Old Hungarian script
Encyclopedia : O : OL : OLD : Old Hungarian script
| Hungarian language |
|---|
| Alphabet, including ő ű and cs dz dzs gy ly ny sz ty zs |
| Phonetics and phonology |
| Vowel harmony |
| Grammar, including noun phrases and verbs |
| T-V distinction |
| Regulatory body |
| q] |
| English words from Hungarian |
| Old Hungarian script (runes) |
| [http://encycl.opentopia.com/ edit] |
Hungarian Runes (in Hungarian: rovásírás, székely rovásírás ([listen] ) or simply rovás) is a type of runic writing system used by the Magyars (mostly by Székely Magyars) prior to AD 1000. The name rovás comes from the Hungarian word for carving, since the letters were usually carved on wood or sticks.
The first Christian king of Hungary, St. Stephen I ordered that all traditional writings be destroyed and that the Latin alphabet be adopted. However, this script remained in use in remote regions of Transylvania until the late 1850s. A very similar script was used by the Huns.
In some respects, this writing system is more suitable for writing Hungarian than the Latin alphabet, because it includes letters for all the phonemes of the Hungarian language, like cs, gy, ly, ny, ö, sz, ty, ü, zs. Note that the runic alphabet does not contain the letters dz, dzs, q, w, x and y of the modern Hungarian alphabet – the first 5 of these appear in words of foreign origin only, while y is only used in digraphs.
Origins
Hungarian Runes are derived from the Orkhon or Turkish Runic script, which has long roots to the Scythian, Hun, Kazar, Avar runic alphabets from the 5th century BCE to the 7th century CE. It is not related to Germanic Runes.
The runic script was first mentioned in the 13th century chronicle of Simon Kézai, where he stated that the Székelys and the Vlachs (Romanians) used their script. Székelys arrived two centuries before Árpád's Magyars and mixed with earlier Avars. There are archeological findings from 8th century Avar period with runic letters in Hungarian language (for example the needle box from Szarvas). The earliest surviving copy of the actual alphabet is an incunabulum from 1483, found at the library of the castle of Nikolsburg, now Mikulov in Moravia.
The runic letters were usually written from right to left on sticks. Later, in Transylvania, they appeared on several spots, if men coming from a more or less poor class wanted to sign their work (have a look at the text from Csikszentmárton below). Writings on walls are also right to left and not boustrophedon style (alternating direction right to left and then left to right).
The numbers are almost the same as the Roman or Etrusc numerals. Numbers of livestock were carved on sticks and the stick was then cut in two lengthwise to avoid later dispute.
Features
(note: These are the features of the Székely variant)
- Most commonly, it was written from right to left, but very rarely it appears in boustrophedon orientation, too.
- Ligatures are common. (Note: the Hungarian runic script is productive considering ligatures. In some cases, even a word can be written down by a single sign.)
- There are no lower or upper case letters, but the proper names' first letter is often written a bit larger.
- The rovás not always mark vowels. The rules of it:
- * If there are two vowels side by side, both have to be written down, except if the second can be devised easily.
- * The vowels have to be written down if the dereliction of them flusters the word's interpretation. (Example: krk –
can be interpreted as kerék – 
[wheel] and kerek – 
[rounded], thus the author has to write down the vowels.) - * The vowel at the end of the word is must be written down.
- Sometimes, especially when writing double consonants, the writing does not mark all the consonants.
Variants
There are two variants of the script, the Székely runes and the pálos (Pauline) runes. The Pauline runes have been discovered only recently. Mediaeval texts mention only the Székely variant, thus previous scholars only recognized this one. Nowadays experts agree that there are two variants.The Székely runes
"Old Hungarian script" often means this variant, however, it is not the only one Hungarian runic script (though it's the only "living" one.) The first Christian king, Saint Stephen banned the runic srcipt when he became the king of Hungary in 1000/1001, but among the Székelys (a Magyar group in Transylvania) the script remained in constant use, as there are many well dated relics from these times. From the late 13th century (when the Árpád dynasty became extinct) both runic scripts were used. In the court of the great Hungarian Renaissance ruler, King Matthias, the runic script was in fashion.During the Turkish wars in Hungary (dated from the Battle of Mohács in 1526), an independent Hungarian state, the Transylvanian Principality was formed. Here, whhile the Latin alphabet remained the official one, a lot of people used the Székely runes. #redirect [[Template:fact]]
This variant was still used in the late 1850s, but with the spread of education, it turned subsidiary.
The Pauline runes
The knowledge about the Pauline runes is very deficient. The variant got its name from the Pauline order, the only monastic order founded in Hungary. This variant was used by the order and was written from left to right, similar to the Latin script. The monks sometimes used this script in their correspondence, documentation, etc.Several findings of this script variant is from South American archives, since the monks worked as missionaries there after being invited by the kings of Spain and Portugal to help exploring the continent. They had good relations with the natives, whom they even protected from the authorities. During this endeavour the Pauline monks used the Pauline Runic variant in their letters as a secret code, reporting home about the atrocities committed by the Spaniards and the Portuguese against the natives.
It is inequitable that scholars don't delve this variant. The pálos writing is more difficult than the Székely; see it below.
Archeological findings
- A labeled crest etched into stone from Pécs, late 13th century (Label: aBA SZeNTjeI vaGYUNK aKI eSZTeR ANna erZSéBeT; We are the saints [nuns] of Aba; who are Esther, Anna and Elizabeth.)
- Runic stick calendar, around 1300, copied by Luigi Ferdinando Marsigli in 1690. It contains feasts and name days.
- [Nicholsburg alphabet]
- Runic record in Istanbul, 1515.
- Very rare Pauline runes, Cerro Pelado cave, South America, around 1500 (See below)
- Székelyderzs: a brick with runic inscription, found in the Unitarian church
- [Énlaka]: runic inscription, discovered by Balázs Orbán in 1864. [Photo]
- Székelydálya: runic inscription, found in the Calvinist church
- Pauline inscription from Felszőszemeréd, Slovakia
- A letter by missionary János Zakariás from Peru, Pauline runes
- The initials of a name from Makfalva (T. Sz.), 19th century
Example texts
Székely runes
Text from Csikszentmárton, 1501. Runes originally written as ligatures are underlined.
Interpretation in old Hungarian: "ÚRNaK SZÜLeTéSéTÜL FOGVÁN ÍRNaK eZeRÖTSZÁZeGY eSZTeNDŐBE MÁTYáS JÁNOS eSTYTáN KOVÁCS CSINÁLTáK MÁTYáSMeSTeR GeRGeLYMeSTeRCSINÁLTÁK G IJ A aS I LY LY LT A" (The letters actually written in the runic text are written with uppercase in the transcription.)
Interpretation in modern Hungarian: "(Ezt) az Úr születése utáni 1501. évben írták. Mátyás, János, István kovácsok csinálták. Mátyás mester (és) Gergely mester csinálták [uninterpretable]"
English translation: "(This) was written in the 1501st year of our Lord. The smiths Matthias, John (and) Stephen did (this). Master Matthias (and) Master Gergely did [uninterpretable]"
Pauline runes
This inscription can be found in the Cerro Pelado cavern, in South America. It was written around 1500.
Pauline runes from South America, ~1500.
Interpretation in Hungarian: "SZüLeTeTt : 1473".
English translation: "Born in 1473".
Today
In daily life
Though the runic script is no longer in practical use, Hungarians treasure it — especially the Hungarians of Transylvania. The worldwide Hungarian Scout organisations are still teaching it today. There are [contemporary efforts to promote it to youth].Digital age
The runic script does not have its own code page, and it is not coded in Unicode either. However, there are some fonts which contain Hungarian Runic characters. Because of the lack of capital letters, they can be written by simply pressing the key. Characters for gy, ty, sz, etc. can be written with the use of shift key.It is proposed that the "old Hungarian script" will be placed to a UNICODE table. See [the relevant documentation].
Political extremism
The runes sometimes also have a political undertone, as they are used by far-right groups in their propaganda or graffiti across Hungary.References
- [István Riba: Reading the Runes]
- Antal Károly Fisher: Hun-magyar írás ("The Hun-Magyar Writing"), in: Heisler J. Könyvnyomdája, Budapest, 1889 (analyzes writings from 12 findings dated between 1501-1753)
- Anna Walter Fehér: Az ékírástól a rovásírásig ("From cuneiforms to runes"), publ. Magyar Őskutatás, Buenos Aires, 1975 (The book presents the hypothesis about the neolithic origin of the runes)
- [Gábor Hosszú: Rovásírás]
External links
- [Hungarian Rovas Portal - www.rovas.hu]
- [Hungarian runic font]
- [Omniglot entry]
- [Hungarian runic writing in Hungarian]
- [The ancient Magyar Rovás]
- [An example of the runic script]
- [More circumstantial English article about both variants]
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