The Stars of Eger (1899)

The first draft of Egri csillagok (“The Stars of Eger”) was completed in 1899 and published in serial form in the Budapest newspaper, Pesti Hirlap, over Christmas of that year. Géza Gárdonyi edited and tightened that version and it was published as a book in 1901.

The historical novel is set in a Hungary overrun by the Ottoman Turks after the Battle of Mohács in 1526 and torn apart by rival kings. The Hungarian King John Zápolya had his base in Transylvania. The Austrian Habsburg Ferdinand, as Gárdonyi wrote, “was a Hungarian king who entrusted the defense of his fortresses to God.”

The novel reaches its climax with the 1552 siege of Eger. Some 2,000 Hungarians (the "Stars" of Eger) held out for thirty-nine days against an Ottoman army numbering over 40,000 until the Turks finally gave up. To this day, the heroic defense of Eger remains a powerful symbol of Hungarian national identity, and Gárdonyi's novel is one of the most widely read books in the Hungarian language.

The account of the siege itself is woven around the near contemporary chronicles of Sebestyén “Lantos” (Lutenist) Tinódi, a Hungarian troubadour who, in the months after the Ottoman retreat from Eger, interviewed the defenders and gathered their stories. The captain of the Hungarian defenders was István Dobó (1502-1572) and Tinódi became well acquainted with the captain after the siege when Dobó was appointed a voivode (governor) of Transylvania.

Gárdonyi also did historical research in Vienna, then in Istanbul where he witnessed the Shiite Day of Remembrance described in the novel. He also gained entrance to the infamous Seven Towers prison by making a sentry drunk, another incident which he adapted for the novel.

The Stars of Eger is also a fictional, delightful, and almost fairy tale romance that Gárdonyi invented for his main protagonist, scholar Gergely Bornemissza, a historical figure about whom little is known other than his participation in the defense of Eger. Bornemissza’s remarkable ability to invent weapons to frighten and confuse was a significant factor in resisting the Ottoman besiegers.

The historical novel draws the reader into a time when crowns, possessions, empires, religions and peoples clashed, when gunpowder and guns began to match bows, arrows and swords, when windows were made of oiled linen, and one brought one’s own knife to a well set table.

Previously translated and published as Stars of Eger and Eclipse of the Crescent Moon, this modern translation by T. László Palotás ignores the gloss added in previous translations, restores the Hungarian flow of the original, and adds historical footnotes and biographical context.

The Stars of Eger is available at Amazon (The Stars of Eger) in paperback ($16) and ebook ($8) formats.
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