The name of these mountains is one of the classic Carpathian mysteries. "Kelemen" translates as clement. Such an adjective seems to fit these mountains very well, especially if one juxtaposes them with the nearby Rodnei or the Marmarosh mountains further to the north. On the other hand, it seems likely that the name was a reference to a person's name, which must have been quite popular a thousand years ago, in the early years of the Hungarian Kingdom. There were several popes named Clement in the 11th and 12th centuries A.D., and even though the word "kelemen" is no longer used by modern Hungarian as an adjective, "Kelemen" has survived as a common Hungarian surname.
OK, I couldn't resist. The first written mentioning is dated back to 1228: "alpes Clementis". So the name is old, but not older than the presence of Cristianity in the area (~11th century).
Hi! I'm from Romania and I travel a lot around the country. If you wanna travel around, best way is the train way. You can find train's time list here http://mersul-trenurilor.net . I always using this application in my trip.
yatsek - Oct 16, 2011 1:12 pm - Voted 10/10
My Linguistic SpeculationsThe name of these mountains is one of the classic Carpathian mysteries. "Kelemen" translates as clement. Such an adjective seems to fit these mountains very well, especially if one juxtaposes them with the nearby Rodnei or the Marmarosh mountains further to the north. On the other hand, it seems likely that the name was a reference to a person's name, which must have been quite popular a thousand years ago, in the early years of the Hungarian Kingdom. There were several popes named Clement in the 11th and 12th centuries A.D., and even though the word "kelemen" is no longer used by modern Hungarian as an adjective, "Kelemen" has survived as a common Hungarian surname.
LukZem - Oct 17, 2011 3:08 am - Hasn't voted
Re: My Linguistic SpeculationsVery interesting speculations. Maybe, Peter should know more...
peterbud - Oct 17, 2011 3:07 pm - Voted 10/10
Re: My Linguistic SpeculationsI can only confirm that it's a surname that is used, and that its meaning has vanished. Unfortunately I have no time for investigating further now.
peterbud - Oct 17, 2011 3:50 pm - Voted 10/10
Re: My Linguistic SpeculationsOK, I couldn't resist. The first written mentioning is dated back to 1228: "alpes Clementis". So the name is old, but not older than the presence of Cristianity in the area (~11th century).
yatsek - Oct 17, 2011 5:17 pm - Voted 10/10
Re: My Linguistic SpeculationsRe: "OK, I couldn't resist."
:-) Thanks - this is what we wanted. :D
dand - Jun 15, 2017 1:03 pm - Hasn't voted
Train travel in RomaniaHi! I'm from Romania and I travel a lot around the country. If you wanna travel around, best way is the train way. You can find train's time list here http://mersul-trenurilor.net . I always using this application in my trip.
yatsek - Jun 18, 2017 6:24 pm - Voted 10/10
Re: Train travel in RomaniaThanks. The link does look better than the old one.
LukZem - Jun 20, 2017 12:42 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: Train travel in RomaniaThanks for your hint. I am looking forward to next week´s travel by train from Cluj to Lotru (via Turnu Rosu pass:)