Lehel's horn

Lehel was a Hungarian leader of a tribe, the descendant of Árpád, who has been pictured as a national hero and who was full of mettle even in captivity. His horn means so much for the Hungarian nation because as time passed by, it became associated with a special saga. As a result of this, it was elevated to a unique national relic.

According to the myth, in 955, during the reign of Otto I., the Hungarians went into battle with the Germans and when they neared the city of Augsburg, at the Lech-field, they were completely defeated by the German warriors. Many Hungarians were brutally killed and the rest of them were imprisoned, including Lehel and Bulcsú, the two chieftains. They were questioned by the emperor about the reason behind their cruelty against Christians and their reply was that: "We are the revenge of the highest God, sent to you as a scourge. You shall imprison us and kill us, when we cease to chase you." After that, the emperor commanded them to choose how they would like to die. 43 centimeters long. When he got his horn, he pretended to prepare for the blowing but instead of doing that he violently hit the emperor, who then immediately died. Interestingly, the myth suggests that during this process the horn was chipped where it grazed the emperor’s head and it can be seen in the horn’s rim. The myth stated that after killing the emperor, Lehel said that now it became clear that he will be his servant in the other world and this belief is rooted in Scythian myths. They say that the people they kill during their life will serve them after they die.Lehel said that his last wish is to let him blow his horn for the last time and after that, he will answer the emperor’s question. This horn was made of an elephant’s tusk and it was

However, this myth has nothing to do with reality. For instance, according to history, Lehel cold not have killed Conrad, who was the son-in-law of Otto I., King of the Germans, as Duke Conrad was killed during the battle of Augsburg by an arrow. The only factual happening was the battle which gave colour to this myth. The point where history ends and the legend takes over is where Lehel was brought before Duke Conrad and asked for his last wish. Few people know, but the connection between the horn and Lehel was first made in 1788 and until then, it was not really well-known. People simply called it ”jászkürt” or ”Jazygian horn”.
What makes this saga so peculiar is that it interweaves history and legend, fact and fiction. Lehel and Bulcsú were real persons, famous leaders in the 10th century and it is also a historical fact that they were taken as prisoners after the Augsburg battle. According to many historians, this horn seems to be of a Byzantine origin, estimated approximately from the 10th or 11th century, which could be a possible explanation regarding its origin as Hungarians had made many expeditions to that area. This tale also serves to highlight the braveness of the ancient Hungarian nation even in the hardest times and to draw attention to their willingnes to fight and win. Now, it illustrates the typical Hungarian weakness of looking backwards and constantly wishing that things could have been better. 
Personally, I grew up listening to the myth regarding Lehel’s name. Now, there is a horn proclaimed to be ”Lehel’s horn” kept in my hometown, in the Jász Museum of Jászberény. However, there are 40 more similar horns all along the museums of Europe so we cannot be sure that the one in Jászberény is the original treasure.