Origin of the Szekelys

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Scholarly theories about the origin of the Szekelys (a subgroup of the Hungarian people ) can be divided into four main groups. Medieval chronicles unanimously stated that the Szekelys were descended from the Huns and settled in the Carpathian Basin centuries before the Hungarians (or Magyars) conquered the territory in the late 9th century. This theory is refuted by most modern specialists. According to a widely accepted modern hypothesis, the Szekelys were originally a Turkic people who joined the Magyars in the Pontic steppes . Another well-known theory states that the Szekelys are simply Magyars, descended from the border guards of the Kingdom of Hungary who settled in the easternmost region of the Carpathian Basin and preserved their special privileges for centuries. According to a fourth theory, the Szekelys' origin can be traced back to the Late Avar population of the Carpathian Basin.

Medieval and Early modern period [ edit ]

Medieval chronicles associated the Szekelys with the Huns , also claiming that both the Huns and the Hungarians were descended from the Scythians . [1] Medieval scholars also agreed that the Szekelys had already been present in the Carpathian Basin before the Hungarians (or Magyars ) conquered the territory. [2] The early 13th-century Gesta Hungarorum was the first to mention that the Szekelys "were previously the peoples" [3] of Attila the Hun . [1] According to the same source, the Szekelys "gave their sons as hostages along with diverse gifts" [3] to the Hungarian chieftain, ?sb?, at the Koros River before joining his campaign against Menumorut . [4] [5]

Simon of Keza stated that the Szekelys were "remnants of the Huns" who "remained on the field of Csigla " [6] after the fall of the Hunnic Empire. [1] [2] In contrast with the Gesta Hungarorum , Keza said, the Szekelys joined the Hungarians "on the borders of Ruthenia " [6] when the Hungarians crossed the Carpathian Mountains . [4] [7] All subsequent Hungarian chronicles repeated Keza's story and most scholars accepted the identification of the Szekelys with the Huns for centuries. [1] [8] The theory was also mentioned in Istvan Werb?czy 's Tripartitum , which was published several times in Szekely Land after 1517. [1] As a consequence, it cannot be decided whether the Szekelys' well-documented own tradition of their Hunnic origin is a genuine part of their folklore, or it is only an adoption of a medieval scholarly fabrication. [1] Most Szekelys still regard themselves as descendants of the Huns, but the majority of modern scholars refute this theory. [4]

About the Transylvanian Scythulis, whom we call Szekelys ? In addition, in its Transylvanian parts, there are the privileged nobles called Scythuli, originating from the Scythian people when they first came to Pannonia, whom we call by a corrupt name: ?Szekely”. They enjoy quite different laws and customs; they are very skilled in warfare; and divide up and distribute inheritances and offices among themselves by tribes and kindreds and the lineages of kindreds, in the manner of the ancients.

?  Istvan Werb?czy : Tripartitum [9]

Modern scholarship [ edit ]

19th and 20th Centuries [ edit ]

The linguist Pal Hunfalvy was the first scholar to question the association of the Szekelys with the Huns in the 1870s. [4] However, scholars have not reached a consensus about the origin of the Szekelys. [2] The modern theories can be divided into three major groups. [1]

Late Avars [ edit ]

See also: Pannonian Avars

Medieval chronicles are evidence that the Szekelys were regarded as a distinct ethnic group which had settled in the Carpathian Basin before the Hungarians. [10] Some scholars (especially Gyula Laszlo and Pal Engel ) say that the Szekelys are the direct descendants of the " Late Avar " population of the region. [11] [12] The "Late Avar" period started around 700 A.D., and lasted for about a century. [13] Artifacts (mostly buckles and strap ends) decorated with floral patterns and griffins are the most featured items of the assemblages for this period. [13] Laszlo and Engel attribute this new archaeological horizon to a group of Onogurs who had fled from the Pontic steppes to the West after the Khazars destroyed their empire around 680. [4] [14] According to most scholars, the Onogurs spoke a Turkic language , [11] [15] but Laszlo proposed that they were a Hungarian-speaking group. [4] [16] A charter of Louis the German , King of East Francia , mentioned the Wangariorum marcas ("Wangars' frontier") around 860, implying that Onogurs still lived in the westernmost region of the Carpathian Basin in the second half of the 9th century. [17] Most scholars refute the association of the Szekelys with the "Late Avars" or Onogurs. [18]

Associated people [ edit ]

According to a widely accepted scholarly theory, the Szekelys had originally been a Turkic people who joined the Magyars in the Pontic steppes (to the east of the Carpathian Basin). [19] [20] Written sources evidence, the Szekelys were regarded a separate ethnic group in the Middle Ages. [20] Simon of Keza wrote of the "Hungarian and Szekely forces" [21] of Andrew II of Hungary ; a charter of William, Bishop of Transylvania , distinguished the Hungarians and Szekelys in 1213. [20] The Szekelys were listed along with other peoples in the Middle Ages, also indicating that they were considered an ethnic group. [22] In 1250, a royal charter enumerated the Saxons , Vlachs , Szekelys and Pechenegs when mentioning a campaign against Bulgaria; the 14th-century Hungarian chronicles wrote of Szekelys and Pechenegs participating in the Battle of Ol?ava . [22]

21th century scholarship [ edit ]

Social group theory (Hungarian border guards) [ edit ]

Linguistic background [ edit ]

The Szekelys speak the Hungarian language "without any trace of a Turkic substratum ", indicating that they did not have a language shift during their history, according to scholars, who propose that the Szekelys were descended from privileged Hungarian groups. [23] [24] Most place names in Szekely Land are of Hungarian origin, showing that the Szekelys spoke Hungarian when they settled in the region. [25] The three main Hungarian dialects of Szekely Land are closely connected to the Hungarian variants spoken along the western and southwestern borders of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. [25] The dialect of the Szekelys of Marosszek is similar to the dialects spoken by the Hungarian communities near Pressburg (now Bratislava in Slovakia) and in southern Burgenland . [26] The Hungarian variant of Udvarhelyszek is closely related to the tongue of the Hungarians in Baranya County and Slavonia . [26] The easternmost Szekely communities' dialect is connected to the Hungarian variant of Burgenland. [26]

Archival materials [ edit ]

Other important social phenomenon supports the social group thesis. If Szekely men moved to the cities or towns in Szekelyland, they lost their Szekely social status and identity immediately, moreover the new townsmen and the Szekely villagers considered each other as extraneous. It also confirms that Szekelys considered themselves as a special privileged Hungarian social group rather than a real separate ethnic group in the medieval and early modern period. [27] A very similar social phenomenon and a new strong local identity emerged in Hajdusag region of Hungary in the early modern period, when the Hajdu soldiers got feudal privileges and own territory from prince Stephen Bocskai .

Parasocial [28] modell [ edit ]

According to a new model, [29] the word Szekely/Szekler is a social ethnonym [30] that was formed from the Hungarian verb ’ szok(ik) ’ (jump, move fast, escape, run away) using the suffix -l/ly creating deverbal nouns. The original meaning of the word is ’a swift-moving, fugitive, runaway (person).’ The formation of the social group began in the 11th century. The process was triggered by the establishment of the landlord system and the frequent wars which led to the escape and ’wandering’ of slaves and free people coerced into subordination (see unintended consequences ). The refugees mainly settled in the sparsely populated border region and hard-to-reach places (forests, swamps) where the institutional vacuum [31] allowed them to found independent communities. After this process of self-organization , the Hungarian kings reintegrated the Szekely groups into the kingdom's society from the beginning of the 12th century. The historical parallels of the process are provided by the ?Apiru , the Cossacks , the Hungarian Hajduk and the Maroon societies.

Alternative theories [ edit ]

Humanist scholar Petrus Ransanus was the first to propose an alternative theory about the origin of the Szekelys. [1] Based on the Latin Siculus form of their ethnonym , he said that Sicilian soldiers who allegedly fought in the army of Attila the Hun were the Szekelys' ancestors. [1] Jesuit priest Ferenc Fasching stated that the Szekelys were descended from a Jasz group whom Bela IV of Hungary had supposedly settled in Transylvania. [1] Nicolae Iorga proposed that the Szekelys were originally Romanians, but he abandoned this theory. [24]

References [ edit ]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hermann 2004 , p. 1.
  2. ^ a b c Pop 1996 , p. 162.
  3. ^ a b Anonymus, Notary of King Bela: The Deeds of the Hungarians (ch. 50.), p. 109.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Egyed 2013 , p. 9.
  5. ^ Pop 1996 , pp. 108?109.
  6. ^ a b Simon of Keza: The Deeds of the Hungarians (ch. 21.), p. 71.
  7. ^ Kristo 1996 , p. 23.
  8. ^ Korde 1993 , pp. 22?23.
  9. ^ Werb?czy, Istvan. "Ezer ev torvenyei ? Tripartitum (1514) ? Nemes Magyarorszag szokasjoganak Harmaskonyve" [Laws of a Thousand Years ? Tripartitum (1514) ? Trilogy of the Customary Law of Noble Hungary ? (Corpus Juris Hungarici, Hungarian Law Library)]. net.jogtar.hu (Online Hungarian Legal Register) . Wolters Kluwer . Retrieved 2023-08-17 . Az orszag jogainak es szokasainak harmadik reszer?l altalaban ? 4. CZIM - Az erdelyi scithakrol, a kiket szekelyeknek hivunk: Ezenkivul annak az erdelyi reszekben a scithak, kivaltsagos nemesek, a kik a scitha nept?l, ennek Pannoniaba valo els? bejovetele alkalmabol szarmaztak el, a kiket mi romlott neven ?siculusoknak" nevezunk; a kik teljesen kulon torvenyekkel es szokasokkal elnek; a hadi dolgokban legjartasabbak: az oroksegekben es a tisztsegekben egymas kozt (a regi szokas alapjan) torzsek, nemzetsegek es nemzetsegi agak szerint reszesednek es osztozkodnak.
  10. ^ Engel 2001 , p. 1.
  11. ^ a b Makkai 1994 , p. 178.
  12. ^ Korde 1993 , p. 25.
  13. ^ a b Curta 2006 , p. 92.
  14. ^ Engel 2001 , p. 3.
  15. ^ Engel 2001 , pp. 3, 6.
  16. ^ Engel 2001 , p. 6.
  17. ^ Engel 2001 , pp. 6, 387.
  18. ^ Korde 1993 , pp. 25?26.
  19. ^ Hermann 2004 , p. 11.
  20. ^ a b c Korde 1993 , p. 29.
  21. ^ Simon of Keza: The Deeds of the Hungarians (ch. 71.), p. 145.
  22. ^ a b Kristo 1996 , p. 7.
  23. ^ Engel 2001 , p. 116.
  24. ^ a b Egyed 2013 , p. 13.
  25. ^ a b Benk? & Szabo T. 1985 , p. 26.
  26. ^ a b c Benk? & Szabo T. 1985 , p. 25.
  27. ^ Judit Balogh: Szekelyudvarhely varosi elitjenek kialakulasa a 16-17. szazad fordulojan (The development of the elite of the towns in Szekelyudvarhely) LINK: [1]
  28. ^ Rowton, Michael B. (1977). "Dimorphic Structure and the Parasocial Element" . Journal of Near Eastern Studies . 36 (3): 181?198 – via JSTOR.
  29. ^ Keszi, Tamas (2023). "Alternativ javaslat a szekely nev es tarsadalmi csoport eredetenek magyarazatara (An alternative proposal to explain the origin of the Szekely name and social group)" . Ephemeris Hungarologica . 2023 (1): 44?67 – via Academia.edu.
  30. ^ Rowton, Michael B. (1976). "Dimorphic Structure and the Problem of the ?Apiru ? ?Ibrim" . Journal of Near Eastern Studies . 35 (1): 13?20. – via JSTOR.
  31. ^ Kopytoff, Igor (1987). The African Frontier: the Reproduction of Traditional Societies . Bloomington, IN.: Indiana University Press. pp. 25?33. ISBN   978-0253205391 .

Sources [ edit ]

Primary sources [ edit ]

  • Anonymus, Notary of King Bela: The Deeds of the Hungarians (Edited, Translated and Annotated by Martyn Rady and Laszlo Veszpremy) (2010). In: Rady, Martyn; Veszpremy, Laszlo; Bak, Janos M. (2010); Anonymus and Master Roger ; CEU Press; ISBN   978-9639776951 .
  • Simon of Keza: The Deeds of the Hungarians (Edited and translated by Laszlo Veszpremy and Frank Schaer with a study by Jen? Sz?cs) (1999). CEU Press. ISBN   963-9116-31-9 .
  • Stephen Werb?czy: The Customary Law of the Renowned Kingdom of Hungary in Three Parts (1517) (Edited and translated by Janos M. Bak, Peter Banyo and Martyn Rady with an introductory study by Laszlo Peter) (2005). Charles Schlacks, Jr. Publishers. ISBN   1-884445-40-3 .

Secondary sources [ edit ]

  • Benk?, Lorand; Szabo T., Adam (1985). "Adalekok a szekelyek korai tortenetehez: Benk? Lorand akademikussal beszelget Szabo T. Adam [Data to the early history of the Szekelys: Adam T. Szabo's conversation with Lorand Benk?, Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences] ". Honismeret (in Hungarian). 5 : 22?30.
  • Curta, Florin (2006). Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500-1250 . Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-89452-4 .
  • Egyed, Akos (2013). A szekelyek rovid tortenete a megtelepedest?l 1989-ig (in Hungarian). Pallas-Akademiai Konyvkiado. ISBN   978-973-665-365-0 .
  • Engel, Pal (2001). The Realm of St Stephen: A History of Medieval Hungary, 895?1526 . I.B. Tauris Publishers. ISBN   1-86064-061-3 .
  • Hermann, Gusztav Mihaly (2004). Szekely torteneti kistukor [Small Mirror of Szekely History] (in Hungarian). Litera. ISBN   973-85950-6-1 .
  • Korde, Zoltan (1993). "A szekely eredetkerdes az ujabb kutatasok tukreben [The origin of the Szeklers in the Light of recent Scholarship] ". AETAS: Tortenettudomanyi folyoirat (in Hungarian). 3 : 21?39. ISSN   0237-7934 .
  • Kristo, Gyula (1996). A szekelyek eredeter?l [On the Origin of the Szekely] (in Hungarian). Szegedi Kozepkorasz M?hely. ISBN   963-482-150-2 .
  • Makkai, Laszlo (1994). "The Emergence of the Estates (1172–1526)". In Kopeczi, Bela; Barta, Gabor; Bona, Istvan; Makkai, Laszlo; Szasz, Zoltan; Borus, Judit (eds.). History of Transylvania . Akademiai Kiado. pp. 178?243. ISBN   963-05-6703-2 .
  • Pop, Ioan Aurel (1996). Romanians and Hungarians from the 9th to the 14th Century: The Genesis of the Transylvanian Medieval State . Centrul de Studii Transilvane, Funda?ia Cultural? Roman?. ISBN   973-577-037-7 .

External links [ edit ]

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