Táltosok és királyok
Shamans and Kings

Summary/Abstract: The historical novel of Sándor Makkai,the Táltoskirály (Shaman King) (1934) is set during the reign of Transylvania by Prince Béla, the future king Béla IV(1235-1270). However, the novel is at least as close to the debates of the 1930s in political and public life, in which Makkai himself has participated as the bishop of the Reformed Church of Transylvania, as to the times of Prince Béla. Most conspicously, the novel includes several political commentaries which could serve as a basis for reconstructing the discourse of the 1930s on actual topics. At the same time, the novelist is remarkably well informed on the epoch of András II, with up-to-date historical knowledge on the subject. The historical subject itself must have been very attractive for a Transylvanian novelist. It offered a possibility to present an alternative to András II (1205-1235), traditionally viewed as a “bad king”, in the figure of his own son, Béla, for the rise of the Kingdom. And, at least as significantly,this alternative was a Transylvanian one, both in geographic and spiritual sense.

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