Kuruc
Encyclopedia
The kuruc was a term used to denote the armed anti-Habsburg
rebels in Royal Hungary
between 1671 and 1711.
The kuruc army was mostly made up of serfs, including Magyar Protestant peasants, many Slovaks and the leading nobles were usually Hungarians.
. Bel supposed that the word kuruc is derived from the Latin
word "cruciatus" (crusader), ultimately from "crux
" (cross
); and Dózsa's followers were called "crusaders" because the peasant rebellion started as an official crusade against the Ottomans
.
Today etymologists do not accept Bel's theory and consider the word—emerging in the 1660s in the forms "kurus", "kuroc" or "kurudsch"—to be of unknown origin. Its original meaning was understood as rebel, partisan, dissident.
In 1671 the name was used by Meni, the beglerbeg pasha
of Eger
in what is today Hungary
, to denote the predominantly noble refugees from Royal Hungary. Afterwards the name became quickly popular and was used from 1671 to 1711 in texts written in Hungarian
, Slovak
and Turkish
to denote the rebels of Royal Hungary and northern Transylvania
, fighting against the Habsburgs and their policies.
The rebels of the first kuruc uprising called themselves bújdosók (ie. fugitives) or in official long form: "different fugitive orders—barons, nobles, cavalry and infantry soldiers—who fight for the material and spiritual liberty of the Hungarian motherland".
The leader of the last of the kuruc rebellions, Francis II Rákóczi
, also did not use this term. Contemporary sources often used the term "malcontents" to denote the rebels.
The opposite term (widespread after 1678) was "labanc" (from the Hungarian word "lobonc", literally "long hair", referring to the wig worn by the Austrian soldiers), denoting Austrians and their loyalist supporters.
where many refugees of different origins took shelter from the religious and political persecution occurring in Royal Hungary
. They called themselves bújdosók (fugitives). Their weapons were mostly pistols, light sabres and fokos (battle-axes). Their tactics and style of war were typical of light cavalry
. The main subgroups were Protestants, who were disgruntled by Habsburg ambitions of the Counter-Reformation
; nobles (from the minor nobility, holding on to their privileges, while the Habsburg Court made attempts to deprive impoverished nobles of their nobility) and soldiers from the végvárs (frontier castles) who were sacked by Habsburg generals. Later, when the Turks lost ground to the imperial armies and Austrian despotism intensified, Habsburg oppression of Hungarians played an increasingly important role in the motivation of the kuruc.
Initially, in August 1672 the kuruc army invaded Upper Hungary
where they conquered the castles of Diósgyőr
, Ónod
, Szendrő
and Tokaj
. After they defeated the Habsburg army of Paris von Spankau near Kassa
the towns of Upper Hungary surrendered and many disaffected people joined them from the Slovak and Ruthenian population of the northern counties.
The two leaders of the army of "fugitives" were Pál Szepesi and Mátyás Szuhay, members of the minor nobility who previously took part in other anti-Habsburg movements.
According to the recollections of Pál Szepesi the "fugitives" began looting in the northern countries: "In the guise of persecuting the Papists they pillaged whole counties. We began killing the plunderers but to no avail—they didn't respect any officers."
The Hofkriegsrath of Vienna
immediately took some measures: strengthened the Habsburg troops, called more soldiers from Lower Hungary and made peace with the Hajduk
s. On 26 October 1672 the Habsburg army defeated the "fugitives" at Gyurke
(later Hungarian Györke, Slovak Ďurkov). The rebels retreated across the line of the Tisza
.
After this initial success the Habsburg government began systematic religious and political persecution in Royal Hungary. The most infamous case was the trial of 300 Protestant pastors who were sentenced to death in 1674, and who later were sold as galley slaves in Naples
, causing public outcry all over Europe.
. Later in that year the town was sacked again by three different armies as was not uncommon that time in troubled Upper Hungary
.
The fugitives tried to organise themselves as an independent community called "universitas" or "communitas". They issued decrees, sent envoys to foreign powers, made a seal and held Diets (assemblies). That time they were already called kuruc although they never called themselves so. Between 1674 and 1678 their leader was Count Paul Wesselényi, the cousin of the late Palatine Ferenc Wesselényi
.
The "fugitives" established diplomatic connections with Poland in 1674 and France in 1675. In May 1677 France, Poland, the Principality of Transylvania and the Universitas of the "Fugitives" signed a treaty in Warsaw
. According to that King Louis XIV of France
guaranteed 100,000 tallers aid and assistance. The "fugitives" were obliged to attack the Habsburgs with an army of at least 15,000 people. Michael I Apafi
, the Prince of Transylvania gave military and financial support to the universitas.
In the autumn of 1677 2,000 French, Polish and Tatar soldiers arrived in Upper Hungary. This small army, led by colonel Beaumont, wasn't able to seriously threaten the Habsburg supremacy. Royal Hungary became one seat of the European war between Emperor Leopold I and King Louis XIV of France
. The president of the Viennese Hofkriegsrath, Raimondo Montecuccoli
draw a plan of "pacification" under the title "L'Ungheria nell'anno 1677". According to that Royal Hungary
would be occupied by three Austrian armies, the remnants of the Hungarian constitution abolished and a grand-scale program of German colonisation implemented. Chancellor Paul Hocher, one of the most influential man in the Habsburg government, agreed with Montecuccoli's plan. In the Secret Council he declared that "all Hungarians are traitors".
Sultan (his overlord). The Sultan made an unacceptable condition: in the case of success all Royal Hungary should became part of the Ottoman Empire.
On 5 April 1678 Prince Apafi issued an ambiguous declaration to the people of Hungary: he announced that himself together with the Polish and the French kings took up the arms against "the heavy yoke of oppression" and recommended "the submission to the mighty Turkish Emperor with a reasonable mind and sharp eye".
The kuruc army of Teleki together with the Polish and French troops advanced well into Upper Hungary but they immediately retreated into Transylvania at the sight of the first Habsburg regiments. The failure wrecked Teleki's image as a competent leader. On the other hand a small kuruc cavalry troop (with only 8000 people) occupied for a short time the most important mining towns and castles of Lower Hungary.
declared war against the Habsburgs. In August 1678 Thököly's army occupied almost all Lower and Upper Hungary. The Habsburg rule in Royal Hungary
quickly collapsed. The fugitives joined the Thököly Uprising, and officially elected him their leader in Szoboszló
in January 1680. The kuruc troops were merged into Thököly's own army.
That time onwards the history of the kurucs are synonymous with the history of the two great anti-Habsburg uprisings in the Kingdom of Hungary between 1680 and 1711, i.e. the Thököly Uprising and the Rákóczi Uprising. Although these movements are generally called kuruc wars, these anti-Habsburg uprisings had a much wider social base and more complex political aims as the original kuruc movements. See the history of the great kuruc uprisings under their respective leaders, Imre Thököly
and Francis II Rákóczi
.
s) serving in the Habsburg army, especially in the time of the War of the Austrian Succession
(1740–1748). Many former kuruc soldiers of the Rákóczi Uprising joined the Habsburg army after 1711.
The Prussians were also called kurucs in Hungarian literature, for example by Joseph Gvadányi in 1790. The reason behind this strange usage was that all the enemies of the labanc Habsburgs were considered synonymous with the kurucs.
In the end of the 18th century the word went out of usage in common parlance, and became an exclusively historical term for the rebels of Rákóczi and Thököly.
In present-day Hungarian language kuruc is sometimes used to denote Hungarian national radicals. "Kuruc" is also a name of a far-right, nationalist Hungarian webpage.
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
rebels in Royal Hungary
Royal Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary between 1538 and 1867 was part of the lands of the Habsburg Monarchy, while outside the Holy Roman Empire.After Battle of Mohács, the country was ruled by two crowned kings . They divided the kingdom in 1538...
between 1671 and 1711.
The kuruc army was mostly made up of serfs, including Magyar Protestant peasants, many Slovaks and the leading nobles were usually Hungarians.
Name
According to Matthias Bel, an 18th century scholar, the word was first used in 1514 for the armed peasants led by György DózsaGyörgy Dózsa
György Dózsa was a Székely Hungarian man-at-arms from Transylvania, Kingdom of Hungary who led a peasants' revolt against the kingdom's landed nobility...
. Bel supposed that the word kuruc is derived from the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
word "cruciatus" (crusader), ultimately from "crux
Crux
Crux is the smallest of the 88 modern constellations, but is one of the most distinctive. Its name is Latin for cross, and it is dominated by a cross-shaped asterism that is commonly known as the Southern Cross.-Visibility:...
" (cross
Cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run obliquely, the design is technically termed a saltire, although the arms of a saltire need not meet...
); and Dózsa's followers were called "crusaders" because the peasant rebellion started as an official crusade against the Ottomans
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
.
Today etymologists do not accept Bel's theory and consider the word—emerging in the 1660s in the forms "kurus", "kuroc" or "kurudsch"—to be of unknown origin. Its original meaning was understood as rebel, partisan, dissident.
In 1671 the name was used by Meni, the beglerbeg pasha
Pasha
Pasha or pascha, formerly bashaw, was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire political system, typically granted to governors, generals and dignitaries. As an honorary title, Pasha, in one of its various ranks, is equivalent to the British title of Lord, and was also one of the highest titles in...
of Eger
Eger
Eger is the second largest city in Northern Hungary, the county seat of Heves, east of the Mátra Mountains. Eger is best known for its castle, thermal baths, historic buildings , and red and white wines.- Name :...
in what is today Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, to denote the predominantly noble refugees from Royal Hungary. Afterwards the name became quickly popular and was used from 1671 to 1711 in texts written in Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
, Slovak
Slovak language
Slovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
and Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
to denote the rebels of Royal Hungary and northern Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
, fighting against the Habsburgs and their policies.
The rebels of the first kuruc uprising called themselves bújdosók (ie. fugitives) or in official long form: "different fugitive orders—barons, nobles, cavalry and infantry soldiers—who fight for the material and spiritual liberty of the Hungarian motherland".
The leader of the last of the kuruc rebellions, Francis II Rákóczi
Francis II Rákóczi
Francis II Rákóczi Hungarian aristocrat, he was the leader of the Hungarian uprising against the Habsburgs in 1703-11 as the prince of the Estates Confederated for Liberty of the Kingdom of Hungary. He was also Prince of Transylvania, an Imperial Prince, and a member of the Order of the Golden...
, also did not use this term. Contemporary sources often used the term "malcontents" to denote the rebels.
The opposite term (widespread after 1678) was "labanc" (from the Hungarian word "lobonc", literally "long hair", referring to the wig worn by the Austrian soldiers), denoting Austrians and their loyalist supporters.
The first kuruc uprising
The first kuruc uprising occurred in 1672. The kuruc army gathered in the PartiumPartium
Partium or Részek is the name given in Hungarian to the region located to the north and west of Transylvania.-Origin of the name:...
where many refugees of different origins took shelter from the religious and political persecution occurring in Royal Hungary
Royal Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary between 1538 and 1867 was part of the lands of the Habsburg Monarchy, while outside the Holy Roman Empire.After Battle of Mohács, the country was ruled by two crowned kings . They divided the kingdom in 1538...
. They called themselves bújdosók (fugitives). Their weapons were mostly pistols, light sabres and fokos (battle-axes). Their tactics and style of war were typical of light cavalry
Light cavalry
Light cavalry refers to lightly armed and lightly armored troops mounted on horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the riders are heavily armored...
. The main subgroups were Protestants, who were disgruntled by Habsburg ambitions of the Counter-Reformation
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...
; nobles (from the minor nobility, holding on to their privileges, while the Habsburg Court made attempts to deprive impoverished nobles of their nobility) and soldiers from the végvárs (frontier castles) who were sacked by Habsburg generals. Later, when the Turks lost ground to the imperial armies and Austrian despotism intensified, Habsburg oppression of Hungarians played an increasingly important role in the motivation of the kuruc.
Initially, in August 1672 the kuruc army invaded Upper Hungary
Upper Hungary
Upper Hungary is the usual English translation for the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia...
where they conquered the castles of Diósgyőr
Diósgyor
Diósgyőr is a historical town in Hungary, today it is a part of Miskolc. The medieval castle in Diósgyőr was a favourite holiday residence of Hungarian kings and queens; today it is a popular tourist attraction. The city part has a heavy industrial background...
, Ónod
Ónod
Ónod is a village in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County in northeastern Hungary. There are around 2000 people living there. Ónod has a long history reflected by some of the older buildings in the town, including the castle and post carriage stopping point....
, Szendrő
Szendro
Szendrő is a small town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary, 40 kilometers from county capital Miskolc.-History:Szendrő was first mentioned in 1317. It was named after its owner Szend. Odly enough, Szendro is a Hungarian last name...
and Tokaj
Tokaj
Tokaj , is a historical town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary, 54 kilometers from county capital Miskolc. It is the centre of the famous Tokaj-Hegyalja wine district where the world famous Tokaji wine is produced.- History :...
. After they defeated the Habsburg army of Paris von Spankau near Kassa
Košice
Košice is a city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary...
the towns of Upper Hungary surrendered and many disaffected people joined them from the Slovak and Ruthenian population of the northern counties.
The two leaders of the army of "fugitives" were Pál Szepesi and Mátyás Szuhay, members of the minor nobility who previously took part in other anti-Habsburg movements.
According to the recollections of Pál Szepesi the "fugitives" began looting in the northern countries: "In the guise of persecuting the Papists they pillaged whole counties. We began killing the plunderers but to no avail—they didn't respect any officers."
The Hofkriegsrath of Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
immediately took some measures: strengthened the Habsburg troops, called more soldiers from Lower Hungary and made peace with the Hajduk
Hajduk
Hajduk is a term most commonly referring to outlaws, highwaymen or freedom fighters in the Balkans, Central- and Eastern Europe....
s. On 26 October 1672 the Habsburg army defeated the "fugitives" at Gyurke
Durkov
Ďurkov is a village and municipality in Košice-okolie District in the Košice Region of eastern Slovakia.-Geography:The village lies at an altitude of 261 metres and covers an area of 9.921 km².It has a population of 1560 people.-Government:...
(later Hungarian Györke, Slovak Ďurkov). The rebels retreated across the line of the Tisza
Tisza
The Tisza or Tisa is one of the main rivers of Central Europe. It rises in Ukraine, and is formed near Rakhiv by the junction of headwaters White Tisa, whose source is in the Chornohora mountains and Black Tisa, which springs in the Gorgany range...
.
After this initial success the Habsburg government began systematic religious and political persecution in Royal Hungary. The most infamous case was the trial of 300 Protestant pastors who were sentenced to death in 1674, and who later were sold as galley slaves in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, causing public outcry all over Europe.
Universitas of the "fugitives"
In 1675 the "fugitives" occupied DebrecenDebrecen
Debrecen , is the second largest city in Hungary after Budapest. Debrecen is the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar county.- Name :...
. Later in that year the town was sacked again by three different armies as was not uncommon that time in troubled Upper Hungary
Upper Hungary
Upper Hungary is the usual English translation for the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia...
.
The fugitives tried to organise themselves as an independent community called "universitas" or "communitas". They issued decrees, sent envoys to foreign powers, made a seal and held Diets (assemblies). That time they were already called kuruc although they never called themselves so. Between 1674 and 1678 their leader was Count Paul Wesselényi, the cousin of the late Palatine Ferenc Wesselényi
Ferenc Wesselényi
Count Ferenc Wesselényi de Hadad et Murány was a Hungarian military commander and the palatine of the Royal Hungary.-Life:...
.
The "fugitives" established diplomatic connections with Poland in 1674 and France in 1675. In May 1677 France, Poland, the Principality of Transylvania and the Universitas of the "Fugitives" signed a treaty in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
. According to that King Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
guaranteed 100,000 tallers aid and assistance. The "fugitives" were obliged to attack the Habsburgs with an army of at least 15,000 people. Michael I Apafi
Michael I Apafi
Michael Apafi was a Hungarian Prince of Transylvania.He was elected by the nobles of Transylvania on 14 September 1661, with the support of the Ottoman Empire, as a rival to the Habsburg-backed ruler János Kemény...
, the Prince of Transylvania gave military and financial support to the universitas.
In the autumn of 1677 2,000 French, Polish and Tatar soldiers arrived in Upper Hungary. This small army, led by colonel Beaumont, wasn't able to seriously threaten the Habsburg supremacy. Royal Hungary became one seat of the European war between Emperor Leopold I and King Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
. The president of the Viennese Hofkriegsrath, Raimondo Montecuccoli
Raimondo Montecuccoli
Raimondo, Count of Montecúccoli or Montecucculi was an Italian military general who also served as general for the Austrians, and was also a prince of the Holy Roman Empire and Neapolitan Duke of Melfi....
draw a plan of "pacification" under the title "L'Ungheria nell'anno 1677". According to that Royal Hungary
Royal Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary between 1538 and 1867 was part of the lands of the Habsburg Monarchy, while outside the Holy Roman Empire.After Battle of Mohács, the country was ruled by two crowned kings . They divided the kingdom in 1538...
would be occupied by three Austrian armies, the remnants of the Hungarian constitution abolished and a grand-scale program of German colonisation implemented. Chancellor Paul Hocher, one of the most influential man in the Habsburg government, agreed with Montecuccoli's plan. In the Secret Council he declared that "all Hungarians are traitors".
Under Mihály Teleki
In 1678 the fugitives accepted Mihály Teleki, the Chancellor of Transylvania as their leader. Prince Apafi proclaimed war against the Habsburgs. Before that he had to beg leave the OttomanOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
Sultan (his overlord). The Sultan made an unacceptable condition: in the case of success all Royal Hungary should became part of the Ottoman Empire.
On 5 April 1678 Prince Apafi issued an ambiguous declaration to the people of Hungary: he announced that himself together with the Polish and the French kings took up the arms against "the heavy yoke of oppression" and recommended "the submission to the mighty Turkish Emperor with a reasonable mind and sharp eye".
The kuruc army of Teleki together with the Polish and French troops advanced well into Upper Hungary but they immediately retreated into Transylvania at the sight of the first Habsburg regiments. The failure wrecked Teleki's image as a competent leader. On the other hand a small kuruc cavalry troop (with only 8000 people) occupied for a short time the most important mining towns and castles of Lower Hungary.
The great kuruc uprisings
In 1678 one of the most influential young nobleman of Upper Hungary and Transylvania, Imre ThökölyImre Thököly
Count Imre Thököly de Késmárk was a Hungarian statesman, leader of an anti-Habsburg uprising, Prince of Transylvania, and vassal king of Upper Hungary.- Early life :Imre Thököly was born at Késmárk, Royal Hungary Count Imre Thököly de Késmárk (Thököly/Tököly/Tökölli Imre in Hungarian, Mirko...
declared war against the Habsburgs. In August 1678 Thököly's army occupied almost all Lower and Upper Hungary. The Habsburg rule in Royal Hungary
Royal Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary between 1538 and 1867 was part of the lands of the Habsburg Monarchy, while outside the Holy Roman Empire.After Battle of Mohács, the country was ruled by two crowned kings . They divided the kingdom in 1538...
quickly collapsed. The fugitives joined the Thököly Uprising, and officially elected him their leader in Szoboszló
Hajdúszoboszló
Hajdúszoboszló is a town in Hajdú-Bihar county, Hungary, 19 kilometres southwest of county seat Debrecen. It is the third largest town in Hajdú-Bihar county.-Location:The town is located in the northeastern part of the Great Hungarian Plain...
in January 1680. The kuruc troops were merged into Thököly's own army.
That time onwards the history of the kurucs are synonymous with the history of the two great anti-Habsburg uprisings in the Kingdom of Hungary between 1680 and 1711, i.e. the Thököly Uprising and the Rákóczi Uprising. Although these movements are generally called kuruc wars, these anti-Habsburg uprisings had a much wider social base and more complex political aims as the original kuruc movements. See the history of the great kuruc uprisings under their respective leaders, Imre Thököly
Imre Thököly
Count Imre Thököly de Késmárk was a Hungarian statesman, leader of an anti-Habsburg uprising, Prince of Transylvania, and vassal king of Upper Hungary.- Early life :Imre Thököly was born at Késmárk, Royal Hungary Count Imre Thököly de Késmárk (Thököly/Tököly/Tökölli Imre in Hungarian, Mirko...
and Francis II Rákóczi
Francis II Rákóczi
Francis II Rákóczi Hungarian aristocrat, he was the leader of the Hungarian uprising against the Habsburgs in 1703-11 as the prince of the Estates Confederated for Liberty of the Kingdom of Hungary. He was also Prince of Transylvania, an Imperial Prince, and a member of the Order of the Golden...
.
Later usage
In the first half of the 18th century the term was generally used to denote Hungarian cavalry soldiers (HussarHussar
Hussar refers to a number of types of light cavalry which originated in Hungary in the 14th century, tracing its roots from Serbian medieval cavalry tradition, brought to Hungary in the course of the Serb migrations, which began in the late 14th century....
s) serving in the Habsburg army, especially in the time of the War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
(1740–1748). Many former kuruc soldiers of the Rákóczi Uprising joined the Habsburg army after 1711.
The Prussians were also called kurucs in Hungarian literature, for example by Joseph Gvadányi in 1790. The reason behind this strange usage was that all the enemies of the labanc Habsburgs were considered synonymous with the kurucs.
In the end of the 18th century the word went out of usage in common parlance, and became an exclusively historical term for the rebels of Rákóczi and Thököly.
In present-day Hungarian language kuruc is sometimes used to denote Hungarian national radicals. "Kuruc" is also a name of a far-right, nationalist Hungarian webpage.