É. Apor (ed.): Codex Cumanicus. Ed. by Géza Kuun with a Prolegomena to the Codex Cumanicus by Lajos Ligeti. (Budapest Oriental Reprints, Ser. B 1.)
L. Ligeti: Prolegomena to the Codex Cumanicus
PROLEGOMENA TO THE CODEX CUMANICl'S 3 Basically, Géza Kuun's edition of the Codex Cumanicus was favourably received in Hungary. The role of the Comans in the history of Hungary was clear, not even I. Gyárfás denied it. It was a well-established fact that King Béla IV c f Hungary allowed 40 000 Coman families who were headed by Kuthen (Kulàn) and in flight from the Tatars, to settle in the country. The Hungarian population, however, received the numerous alien nomads with apprehension, and before long regarded them as spies of the Tatars. An incited mob finally killed Kuthen, upon which the Comans left the country, plundering and murdering as they went. 8 After the Mongol invasion, Béla IV called in the Comans again (joined by a part of the Jazygs 9), and attempted to bring them over to his side by granting them various privileges, and arranging royal marriages with them. Cornali influence reached its climax during the reign of Ladislaus IV, called the Coman (his mother was the Coman princess Elisabeth). Their privileges were confirmed by several laws enacted in 1279. 1 0 After the murder of Ladislaus IV, however, their role diminished, and they gradually merged with the Hungarians. By the end of the 18th century even their language had died out, and all that w as left of it to posterity was a distorted version of the Coman Lord's prayer, and some other prayers consisting only of a few words. Later scientific examination of mediaeval Coman personal and place names revealed their Turkic origin (Gcmboez, Ráeonyi). More recently, interest has been turned 8 R. Grousset, The Empire oj the Steppes. A History of Central Asia, New Brunswick 1970, p. 264. C. d'Ohsson, Histoire des Mongols depuis Tchinguiz-khan jusqu'à Timour Bey ou Tamerlan II, Amsterdam 1862, pp. 135—241. 9 The Jazygs enjoyed the same privileges as the Comans. The mediaeval Latin diplomas of Hungary refer to them as Jazones or Philistei. They retained some of their privileges, like the Comans, up to 1848, and their administrative area, established with the Comans under the name • Jászkún-kcirzet » [Jazygian-Coman district] was abolished in 1867. According to an earlier view, they spoke the Coman language when they settled in Hungary, as they had lived together with this Turkish people for a Jong time prior to their arrival. Recently it has come to light that at the time of settling in Hungary, the Jazygs spoke their own Iranian tongue which was related to Osset, and Alan. This is evidenced by the Jazygian personal names of Iranian origin in the Latin diplomas, and above all by a Jazygian—Latin word-list from the 15th century found in the Budapest National Archives in 1957. Cf. Z. Gombocz, Csseten-Spuren iti Un garrì : Gomboez Zoltán összegyűjtött művei [The Collected Works of Z. Gombocz] I, Budapest 1938, pp. 78- 83. Idem, Ossètes et Yazyges: op. cit., pp. 91 — 95. J. Németh, Eine IV örterliste der J assert, der unyarlàndischen Alanen: ADWB, Berlin 1959. Idem, Spisok slov na jazyke jasov, vengerskich alati. Perevod s nemeckogo i primecanija V. I. Abaeva, Ordzonokidze 1960. The Hungarian Jazygs also abandoned their native Iranian tongue for the Hungarian language. 1 0 B. Spuler, Die Goldene Horde, die Mongolén in livssland, 1223— 1502, Leipzig 1943, pp. 67 — 68. Hóman — Szekfű, Magyar történet [Hungarian History] I, Budapest 1935, pp. 537 — 543; II (1936), p. 10 sqq. Jean Richard, La Bapavté et les missions d'Orient au Moyen Age, Rome 1977, pp. 31 — 33.
