Encounter between Kuruc (left) and Labanc (right) cavalrymen at the time of the Rákóczi Rebellion (1703-1711).

The Kuruc were Hungarians who fought to liberate Hungary from control of the Austrian House of Habsburg in the late 1600s and early 1700s. The Labanc were the Hungarians who fought in support of the House of Habsburg against the Kuruc.

Over time, the term Kuruc has come to designate Hungarians who advocate strict national independence and the term Labanc to designate Hungarians who advocate cooperating with outside powers.

The term Kuruc is used in both a positive sense to mean “patriotic” and in a negative sense to mean “chauvinistic.”

The term Labanc is almost always used in a negative sense to mean “disloyal” or “traitorous.”

Kuruc.info is the name of Hungary’s main radical nationalist website (click for website).