Old Hungarian Runes: An Insight into Magyar Prehistory

Introduction

The Old Hungarian script, often termed as “runic” due to its superficial resemblance to the Germanic runes, offers a fascinating insight into the early historical period of the Magyar people. These runes, termed “Székely rovásírás” in Hungarian, provide both a linguistic and cultural connection to the Magyars’ ancient Uralic origins and their subsequent evolution in the Carpathian Basin.

Origins and Historical Background

The origins of the Old Hungarian runes are a subject of much scholarly debate. Some linguists and historians trace the script’s inception back to the Magyars’ ancestral Uralic homeland, proposing that it may have been influenced by the scripts of neighboring cultures or by the Turkic runes. Others argue that the runes emerged much later, after the Magyars settled in the Carpathian Basin, possibly as an adaptation of Latin or Greek letters or in response to the runic scripts of other neighboring tribes.

One thing is clear: by the 9th and 10th centuries, when the Hungarian tribes settled in the Carpathian Basin, the script was already in use. Inscriptions from this period, though scant, provide unequivocal evidence of the script’s existence.

Characteristics and Structure

Old Hungarian runes have a unique system:

1. Linear Script: Unlike the Latin alphabet, which is bisected into uppercase and lowercase letters, the runes are uniformly presented. This means each character has only one form.
2. Directionality: The script can be written in both right-to-left and left-to-right directions, with the former being more common in ancient inscriptions.
3. Phonetic Representation: One of the unique features of the script is that it’s largely phonetic. Each sound in the Hungarian language had a corresponding runic symbol. This is in contrast to the modern Hungarian script, which uses a combination of letters to denote specific sounds.
4. Lack of Punctuation: Ancient inscriptions usually lack spaces or punctuation marks. Modern renditions, especially those for teaching or artistic purposes, might include spaces between words.

Notable Inscriptions and Manuscripts

Several inscriptions and manuscripts give us a rare glimpse into the application of the runes:

1. The Képes Krónika: Though not written in runes, this 14th-century illuminated manuscript mentions their usage, emphasizing the script’s continued cultural importance even after the adoption of the Latin script.
2. The Szarvas Inscription: Found on a pottery shard in Szarvas, Hungary, this 10th-century inscription is one of the oldest confirmed uses of the script.
3. The Stick of Beszterce: Dating to the 1500s, this artifact is one of the latest known uses of the script before its revival in the modern era.

Decline and Later Revival

By the late Middle Ages, the Latin alphabet had gained primacy in Hungary for various reasons, including religious (Christianization) and political (integration with Western Europe). The use of the runic script dwindled, surviving predominantly among the Székelys, a subgroup of the Hungarians in eastern Transylvania. This regional preservation is why the script is sometimes called “Székely runes.”

In the 20th and 21st centuries, there has been a renewed interest in the runes, with several Hungarian nationalist and folklore movements advocating for their revival. They’ve since been used in art, education, and even to some extent in public inscriptions.

Conclusion

The Old Hungarian runes are not just symbols; they are a testament to the resilience and adaptability of a culture. From the steppes of Central Asia to the heart of Europe, the journey of the Magyars is encapsulated in these ancient characters. The runes remind Hungarians of a time before Latin letters, Christianity, and the influence of neighboring cultures—a time when their identity was being forged in the fires of migration and settlement. As modern Hungarians look to the past to understand their identity, the runes stand as an indelible link to their earliest ancestors.