Clues to the 11th century from the 1019 Zalavár charters

Abstract

Clues to the 11th century from the 1019 Zalavár charters

The Zalavár charters (1019, 1024) are the least viable sources of information for historical linguistics and historical onomastics regarding the 11th century among the charters of King Saint Stephen forged in the Middle Ages. This is mainly because the Zalavár charters were likely not based on documents from the reign of Saint Stephen. The charters can be classified into three chronological layers through the vernacular elements contained in them. However, the current study aims to prove that the 1019 Zalavár charter does contain information valuable to historical onomastics and linguistics research into the early 11th century, albeit to a lesser degree than the two other forged chartes of the era (the Pécsvárad and Bakonybél charters). The hypothesis is verified by examining a few place names listed in the census of the forged charter from the end of the 11th century and the Latin context of all the names contained in the document.