Hospodar

Gospodarorhospodar,alsogospodinfor short version, is a term ofSlavicorigin, meaning "lord"^[1]or "master".The compound (Belarusian:гаспадар,Bulgarian:господар,Macedonian:господар,Serbo-Croatian:gospodar,господар,Ukrainian:господар) is a derivative ofgospod^[1]/gospodin,transl. (L)ord / gentleman or Sir,or when spelled with a capital G (Gospod/Gospodin) it translates as Lord forGod.

Etymology[edit]

The etymology of the word can be traced back to the connotation of the Indo-European patron-client and guest-host relationship.

Patron-client

Rich patrons sponsored feasts as a way for them to promote and secure a political hierarchy built on the unequal mobilization of labor and resources, by displaying their generosity towards the rest of the community. Rivals competed publicly through the size and complexity of their feasts, and alliances were confirmed by gift-giving and promises made during those public gatherings. The host of the feast was called the *ghosti-potis,the 'lord of the guests', who honored the immortal gods and his mortal guests with gifts of food, drink, and poetry.^[2]

Guest-host

In Proto-Indo-European, the term *ghós-ti-, whose original meaning must have been "table companion", could either mean ahostor aguest.^[3]The connotation of an obligatory reciprocity between both guests and hosts has persisted in descendantcognates,such as Latinhospēs( "foreigner, guest; host" ), Old Englishġiest( "stranger, guest" ), orOld Church Slavonicgostĭ( "guest" ) andgospodĭ( "master" ).^[4]^[5]

The*potiscompound is rare as a Slavic lexeme. It might have arisen as an additional calque of the Greek 'despótēs' (-πότης),yet the presence of*potisin Iranic languages e.g Avestanidəngpaitiš“master of the house”, might indicate an older and universal usage of the compound.^[6]The word*batь(attested in Bulgarian and Ukrainian and meaning bigger brother and later additionally transforming into 'bashta' or father in Bulgarian) is shared among Uralic, Turkic and Iranic languages, with the p- > b- transformation likely indicating a transition through a Turkic language of an originally Indo-European word. Another view is that it is a baby-talk modification of*bratrъ( “brother” ), since it morphologically resembles kin terms ending in*-tь,including*zętь( “son-in-law” ),*tьstь( “father-in-law” ),*netь(jь)( “nephew” ).^[7]TheProto-Slavicword*pǫdurъ( “watchman, guard” )^[8]is also notable in its relation to the word and is a later loanword in Hungarian.

Gospodarv.hospodar[edit]

The pronunciation "hospodar"of a word written as"господар"in some Slavic languages, which retains theCyrillic script,could be due to the influence of eitherUkrainian,where the first letter is pronounced as[ɦ],or that of theChurch Slavonic,where it is pronounced as[ɣ].^[1]

Slavic usage[edit]

In the Slavic language family, compound "gospodar"/"hospodar"is usually applied to the master/owner of a house/household or other property and also the head of a family or clan. In some languages thehospodars house or household is called "hospóda",however, in other, such as in South Slavic," (g)ospoda"translates as"gentry"as just a plural derived from"gospodin"and/or"gospodar".There is also an alternative form for the head of the household,"gazda","gazdarica"as a feminine, and"gazdinstvo"as a household and/or property." Gazda "form is also common inHungary.

InSlovene,Macedonian,Serbo-CroatianandBulgarian,"gospodar"(господар) means a "master", "lord", or "sovereign lord". Other derivatives of the word include "gospodarstvo",which means ownership, household and property, and economy,gospodin(господин), which translates as "Sir","gentleman"and/or"Mister"(in Bulgarian,Russian,Macedonian, and Serbo-Croatian), and "gospodstvo"(in Serbo-Croatian). Meanwhile,"Gospod"and"Gospodin"refers to God and is identical to Russiangospod`(господь, "the Lord"^[9]) andgosudar'( "sovereign").^[10]

In Slovenegospod( "Mister", "gentleman" ), thePolishgospodarz( "host", "owner", "presenter" ) usually used to describe a peasant/farmer (formal name for a peasant/farmer is "rolnik," and common is "chłop" which also means "guy" ), and theCzechhospodář(archaic term for "master" ). All forms stem from theProto-Slavicwordgospodü(господъ). InSlovakandCzech,the wordHospodin(capitalized) is an older and rare address of God. Related to it ishospodár,in a stricter sense an owner or manager of a farm or similar establishment (poľnohospodárstvo) oragricultureis composed of "field" andhospodár.In a broader sense, a manager of any resource. The verbhospodáriťis translated as "to manage", esp. money and property. InCzech,the wordHospodin(capitalized) is another address to God. Related to it ishospodářreferring to a person, that manages some property (e.g. steward, major-domo, bailiff,mancipleor bursar), especially in agriculture (e.g. husbandman, farmer, landowner).

Medieval usage examples[edit]

The title was used briefly towards the end of theSecond Bulgarian Empire.In 1394–95,Ivan Shishman of Bulgariareferred to himself not as aTsar(as traditionally), but as agospodinofTarnovo,and in foreign sources was styledherzogor merely called an "infidelbey".This was possibly to indicate vassalage toBayezid Ior the yielding of the imperial title toIvan Sratsimir.^[11]

InBosniaandSerbiaall male persons of noble status were referred to asgospodinregardless of their hereditary title, even monarchs.

TheRuthenianpopulation of theGrand Duchy of Lithuaniaused the term to styleGrand Duke of Lithuania;in that sense it is also used in official documents (e.g.Statutes of Lithuania), given thatChancery Slavonicwas an official language in the eastern parts of the Grand Duchy.

In popular culture[edit]

As a term denoting authority the wordgospodarhas also been the subject of ironic derision. A good example is the song "Gospodar" from the early 1980s by the Slovenepunk rockbandPankrti.^[12]

Non-Slavic usage[edit]

The rulers ofWallachiaandMoldaviawere styledhospodars^[1]in Slavic writings from the 14th century to 1866; the English equivalent of this title is Lord (with the meaning of autonomous ruler).Hospodarwas used in addition to the titlevoivod(that is, Duke). When writing inRomanian,the termDomn(from theLatindominus) was used. At the end of this period, as the title had been held by many vassals of theOttoman Sultan,its retention was considered inconsistent with the independence of theUnited Principalities'^[1](formalized fromRomaniaonly in 1878 — replacing thetributarystatus).

The term made its way into theRomanianlanguage after many centuries, but under a different meaninggospodar(female:gospodină) means a good manager of a household or a property (gospodărie).

Hungarianwordgazda= "potentate", "rich landowner" is borrowed from the language ofSouthern Slavswho inhabited today'sHungarybefore the arrival of theHungarians,akaMagyars,toEurope.

Notes[edit]

^^a ^b ^c ^d ^eChisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911)."Hospodar".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 801.
^Anthony, David W.; Ringe, Don (2015-01-01)."The Indo-European Homeland from Linguistic and Archaeological Perspectives".Annual Review of Linguistics.1(1): 199–219.doi:10.1146/annurev-linguist-030514-124812.ISSN 2333-9683.
^Anthony, David W. (2007).The Horse, the wheel and language: how bronze-age riders from the eurasian steppes shaped the modern world.Princeton (N. J.): Princeton University Press.ISBN 978-0-691-05887-0.
^Mallory, J. P.; Adams, Douglas Q. (2006).The Oxford introduction to Proto Indo European and the Proto Indo European world.New York: Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-929668-2.
^Klein, Jared S.; Joseph, Brian D.; Fritz, Matthias, eds. (2017).Handbook of comparative and historical Indo-European linguistics.Handbücher zur sprach- und kommunikationswissenschaft = Handbooks of linguistics and communication science. Berlin; Boston: De Gruyter Mouton.ISBN 978-3-11-018614-7.
^Benveniste, Émile (1973)."Introduction - The Center for Hellenic Studies".
^"Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/batь",Wiktionary, the free dictionary,2024-03-02,retrieved2024-07-08
^"пандур",Wiktionary, the free dictionary,2023-09-10,retrieved2024-07-08
^used only for God
^Thompson, Della (2010).Oxford Essential Russian Dictionary.Oxford: OUP Oxford. p. 42.ISBN 978-0-19-957643-2.Retrieved25 April2022.
^Павлов, Пламен (2006-07-18).Цар Константин II Асен (1397-1422) - последният владетел на средновековна България(in Bulgarian). LiterNet.Retrieved2007-02-10.
^Pankrti (2003)."Gospodar".Spika(in Slovenian).11:300.Bibcode:2003Spika..11..300G.Retrieved2011-04-17.^{[dead YouTube link]}

[EB1911-1] Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911)."Hospodar".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 801.

[2] Anthony, David W.; Ringe, Don (2015-01-01)."The Indo-European Homeland from Linguistic and Archaeological Perspectives".Annual Review of Linguistics.1(1): 199–219.doi:10.1146/annurev-linguist-030514-124812.ISSN 2333-9683.

[3] Anthony, David W. (2007).The Horse, the wheel and language: how bronze-age riders from the eurasian steppes shaped the modern world.Princeton (N. J.): Princeton University Press.ISBN 978-0-691-05887-0.

[4] Mallory, J. P.; Adams, Douglas Q. (2006).The Oxford introduction to Proto Indo European and the Proto Indo European world.New York: Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-929668-2.

[5] Klein, Jared S.; Joseph, Brian D.; Fritz, Matthias, eds. (2017).Handbook of comparative and historical Indo-European linguistics.Handbücher zur sprach- und kommunikationswissenschaft = Handbooks of linguistics and communication science. Berlin; Boston: De Gruyter Mouton.ISBN 978-3-11-018614-7.

[6] Benveniste, Émile (1973)."Introduction - The Center for Hellenic Studies".

[7] "Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/batь",Wiktionary, the free dictionary,2024-03-02,retrieved2024-07-08

[8] "пандур",Wiktionary, the free dictionary,2023-09-10,retrieved2024-07-08

[9] used only for God

[10] Thompson, Della (2010).Oxford Essential Russian Dictionary.Oxford: OUP Oxford. p. 42.ISBN 978-0-19-957643-2.Retrieved25 April2022.

[11] Павлов, Пламен (2006-07-18).Цар Константин II Асен (1397-1422) - последният владетел на средновековна България(in Bulgarian). LiterNet.Retrieved2007-02-10.

[12] Pankrti (2003)."Gospodar".Spika(in Slovenian).11:300.Bibcode:2003Spika..11..300G.Retrieved2011-04-17.^{[dead YouTube link]}

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