There Etsel, or Attila, is described as the wearer of
twelve mighty crowns, and as promising to his bride the lands of thirty
kings whom his irresistible sword had subdued. He is, in fact, the hero
of the latter part of this remarkable poem; and it is at his capital
city, Etselenburg, which evidently corresponds to the modern Buda, that
much of its action takes place.
When we turn from the legendary to the historic Attila, we see clearly
that he was not one of the vulgar herd of barbaric conquerors.
Consummate military skill may be traced in his campaigns; and he relied
far less on the brute force of armies for the aggrandizement of his
empire than on the unbounded influence over the affections of friends
and the fears of foes which his genius enabled him to acquire. Austerely
sober in his private life--severely just on the judgment
seat--conspicuous among a nation of warriors for hardihood, strength,
and skill in every martial exercise--grave and deliberate in counsel,
but rapid and remorseless in execution, he gave safety and security to
all who were under his dominion, while he waged a warfare of
extermination against all who opposed or sought to escape from it.
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