Mundzuk was a Hunnic chieftain, brother of the Hunnic rulers Octar and

Rugila Rugila or Ruga (also Ruas; died second half of the 430s AD),Lee, A.D. (2013) ''From Rome to Byzantium AD 363 to 565: The Transformation of Ancient Rome''. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, pp. 118-119. was a ruler who was a major factor in th ...

, and father of

Bleda Bleda () was a Hunnic ruler, the brother of Attila the Hun. As nephews to Rugila, Attila and his elder brother Bleda succeeded him to the throne. Bleda's reign lasted for eleven years until his death. While it has been speculated by Jordanes t ...

and

Attila Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453. He was also the leader of a tribal empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Bulgars, among others, in Central and E ...

by an unknown consort.

Jordanes Jordanes (), also written as Jordanis or Jornandes, was a 6th-century Eastern Roman bureaucrat widely believed to be of Gothic descent who became a historian later in life. Late in life he wrote two works, one on Roman history ('' Romana'') an ...

in ''

Getica ''De origine actibusque Getarum'' (''The Origin and Deeds of the Getae oths'), commonly abbreviated ''Getica'', written in Late Latin by Jordanes in or shortly after 551 AD, claims to be a summary of a voluminous account by Cassiodorus of th ...

'' 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 erritoriesas he''".

Etymology

The etymology of the name "Mundzuk" is disputed. It is recorded as ''Mundzucus'' by

, ''Mundiucus'' by

Cassiodorus Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c. 485 – c. 585), commonly known as Cassiodorus (), was a Roman statesman, renowned scholar of antiquity, and writer serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. ''Senator'' ...

, ''Μουνδίουχος'' (Moundioukhos) by

Priscus Priscus of Panium (; el, Πρίσκος; 410s AD/420s AD-after 472 AD) was a 5th-century Eastern Roman diplomat and Greek historian and rhetorician (or sophist)...: "For information about Attila, his court and the organization of life genera ...

, and ''Μουνδίου'' (Moundiou) by

Theophanes of Byzantium Theophanes of Byzantium ( el, Θεόφανης ὁ Βυζάντιος; fl. 6th century) was a Byzantine historian. He wrote, in ten books, the history of the Eastern Empire during the Persian war under Justin II, beginning from the second year of ...

. A Germanic etymology was proposed by Karl Müllenhoff in the 19th century: Müllenhoff noted the similarity of the name's second element to that of the Burgundian king Gundioc and the Frankish king

Merovech Merovech (french: Mérovée, Merowig; la, Meroveus; 411 – 458) was the King of the Salian Franks, which later became the dominant Franks, Frankish tribe, and the founder of the Merovingian dynasty. Several legends and myths surround his person ...

. According to Gerhard Doerfer, the name can be derived from a Gothic ''*Mundiweihs'', from ''mund-'' (protection) and ''weihs'' (battle). 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. Gyula Németh and

László Rásonyi László () is a Hungarian male given name and surname after the King-Knight Saint Ladislaus I of Hungary (1077–1095). It derives from Ladislav, a variant of Vladislav. Other versions are Lessl or Laszly. The name has a history of being frequen ...

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". 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''.

Legacy

Known as ''Bendegúz'' in Hungarian, he appears in Hungary's national anthem as an ancestor of the

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the ...

. In the years of 2003–2009, ''Bendegúz'' was the 54–66 most common male baby name in Hungary. The name is also present in Croatian, forming the surname Mandžukić. As a female given name, the Turkic name still lives in Turkish as well, as “

Boncuk A nazar (from Arabic , word deriving from Arabic, meaning ''sight'', ''surveillance'', ''attention'', and other related concepts) is an eye-shaped amulet believed to protect against the evil eye. The term is also used in Azerbaijani, Bengali ...

(Bondjuk)”.

Notes

References

;Sources * * * * * {{Huns Huns