Pannonian Romance was spoken by Romanized Celtic and Illyrian peoples that developed in Pannonia, between modern-day Vienna and Belgrade, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Despite the Romanized population being mentioned in several annals, no works of literature and few traces in modern languages survive.
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Pannonian Romance | |||
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Region | Pannonia | ||
Era | c. 500–1000 CE[1] | ||
Language family | Indo-European
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Language codes | |||
ISO 639-3 | – | ||
Linguist List | lat-pan | ||
Glottolog | None | ||
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The language suffered many setbacks under Hunnic, Germanic, Avar, Slavic, Turkic and Magyar (Hungarian) invaders and new overlords, triggering waves of emigration. Nevertheless, it probably lasted until the 10th century in isolated settlements. The demise of Pannonian Romance shows some similarities with that of other Romance languages that were replaced and assimilated in Great Britain, Africa and Germany, lasting only a few centuries.
In the north, a Roman population probably still lived in the former province of Pannonia at least in all the 6th century and the question whether the "dialect" spoken there belonged to East Latin or to the Occidental dialects has been discussed by scholars without a definite conclusion.[2]
The Romanized population of Pannonia (for which the historian Theodor Mommsen calculated a population of about 200,000, around the 4th century) survived Barbarian invasions (by the Huns, Goths, Avars and others), although they were reduced to a few thousands by the 6th century, living mainly in fortified villages, like Keszthely and Fenékpuszta.
There were other places in Pannonia where the local population continued to speak forms of Vulgar Latin after the 5th century: Pécs, Sopron, Szombathely, Dunaújváros. Many Christian relics with inscriptions in Latin have been found in these towns.
But it was on the western shore of Lake Balaton where a peculiar society of craftsmen formed, called the Keszthely culture, of which more than 6,000 artisan tombs and many products (including in gold) are left.
Romance dialects disappeared, due to assimilation with German and Slavic invaders in border areas of the Roman limes near the Danube trunk in Pannonia, Raetia (today, Bavaria and Switzerland) and Noricum (today, Austria),[3] but in the former Pannonian provinces Romance-speaking herders and a population of skilled artisans and craftsmen survived around in the area of Lake Balaton.
Nominal control of the area switched between Huns, Gepids and Lombards, Avars, Moravians and Franks after the Avars were defeated by Charlemagne. Part of the Roman population may have emigrated with the Lombards in 568 to Italy, particularly from settlements that lay directly on the Amber Road.[4] The Franks document some of their missionary activity and efforts to incorporate Pannonia into their empire[5][6] including in the Annales regni Francorum.[7] The Gesta Hungarorum that describes the Hungarians conquest from the year 900 of the area, describes four ethnicities upon the arrival of the Magyars in Pannonia.[8] In the chapter De pace inter ducem et ruthenos, the Gesta Hungarorum names Slavs, Bulgars (Turkic) and makes a distinction between Vlachs and the Pastoral Romans, the Romanized Pannonians.
Sed rogauerunt almum ducem, ut dimissa terra galicie, ultra siluam Houos uersus occidentem in terram pannonie descenderent, que primo athila regis terra fuisset. Et laudabant eis terram pannonie ultra modum esse bonam. Dicebant enim, quod ibi confluerent nobilissimi fontes aquarum, danubius et tyscia, et alij nobilissimi fontes bonis piscibus habundantes. Quem terram habitarent sclauij, Bulgarij et Blachij, ac pastores romanorum. Quia post mortem athila regis terram pannonie romani dicebant pascua esse, eo quod greges eorum in terra pannonie pascebantur. Et iure terra pannonie pascua romanorum esse dicebatur, nam et modo romani pascuntur de bonis Hungarie.
The grave inscriptions[9] and mentions of the language disappeared from the beginning of the 9th century, the Roman craftsmen of the Keszthely culture were assimilated, Roman pastoralists were no longer mentioned and the language, Pannonian Romance, soon disappeared with them in the 10th century.
The area where and for how long the language was spoken can be hypothesised from written records, gravestone inscriptions, archaeological excavation of houses characterized by Romanized architecture and furnishings,[10] oral tradition and linguistic remnants in successor languages.
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Pannonian Romance was spoken around Lake Balaton in western Hungary, mainly in the fortified villages of Keszthely and Fenékpuszta.[11]
Romanized tombs of Pannonians of the 6th century were found include: Pécs (the Roman Sopianae)[citation needed], possibly in Szentendre (Castra Constantia) and Visegrád (Pote Navata), but unclear how much influence from Avar and Slavic-speakers. Speakers disappears or assimilated before 8th century[12] Dunaújváros[citation needed]. Early Slavic and Avarian settlement activity was concentrated along the Danube south of Aquinicum (Buda),[13] only expanding up river into the Roman towns after 6th century.
At the time of late Slavic and Avarian expansion up the Danube, Pannonia Superior towns still had a substantial Roman population as attested to by coin dated graves.[14][15] In Tokod (Brigetio) the population had shrunk considerably in the 5th century, but can be attested into the 6th century.[16] Carnuntum suffered a population collapse, after being transferred to Hun control and was described by a witness, Ammianus Marcellinus, as an abandoned and rotting nest, in the 5th century.[17] The rest population of the area moved to settlements close to what would become Hainburg. Further up river on the Danube, Roman graves from 6th century of Vindobona were documented;[12] and although Vienna had a continuous population, when the last Romanized inhabitants were assimilated after the 6th century is uncertain. Place names along the Tullnina rivers suggest a continued rural Roman population above Tulln.[18] Many Roman town names are kept or adapted, Zeizinmure – Zeiselmauer, Vindobona – Vienna. The Vienna Woods is catalogued as Cumeoberg or Comagenus mons into the Carolingian era. Vita S. Severini notes the emigration of the Roman population of Lauriacum, in the 8th century.[19]
Romanized tombs of: Szombathely (Savaria),[citation needed] Sopron (Scarbantia),[12] Hegykő[12] and Oggau (until the 6th century).[20]
At Fenekpuszta (Keszthely) ... excavations have brought to light a unique group of finds that suggest not only Christians but Romans too ... There are finds such as a gold pin with the name BONOSA proving that some ethnic group of Roman complexion remained at Fenekpuszta (after the barbarian invasions) ...[21]
The name Keszthely (Hungarian pronunciation: ['kεst.hεj]) could be related to the Istrian–Venetian castei, which means "castle", and is probably an original word of the Pannonian Romance language, according to the Austrian linguist Julius Pokorny.[22]
According to Romanian linguist Alexandru Rosetti,[23] Pannonian Romance probably contributed to the creation of the 300 basic words of the "Latin substratum" of the Balkan Romance languages.
Some scholars argue that the Pannonian Romance lacks clear evidences of existence, because no written sources exist. However, according to Árthur Sós,[24] in some of the 6,000 tombs of the Keszthely culture, there are words in vernacular Latin. This is the case, for example, of a gold pin with the inscription BONOSA.[25]
Paschalis Romani pontificis legatis, Petro videlicet Centumcellensi episcopo et Leone nomenclatore, eisdemque celeriter absolutis, comitibus etiam, qui aderant, ad expeditionem Pannonicam destinatis ipse paululum ibi remoratus Aquasgrani reversus est. Et post paucos dies per Arduennam iter faciens Treveros ac Mettis venit; indeque Rumerici castellum petens reliquum aestivi caloris et autumni dimidium exercitatione venatoria in Vosegi saltu atque secretis exegit.
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Romance languages (classification) | |||||||||
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Italo-Dalmatian |
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Ibero-Romance |
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Occitano-Romance |
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Gallo-Romance |
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North Italian |
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Rhaeto-Romance | |||||||||
Eastern |
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Others |
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Reconstructed |
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