Names of the Croats and Croatia
The non-native name of Croatia (Croatian: Hrvatska) derives from Medieval Latin Croātia, itself a derivation of the native ethnonym of Croats, earlier *Xъrvate and modern-day Croatian: Hrvati. The earliest preserved mentions of the ethnonym in stone inscriptions and written documents in the territory of Croatia are dated to the 8th-9th century, but it is of an earlier date due to lack of preserved historical evidence as the arrival of the Croats is historically and archaeologically dated to the 6th-7th century. The ethnonym of the Croats with many derivative toponyms and anthroponyms became widespread all over Europe.
There exist many and various linguistical and historical theories on the origin of the ethnonym. It is usually considered not to be of Slavic but rather Iranian language origin. According to the most probable Iranian theory, the Proto-Slavic *Xъrvat- < *Xurwāt- derives from Proto-Ossetian / Alanian *xurvæt- or *xurvāt-, in the meaning of "one who guards" ("guardian, protector"), which was borrowed before the 7th century. The relation to the 3rd-century Scytho-Sarmatian form Khoroáthos (alternate forms comprise Khoróatos and Khoroúathos) attested in the Tanais Tablets, near the border of present day Ukraine and European Russia, although possible remains uncertain.
Earliest record
In 2005, it was archaeologically confirmed that the ethnonym Croatorum (half-preserved) is mentioned for the first time in a church inscription found in Bijaći near Trogir dated to the end of the 8th or early 9th century.[1]
The oldest known preserved stone
- BRANIMIRO COM […] DUX CRVATORVM COGIT […]
The Latin charter of Duke
In the Trpimir charter, it is mentioned:
- Dux Chroatorum iuvatus munere divino […] Regnum Chroatorum
The monument with the earliest writing in Croatian containing the native ethnonym variation xъrvatъ (IPA:
Etymology
The exact origin and meaning of the ethnonym Hr̀vāt (
In the 19th century, many different derivations were proposed for the Croatian ethnonym:
- Josef Dobrovský believed it to be linked to the root *hrev "tree", whereas Johann Kaspar Zeuss linked it to *haru "sword";
- Sylwiusz Mikucki connected it with Old-Indian šarv- "strike";
- Pavel Jozef Šafárik derived it from xrъbъtъ, xribъtъ, xribъ "ridge, highlanders", whereas Franz Miklosich said it derived from hrъv (hrŭv) "dance";
- Đuro Daničić considered its root to be *sar- "guard, protect";
- Fyodor Braun saw the German Harfada (Harvaða fjöllum from Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks), which would be the German name of the Carpathian Mountains, as the origin of an intermediate form Harvata;[18]
- Proto-Germanic word hruvat- "horned", or – as Z. Gołąb later proposed common noun *xъrvъ//*xorvъ "armor" as a prehistorical loanword from Germanic *hurwa-//*harwa- "horn-armor"; derivatives *xъrvati sę//*xъrviti sę "get armored, defend oneself" – "warriors clad with horn-armor", as a self-designation or exonym;[19][20]
- Henry Hoyle Howorth,[21] J. B. Bury,[22] Henri Grégoire,[23] considered that it derives from the personal name of Kubrat, the leader of the Bulgars and founder of Old Great Bulgaria.
The 20th century gave rise to many new theories regarding the origin of the name of the Croats:
- A. I. Sobolevski derived it from the Iranian words hu- "good", ravah- "space, freedom" and suffix -at-;
- Grigoriĭ Andreevich Ilʹinskiĭ derived it from *kher- "cut", as seen in the Greek word kárkharos "sharp", kharah "tough, sharp", and xorbrъ "brave";
- Harudes(Χαροῦδες);
- Leopold Geitler, Josef Perwolf, Aleksander Brückner, Tadeusz Lehr-Spławiński and Heinz Schuster-Šewc linked the root hrv- to Slovak charviti sa "to oppose, defend" or via skъrv-/xъrv- to the Lithuanian šárvas "armor" and šarvúotas "armed, cuirassier", with suffix -at emphasizing the characteristic, giving the meaning of a "well armed man, soldier";
- Karel Oštir considered valid a connection with an unspecified Thraco-Illyrian word xъrvata- "hill";
- Max Vasmer first considered it as a loanword from Old-Iranian, *(fšu-)haurvatā- "shepherd, cattle guardian" (formed of Avestan pasu- "cattle" and verb haurvaiti "guard"), later also from Old-Iranian hu-urvatha- "friend" (also accepted by N. Zupanič).[11]
- Niko Zupanič additionally proposed Lezgian origin from Xhurava (community) and plural suffix -th, meaning "municipalities, communities".[24]
- M. Budimir saw in the name a reflexion of Indo-European *skwos "gray, grayish", which in Lithuanian gives širvas;
- S. K. Sakač linked it with the Avestan name Harahvaitī, which once signified the southwestern part of modern Afghanistan, the province Arachosia.[7] "Arachosia" is the Latinized form of Ancient Greek Ἀραχωσία (Arachosíā), in Old Persian inscriptions, the region is referred to as Harahuvatiš ().[25] In Indo-Iranian it actually means "one that pours into ponds", which derives from the name of the Sarasvati River of Rigveda.[26] However, although the somewhat suggestive similarity, the connection to the name of Arachosia is etymologically incorrect;[26][17]
- Khwarezm,[27] while F. Dvornik a link to the Krevatades or Krevatas located in the Caucasus mentioned in the De Ceremoniis (tenth century).[27]
- V. Miller saw in the Croatian name the Iranian hvar- "sun" and va- "bed", P. Tedesco had a similar interpretation from Iranian huravant "sunny", while others from the Slavic god Khors;[28]
- Otto Kronsteiner suggested it might be derived from Tatar-Bashkir *chr "free" and *vata "to fight, to wage war";[7]
- Stanisław Rospond derived it from Proto-Slavic *chorb- + suffix -rъ in the meaning of "brave";
- Oleg Trubachyov derived it from *xar-va(n)t (feminine, rich in women, ruled by women), which derived from the etymology of Sarmatians name,[15][29] the Indo-Aryan *sar-ma(n)t "feminine", in both Indo-Iranian adjective suffix -ma(n)t/wa(n)t, and Indo-Aryan and the Indo-Iranian *sar- "woman", which in Iranian gives *har-.[29]
Among them were most taken into account (1) the Germanic derivation from the Carpathian Mountains which is by now considered as obsolete; (2) the Slavic and Germanic derivations about "well armed man"/"warriors clad with horn-armor" indicating that they stood out from the other Slavs in terms of weapons and armour, but it is not convincing because no other Slavic tribe is named after the objects of material culture. Etymologically the first was a Lithuanian borrowing from much younger Middle High German sarwes, while the second with hypothetical *hurwa-//*harwa- argues a borrowing from Proto-Germanic dialect of the Bastarnae in the sub-Carpathian or Eastern Carpathian region which isn't preserved in any Slavic or Germanic language; (3) and the prevailing Iranian derivations, Vasmer's *(fšu-)haurvatā- ("cattle guardian") and Trubachyov's *xar-va(n)t (feminine, rich in women, ruled by women).[12][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]
While linguists and historians agreed or with Vasmer's or Trubachyov's derivation, according to Tadeusz Lehr-Spławiński and Radoslav Katičić the Iranian theses doesn't entirely fit with the Croatian ethnonym, as according to them, the original plural form was Hrъvate not Hъrvate,[39] and the vowel "a" in the Iranian harvat- is short, while in the Slavic Hrъvate it is long among others.[32][40] Katičić concluded that of all the etymological considerations the Iranian is the least unlikely.[10][12][40][41] Ranko Matasović also considered it of Iranian origin,[15] but besides confirming original forms as *Xъrvátъ (sl.) and *Xъrvate (pl.), dismissed Trubachyov's derivation because was semantically and historically completely unfounded, and concluded that the only derivation which met the criteria of adaptation of Iranian language forms to Proto-Slavic, as well as historical and semantical plausibility, it is the Vasmer's assumption but with some changes, as the Proto-Slavic *Xъrvat- < *Xurwāt- comes from Proto-Ossetian / Alanian *xurvæt- or *xurvāt-, in the meaning of "one who guards" ("guardian, protector"), which was borrowed before the 7th century, and possibly was preserved as a noun in Old Polish charwat (guard).[42] Matasović considered its relation to the 3rd-century name Khoroathos from Tanais as a coincidence.[43]
The Medieval Latin C(h)roatae and Greek form Khrōbátoi are adaptations of
Distribution
Croatian place names can be found in northern Slavic regions such as Moravia (Czech Republic) and Slovakia, Poland, along the river Saale in Germany, in Austria and Slovenia, and in the south in Greece, Albania among others.[48]
In Germany along Saale river there were Chruuati near Halle in 901 AD, Chruuati in 981 AD,[49] Chruazis in 1012 AD,[49] Churbate in 1055 AD,[49] Grawat in 1086 AD,[49] Curewate (now Korbetha), Großkorbetha (Curuvadi and Curuuuati 881-899 AD) and Kleinkorbetha,[49] and Korbetha west of Leipzig;[50][51][7] In Moravia are Charwath,[52] or Charvaty near Olomouc, in Slovakia are Chorvaty and Chrovátice near Varadka.[50] The Charwatynia near Kashubians in district Wejherowo, and Сhаrwаtу or Klwaty near Radom in Poland among others.[32][52][46]
Thus in the
In the Southeastern Balkans, oeconyms Rvatska Stubica, Rvaši, Rvat(i) in Montenegro; several villages Hrvati and Gornji/Donji Hrvati in Bosnia and Herzegovina including Horvaćani (Hrvaćani Hristjanski) and Hrvatovići;[53] Rvatsko Selo, Hrvatska, and hamlet Hrvatske Mohve in Serbia;[56] North Macedonia has a place named Arvati (Арвати) situated near lower Prespa;[50] in Greece there is a Charváti or Kharbáti (Χαρβάτι) in Attica and Harvation or Kharbátion in Argolis, as well as Charváta (Χαρβάτα) on Crete;[50][51][46] and Hirvati in Albania,[50] among others in other countries.[56]
Anthroponyms
The ethnonym also inspired many
It is mentioned in the form of the surnames Horvat, Horvatin, Hrvatin,
The male personal names Hrvoje, Hrvoj, Hrvoja, Horvoja, Hrvojhna, Hrvatin, Hrvajin, Hrvo, Hrvojin, Hrvojica, Hrvonja, Hrvat, Hrvad, Hrvadin, Hrviša, Hrvoslav, and Rvoje are derived from the ethnonym, as are the female names Hrvatica, Hrvojka, Hrvatina, and Hrvoja. Today the given name Hrvoje is one of the most common in Croatia.[56]
Official name of Croatia
Throughout its history, there were many official political names of Croatia in the 20th century. When Croatia was part of the
See also
References
Notes
- ^ "Kulturna kronika: Dvanaest hrvatskih stoljeća". Vijenac (in Croatian) (291). Zagreb: Matica hrvatska. 28 April 2005. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
- ^ Mužić 2007, pp. 195–198.
- ^ Antić, Sandra-Viktorija (November 22, 2002). "Fascinantno pitanje europske povijesti" [Fascinating question of European history]. Vjesnik (in Croatian).
- ^ Mužić 2007, p. 27.
- ^ Mužić 2007, p. 171.
- ^ a b Gluhak 1989, p. 131.
- ^ a b c d Gluhak 1989, p. 130.
- ^ Gluhak 1993.
- ^ Matasović 2019, pp. 82, 85, 87, 94.
- ^ a b Budak 2018, pp. 98.
- ^ a b Gluhak 1989, p. 129f..
- ^ a b c d Rončević, Dunja Brozović (1993). "Na marginama novijih studija o etimologiji imena Hrvat" [On some recent studies about the etymology of the name Hrvat]. Folia onomastica Croatica (in Croatian) (2): 7–23. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- ^ Gluhak 1989, p. 130–134.
- ^ Gluhak 1993, p. 270.
- ^ a b c Matasović 2008, p. 44.
- ^ Matasović 2019, pp. 81.
- ^ a b Matasović 2019, pp. 89.
- ^ Gołąb 1992, p. 325.
- ^ Gluhak 1989, p. 129.
- ^ Gołąb 1992, p. 326–328.
- JSTOR 2841751.
It was a frequent custom With the Hunnic hordes to take their names from some noted leader, and it is therefore exceedingly probable that on their great outbreak the followers of Kubrat should have called themselves Kubrati, that is, Croats.I have argued in a previous paper of this series that the Croats or Khrobati of Croatia were so called from a leader named Kubrat or Khrubat. I would add here an addition to what I have there said, viz., that the native name of the Croats, given variously as Hr-wati, Horwati, cannot surely be a derivative of Khrebet, a mountain chain, as often urged, but is clearly the same as the well known man's name Horvath, familiar to the readers of Hungarian history and no doubt the equivalent of the Khrubat or Kubrat of the Byzantine writers, which name is given by them not only to the stem father of the Bulgarian kings, but to one of the five brothers Who led the Croat migration
- ^ Bury, J. B. (1889). A History of the later Roman empire from Arcadius to Irene (395-800). Vol. II. p. 275.
- ISBN 978-0-8108-5846-6.
Henri Gregoire has tried to identify this Chrovatos with Kuvrat, the ruler of the Protobulgarians who rebelled against the Avars, recorded by other sources in the first third of the seventh century. As a matter of fact, now it is certain that Kuvrat lived in the North-Pontic steppes, not in Pannonia. He was the father of Asparuch, the ruler of the Protobulgarian group that immigrated to Moesia. Chrovatos was an invented eponym hero, like other such mythical ancestors of the European peoples.
- ^ Sakač, Stjepan K. (1937), "O kavkasko-iranskom podrijetlu Hrvata" [About Caucasus-Iranian origin of Croats], Renewed Life (in Croatian), 18 (1), Zagreb: Filozofski institut Družbe Isusove
- ^ "The same region appears in the Avestan Vidēvdāt (1.12) under the indigenous dialect form Haraxvaitī- (whose -axva- is typical non-Avestan)."Schmitt, Rüdiger (1987), "Arachosia", Encyclopædia Iranica, vol. 2, New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul, pp. 246–247
- ^ a b Katičić 1999, p. 12.
- ^ a b Marčinko 2000, p. 184.
- ^ Овчинніков О. Східні (2000). хорвати на карті Європи (in Ukrainian) // Археологічні студії /Ін-тут археології НАНУ, Буков. центр археол. досл. при ЧДУ. – Вип. 1. – Київ; Чернівці: Прут, p. 159
- ^ a b Gluhak 1989, p. 131f..
- ^ Gluhak 1989, p. 129–138.
- ^ Vasmer, Max. "хорват". Gufo.me. Этимологический словарь Макса Фасмера.
мн. -ы, др.-русск. хървати – название вост.-слав. племени близ Перемышля (Пов. врем. лет; см. Ягич, AfslPh 11, 307; Барсов, Очерки 70), греч. местн. нн. Χαρβάτι – в Аттике, Арголиде (Фасмер, Slaven in Griechen. 319), сербохорв. хр̀ва̑т, ср.-греч. Χρωβατία "Хорватия" (Конст. Багр., Dе adm. imp. 30), словен. раgus Crouuati, в Каринтии (Х в.; см. Кронес у Облака, AfslPh 12, 583; Нидерле, Slov. Star. I, 2, 388 и сл.), др.-чеш. Charvaty – название области в Чехии (Хроника Далимила), серболуж. племенное название Chruvati у Корбеты (Миккола, Ursl. Gr. I, 8), кашуб. местн. н. Charwatynia, также нариц. charwatynia "старая, заброшенная постройка" (Сляский, РF 17, 187), др.-польск. местн. н. Сhаrwаtу, совр. Klwaty в [бывш.] Радомск. у. (Розвадовский, RS I, 252). Древнее слав. племенное название *хъrvаtъ, по-видимому, заимств. из др.-ир. *(fšu-)haurvatā- "страж скота", авест. pasu-haurva-: haurvaiti "стережет", греч. собств. Χορόαθος – надпись в Танаисе (Латышев, Inscr. 2, No 430, 445; Погодин, РФВ 46, 3; Соболевский, РФВ 64, 172; Мейе–Вайан 508), ср. Фасмер, DLZ., 1921, 508 и сл.; Iranier 56; Фольц, Ostd. Volksboden 126 и сл. Ср. также Конст. Багр., Dе adm. imp. 31, 6–8: Χρώβατοι ... οἱ πολλην χώραν κατέχοντες. Менее убедительно сближение с лит. šarvúotas "одетый в латы", šárvas "латы" (Гайтлер, LF 3, 88; Потебня, РФВ I, 91; Брюкнер 176; KZ 51, 237) или этимология от ир. hu- "хороший" и ravah- "простор, свобода" (Соболевский, ИОРЯС 26, 9). Неприемлемо сближение с Καρπάτης ὄρος "Карпаты" (Птолем.), вопреки Первольфу (AfslPh 7, 625), Брауну (Разыскания 173 и сл.), Погодину (ИОРЯС 4,1509 и сл.), Маркварту (Streifzüge XXXVIII), Шрадеру – Нерингу (2, 417); см. Брюкнер, AfslPh 22, 245 и сл.; Соболевский, РФВ 64, 172; Миккола, AfslPh 42, 87. Неубедительна этимология из герм. *hruvаt-"рогатый": др.-исл. hrútr "баран" (Мух, РВВ 20,13).
- ^ a b c Lehr-Spławiński, Tadeusz (1951). "Zagadnienie Chorwatów nadwiślańskich" [The problem of Vistula Croats]. Pamiętnik Słowiański (in Polish). 2: 17–32.
- OCLC 831099194.
- ^ Browning, Timothy Douglas (1989). The Diachrony of Proto-Indo-European Syllabic Liquids in Slavic. University of Wisconsin--Madison. p. 293.
- ^ Gołąb 1992, p. 324–328.
- hdl:11089/16320. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
- ^ Majorov 2012, pp. 86–100, 129.
- ^ Matasović 2019, pp. 86–97.
- ^ Gluhak 1990, p. 229.
- ^ a b Katičić 1999, p. 11.
- ^ Marčinko 2000, p. 193.
- ^ Matasović 2019, pp. 90–95.
- ^ Matasović 2019, pp. 89, 93.
- ^ Matasović 2019, pp. 85–86.
- ^ Matasović 2019, pp. 84–85.
- ^ a b c Matasović 2019, pp. 84.
- ^ Velagić, Zoran (1997), "Razvoj hrvatskog etnonima na sjevernohrvatskim prostorima ranog novovjekovlja" [Development of the Croatian ethnonym in the Northern-Croatian territories of the early modern period], Migration and Ethnic Themes (in Croatian), 3 (1–2), Bjelovar: 54
- ^ Goldstein 2003.
- ^ a b c d e Marčinko 2000, p. 183.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Gračanin 2006, p. 85.
- ^ a b Vasmer 1941.
- ^ a b Marčinko 2000, p. 182.
- ^ a b c Leopold, Auburger (2019). "Putovima hrvatskoga etnonima Hrvat. Mario Grčević. Ime "Hrvat" u etnogenezi južnih Slavena. Zagreb ‒ Dubrovnik: Hrvatski studiji Sveučilišta u Zagrebu ‒ Ogranak Matice hrvatske u Dubrovniku, 2019., 292 str". Filologija (in Croatian). 73. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
- ^ Marčinko 2000, p. 181.
- ^ Marčinko 2000, p. 181-182.
- ^ a b c d e f Vidović, Domagoj (2016). "Etnonim Hrvat u antroponimiji i toponimiji". Hrvatski Jezik (in Croatian). 3 (3). Retrieved 20 August 2020.
- ^ OCLC 831099194.
Sources
- Vasmer, Max (1941), Die Slaven in Griechenland [The Slavs in Greece] (in German), Berlin: Verlag der Akademie der Wissenschaften
- ISBN 9780893572310
- Gluhak, Alemko (1989), "Podrijetlo imena Hrvat" [Origin of the name Croat], Jezik: Časopis Za Kulturu Hrvatskoga Književnog Jezika (in Croatian), 37 (5), Zagreb: Jezik (Croatian Philological Society): 129–138
- Gluhak, Alemko (1990), Porijeklo imena Hrvat [Origin of the name Croat] (in Croatian), Zagreb, Čakovec: Alemko Gluhak
- ISBN 953-162-000-8
- ISBN 953-6682-06-0
- Marčinko, Mato (2000), "Tragovi i podrijetlo imena Hrvat" [Traces and the origin of Croatian name], Indoiransko podrijetlo Hrvata [Indo-Iranian origin of Croats] (in Croatian), Naklada Jurčić, ISBN 953-6462-33-8
- ISBN 953-6045-22-2
- Gračanin, Hrvoje (2006), Kratka povijest Hrvatske za mlade I. - od starog vijeka do kraja 18. stoljeća [Short history of Croatia for youth I. - from the old age till the end of 18th century] (in Croatian), Zagreb: Sysprint, ISBN 953-232-111-X
- Mužić, Ivan (2007). Hrvatska povijest devetoga stoljeća [Croatian Ninth Century History] (PDF) (in Croatian). Naklada Bošković. ISBN 978-953-263-034-3. Archived from the original(PDF) on 8 August 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
- ISBN 978-953-150-840-7
- Majorov, Aleksandr Vjačeslavovič (2012), Velika Hrvatska: etnogeneza i rana povijest Slavena prikarpatskoga područja [Great Croatia: ethnogenesis and early history of Slavs in the Carpathian area] (in Croatian), Zagreb, Samobor: ISBN 978-953-6928-26-2
- ISBN 978-953-340-061-7, archived from the originalon 2022-10-03, retrieved 2018-06-03
- Matasović, Ranko (2019), "Ime Hrvata" [The Name of Croats], Jezik (Croatian Philological Society) (in Croatian), 66 (3), Zagreb: 81–97
Further reading
- Grčević, Mario (2019), Ime "Hrvat" u etnogenezi južnih Slavena [The name "Croat" in the ethnogenesis of the southern Slavs], ISBN 978-953-7823-86-3