A Fehérvárra vezető hadiút a Pilisbe vezet
Miklós Golarits: Where is the „Warpath to Fehérvár”? – Summary
The „Warpath to Fehérvár” (Fehérvárra vezető hadiút, via castri/exercituum) is a fragment in Hungarian, in the Tihany Abbey Deed of Foundation, written basically in Latin.
This Deed of Foundation is one of the oldest charter, noted in 1055 A.D. , and is more a deed of gift of properties, with the specification of those sixteen geographical points, where the Tihany Benedictine Order got their estates. The description of the 12th lawful possession is the one that mentions the “warpath to Fehérvár”, and my aim was to identify the place and location. My approach is based on the geographical names of the 12th register, and makes an alternative to the officially accepted version of the localization.
The result of my research: this warpath is to be found between Monalovac hill (beside Budakalász) and Kesztölc, in the Pilis Mountains.
My starting point was – more precisely: had to be – a number of linguistic studies, as the Deed of Foundation was examined and investigated above all by linguists through the decades. However, as a result, I got a totally different geographic location.
According to the linguistic aspect, the warpath connected Székesfehérvár and a presumed Kesztölc in Tolna county, close to Várdomb. Nevertheless, there is no evince of the existence of this road at that time, as it was mentioned in the 18th-19th century for the first time, in a martial surveying.
In addition to this, all the names - Kesztölc (castelic), Monalovac hill-Fehérvár (feheruuar), Nagymaros (morus), Aszófő (azah fehe rea), Tahi (petre), Felső Martos hill (mortis) – as a unit, can be found exclusively in the Pilis Mountains. It means that the vicinity of the re-defined warpath refers to every and each the settlement, mentioned in the 12th lawful possession, too.