Get to know the Kuruc rebels who almost broke Habsburg rule in Hungary

While the Hussars are the most popular group of fighters in Hungarian history, there is another small organization who dedicated their lives to the fight for Hungarian independence. The Kuruc were the freedom fighters during the Habsburg oppression, led most importantly by Ferenc Rákóczi II.

1 – What does ‘kuruc’ mean?

First off, in Hungarian, ‘kuruc’ is singular, while the plural is ‘kurucok’. In English, the singular is used to denote them as a whole group, pronounced somewhat like ‘kuruts’.

When this group of rebels first came to being, their denomination meant ‘rebel, partisan, dissident’, quite obviously, since they went against the Habsburg rule – though some historians today are unsure of its origins. An Ottoman scholar concluded that the word ‘kuruc’ is of Greek origins, meaning ‘polished’, but that has little to do with the Hungarian freedom fighters.

Interestingly, the men of the first kuruc uprising (there was more than one, as you will find out later) referred to themselves as ‘bujdosók’ (fugitives) and not as ‘kuruc’.

The leader of the second uprising, Rákóczi, did not use the word ‘kuruc’ either, he preferred ‘insurgents’ or ‘malcontents’, highlighting their purposes.

2 – Kuruc or labanc?

If you come across the word ‘kuruc’ in texts, you will almost always find the name of another group, the ‘labanc’. There is a simple reason for this – the kuruc fought against the labanc. The latter ones were Austrian soldiers and this title is a form of mockery:

the word ‘labanc’ comes from the Hungarian ‘lobonc’ which means ‘long hair’, referring to the fact that the Austrian soldiers often wore wigs.

3 – They were the stars of the current pop culture

The Kuruc were very popular among oppressed Hungarians, so, naturally, several songs were written about them, mostly combining the traits of the traditional old folk songs and the new trends. The majority of these songs were written by the Kuruc soldiers themselves, expressing the sorrows of refugees, recalling their adventures, praising the bravery of men and lamenting the cruel political system.

4 – The aim: to break the chain of Habsburg absolutism

By the end of the 17th century, most Hungarian territories were taken back from the Ottomans, and these fell under Habsburg rule. This period was characterised by political oppression on the side of the Habsburgs towards the Hungarian population, manifesting mostly in heavy taxation, stripping away of rights (especially of Protestants’) and military encroachment.