The haiduks were a product of the nightmarish closing decades of the Sixteenth Century in Hungary. Evicted or defaulting peasants, escaped serfs, deserters from the border fortresses, even bankrupt nobles—the haiduks were too numerous to be called outlaws, but they lived outside the pale of feudal society. They were willing to fight for whoever could pay them.

From Bryan Cartledge’s The Will to Survive: A History of Hungary, London: Hurst & Company, 2011 (first published in 2006), p. 102.

Addendum (December 7, 2012)

Of course, the Hungarian word for “outlaw” is of Turkish origin (“Word of Worth,” September 30, 2012). Brigand or bandit, in short. I was attracted to this twist in the story because most people in former Yugoslavia would be convinced that the word is their own. Rendered as hajduk, it is deeply entrenched in the folklore of many former republics, now countries in their own right. As it turns out, it has ricocheted around the Balkans in surprising ways. Most people in Hungary would also be convinced that the word is their own. The region is forever bristling with surprises, no doubt.