Bošnjani, meaning Bosnians, is the archaic name originating from the Middle Ages, for inhabitants of Bosnia. The name is used and can be found in Bosnian written monuments from that period, appearing in Venetian sources as earliest as 12th century, according to investigation of the relations between Bosnia and Venetia by historianMarko Šunjić, and other documents until at least early 16th century and the Ottoman conquest and power stabilization.
History
The demonym Bošnjani appears in medieval state documents of foreign and/or Bosnian provenience, written in Bosnian Cyrillic, since the 12th century, and is used in reference to Bosnian nobility of medieval Bosnia, their subjects, to the witnesses in disputes, testaments, provisions, to thir relatives and kin, and so on. Most notably it was used in noblemen titles, until the last Bosnian kingStjepan Tomašević, and prior to the Ottoman conquest of Bosnia.. Appearing in a number of documents from the period, it was often coupled with the word Good. For example, a 1417 document by Stjepan Ostoja mentions i nostri boni Bosnensi, and the same term is used in a 1419 document by Stjepan Ostojić. Ćošković dates the term to Stjepan II Kotromanić. The syntagm of "Dobri Bošnjani" which appear in historical documents as a social and ethical category, historian Srečko Džaja relates to similar syntagm of "boni homines".
Assessment
Bosnian historian Pejo Ćošković, citing Ferdo Šišić and Dominik Mandić, describes the use of the term in royal documents as membership in Bosnian nobility, with no indication of the subject's religion. and as a political term to distinguish people from Bosnia proper from people from other lands acquired in the hidays of Kingdom of Bosnia and included into royal titulage.
Revival
During the Austro-Hungarian era the term Bošnjak was also preferred until the beginning of the 20th century, and is encountered in Bosnian Franciscan writings, such as prominent members of the order, historians and writers, Ivan Frano Jukić and Antun Knežević, who were first to relate the name to ethnic and national context. The situation changed again in the 20th century, as Bosanac came to be the preferred term. Following the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the early 1990s, Bosniaks reinvigorated the archaic termBošnjaci - Bosniaks - for their national name, based on the word's historical ethno-geographic connotations.
