Bulcsú (; or Vérbulcsú; , Boulosoudes and Boultzous, ; – 15 August 955) was a chieftain of the Hungarians and military leader in the 10th century. He held the title of harka (). Despite not being a member of the ruling Árpád dynasty, he was one of the most important figures of the Hungarian invasions of Europe. He led military campaigns in the direction of the northwest, west, and south during the 930–950s.
In 948, Bulcsú visited the court of Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII, where he was received with great pomp. Bulcsú adopted Christianity, and the emperor became his godfather. He was a "guest friend of the emperor" and was awarded the title of 'patrikios' (patrician).
After his army had lost the disastrous Battle of Lechfeld in 955, he was caught by the German victors and executed. The lands of his tribe lay around Lake Balaton in Transdanubia, the core area of which later formed Zala County.
Name and etymology
Bulcsú is one of the only three Hungarian individuals from the 10th century – beside Gyula II and Taksony –, whose name is mentioned by Western (Latin), Byzantine (Greek) and Arabic sources either. Consequently, many variants of his name are known. The contemporary Constantine Porphyrogenitus' De Administrando Imperio refers to him as "Boultzous", a direct translation from Latin variant "Bultzus". His name appears as "Boulosoudes" in the late-11th-century chronicler John Skylitzes' Synopsis of Histories, which work was extracted by John Zonaras in his Extracts of History in the 12th century; Bulcsú is mentioned as "Bolosoudes" there. Among the Western sources, the near-contemporary Annales Sangallenses maiores calls Bulcsú as "Pulszi". His name is mentioned as "Bulgio" by the mid-11th-century Gesta episcoporum Cameracensium. The 16th-century Renaissance humanist historian Johannes Aventinus, who utilized lost 11th-century annals, mentions the name of Bulcsú as "Bultzko" and "Bulichizo". Latin-language works from Hungary call Bulcsú as "Bulsuu", "Bulsu" (Anonymus' Gesta Hungarorum), "Bulchu", "Werbulchu" (Simon of Kéza's Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum), "Bulchu", "Bolchu", "Werbulchw", "Uerbulchu" (Hungarian chronicle variants). The name of Bulcsú – (w)l.h.w.d.y, "Wulǧūdī" – can also be found in Kitāb al-Muqtabis fī tarīkh al-Andalus written by 11th-century Muslim author Ibn Ḥayyān.
The etymology of his name is uncertain. According to several linguists – for instance, János Melich, Zoltán Gombocz and, initially, Dezső Pais – his name is of Turkic origin, which has the same source as the Hungarian common name "búcsú" (indulgence). Both words derive from Turkic verb bos ("forgive"), thus Bulcsú is a noun form of the verb, or the noun bošug ("decree of heaven, fate, divine judgment, or command"), i.e. a direct variant of the dignity bošugčï (lit. "commander"). Other historians – e.g. Gyula Pauler – connected Bulcsú's name with the adjective "bölcs" ("wise"), while there were also assumptions that the name is a Hungarian variant of the Latin name Basilius or Blasius. Dezső Pais considered that Bulcsú was named for the purpose of predestination: since it was expected that he would succeed his father in the judicial office of harka, he had to be a man of "forgiving nature and gracious character", which is reflected in his name – though, Bulcsú later became known for his cruel nature. Later, Pais abandoned the theory of connection between Bulcsú's name and the verb bos. He, instead, argued that his name derives from the verb bulya or bulģha ("stir", "to mix"), from which the name of Bulgars originates too. Pais claimed the noun participle bulyučy ("mixer") is the direct antecedent of the chieftain's name. Byzantinist Mátyás Gyóni argued that the De Administrando Imperio wrote down an Old Hungarian name form when describing Bulcsú's name, based on hearsay. He connected his name with a Khazar dignity "bwlšcy", which appears in the 10th-century Schechter Letter. If this assumption is valid, it may also reflect Bulcsú's possible Khavar ethnicity (see below).
The name variant "Vérbulcsú" (lit. "Blood Bulcsú") first appears in the sources in the mid-13th century, when the descendants of the chieftain called themselves "de genere Werbulchu". The origin of this variant is unclear. Anonymus, who wrote his gesta in the early 13th century, already refers to Bulcsú as a "bloodthirsty man" ("vir sanguinis").Anonymus, Notary of King Béla: The Deeds of the Hungarians (ch. 53), pp. 116–117. Regarding the name variant, Simon of Kéza provides a detailed account of its origin in his Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum written in the early 1280s. Accordingly, Bulcsú's grandfather was killed in the legendary battle of Krimhild between the Romans and Huns (see Nibelungenlied), and Bulcsú devoted his whole life to taking revenge on the Germans. Playing the words (spit = veru), Simon refers to the name "Vérbulcsú" in the original Latin text too. Simon describes Bulcsú as "bloodthirsty" and "warlike" with "fearless heart". Although Mark of Kalt, the author of the 14th-century Illuminated Chronicle disregarded Simon's fantastic etymology, but maintained the name variant Vérbulcsú in his work.The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle (ch. 33), pp. 76–77. Dezső Pais argued that the name Vérbulcsú ("vérbocsátó" - "blood provider", then "vérkeverő" – "blood mixer") reflects Bulcsú's status as harka and his possible ceremonial role in the blood oaths among the Magyar tribal chieftains.
Ancestry and title
Bulcsú was born in the early 10th century, possibly around 910. He had at least one sibling. He was not a member of the ruling Árpád dynasty and only his father's name is known. János Belitzky considered that Bulcsú belonged to the Kér, one of the Magyar tribes, while Sándor László Tóth argued in favor of his belonging to the Tarján tribe. The contemporary De Administrando Imperio states that Bulcsú's father was Kál or Káli (), who held the title of harka prior to Bulcsú's elevation into the position, possibly sometime in the period 910/920–930s. However, Anonymus refers to Bulcsú as the son of Bogát in his Gesta Hungarorum.Anonymus, Notary of King Béla: The Deeds of the Hungarians (ch. 39), pp. 84–85. Bogát (Bugat or Busac) was one of the two leaders of the 921–922 Italian campaign, alongside Tarkacsu (Dursac), Grand Prince Árpád's eldest living son. According to the widespread belief, Constantine and the Byzantine court acquired the information about the Hungarians, among other things, during Bulcsú's embassy, so the majority of historians accepted the first information as authentic. Because of his frequent appearance with the Árpáds, some historians attempted to connect Bulcsú's person to the ruling dynasty. For instance, Bálint Hóman claimed that Kál was the son of Liüntika, while István Herényi considered that Bulcsú was a descendant of chieftain Tétény through his grandfather Bogát and father Kál.
Mátyás Gyóni assumed that Kál and Bulcsú were of Khalyzian or Khavar ethnicity. These groups rebelled against the Khazar Khaganate and joined the Hungarians in the early 9th century, forming three tribes at the time of the conquest. According to András Róna-Tas, Kál then Bulcsú ruled over the joined and/or subjugated peoples, holding the title of harka. A 16th-century Hebrew chronicle from Bohemia also refers to Bulcsú as a Khalyzian. Herényi claimed that Bulcsú belonged to the Khavar tribe called Varsány which settled down in western Transdanubia and carried out border protection duties. Dezső Dümmerth also argued in favor of Bulcsú's Khavar ethnicity, which is why he later emphasized the role of the Khavars in the conquest of the homeland in the Byzantine court and hushed up the presence of Álmos during the events. Linguist Lajos Ligeti considered the Khavar background of the military leader too. György Szabados expressed doubt arguing that the fact of the defeat and expulsion of the Khavars are not downplayed in the 39th chapter of the work.
Bulcsú's title of harka (or karchas) is a subject of historiographical debates. According to the De Administrando Imperio, it was the third most prestigious position in the Principality of Hungary, after the (grand) prince and "gylas" (gyula). Both gylas and karchas "have the rank of judge". According to György Szabados, this information reflects the statehood-nature of the Principality of Hungary and the title of harka was a hereditary position (at least in the relation of Kál and Bulcsú). According to Gyula Kristó, Bulcsú held the title at least from 942, when he was mentioned among the Hungarian chieftains by Muslim author Ibn Ḥayyān. Sándor László Tóth considered that the dignity of harka, a relatively short-lived title, was established sometime between 900 and 920 and Kál was the first office-holder, while Róna-Tas claimed that the title was originally held by Kurszán. It is possible the office was created in order to counterbalance the authority of gyula beside the grand prince. István Herényi considered that Bulcsú ruled over all subjugated people (e.g. Khavars, Székelys, Pechenegs and Kylfings) of the Hungarian tribal federation holding the title of harka, which could originally have been the gyula'''s deputy or sub-leader. Accordingly, Bulcsú was responsible for the protection of the principality along the western border. Dániel Bácsatyai compared the harka with the dignity tudun of the Avar Khaganate, arguing Bulcsú perhaps governed the western portions of the principality in the name of the grand prince. In this capacity, Bulcsú collected taxes from the settled agricultural (mostly Slavic) peoples.
Tribal territory
The 13th-century chronicler Simon of Kéza, who wrongfully attributed Bulcsú's activity to the time of the Hungarian conquest, states that Bulcsú seized the landholdings in Western Transdanubia, around Lake Balaton. The Illuminated Chronicle also says that Bulcsú "is said to have set up his tents near Lake Balaton". The chieftain's descendants, the Lád kindred indeed possessed lands in the region in the mid-13th century, for instance, Badacsonylábdihegy (present-day a borough of Badacsonytördemic). Although there are arguments that later chroniclers referred the Láds' possession area back to the 9–10th centuries, a block in the region that bears the name of Bulcsú's father can be identified from the place names; Instead Bulcsú, Kál (or his father) was that chieftain, who conquered the aforementioned region in the late 9th century. According to György Györffy, his summer residence was the Kál Basin, where present-day Köveskál and Mindszentkálla in Veszprém County preserved his name. A vineyard called Harka is also known in Balatonhenye, also located in the Kál Basin. Continuing west, Kál established his winter residence in present-day Dióskál (at Little Balaton), which laid near the Carolingian fort Mosaburg (Zalavár). Thereafter, Mosaburg became the seat of Kál then Bulcsú's territory. Kál's tribe advanced north along the river Zala, reaching the Rába valley along Lake Neusiedl (Fertő) and the area of Szombathely. There the village Bucsu in Vas County preserved Bulcsú's name, as Györffy considered.
There are several villages in Transylvania and Tiszántúl – for instance, Kál in Heves County – which plausibly bear the name Kál or Bulcsú (and also Bogát). According to Györffy, these are the linguistic memories of the temporary residence areas where Bulcsú's tribe initially seized during the first stage of the Hungarian conquest. According to other arguments, these could also be later name adoptions, since the name Bulcsú was relatively common in the 11–14th centuries.