The founding charter of Garamszentbenedek turns 950 years old

Abstract

The Garamszentbenedek charter was issued in 1075, which makes it 950 years old this year. This document is an important source for Hungarian historical linguistics in several respects. It concerns the foundation of a significant Benedictine abbey that held estates in many parts of the country. As a product of the first century of Latin literacy in Hungary, the founding charter is also noteworthy because of its rich collection of Hungarian words, making it a valuable linguistic remnant. Its significance also lies in the fact that although linguistic research paid little attention to it for a long time, its monographic analysis has contributed to the discovery of other charters of similar status. In this study, written for this notable anniversary, I explore how the founding charter can be evaluated as a source for place-name history. The charter has not survived in its original form, only in a 13th-century expanded (i.e., interpolated) version. Because of its uncertain chronological status, its text essentially combines the spelling and naming conventions of two periods (the 11th and 13th centuries). Nevertheless, from the perspective of name history, it can be considered an important source for the 11th century, for which we otherwise have few data. This statement can be supported, first, by the fact that two-thirds of the names appear in the original parts of the interpolated charter, and second, that among the toponyms in the later additions there may also be a considerable number of an earlier origin. In some cases, the existence of names earlier than the interpolation is clearly proven by the parts of the interpolated charter derived from the 1075 charter or by other sources. In other cases, the earlier value of the interpolated toponyms as sources can be inferred from a grouped analysis of the names.