Mundzuk was a Hunnic chieftain, brother of the Hunnic rulers Octar and Rugila, and father of Bleda and Attila by an unknown consort. Jordanes in Getica recounts "For this Attila was the son of Mundzucus, whose brothers were Octar and Ruas, who were supposed to have been kings before Attila, although not altogether of the same [territories] as he".[1]

Etymology

The etymology of the name "Mundzuk" is disputed.[2] It is recorded as Mundzucus by Jordanes, Mundiucus by Cassiodorus, Μουνδίουχος (Moundioukhos) by Priscus, and Μουνδίου (Moundiou) by Theophanes of Byzantium.[3][4] A Germanic etymology was proposed by Karl Müllenhoff in the 19th century: he noted the similarity of the name's second element to that of the Burgundian king Gundioc and the Frankish king Merovech.[5] According to Gerhard Doerfer, the name can be derived from a Gothic *Mundiweihs, from mund- (protection) and weihs (battle).[6] Gottfried Schramm rejects a Germanic origin for the name because Mundzuk must have been born before 373, when the Huns and Goths first came into contact.[7]

Gyula Németh and László Rásonyi argued that the name is a transcription of Turkic munčuq, munʒuq, minʒaq, bunčuq, bonʒuq, mončuq, with the potential meanings of "jewel, pearl, bead" or "flag".[8][9][a] Gerhard Doerfer argues that this derivation is unlikely because in the oldest Turkic inscriptions this word is written beginning with a b (*bunčuq) rather than an m.[15]

Legacy

Known as Bendegúz in Hungarian,[16] he appears in Hungary's national anthem as an ancestor of the Hungarians.[17] In the years of 2003–2009, Bendegúz was the 54–66 most common male baby name in Hungary.[18]

The name is also present in Croatian, forming the surname Mandžukić.

Notes

  1. ^ For Turkic *munʒu, Finnish linguist Aulis J. Joki (apud Pritsak, 1982) proposes Old Chinese etymology: from 璊, OC:*‍mwən ~ *muən (Karlgren)[10] ~ *mu:n (ZS), mod. mén[11] "red gem" and 珠, OC:*‍tśi̯u ~ *ti̯u (Karlgren)[12] ~ *tjo(ZS)[13], mod. zhū "pearl".[14]

References

  1. ^ Maenchen-Helfen 1973, p. 81.
  2. ^ Doerfer 1973, p. 32.
  3. ^ Maenchen-Helfen 1973, p. 409.
  4. ^ Pritsak 1982, p. 438.
  5. ^ Schramm 2013, p. 178.
  6. ^ Doerfer 1973, pp. 35–36.
  7. ^ Schramm 2013, pp. 178–179.
  8. ^ Maenchen-Helfen 1973, p. 410–411.
  9. ^ Pritsak 1982, p. 439.
  10. ^ Karlgren 1957, p. 53.
  11. ^ Zheng Zhang (Chinese: 鄭張), Shang-fang (Chinese: 尚芳). 璊. ytenx.org [韻典網] (in Chinese). Rearranged by BYVoid.
  12. ^ Karlgren 1957, p. 68.
  13. ^ Zheng Zhang (Chinese: 鄭張), Shang-fang (Chinese: 尚芳). 珠. ytenx.org [韻典網] (in Chinese). Rearranged by BYVoid
  14. ^ Pritsak 1982, p. 439, 453.
  15. ^ Doerfer 1973, pp. 32–33.
  16. ^ János Arany (1936). The Death of King Buda: A Hungarian Epic Poem. Benjamin Franklin Bibliophile Society. p. 129.
  17. ^ Hippokratis Kiaris (2012). Genes, Polymorphisms, and the Making of Societies: How Genetic Behavioral Traits Influence Human Cultures. Universal-Publishers. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-61233-093-8.
  18. ^ "Közigazgatási és Elektronikus Közszolgáltatások Központi Hivatala: Utónév statisztika" [Central Office for Administrative and Electronic Public Services: Surname statistics]. Belügyminisztérium Nyilvántartások Vezetéséért Felelős Helyettes Államtitkárság (Ministry of Interior Deputy State Secretariat for Data Registers) (in Hungarian).
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