SECUII AU ŢARA LOR ŞI LIBERTATEA LOR, CA ELVEŢIENII. REPERE IDENTITARE ALE SECUILOR ARDELENI ÎN SCRIERI DIN SECOLUL AL XVI-LEA
THE SZEKLERS HAVE THEIR COUNTRY AND LIBERTY, SAME AS THE SWISS. IDENTITY MARKS OF THE SZEKLERS FROM TRANSYLVANIA IN XVITH CENTURY WRITINGS

Summary/Abstract: Szeklers from Transylvania are omnipresent within writings of foreigners from the XVIth century referring to the intra-Carpathian region. A certain mistical aura concerning their origin, but the ensemble of the country’s inhabitants, aroused increased interest of foreigners (and not only their’s) on the Szeklers from Transylvania. The main identity marks attributed to the Szeklers from Transylvania by the foreigners refer to their ethnical origin, resemblace to the Hungarians, social relations within their community and their virtues. The study outlines exactly these „exterior identity attributes” of the Szekler community from Transylvania, in the XVIth century, through some notes of foreign scholars. As far as Szeklers’ origin is concerned, foreigners’ appreciations are similar with fundamental theses of medieval Hungarian chronicles, there being noticed only differences of tones. The most frequent „identity labels” are: Seklers decend from the Scythians, from where probably their ethnical name (Siculi,Scituli, Ciculi) and name of „their country” (Siculia,Scitulia, Ciculia) derive; Seklers have Hun ancestry, being the oldest Huns that remained in Hungary/ Transylvania; by their Scythian/Hunic origin, Seklers are the oldest Hungarians, the first who settled in Transylvaia; Seklers consider that they are not „remnants” but descendats of old Scythes and Huns, fact for which they have taken their own name, that of Seklers (Siculos). As for the ethnical rapports between the Seklers and Transylvanian Hungarians, foreigners’ writings record the following: Seklers are similar to the Hungarians, by their language, clothes, customs and weapons, identity concept supported mainly by scholars outside the area of the former Hungarian medieval kinkdom; Seklers differentiate from the Hungarians, by their laws and manner of living, affirmation supported especially by Hungarian or Hungarised scholars (Olahus and Verancsics, for example). Regarding political-juridical, judiciary, administrative and fiscal characteristics of the community of Transylvanian Seklers, appreciations reveal the following identity references: Secklers have their own country and freedom, same as the Swiss, which they cherish especially; Seklers consider themselves to be all nobles. Within Seklers’ mentality, the records of time notice, that their special status derives exactly from origin’s nobless, and lesser from a reality of the Transylvanian Sekler community of the XVIth century. Regarding the everyday life of the Seklers’, the most of notes record: Seklers are strict, draconian and revengeful people; Secklers are hard-working, good peasants and famous breeders, Seklers were cut out for fighting, being excelent mounted fighters and renowned for their courage; Seklers are faithful to their Catholic confession.

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