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Hungary, the name in English forthe European country, is anexonym derived from theMedieval LatinHungaria. The Latin name itself derives from theethnonyms(H)ungarī,Ungrī, andUgrī for the steppe people that conquered the land today known as Hungary in the 9th and 10th centuries. Medieval authors called the countryUngaria and laterHungaria, but theHungarians even today call themselvesMagyars and their homelandMagyarország (ország means country in Hungarian).
Primary sources use several names for the Magyars/Hungarians.[1] However, their original historicalendonym — the name they used to refer to themselves in theEarly Middle Ages — is uncertain. In sources written in Arabic, the Magyars are denominatedMadjfarīyah orMadjgharīyah, for example byAhmad ibn Rustah;Badjghird orBazkirda, such as byal-Mas’udi;Unkalī byal-Tartushi, for instance; andTurk, by sources likeibn Hayyan).[1][2][3] One of the earliest written mentions of "Magyar" endonym is from 810.[4]
The Hungarian endonym isMagyar, which is derived fromOld HungarianMogyër. The name is derived fromMagyeri of the 9th or 10th century (contemporarilyMëgyër), one of the 7 major semi-nomadic Hungarian tribes (the others being theNyék,Tarján,Jenő,Kér,Keszi, andKürt-Gyarmat), which dominated the others after the ascension of one of its members, namelyÁrpád, and his subsequentdynasty. The tribal nameMegyer becameMagyar in reference to the Hungarian people as a whole.[5][6][7] There are many hypotheses on the origin of this name. The accepted is that the first elementMagy derives from Proto-Ugric *mäńć- ("man", "person"), which is also found in the name of theMansi (mäńćī,mańśi, andmåńś). The second elementeri ("man", "men", and "lineage") survives in Hungarianférj ("husband") and is cognate withMarierge ("son") andFinnish archaicyrkä ("young man").[8]
In early medieval sources, in addition to the Hungarians, the exonymUngri orUgri referred to theMansi andKhantys also.[9] It may refer to the Hungarians during a time when they dwelt east of theUral Mountains along the natural borders of Europe and Asia before theHungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895–6.[10] The toponymYugra orIuhra referred to that territory from around the 12th century.Herodotus in the 5th century BC probably referred to ancestors of the Hungarians when he wrote of the Yugra people living west of theUral Mountains.[11][dubious –discuss]
InByzantine sources, the Magyars are calledΟὔγγροιUngroi;ΤούρκοιTurkoi, byEmperor Leo VI "the Wise", for example; andΣάβαρτοι άσφαλοιSavartoi asfaloi, such as byEmperor Constantine VIIPorphyrogennetos.[12] Written sources called Magyars "Ungarians" prior to theHungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895–6 when they lived on thesteppes of Eastern Europe, specifically:Ungri byGeorgius Monachus in 837,Ungri inAnnales Bertiniani of 862, andUngari inAnnales iuvavenses of 881.
The ethnonymUngri is the Latinized form ofByzantine GreekOungroi (Οὔγγροι). According to an explanation, the Greek name was borrowed fromOld Bulgarągrinŭ, which in turn comes fromOghuricOn-Ogur (meaning "ten [tribes of the]Ogurs"), the collective name for the tribes which later joined theBulgar tribal confederacy that ruled the eastern parts of Hungary after theAvars. The Hungarians probably belonged to the Onogur tribal alliance and it is very possible that they became its ethnic majority.[13][14]
The Latin variantUngarii used for them byWidukind of Corvey in hisThe Deeds of the Saxons of the 10th century is most probably patterned afterMiddle High GermanUngarn. The Italians called the Hungarians asUngherese, the country asUngheria. When referencing the Magyars, the oldestMedieval Latin sources usually useUngri,Ungari, late high medieval sources started to use a "H" prefix before the ethnonym:Hungri,Hungari, but some of the later high medieval sources call themAvari orHuni.[13] The "H" prefix before the ethnonym and country name appeared in official Latin language Hungarian documents, royal seals and coins since the reign of kingBéla III (r. 1172–1196). The German and Italian languages preserved the original form (without H prefix) of the ethnonym. The addition of the unetymological prefix "H-" in High Medieval-era Latin is most probably due to the politically motivated historical associations of the Hungarians with theHuns who settled Hungary prior to the Avars, Slavs and the Hungarians themselves.
The English word "Hungary" is derived from Medieval LatinHungaria.[15]
According to one view, followingAnonymus's description, the Hungarian federation in the 9th century was calledHetumoger ("Seven Magyars"):VII principales persone qui Hetumoger dicuntur ("seven princely persons who are called Seven Magyars"[16]), though the Chronicler refers to "seven leading persons"[17] instead of a polity.[18]
InByzantine sources inMedieval Greek, the nation was denominated the "WesternTourkia".[19][20]Hasdai ibn Shaprut denominated the polity "the land of the Hungrin" ("the land of the Hungarians") in a letter toJoseph of the Khazars of c. 960.[21]
TheLatin phraseNatio Hungarica ("Hungarian Nation") was a medieval and early modern era geographic, institutional and juridico-political category in Kingdom of Hungary without any ethnic connotation.[22] The medieval "Natio Hungarica" consisted only the members of theHungarian Parliament, which was composed of thenobility,Roman Catholic prelates, and the elected parliamentary envoys of theRoyal free cities, which represented the cityburghers. The other important - and more numerous - component of Natio Hungarica was the noble members of the county assemblies in thecounty seats, Kingdom of Hungary had 72 counties, (regardless of the real ethnicity and mother tongue of the noblemen, clergymen and city bourgeoisie of the kingdom). Those who had no direct participation in the political life on national [parliamentary] or local [counties] level (like the common people of the cities, towns, or the peasantry of the villages) were not considered part of the Natio Hungarica. This old medieval origin convention was also adopted officially in theTreaty of Szatmár of 1711 and thePragmatic Sanction of 1723; remained until 1848, when the privileges of theHungarian nobility were abolished; and thereafter acquired a sense ofethnic nationalism.[23][24][25]
Pannonia is atoponym derived from the name of thePannonii (Παννόνιοι), a group of tribes that inhabited theDrava River Basin in the 2nd century BC. They were presumablyIllyrian tribes that had beenCelticized in the 3rd century BC.Julius Pokorny suggested anIllyrian etymology for this name, derived from aPIE root *pen- ("swamp" or "marsh"; cognate with English "fen"). The territory of thePannonii in the Drava River Basin later formed the geographical center of theProvince of "Pannonia" of the ancientRoman Empire.
Later, the territory of the medievalKingdom of Hungary included that of formerPannonia, andMedieval Latin transferred the denomination ofPannonia to the territory of the Western parts of the Kingdom of Hungary. Further, theKing of Hungary was given the title ofRex Pannoniae ("King of Pannonia") andRex Pannonicorum ("King of the Pannonians").
The name "Pannonian" comes fromPannonia, a province of the Roman Empire. Only the western part of the territory (the so-calledTransdanubia) of modern Hungary formed part of the ancient Roman Province of Pannonia; this comprises less than 29% of modern Hungary, therefore Hungarian geographers avoid the terms "Pannonian Basin" and "Pannonian Plain".
The LatinRegnum Hungariae orRegnum Ungarie (Regnum meaning "kingdom");Regnum Marianum (meaning "Kingdom of[St.] Mary"); and simplyHungaria were the forms used in official documents in Latin from the beginning of theKingdom of Hungary to the 1840s. Official documents in Hungarian usedMagyarország, which also had preponderant use in the correspondence and official documents of ProtestantTransylvanian Princes during the time for which they controlled not only thePartium butUpper Hungary, and at times even toPressburg (Pozsony, contemporarilyBratislava). German Princes used theGermanKönigreich Ungarn or simplyUngarn, including in diplomas in German or in both German andLatin for established German-speaking Hungarian residents of various municipalities, includingTransylvanian Saxons,Zipsers, andHiänzs, in the 14th century.Königreich Ungarn was also used from 1849 to the 1860s. TheHungarianMagyar Királyság was used in the 1840s and again from the 1860s to 1918.
The name of the Kingdom in other languages of its inhabitants was:Polish:Królestwo Węgier,Romanian:Regatul Ungariei,Serbo-Croatian:Kraljevina Ugarska / Краљевина Угарска,Slovene:Kraljevina Ogrska,Czech:Uherské království, andSlovak:Uhorské kráľovstvo.
TheItalianRegno d'Ungheria ("Kingdom of Hungary") alone denominated theFree State of Fiume for its existence from 1920–24, the City of Fiume (contemporarilyRijeka,Croatia, but still denominatedFiume in Hungarian) of which the Free State was predominantly comprised having been within the territory of the Kingdom from 1776–1920.
In and during theAustro-Hungarian Empire (1867–1918),Transleithania sometimes unofficially denominated the regions of the territory of the Kingdom of Hungary, but "Lands of the Holy HungarianCrown of Saint Stephen" officially denominated the Hungarian territory of Austria-Hungary, it having had prior use.
"Lands of theCrown of Saint Stephen" (Hungarian:a Szent Korona Országai) officially denominated the territory of theKingdom of Hungary when it constituted part of the territory of the laterAustro-Hungarian Empire.[26][27] The Latin neologismArchiregnum Hungaricum ("Arch-Kingdom of Hungary") sometimes denominates these Hungarian territoriesqua part of Austria-Hungary, pursuant toMedieval Latin terminology.
Regnum Marianum ("Kingdom of Mary") is a traditionalRoman Catholic denomination ofHungary that honors theBlessed Virgin Mary as its symbolicsovereign. The name derives from the tradition that the first Hungarian king,King Saint Stephen I offered theHoly Crown of Hungary and the nation to her as he was dying, because he had no heirs to inherit it. Another traditional legend may also explain the honorary title: St. King Stephen I raised up the Holy Crown during his coronation in 1000/1 to offer it to theNagyboldogasszony, the Blessed Virgin Mary, in order to seal a contract between her and the Holy Crown. After this, theNagyboldogasszony was depicted not only asPatrona ("Patroness" saint) of the Kingdom but also as itsRegina ("Queen"). This contract purportedly endows the Holy Crown with Divine power to assist the Hungarian Kings in ruling. The title is also part of the National Motto of Hungary:Regnum Mariae Patrona Hungariae ("Kingdom of Mary, the Patroness of Hungary",Hungarian:Mária Királysága, Magyarország Védőnője).[28]
Regnum Marianum was often used to emphasize the predominant Roman Catholic Faith of Hungary. Some Hungarian religious communities also bear the name to express their intent to honor and imitate the life of St. Mary, including theRegnum Marianum Community, whose foundation in 1902 evidences the use of the phrase to denominate Hungary since at least that date.
