Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Mythology and Folklore: Part 3 by Erika M Szabo #OurAuthorGang

The Sword of God

By Erika M Szabo

In the first part my mythology and Folklore blog post series I talked about the Turul bird.

The second part was about ancient beliefs and the structure of the World Tree according to Hungarian legend.

The legend of the Sword of Attila


The legend says that when Attila was a young boy his mother told him the story of an ancient sword that was forged by the Gods for the Scythian kings. When the Huns and the Magyars joined forces to defeat the Scythians, they’ve found the sword but couldn’t decide which tribe could possess the sword. The Huns wanted to move west while the Magyars wanted to remain.

After a long argument, they gave the sword to a blind man and told him to turn and spin the sword 7 times and throw it as far as he could. They decided that if the blind man would throw the sword toward West, then the Huns would possess it and take it with them.  But if the sword would be thrown toward East, then it would stay with the Magyars. As a twist of fate, when the blind man released the sword, a strong gust of wind blew and carried the sword out of sight. The Sword of God was lost to the world for a long time.


During his childhood, Attila would often hear the elders say, “Search for the sword because he who finds God’s sword will rule the world” and wished he could find the sword one day. When he was a grown man and returned to his tribe after spending years in Rome, he became the King of the Huns and his childhood wish to find the sword was fulfilled.
The legend says that one day a shepherd noticed that one of his animals was limping and bleeding. He followed the trail of blood on the ground and he found the tip of a sword sticking out of the ground. He dug it up and recognized the Sword of the Gods right away from the description of the elders. He ran to Attila and presented him with the sword. He knew that the great King, Attila, was the only one worthy to possess such power.


During the 11th century, more than 500 years after the death of Attila, Lambert of Hersfeld, a medieval chronicler, said the sword was found. It ended up in the Kunsthistorisches Museum located in Vienna and it’s still displayed there as Attila the Huns' sword.

The Sword of God in my Fantasy World

Find the trilogy on:

A sudden bright light poured down from the ceiling of the cave and a 3D picture appeared before us. It seemed so real. The sacred Turul with a flaming sword descended slowly and hovered over us.

“The Sword of the Gods!” I heard Elana’s voice.

I felt a burning sensation on the side of my neck and itching under my left eye as I stared mesmerized at the lifelike image of the magnificent bird.

“Ilona!” I heard Elza’s voice, “There is a mark of the sword etched into your skin, and your birthmark has changed.” 


I was stunned and automatically froze time. I was surprised to see the group of spirits still moving, gesturing and every one of them looking at me with expectation.

“Chosen by the Sword is a great honor and also a great responsibility.” I heard Tua’s voice.

“Why was I chosen?”

“The Sword chose you because you proved that you’re worthy.”

“I’m honored, but...”

Tua ignored my protest, “You must stay in this timeline and change history. You will unite the Hunors and will be worshiped and served by the Hunor people, forever.”

I was deeply in thought for a few minutes, Worshiped? Served? This is too much! I don't belong here, want to go home. I want to be a doctor and Healer and live a normal life. I cannot do this.

Enjoy the movie with my favorite actor, Gerard Butler



COMMENTS

Erika M Szabo via Google+

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
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Erika M Szabo via Google+

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Today, my blog post is about the Sword of God
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Mary Anne Yarde

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Such a wonderful story. I do so love your posts, Erika!
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Thank you Mary Anne :)

Ruth de Jauregui

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Wow, Erika, your ability to weave legends with your series is amazing! Great post on Attila and I love the excerpt.
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Actually, the legend of the sword what triggered my imagination to write the story. At first I planned to write a short novelette about Attila's birth and childhood, but then my imagination ran away with me. I added a parallel timeline and the originally planned novelette turned into an over 600 pages trilogy :)

Rebecca Tran via Google+

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Erika I was reading the thread between you and Toi. When you finish this series can you do one on Atilla himself? The new info is so fascinating.
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+Rebecca Tran I will after I finish the mythology and legends series :)

Joe Bonadonna

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Fabulous post, Erika! I remember seeing the 1950s Attila film, but haven't seen this one. Now I'm going to search it out.
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+Joe Bonadonna Found the one made in 1954 with Anthony Quinn and Sophia Loren https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQBfj79qaq0 I'm going to watch it tonight :)
 
+Erika M Szabo -- I figured you'd like Quinn and Loren.

Tricia Drammeh

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
I love this article. Informative and interesting. Thanks for helping me learn something new today!
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My pleasure Tricia, thank you!

Rebecca Tran

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
What a great post Erkia. I love this series. I've learned so much. The excerpt was a great touch to round out your piece.
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Thank you Rebecca, I'm glad you like my post series :)

Chris Weigand

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Loved the story. Thanks for the post. It's always fascinating to see legends of old and how they tie into history.
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Thanks Chris! Every legend and folk tale has some truth in it :)

Grace Au

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Wonderful information about Attila the Hun and God's Sword.
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Thanks Grace!

Lorraine Carey

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
This is really interesting. I've always had a fascination with swords. And I love folklore and mythology. Great post, Erika.
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Thanks Lorraine :)
 
+Erika M Szabo You are welcome. Keep posting the good stuff.

Toi Thomas

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Never got into Attila in school, but as an adult I've enjoyed learning about the history and mythology surrending his life.
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+Toi Thomas a lot of European, Asian, and African historical facts had been distorted and changed, either because or political, or because of religious reasons.
 
+Erika M Szabo I can totally see that.

Nikki McDonagh

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Great information and a fabulous story.
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Thank you Nikki!

Ruth de Jauregui via Google+

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Erika shares the story of Attila the Hun and the Sword of God today. She also includes an excerpt from her fantastic series that weaves the mythology with a modern woman's fantastic journey to find the secrets of her clan and save their future. Stop by and check out her post on Our Author Gang!
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Denysé Bridger

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Mythology, especially Greek, has long been a favourite subject of mine. My first major novel was based on myth, and folklore is a rich mine for amazing ideas! Great post. ☺
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Denysé Bridger shared this via Google+

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Mary Schmidt

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
I am interested in Mythology.
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Joe Bonadonna via Google+

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Today on Our Author Gang, Erika M. Szabo​ talks more about mythology and folklore, and discusses Attila and The Sword of God.....
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Rebecca Tran via Google+

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Erika Szabo shares the legend of the God Sword on Our Author Gang.
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Chris Weigand via Google+

7 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Another exciting folklore lesson from Erika Szabo.
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