true vocation was war, which was the only activity that was noble enough to suit them." The nobles were free and equal; the peasants were the descendants of those who had been condemned for cowardice in battle and whose punishment had been commuted from execution to losing their social rank. Werbőczy thus used the Hunor and Magor myth to justify Hungarian serfdom. Werbőczy's ideas were eagerly adopted by the Hungarian nobility and became the charter of common law for three centuries. The poorer smaller nobles (the gentry) particularly cherished their 'Scythian' identity. According to Engel:It made the nobility inclined to think in terms of historical fictions and to cherish illusions. They thought that they had the right to rule their subjects without having to meet any obligations. It also involved an extreme respect for traditions, and gave birth to what was an early form of 'nationalism'. The nobility's ideology overvalued everything that was, or was thought to be, ancient, and regarded everything that seemed strange or unusual with aversion or even hostility [...] The nobility also took delight in hearing about 'Scythian' values, for they imagined they recognised their own virtues in them. Among the petty nobility the ideal of martial simplicity must have become especially popular, for it made a virtue out of their misery and illiteracy." Literary János Arany retold the myth in his poem Rege a csodaszarvasról (Legend of the Miraculous Stag) as did Kate Seredy in her children's book The White Stag. Notes Sources Primary sources Simon of Kéza: The Deeds of the Hungarians (Edited and translated by László Veszprémy and Frank Schaer with a study by Jenő Szűcs) (1999). CEU Press. . Secondary sources See also Gog and Magog Lech, Czech and Rus Romulus and Remus Hengest and Horsa Sarmatism (the belief that the Polish nobility were of Sarmatian descent) Gothicismus (the belief that the Swedes were descended from the Goths) History of the Hungarians Hungarian literature Japheth Hungarian folklore Hungarian prehistory Sibling duos Nimrod