Turul
Turul is the
mythological bird of the origin myth of the
Magyars (Hungarian people).
The Turul is probably a large
falcon, the origin of the word is
Turkish (
togrul or
turgul means peregrine falcon). In Hungarian the word
sólyom means falcon, and there are three ancient words describing different kinds of falcons:
kerecsen (saker),
zongor (lives in the male name
Zsombor) and
turul.
In the legends Turul is mentioned at least twice to shape the fate of the Hungarians: the first time
Emese, mother of
Álmos had a dream where a Turul appeared and told her that her child was going to be the father of a great nation. The second time, the leader of the Hungarian tribes had a dream where eagles attacked their horses and a Turul came and saved them, to symbolise that they have to move, and when they did, the Turul helped them to show the way, basically helping them to find the land of
Hungary.
There were three Turul statues in
Greater Hungary (before the country was cut apart by the
treaty of Trianon): one still visible on the mountain next to
Tatabánya, Hungary. It is told to be the largest bird statue of Europe, the wingspan of the Turul is almost 15 meters.
* Pictures of the Turul statue in Tatabánya: [
1] [
2]
* Picture of the Turul statue in
Buda Castle: [
3]
*
Tatabányáról magyarul*
Article about the Turul in Hungarian - Kiszely István: A magyar nép Őstörténete
