 1699 when Habsburgs [this time Hungary was already under the Habsburg Monarchy] signed peace with the ottomans and Transylvania had been reannexation to Hungary, but this time it was reign by a governor whom had been appointed by Wien. After the WWI, according to the Treaty of Trianon, they annexed Transylvania from Hungary once and for all in 1920...
[1] voivode: It was a title by the ruler of a province among Bulgarian, Slavish aristocrats, later among Moldovan and Wallachian princes [male ruler or head of a principality] as well since the earlier Middle Ages. It is equivalent to English dukeness. A Transylvanian voivode/voyevoda [vajda in Hungarian] had special and wide regional power, he substituted the king.
Vampires and Hungarians
1. History
Vlad III's life can be confusing for someones whom doesn't really into the Eastern-European history. And Stoker's novel can be confusing as well at some parts.
Vlad III was the prince [2] of Wallachia since the winter of 1436-1437 and he was a voivoid in Transylvania as well. He was born in 1431 in the fortress of Segesvár/Sighișoara [Transylvanian-Hungarian territory in those times]. His real home was Wallachia, although he lived with his family in Transylvania, because the ottoman-friend bojars banished out his father from their homeland.
Most of the Hungarian kings bestowed huge estates to Wallachian principal families in South-Transylvania. So we have nothing to do with him [thankfully], however his unlucky wife was Hungarian who was the cousin of our current king Matthias I...
[2] Prince [fejedelem in H.] was the official ruler in some monarch states, but with less rights as a king.
About Stoker's novel:
Although not Stoker fabricated the vampires, Dracula is the most famous vampire novel of all times. But it all started with a big research work as many of the biggest novels. Stoker never was in Eastern-Europe, but he met with the Hungarian orientalist, Ármin Vámbéry, who told about Eastern-European folklore and history in 1890. He heard about Vlad III for the first time.
His book not just based on fantasy but it is not clear that Stoker inspired only on Vlad III's life, because beside him, he influenced by Coleridge's poem "Christabel" and Silvero Palma's "I Vampiri" [opera] also. He researched about vampires and other things in the British Library and library of Whitby. The research lasted for 6 years!
He mixed many things by the artistic freedom. For example:
The count descented himself - at many times - as székely, which is an ethnic group in Transylvania. But in this novel szekelys had an alternate history.
2. Cinema
First there is the biggest - and personal favourite - 'vamp vs. wolf' franchise "Underworld" trylogy. [~Yess trilogy for me, cause I think the fourth movie was a stupid mistake... No antique-modern city, few handmade masks, too much of boring CGI etc. and a lame plot... I also missed 'Eötvös utca' and 'actu sövtöE'.* -later]
It's
funny but the director and the characters never mentioned that
the story takes place at Budapest, although some of the characters are Hungarians [f.e.: Viktor was a Hungarian warlord, Alexander Corvinus was a Hungarian nobleman and warlord] and almost the entire first movie was shot in Budapest as well. Probably because in 2003 many countries just didn't know/care who the hell we are or where we
are on the world map at all. [f.e.: some Americans put us into Africa! No joke. Personal experience. And always mistook Bucharest with Budapest. ~Yeah it's totally the same, just one or two letters difference... ~Classic...] Beside these there are many Hungarians among the crew, not to mention Hungarian actress/model Zita Görög as Amelia!
Shortly it could be just too awkward from them in those times to speak about that they inspired by an Eastern-European country what noone knows...
Now it's quite the opposit, they know us well and the whole Western Europe... ~Ehhe
Although the plot is based only on fantasy, we had famous "Corvinuses" in our history whom names inspired the movie characters:
The Hunyadis was the most famous and influental family in Hungarian history like the Medicis to Italy. János Hunyadi, Hungarian feudal lord and famous "ottoman-beater" of his time was the governor and the most eminent warlord in the medieval Hungarian Kingdom. He was the father of one of our biggest king, Mátyás Hunyadi, who reigned from 1458 to 1490, but he was the king of Bohemia since 1469 and the duke of Austria as well. He was known by many names: Mathias I, King Mathias, Mathias the righteous, Mátyás Corvin, Matthias Corvinus... Mathias's only and illegitimate son's was János Corvin.
Korvin was a latin male firstname, deriving of Corvinus, what derived from the word 'corvus', which means raven/crow/holló. Corvinus/Hollós, as surname of the family is an allusion onto the Hunyadi family coat of arm and Mathias's nickname.
Lets see some movie scenes from Budapest
In the very beginning she jumped down from here!
[She is a Goddess... What else?]
the tower of the Klotild Palace at Ferenciek Square
[Photos from underworld.wikia.com, hazai.kozep.bme.hu]
The first scenes were shot here at Eötvös street [in 6. district]
[Photo from ittforgott.blog.hu]
They
made a stupid
mistake at the car chasing scene, when the cars running before the street sign of Eotvos
street. We see a long car chasing, but it was shot only in one
short part of the Eotvos street. So editors just inverted the reel so we can
read 'actu sövtöE' at one point instead of 'Eötvös utca'... ~Wow They thought noone will notice it... But Hungarians have sharp eyes! Haha
Another thing I don't understand... According the movie the wolfie doctor [Michael Corvin] lives under the address "Laktos Joszef 39 ut.". It was actually wanted to be "Lakatos József utca"/or street. For bunny' sakes there were Hungarians among the crew, it would be just one tiny question: You write the street names this way or how? ...No comment. They just s♥♥♥ down the whole accuracy again, because they thought that noone cares at all... Only us, but that not was the point, we just gave the inpiration and the cheap filming location as always...
Later they drove through on Gozsdu Courtyard/Gozsdu Udvar [which connects Király street 13 and Dob street 16.]
About 'Devils House' or Ördögház, where the Budapest vampire clan lives. It's a fictional building which takes place near Szentendre [next to Budapest]. The inside was shot in a library, but I don't know wheter it's a Hungarian library or not.
Other vampire movies with Hungarian connection
- Dracula's Death/Drakula halála [1921] - The official first adaptation of the Stoker novel, however its plot is different at many parts. For example: Instead of Mina there is Mary, a penniless daughter of a dressmaker. His dad is in an insane asylum because he couldn't accept the death of his wife. Here Mary meet with Drakula, the mysterious piano teacher... There is no Van Helsing, but Doctor Tillner who save the girl at the end, where it looks like the girl just had a nightmare that she was abducted by Drakula into a dark castle...The story sounds lame, but in the 20's this kind of plot was horror enough. The director was Károly Lajtay and in Drakula's role was Paul Askenas. Three years later a script writer Lajos Pánczél wrote a novel about the plot of the movie too. Sadly the movie lost along the WWII. Here is the cover of the book version from 1924
Love that black cat-moon dress, cute
[Photos from retronom.hu, hitchcock.hu]
- Son of Dracula [1943] - there is a Hungarian Professor Lazlo who came to kill the son.
- Bram Stoker's Dracula [1973 film] - "Before the portrait of a living warrior Dracula ... a warlord who lived in the area of Hungary known as Transylvania"
- Van Helsing [2004] - the vampires hold a party at Budapest, although it takes place anywere but Budapest.
- Styria or Angels of Darkness [2014] - film adaptation from the horror story, "Carmilla" by Sheridan Le Fanu. One of the cast member was Erika Marozsán, Hungarian actress. It takes place in a fictional old castle outside the Hungarian town of Styria [definitely fictional name... Haha].
- Dracula Untold [2015] - they mention at the beggining that his wife is a Hungarian princess, Mirena... [totally not a Hungarian female name and Vlad Tepes's wife was Ilona] But it's a very lame movie - for me - although I know it wants to be the prequel of the Stoker novel and Coppola adaptation from 1993. That is why the girl is Mirena instead of Ilona, Mirena later will reincarnate or whatever as Mina... We know the rest. Underworld 3 is also strange but much better for a fantasy-medieval movie than this. Two hours from my life and the price of an expensive ticket... at least the popcorn was yummy...
- and many movies about Elizabeth Báthory, but I left them out on purpose.
Béla Lugosi [I just love that man.]
He was born as Blaskó Béla Ferenc Dezső at Lugos/now Lugoj [near Timisuara/Temesvár, now it belongs to Romania].
They say He took too seriously the role of Dracula, and this drove to his narcotic and alcoholic lifestyle and he was in sanatorium as well with mental problems. And that was the cause he wanted to buried himself in his cloak... Of course it sounds more mysteriously to the American newspapers and people than reality again:
Actually he was at the WWI and there he got serious injuries not to mention the injuries of the mind because of the war itself... [not everyone likes to play the hero]. After the war he emigrated because of political reasons. He had homesickness till his death... So he drank because it was Hollywood and he become famous instantly after "Dracula", and he drank and lived on morphine because with the age his injuries hurt worse.
And why he wanted to buried himself in that cloak? Maybe he just loved that gloomy character he played almost half of his lifetime, not to mention the strange Hungarian sense of humour. The only thing what keep us alive...
Did you know that...?
- from 1917 to 1919 his stage-name was Olt Arisztid? [Thank God he rethought it... Hahaha]
- when he got the role of Dracula he didn't speak English well he had a very strong Hungarian accent. Later - to commemorate him - they used the same styled black cloak and Hungarian accent in many other Dracula movies [Gary Oldman in "Dracula" and Leslie Nielsen in "Dracula: Dead and Loving It" also speak this way, and it was the 90's already!].
Hollywood has a - boring - star on their floor, we just have a bust, but much more memorable I think
[Photo from danniduvall.wordpress.com]
You can see it at Vajdahunyad vára/Vajdahunyad Castle, in the Városliget/City Park
of Budapest.
3. Gastronomy
"A vampire cannot live without blood. Its life depends on this substance, such as humans'." - László Garzó
It might be shocking to read but Hungarians do eat blood! Ok it's only piggy blood but be sure I never tried...
We have a tradition at Winter. In the countryside, the village people kept/and some of them are still keeping pigs. About January or February they slauther the old and fat ones to make sausages, hurkas, bacons and other meat things and on this occation they just drink and work and eat. It could sounds fairly for most of the people but I just hate it... Not just because it's another loudly social occation, but if someone foreigner didn't live this live, cannot imagine what is it exactly...
It starts at 4:00 or 5:00 a.m. [or earlier] with this.: -Good Morning! Here is your first shot of pálinka! Yes yes drink, drink my golden friend! [an average pálinka=about 40-50%]
In the evening - if you hide well - you just drank about 10 shot glasses of pálinka on that day... if you are lucky! Because if a Hungarian said "Drink!" You will drink, or the pigsticker will stick on you be sure... all day long...
Somewhere around that time in the morning they start chasing? the pig[s], and ... and ... until it will be dead at last. If the people are nice the pig dies fast. If not, they joking around while they are chasing the poor animal... It sounds barbaric, and for me it is...
But I don't want to
be a hypocrite. I do eat bacon and meat [but not pork] occasionally but if somebody would kill an animal before my eyes [especially on this way] my
lunch on that day would be grass for sure... I know it sounds funny,
the meat I eat doesn't grow in the garden, the chicken head not turns inside out just from itself, but we could use more humane methods
to kill an animal [for food only] with the much less pain and this is my problem with this tradition and this is the - but not the only - problem with the modern times large-scale food production as well... More painless methods please!
So the bloody dish made from fresh pig blood, onion, salt, pepper, ground bay or marjoram or ground dill [optional] and a little paprika of course and then they bake it in a frying pan on a bit of pork fat. They say its taste like liver, but I just don't know really.
Although I love Hungarian traditions I hate
this whole pig-slauthering Winter celebration party. [I like pálinka but on a normal human way...] I was around 19
when I last was on an occation like this. At 5 a.m. I woke up onto a
terrible and long shreak... I didn't want to know the rest... [I actually know how - many ways they can - kill that poor pig but I don't want to write it down. We are nice people, but we need to reconsider some customs we have, like other countries with theirs, I think about it dolphin killing, whaling, shark finning etc...] But yeah hommade pork meat is much more safer than buying always the large-scale frozen-pack... so I don't know what would be the best solution... [evidently not eat pigs at all...]
In a documentary there was a Japanese man who lived in Hungary for a while, and the Hungarian reporter asked him what were the things he liked about Hungary and what were those he didn't. The polite Japanese man listed many things he liked about us except this pig-slauthering ceremony... He said he against dolphing killing and whailing as well and not just because he is a Buddhist. Why am I not surprised... It's not something for Buddhist eyes and stomach...
Finally about our - sometimes - strange gastronomic taste wrote Ferenc Erdei a very neat comment in his book: "...and the paprikash sauce you've got had a very unusal texture and color... it's like a big gush of fresh but not yet congealed blood, it is red everywhere from the bottom to the top...
And if you are not sick of this pig-blood dish then try the other delicacy: the baked pig ears... ~Vááá *close to puke* At least those people not waste any part of the piggy. They use up the whole animal not like those shark finners... ~Ehhe
4. Folklore
Vampires are not common in Hungarian folklore at all, but we do have some similar creatures, like the lidérc. However it's rather a collecting name for any devilish creatures than a concrete monster. It is known at the whole Hungarian area although the legends can be dissimilar by regions.
Mostly it could be a csodacsirke/magical chicken, a shape-shifter which born by a black hen what hatched its eggs under its pits. Then if the owner of the magical chicken is man, then it became a female lover, and if the owner is a woman then it became a male lover at night. But insted of happy lovemaking, the creature just press the owner's breasts and suck his/her blood. For repayment, this creature makes its owner/lover rich, however the owner is always miserable and sick... We use this as a synonym onto some illness: lidércnyomás [literally means: lidérc/demonic-pressing], when someone has serious anhelation or stomach-complaints at nighttime. [3]
So it could be a magical chicken, but somewhere the lidérc is a tiny man or a devilish gnome and elsewhere a strange light phenomen.
In modern Hungarian folklor [from the XIX century perhaps] the similar creature to a vampire is the nora, which mostly known by the people from the area between rivers Sajó and Tisza. According on ethnographers 'nora' came from Slovakian folklore where this kind of creature is more common in the stories.
If a child died without babtism or a child was babtised two or three times, become nora. At night it presses the sleeper and suck his/her blood [rarely milk], then the nora spits out the blood into live coals and makes pogácsa from it. Whom it sucks, he/she will be more and more skinny...
You want an easy method of protection against this creature? Here it is:
Press your breasts with garlic, make the sign of the cross three times, rub them with onion, grease them with human feces, incense them with frankincense, hint them and the whole room with holy water, burn a blessed candle, hang a blessed rosary on the doorhandle, eat nothing for a while... and wonder why noone wants to go on a date with you!
Next time: the other
Good Day!/Szép napot! ✌
[3] "Hungarian Etymological Dictionary" and Hungarian Electronic Library
