Anonymus és "Kleopátra városa" : A 800 éves Anonymus-geszta = Anonymus and "the city of Cleopatra" : The 800-year-old Anonymus-gesta

Holler, László (2012) Anonymus és "Kleopátra városa" : A 800 éves Anonymus-geszta = Anonymus and "the city of Cleopatra" : The 800-year-old Anonymus-gesta. HELYNÉVTÖRTÉNETI TANULMÁNYOK (8). pp. 61-79. ISSN 1789-0128

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Abstract

The Gesta of Anonymus is a special document among Hungarian historical sources. The only surviving copy of the Latin text, whose author is unknown, describes in detail how the Hungarians occupied the Carpathian Basin in the early 10th century. The majority of the Gesta is independent of other historical texts, but it does contain some similar phrases used in the Chronicle called Chronicon Pictum. The Gesta reflects a detailed, exact knowledge of Hungarian geography, but the story of the Hungarian Conquest is not reliable, it is the product of the writer’s imagination. By the end of the 20th century, the generally accepted view dates the Gesta back to “around 1200.” The present paper is one of a series focusing on a particular toponym or phrase of the Gesta, and by analysing its role and origin, I arrive at significant conclusions regarding both the Gesta and other medieval Hungarian chronicles. (Earlier pieces in this series: Anonymus és a „Fekete-tenger” [Anonymus and the “Black Sea”] Magyar Nyelv 104: 306–316, 110: 56–67; Anonymus és a „senonok hegyei” meg az „aliminus népek”. Árpád-kori történeti szövegek fejlődési modelljének első közelítése. [Anonymus, “montes senonum” and “populi alimini”. An Evolution Scheme of Arpad-age Historical Texts] Magyar Nyelv 105: 300–324, 105: 431–449). The present paper focuses on the phrase “ad cleopatram ciuitatem.” As no town is known having Cleopatra’s name, the excellent Hungarian historian, Gyula Pauler suggested in 1900 among the notes given to the text published by László Fejérpataky (Béla király Névtelen jegyzőjének műve [The Work of King Béla’s Anonymous Notary]; as part of A magyar honfoglalás kútfői a honfoglalás ezredéves emlékére [Sources on the Hungarian Conquest on Its Millennium]. Eds. Gyula Pauler–Sándor Szilágyi. Budapest, 1900. 381–463), that the phrase is a misspelling of “ad neopatram ciuitatem” and he gave reasons to support his hypothesis. His reasoning, however, was entirely forgotten in the course of the 20th century. The present paper accepts the emendation regarding the city of Neopatras of Greece and examines why and when the writer of the Gesta could have encountered the name of this town situated such a considerable distance from Hungary. The answer is given by examining some charters of Pope Innocent III on the one hand, and the chain of events concerning Margaret, daughter of King Béla III of Hungary, as regent of the Kingdom of Thessalonica on the other. As a result, I give as the earliest possible date of finishing the Gesta the autumn of 1211. This is supported strongly by the use of several genus names in the Gesta introduced just in these years. By analysing another paragraph of the Gesta, I conclude that the text was completed before 28 September, 1213, the assassination of Gertrude, wife of King Andrew II of Hungary. Summarizing all these I have come to the conclusion that the Gesta was very likely finished between October 1211 and September 1213, that is, exactly 800 years ago.

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