The Historical Legacy Of The Transylvanian Saxons
By historical descent, the Transylvanian Saxons are a predominantly ethnic German group which has been part of the broader German minority in Romania since 1918 onwards. Their noteworthy historical and cultural legacy has survived (and, in several cases, has been well preserved through the efforts of both the natives and EU-funded reconstruction programmes) in Transylvania, central Romania. In order to better know and understand their enduring historical and cultural legacy, I decided to write this brief article which mainly revolves around their medieval fortified landmarks (both fortified churches and citadels) scattered in the proximity of the Carpathian mountains (in the second part) and cover a bit of their culture beforehand (in the first part, for a better context), ranging from their dialect to their traditional music and customs, to the best of my capabilities and knowledge, that is. But, before delving in too much into these intricate details, here’s a very important question, as humorous as it might sound at first glance, regarding their rather complex identity:
Transylvanian Saxons or Transylvanian Luxembourgers, that is the question… (pun intended, naturally)
For those who are not familiar with the roots of the Transylvanian Saxons or did not study their origins in depth, it would be quite easy to be misled into believing they are actually Saxons by historical descent. Nonetheless, this is a bit far from truth. In point of fact, their origins are quite complex and they are not limited to only one ethnic group. As I previously wrote here and here, the Transylvanian Saxons got this name very likely given a historical confusion stemming from the Middle Ages when, given the official documents of the royal Hungarian chancellery, all Germans who inhabited parts of the then medieval Kingdom of Hungary would be simply equated with the Latin term ‘Saxones’ (or Saxons in translation). On the other hand, while it’s true that some German-speaking colonists might have indeed stemmed from at least one of the three Saxon lands in present-day Germany (that is Niedersachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, and Freistaat Sachsen respectively), the vast majority of them did not. This, in turn, leads us to the question written as the headline of this section (as humorous as it might be at first glance): Transylvanian Saxons or Transylvanian Luxembourgers? You might rightfully ask yourself what do Luxembourgers have to do with them or with Transylvania? Well, long story short, after a series of past historical and linguistic researches undergone by scholars in the past (be them of Transylvanian Saxon, Romanian, or Hungarian origin), many ancestors of the Transylvanian Saxons actually stemmed from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (emigrating from the Rhine-Moselle river region beginning in the mid 12th century to southern, southeastern, and northeastern Transylvania). But, that’s not all: other colonists who were subsequently equated with the blanket term of ‘Transylvanian Saxons’ (known in German as Siebenbürger Sachsen and in Romanian as sași transilvăneni or, simply, just sași) were Flemmings (i.e., people from Flanders), Walloons (i.e., people from Wallonia, Belgium), and French (i.e., from the Kingdom of France or what used to be West Francia; as a side note, they emigrated from what used to be Middle Francia as well).
A group of Transylvanian Saxons attending a religious ceremony within the medieval Evangelical fortified church of Weisskirch/Viscri, Brașov/Kronstadt County, south-eastern Transylvania, as photographed by Kurt Hielscher. Image source: Wikimedia Commons
The reasons of the emigration of these colonists to Transylvania during the High Middle Ages (as it was also the case to Zips/Szepes/Spiš, present-day Slovakia of another related German-speaking population to the Transylvanian Saxons, namely the Zipser Germans or Zipser Sachsen as they are referred to in German) were developing the local/regional agriculture (brining a technological innovation to the harvesting system back in medieval times, more specifically the biennial appointment or ‘asolementul bienal‘ as it is known in Romanian, wherein a certain part of the field is cultivated and the other is ‘left to rest’ for the forthcoming year, so to put it), guarding the borders of the then medieval Kingdom of Hungary against foreign invaders stemming from Asia (e.g., Cumans, Pechenegs, Tatars, and, later on, Ottoman Turks as well) as well as developing the overall economy of the region primarily by means of trade. Once settled across southern, southeastern, and northeastern Transylvania, these colonists were given a hefty autonomous status by the Hungarian king, allowing them to do trade without taxes anywhere across the Kingdom of Hungary, given them lands for free, basically, and without the obligation of paying pretty much any type of fees or taxes for them (the sole exception of taxes pertained to those paid by the Saxons to their local church and a modest annual one to the king, if I recall correctly from my sources of documentation).
Dorf mit Turm (Village with Tower), a painting by Austrian visual artist Rudolf Weber depicting the Transylvanian Saxon village of Mettersdorf/Dumitra in Bistrița-Năsăud/Bistritz-Nassod County, north-eastern Transylvania. Rural Transylvania is dotted with many such villages with fortified churches and towers of the Transylvanian Saxon community. Image source: Wikimedia Commons
The Transylvanian Saxon dialect (a distant relative of Luxembourgish at the crossroads of Central-Eastern and Southeastern Europe)
Either way, the fact that many of these ‘Saxons’ emigrated from the territory of present-day Luxembourg actually explains why the Transylvanian Saxon dialect (or Siebenbürgisch-Sächsisch as it is known in German) is a Moselle Franconian dialect of the German language, closely related to (you guessed that right) Luxembourgish and Ripuarian (Ripuarisch as it known in German). Given its geographic isolation and its archaic nature, Transylvanian Saxon has retained many elements from medieval German (i.e., Mittelhochdeutsch) which other German dialects from Germany discarded in the meantime. At the same time, it’s important to mention the fact that the Transylvanian Saxon dialect has many sub-dialects as well, depending on the ethnographic region in Transylvania where the colonists settled and developed their speech. The dialect itself is also related to some Zipser German dialects spoken by the Zipser Saxons in Zips/Szepes/Spiš, north-eastern Slovakia. Aside from medieval German, the Western European colonists who settled in Transylvania during the High Middle Ages and are known under the blanket term of ‘Transylvanian Saxons’ spoke Old French, Flemish, and Walloon. Therefore, I find correct and more accurate to refer to this community as predominantly German by historical descent (both ethnically and linguistically) instead of 100% German given their rather complex multi-ethnic origins.
Medieval Evangelical Lutheran fortified church from Bradu/Freck, Sibiu/Hermannstadt County, southern Transylvania (with the Carpathian Mountains in the background). The Transylvanian Saxon dialect has been a predominantly rural dialect and was spoken in localities like this one. Saxons first learnt their own dialect at home before being schooled in Standard German. City dwellers spoke more Hochdeutsch/Standard German than Transylvanian Saxon, but there are urban Transylvanian Saxon dialects as well nevertheless. Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Colourful traditional Transylvanian Saxon houses in the village of Weisskirch/Viscri, Brasov/Kronstadt County, south-eastern Transylvania. Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Transylvanian Saxon culture (including literature, traditional music, and customs)
The Transylvanian Saxon culture is a regional culture of a predominantly ethnic German community which includes literature written both in Latin, Standard German, and in the Transylvanian Saxon dialect (e.g., bygone law codes, poems, or fairytales), traditional music (with the lyrics of the songs written in both in Standard German and Transylvanian Saxon), and various customs such as traditional folk dances (e.g., Königinnentanz or the Queens’ dance in English or Der Webertanz, that is the dance of the tailors). Regarding the traditional music of the Transylvanian Saxons, this includes religious songs (Kirchenlieder) such as the following one, adapted from a poem (Gedicht) by Matthias Claudius, on harvest (performed/sung in Standard German/Hochdeutsch):
The medieval historical legacy of the Transylvanian Saxons
Once upon a time, there were 250 villages with fortified churches (known in Standard German as either kirchenburgen or wehrkirchen) across Transylvania (some Transylvanian Saxon-inhabited localities had vanished in the passage of time, but their total number, including the towns and the cities, is 259), nowadays their number peaks at over 150 (some of which are very well preserved, thanks in part to the significant donations given by the emigrated communities of these villages from Western Europe as well as by the support of the European Union in partnership with the Romanian government through the REGIO programmes). This important historical legacy of their fortified churches (some with their peasant citadels) is coupled with several (more specifically 7 in total) fortified urban settlements which gave the German name of Transylvania, namely Siebenbürgen (which, according to historian and professor doctor Thomas Nägler, initially referred only to the area around Sibiu/Hermannstadt), that is seven citadels/castles/fortresses in English. The architectural style of their fortified churches (which, by the way, are UNESCO-recognised as World Heritage Sites) or cathedrals is either Romanesque or Gothic. All of these are reputed tourist attractions in Transylvania, Romania. Thank you very much for your time, attention, and readership! All the best! Alles Gute!
Picturesque rooftops in Sibiu/Hermannstadt (with the iconic Eyes of Sibiu/Ochii din Sibiu/Augen von Hermannstadt), the county seat of the eponymous county situated in southern Transylvania. Sibiu/Hermannstadt was designated European Capital of Culture back in 2007 alongside Luxembourg City. Image source: www.unsplash.com
Documentation sources and external links:
- Transylvanian Saxon dialect on www.omniglot.com
- Transylvanian Saxons on www.britannica.com
- Personal knowledge and life experience, having previously travelled to Transylvania in my life (with very good experiences)