Results of linguistic research

Tracing the history of marzipan is assisted by somewhat complex, far-reaching linguistic research, which long ago rejected the "Marci panis" of folk etymology.

Around the year 1000, there circulated in the Orient Byzantine coins with a picture of the enthroned Christ, which were called "mauataban" (seated man). The Venetians also introduced these coins, around the year 1200, and referred to them as "mataban". The term shifted to designating a tenth of the value, and was also transferred to other units of measurement, e.g. to the toll paid by ships, and particularly to quantities of grain and boxes. In Neapolitan and Sicilian the words "martzapane" and "marzapane" were used in the 13th century to refer to small boxes, and Provençal also uses this designation. From early times, spices and confectionery were shipped in these small wooden boxes. In the course of the 13th century, the term "mazaban" for "box" must also have been applied to the contents. The French physician Arnaud de Villeneuve (d. 1313) provides the first report of the confection "mazapan" in Europe.