Alice White
Kuvasz is one of the three ancient Hungarian breeds that have served people in this area from time immemorial. The other two are bullets (the same dreadlocked dog), and a komondor. The dominant version of the origin of the Kuvasz breed is that the Magyar tribes, who invaded these territories around the end of the eighth century AD, brought these animals with them.
#1 The name of the breed has two versions of its origin.
The first says that the name Kuvasz is a distortion of the Turkish word "Kawasz", which means bodyguard. The second version says that the word comes from the Sumerian phrase "ku assa", meaning a dog that ran near the rider and acts as a guard.
#2 Wherever these dogs came from, by the 15th century in Hungary they were highly valued as watchdogs and guardians, and King Matthias was especially fond of them.
The coronation of Matthias took place on March 29, 1464, only 15 years old. Despite his youth, Matthias was a shrewd and wise warlord. Palace intrigues are the scourge of any kind, especially such a young one, because Matthias simply needed to be incredibly cunning and clever, just to survive.
#3 What does the dog have to do with it?
But what has to do with it - without two kuvasses, he did not go anywhere. They watched his sleep and literally followed on his heels even to the toilet, which significantly reduced the chances of the conspirators to kill the king, given the size, strength, and loyalty of these dogs. King Mathias gathered a strong army and repelled the Ottoman attack, fortified the borders of the Hungarian kingdom, and built huge nurseries on his Siebenbürgen estate. There lived, without exaggeration, hundreds of dogs of the Kuvasz breed.
