The first document in which the term "Ultra siluam" is used referring to the area dates from 1075, its meaning is "beyond the forest". The terms "Partes Transsylvanæ" ("parts beyond the forest") dates from the same century (in Legenda Sancti Gerhardi) and after that becomes the term used in the Latin docuāments of the Kingdom of Hungary (as "Transsilvania"). Events Revolt of the Earls. ... The Kingdom of Hungary (Hungarian: Magyar Királyság) is the name of a multiethnic kingdom that existed in Central Europe from 1000 to 1918. ...

Transylvania

From Transilvania, the Latin name meaning "beyond the forest" ("trans" = beyond and "silva" = forest).

Ardeal/Erdély

The names of Ardeal in Romanian and Erdély in Hungarian are believāed to be linked one to another. The original source and meaning are disputed and claimed by both Romanians and Hungarians. The first Hungarian form recorded was "Erdeuelu" in the 12th century Gesta Hungarorum, while the first Romanian form recorded was in 1432 as "Ardeliu". The initial a/e difference between the names can be found in other words common to Romanian and Hungarian, such as agriş / egres (gooseberry). Another possibility is that its origins lie in the Roman province name of Dacia Aureliana ( e g Aureliana = Ardeal, Erdély) which was set up by Roman Emperor Aurelian in the third century. There are two works with the name Gesta Hungarorum. ... Events June 1 - Battle of San Romano - Florence defeats Siena foundation of Université de Caen In the end of the Hook and Cod wars, Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut and Holland is forced by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to abdicate all her estates in his favour; end of Hainaut... Species Ribes grossularia L. Ribes hirtellum Ribes echinellum The gooseberry is a well-known fruit-bush. ... Dacia, in ancient geography the land of the Daci, a subtribe of the Getae, was a large district of Central Europe, bounded on the north by the Carpathians, on the south by the Danube, on the west by the Tisa (Tisza river, in Hungary), on the east by the Tyras... Contemporary coin of Aurelian. ...

Hungarian View

The consensus of Hungarian linguists and Hungarian historians on the etymology of both Erdély and Transylvania is as follows:

• Erdély is derived from the Hungarian Erdõ-elve meaning "beyond the forest". The earliest written evidence of this form is the Gesta Hungarorum where it is written as Erdeuelu.
• The Latin form Transylvania was most likely a direct translation from the Hungarian form (rather than the Hungarian being derived from the Latin)
• The Romanian form Ardeal was probably derived from an old Hungarian form.
• While Romanians in Transylvania were allways in consistent numbers, they were lacking central political representation, and were organized in small comunities including several villages, in which population was more ethnically pure. They called this lands Ţāri (which literally means Countries). Examples: Ţara Pādurenilor (Woodlanders Country - in Poiana Rusca Mountains), Ţara Moţilor (Country of the People of Apuseni Mountains), Ţara Crişului (Country of Criş Rivers), Ţara Zarandului, Ţara Haţegului, etc. This was a common fact for Romanian people. The soutern medieval Romanian political entity Wallachia was called Ţara Romaneascā. As they lacked political representation, they probably did not felt the need for their own name and just used the official name of the most important ruling class, i.e. the Hungarian name Erdély - but addapted to fit the language. As an interesting note, people in Moldavia and Wallachia sometimes used to refer to Transylvania as Ţara Ungureascā (translated as Hungarian - owned Country).

There are two works with the name Gesta Hungarorum. ...

Romanian View

The ending '-eal' in Romanian suggests that it was not borrowed in Romanian from Hungarian, because as we know from parallel examples, Hungarian '-ely' becomes '-ei' in Romanian (Hungarian Udvarhely → Romanian Odorhei).

The actual meaning is yet unknown, there have been suggested several possible etymologies:

• arde appears to be an Indo-European word meaning "forest" (akin to Forest of Arden, England and Belgian Ardennes Woods).
• deal means "hill" in Romanian, while arde means "to burn": it has been suggested that it could mean "the land of the burning hills" after the fires started by Romanian shepherds to warn the invaders of their presence.
• Arderich, the king of the Germanic Gepids once ruled Transylvania in the 5th century and it is possible that the name of Arderich's land was passed on ever since.

Arden is a district in Warwickshire, England, near Stratford-upon-Avon. ... The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests and rolling hill country, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France (lending its name to the Ardennes département and the Champagne-Ardenne région). ... The Gepids (Latin Gepidae) were a Germanic tribe most famous in history for defeating the Huns after the death of Attila. ... // Events Romulus Augustus, Last Western Roman Emperor Rome sacked by Visigoths in 410. ...

Siebenbürgen

Siebenbürgen, the German name for Transylvania, first appeared in a document dated 1296. Translated from German, Siebenbürgen means "seven cities" or "seven boroughs", after the seven German cities founded or settled by the German Saxons in Transylvania: Klausenburg (Cluj), Kronstadt (Braşov), Hermannstadt (Sibiu), Schässburg (Sighişoara), Mediasch (Mediaş), Mühlbach (Sebeş), and Bistritz (Bistriţa). An alternate Latin version, "Septem Castra" ("Seven fortresses") was also used in Mediaeval documents. Jump to: navigation, search Events March 30 - Edward I stormed Berwick-upon-Tweed, sacking the then Scottish border town with much bloodshed. ... Cluj (Hungarian: Kolozs, German: Klausen) is a county (judeÅ£) in the center of Romania, in Transylvania, with the capital city at Cluj-Napoca (population: 333,607). ... Braşov (Hungarian: Brassó, German: Kronstadt) is a city in Romania, residence of Braşov county. ... Jump to: navigation, search Sibiu (German: Hermannstadt, Hungarian: Nagyszeben) is a city in Transylvania, Romania with a population of 170,000. ... Sighişoara (Hungarian: Segesvár, German: Schäßburg) is a town in Mureş, Transylvania, Romania. ... Sebeş (Hungarian: Szászsebes, German: Mühlbach) is a town in Alba county, Romania, located on the Sebeş river. ... Bistriţa (Hungarian: Beszterce, German: Bistritz) is the capital city of Bistrita-Nasaud county, Romania. ...

There is an alternative hypothesis for the origin of the German name of Transylvania. German settlement in Transylvania began in Sibiu. The original German name for the city was Cibinburg (from the Roman name of the area Cibiniensis), which was deformed into Siebenbürgen and became the name for the whole region.