Historical names of Transylvania

Transylvania has had different names applied to it in several traditions.

Transylvania

The first document in which the Medieval Latin term "Ultra siluam" ("beyond the forest") is used in reference to the area dates from 1075. The term "Partes Transsylvanæ" ("parts beyond the forest") dates from the same century (used in "Legenda Sancti Gerhardi", and subsequently, as "Transsilvania" by Medieval Latin documents compiled in the Kingdom of Hungary).

Ardeal/Erdély

The names of "Ardeal" in Romanian and "Erdély" in Hungarian are believed to be connected. However, the original source and meaning are disputed and claimed by both Romanians and Hungarians.

The first Hungarian form recorded was "Erdeuelu" (12th century, in the "Gesta Hungarorum"), while the first Romanian form recorded was in 1432 as "Ardeliu". The initial "a"/"e" difference between the names can be found in other words common to Romanian and Hungarian, such as "agriş"/"egres" ("gooseberry").

Hungarian view

The consensus of Hungarian linguists and Hungarian historians on the etymology of both "Erdély" and "Transylvania" is as follows:
* The modern Hungarian form "Erdély" was derived from "Erdő-elve" ("beyond the forest"). "Erdő" meaning "mountain deep forest", the "elve" suffix is a derivative of the older form "elü" (meaning beyond).Benkő Loránd, Kiss Lajos & Papp László (1984). "A magyar nyelv történeti-etimológiai szótára", Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó. ISBN 963-05-3810-5] According to some theories, [ [http://vmek.oszk.hu/04100/04102/html/index.htm#2 Erdély A Keresztény Magyar Királyságban ] ] the Hungarians used this term long before the Hungarian conquest, when they lived in Etelköz and the Eastern Carpathians were referred as deep forest by them.
* The Medieval Latin form "Ultrasylvania" (1077), later "Transylvania", was most likely a direct translation from the Hungarian form (rather than the Hungarian being derived from the Latin).Engel, Pál (2001). "Realm of St. Stephen: History of Medieval Hungary, 895-1526 (International Library of Historical Studies)", London: I.B Taurus. ISBN 1-86064-061-3]

Romanian view

Several Romanian perspectives argue that the meaning of the term is unknown, and have suggested alternative etymologies:
* origins may lie in the Roman Empire province name of "Dacia Aureliana",Fact|date=February 2007 set up by Roman Emperor Aurelian in the 3rd century(with "Aureliana" having turned into both "Ardeal", and "Erdély").
* "arde" appears to be an Indo-European (Proto-Indo-European language) word meaning "forest" (akin to the meanings of "Arden" and the "Ardennes").
* "Arderich", the king of the Germanic Gepids once ruled Transylvania in the 5th century, and it is possible that the name of Arderich's land was passed on ever since.
* A letter from around 960 from the Khazar king Joseph to the Rabbi of Córdoba, Chasdai ibn Shaprut mentions the "Ardil country" ("Eretz Ardil"), rich in gold and silver. [F.F. Otrokocsi, "Origines" II, p. 27] [Halevy, "Sefer Hacisri", Vilna, 1914] [Ion Marţian, "Ardealul nu derivă din ungureşte", Bistriţa, 1925] Today, in Hebrew, Ardeal is written identically: ארדיל. This theory therefore suggests that "Ardi(a)l" was the primary form of the name and thus "Ardeal" is an original Romanian ethnonym.
* The only word in which "ély" means "over" (as Hungarian etymologists suggest) is this one. There are several Hungarian words borrowed from Romanian that ends in "ély" but does not mean "over ..." (i.e. hun. "borbély" > rom. "bărbier", eng. "barber" cannot be translated as "over the beard") [Ion Marţian, "Ardealul. Ist.", p 10] [P.L. Tonciulescu, "Ardealul, pământ şi cuvânt românesc", Bucarest, 2002, p 110] .

iebenbürgen

There exist a number of theories on the etymology of "Siebenbürgen", the German name for Transylvania.

The most widely accepted theory is that "Siebenbürgen" refers to the seven principal fortified towns of the Transylvanian Saxons. The name first appeared in a document from 1296. An alternate Medieval Latin version, "Septem Castra" ("Seven fortresses") was also used in documents. The towns alluded to are: Bistritz (Bistriţa, Beszterce), Hermannstadt (Sibiu, Nagyszeben), Klausenburg (Cluj-Napoca, Kolozsvár), Kronstadt (Braşov, Brassó), Mediasch (Mediaş, Medgyes), Mühlbach (Sebeş, Szászsebes), and Schässburg (Sighişoara, Segesvár). Fact|date=February 2007

Other theories include:
* "Siebenbürgen" means "Seven Castles" but does not refer to the towns of the Transylvanian Saxons . Transylvania and the Maros valley seem to have been the first portion of land within the Carpathians where Magyars gained a foothold. According to legend, each of the seven Magyar chieftains erected an earthen 'castle' in this region.Kontler, László (1999). "A History of Hungary: Millennium in Central Europe", Budapest: Atlantisz. ISBN 963-9165-37-9]
* "Siebenbürgen" means explicitly "Seven Towns" or "Seven Castles". However, this etymology seems to originate in the dialectical tradition of the first, mainly Low German, Flemish and Dutch settlers, in whose homelands there are hilly regions called "Zevenbergen" (in southern Holland) and "Sevenbergen" (east of the town of Hameln on the river Weser, Germany).Popa, Klaus (1996). [http://people.freenet.de/Transsylvania/Coloniz.htm "An Outline of Transilvanian-Saxon History"] . Retrieved April 24, 2007]
* Saxon settlement in Transylvania began in Sibiu. An early German name for the town was "Cibinburg" (akin to the "Cibiniensis" Latin name of the area). The alternate name "Cibinburg" was corrupted into "Siebenbürgen", and became the name for the whole region.

The Slavic names of the region ("Sedmigradsko" or "Sedmogradsko" ("Седмиградско" or "Седмоградско") in Bulgarian, "Sedmogradska" in Croatian, "Sedmihradsko" in Czech, "Sedmohradsko" in Slovak, "Siedmiogród" in Polish, "Semihorod" ("Семигород") in Ukrainian), as well as its Walloon name ("Zivenbork"), are translations of the German one.

References