Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
HISTORY
A Legend from the "Chronicon Pictum Vindobenense"
about the Coming of the Hungarians in Transylvania
by Alexandru Madgearu
__L ?
63
Attila Kiss21proves that Hungarians conquered primarily only the Hungarian Puszta.
We did not wish to discuss here the study of Attila Kiss, but we want to point out its
importance for the archaeology of medieval Transylvania.
The real significance of the legend written down in Chronicon Pictum shows
that Hungarian medieval chronicles must be interpreted with great carefulness.
N O TES
1. D. Deletant, Ethno-History or Mytho-History? The Case of the Chrqf/:ler Anonymus, in
Idem, Studies in Romanian History, Bucharest, 1991, p. 332-335.
2. See the critical point of view about these books expressed by Radu Popa. Remarques et
complments concernant l'histoire de la Roumanie autour de l'An Mil, im R R H ,33,1994,
1-2, p. 123-157 (Romanian version in SCIVA , 1991, 3-4, p. 154-188) and the reply of t.
Olteanu, Din nou despre istoria Romniei din jurul anului O Mie, in SCIVA, 4 4 ,1 9 9 3 ,4 ,
p. 375-385.
3. Gy. Gyrffy, Landnahme, Ansiedlung und Streifzge der Ungarn, in "Acta Historica
Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae", 31,1985, 3-4, p. 239-240, 244.
4. I. Bona, in Histoire de la Transylvanie, sous la direction de B. Kpeczi, Budapest, 1992,
p.118,120.
5. Scriptores Rerum Hungaricarum (SRH), ed. E. Szentptery, Budapest, 1 9 3 7 ,1,p. 286. The
passages were resumed by the later chronicles: Chronicon Pasoniense (SRH, II, p. 32);
Chronicon Monacense (SRH, II,p. 61); Chronicon Henrici de Mgeln (SRH, II,p. 128).
6 . 1. Bona, op.cit., p. 120.
7. Gy. Gyrffy, op.cit, p. 240.
8. See the quotations in Aurel Decei, Relaii romno-orientale, Bucureti, 1978, p. 60 and in C.
A. Macartney, Studies on the Earliest Hungarian Sources, III, Budapest, 1940, p. 39.
9. See, for instance, Gy.Gyrffy, Form ation d'Etats au IXe sicle suivant les "G esta
Hungarorum" des Notaire Anonyme, in Nouvelles tudes historiques, I, Budapest, 1965,.
p. 27-53 and I. Bna, op.cit., p. 114-116.
10. See V. Spinei, Migraia ungurilor n spaiul carpato-dunrean si contactele lor cu ungurii
n secolele IX-X, in "Arheologia Moldovei", 13,1990, p. 120.
11. Chapter XIII (SRH, I, p. 52)
12. This is the opinion of: Gh. Popa-Lisseanu, Introducere n Izvoarele Istoriei Romnilor, XI.
Cronica pictat de la Viena, Bucureti, 1937, p. XXXI-XXXII; V. Spinei, op. cit., p. 121; M.
Dogaru, Le role de la montagne dans la perptuation du peuple roumain, dans Ia formation
de sa pense et de son art militaire au Moyen Age, in the volume La guerre et la montagne
dans l'histoire des Roumains, Bucarest, 1991, p. 86-87; Idem, De la Esculeu la Alba Iulia.
Un mileniu de istorie romneasc n cronistica si istoriografia ungaro-german, Bucureti,
1993, p. 25,33.
13. SRH, I,p. 165.
14. H. Grgoire, Le nom et l'origine des Hongrois, "Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenlndischen
Gesellschaft", 91,1937,3, p. 630-642; I. Boba, Nomads, Northmen and Slavs. Eastern Europe
in Ninth Century, The Hague-Wiesbaden, 1967, p. 74-75.
15. About the etimology of Siebenbrgen, see Th.Ngler, Aezarea sailor n Transilvania2,
Bucureti, 1992, p. 197-203.
16. Simon of Keza: SRH, I,p. 163; Chr. Pictum: SRH, I, p. 281. Ses also Chr. Posoniense (SRH, II,
p. 30) and Chr. Henrici de Mgeln (SRH,II, p. 127).
17. C. A. Macartney, op.cit., p. 39-41.
18. V. Budinsky-Kricka, N. Fettich, Das altungarische Frstengrab von Zemplin, Bratislava,
1973, p. 126,128,130.
19. See especially: A. Kiss, Studien zur Archologie der Ungarn im 10. und 11. Jh., in Die
Bayern und ihre N achbarn, II ("D en ksch riften der sterreichischen Akadem ie der
Wissenschaften. Philosophisch-Historische Klasse", 180), Wien, 1985, p. 217-379; K. Horedt,
Siebenbrgen im F r h m ittelalter, B on n , 1986, p. 84-105; M. Sch u lze-D rrlam m ,
U ntersuchungen ziji H erkunft der U ngarn und zum Beginn ihrer Landnahm e im
Karpatenbecken, in~"jahrbuch des Rmisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseums", Mainz, 35,
1988, 2, p. 373-477.
20. I. Fodor, Zur Problem atik der Ankunft der Ungarn im K arpatenbecken und ihrer
fortlaufenden Besiedlung, in the volume Interaktionen des mitteleuropischen Slawen
und andere Ethnika im 6.-10. Jh., Nitra, 1984, p. 97; Gy. Gyrffy, Landnahme..., p. 244.
21. A. Kiss, op.cit., especially p. 234-235,239-240.