The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Slovaks

SLOVAKS, slō-văks', the name of the Slavic inhabitants of northern Hungary. They are the descendants of the Slavs who settled on the south of the Carpathians between the Danube and the Theiss, where they maintained themselves for centuries, and in the 9th century formed the nucleus of the great Moravian empire. After the battle of Pressburg, in 907, in which this empire was overthrown by the Magyars, the Slovaks gradually fell under the yoke of the conquerors. At the present day they are scattered over most of the counties of Hungary, and in the northwestern counties they form the majority of the inhabitants. They are also found in Moravia in the districts adjoining Hungary, and in detached settlements in Lower Austria, Bukowina and Slavonia. The Slovaks possess in their own dialect a number of beautiful popular songs, collections of which have been published at different times (Pest 1823-27; Buda 1834). There is a grammar of the language by Victorin (Budapest 1878). The total number of Slovaks is about 2,500,000. Consult Copek, J., ‘The Slovacs’ (New York 1906); Seton-Watson, ‘Racial Problems in Hungary’ (London 1909). See Slavs.