Jókai Mór, a profi politikus?

Author(s): András Cieger / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 2/2017

Mór Jókai (1825–1904) was the most widely known Hungarian writer in the second half of the 19th century, but he also worked as a journalist and, for 32 years, as a member of parliament. This short paper analyzes the latter, his participation in public life from the perspective of the emergence of modern politics and the professional politician (M. Weber). The main sources the study relies on are his political speeches, letters and photographs. According to the author, Jókai belonged to the “archaic” type of professional politicians, who devoted himself to politics, instead of earning a living from it, as the documents related to his finances also show. Jókai was a devoted politician who served the “sacred causes” of public life (while being indifferent to the petty interests) and was even willing to make financial sacrifices for the success of these. He was one of the few long-serving representatives in the National Assembly, who did understand how modern politics worked and learned how to make use of its tools. For example, he used photographs to shape his public image and consciously resorted to various campaign tricks during the elections, even utilized his popularity as a writer for the benefit of his party.

Az eltűnt levél és az eltűnt menlevél – avagy, miért bujdosott Jókai 1849-ben

Author(s): Róbert Hermann / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 2/2017

In a revolutionary Vienna in October 1848, several cartoons depicting in an unambiguous situation Archduchess Sophie, the wife of the heir apparent, Archduke Franz Karl, and Jelačić, the Ban of Croatia, were published. Even though the March revolution had eroded the prudish general taste of the Biedermeier period, the publication of these satirical drawings could still be considered unusual. What can explain the fact that the member of the ruling house so popular in the spring of 1848 became the target of such public hatred by October 1848 in the imperial city? How were these cartoons related to Jókai’s hiding in 1849? The paper examines these questions. In the spring of 1848, Archduchess Sophie, the wife of the heir apparent, Archduke Franz Karl, was very popular in Hungary as she was reported to have played a part in overthrowing State Chancellor Metternich. However, this popularity quickly turned into unpopularity after June 1848. The reason was that, even though he had been dismissed by the Hungarian government, the Ban of Croatia, Josip Jelačić got an ostentatiously warm welcome from the archduchess in Innsbruck. At the end of September 1848, news was spreading that among Jelačić’s intercepted letters there was one written to the archduchess. (At the current state of research this cannot be excluded.) All this led to the publication of the above-mentioned obscene cartoons. The story was even versified in a satirical epic poem by Mór Jókai. This may have been one of the reasons why, at the end of August 1849, he thought he had better go into hiding. He only returned to Budapest when the first waves of retaliation had abated. One of the most beautiful pieces of his self-created legends is related to his hiding. According to this, he could return to the capital city only because his wife, Róza Laborfalvy got him a travel warrant, a so called Geleitschein, issued to the members of the castle guard of Komárom. However, Jókai’s description is so confused that we can be certain that he never possessed, probably never even seen, such a travel warrant.

Kazinczy Lajos élete 1848 előtt

Author(s): József Solymosi / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 2/2017

Lajos Kazinczy was one of the leading military officers in the 1848–1849 Hungarian war of independence who rose to a leadership position during the revolution, after serving in the army for a long time, and about whose pre-1848 life and military career we know very little. The paper attempts to fill this gap. Lajos Kazinczy was born at Széphalom on 20 October 1820 as the youngest child of Ferenc Kazinczy (1759–1831), the neologist and the known and renowned writer of the era, and Zsófia Török (1780–1842). By the time, the Calvinist noble family from Upper Hungary had been reduced to poverty, and the Kazinczy parents were struggling to provide for the upbringing of their seven children. After studying at Széphalom, Sárospatak and Sátoraljaújhely, Lajos Kazinczy was admitted to the school of military engineering of Tulln at the age of 15, through the intervention of Count József Teleki (1790–1855), the treasurer of the Reformed College of Sárospatak. He studied there between 1835 and 1839, then served as a hussar officer in the 9th (Miklós) hussar regiment. It was after a long delay that he was promoted to 2nd lieutenant in the autumn of 1841. In his letters from 1840–41 written to his mother he discusses in detail his lifestyle and his yearning for becoming a lieutenant. It is striking how ambitious and aspiring a cadet Lajos Kazinczy was. For him, being recognized by his fellow officers was very important, just like being the life and soul of the party. As a young man, he was fond of having a good time, going to balls and enjoying the company of women. He was a good dancer, his companions liked his jolly manner, while he was reliable in service. However, as a result of his abovementioned activities, his active participation in social life, he was constantly in financial difficulties, and it seems that gambling was not alien to his nature either. Kazinczy quit the army after more than eleven years of service, not long after his promotion to first lieutenant, when he served as an adjutant to a vice-marshal. His position could hardly explain why he left. In the paper, we have managed to clarify the circumstances of his resignation, which was not planned, and was a result of an unfortunate case of forgery. The letters discussing the circumstances of why he left the army are published here for the first time, in the appendix to the paper in Hungarian translation.

Birodalmi úttérkép és nemzeti függetlenség (Egy országos sérelem 1835-ből)

Author(s): Adrienn Kapitány / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 2/2017

Our paper describes a less known episode of the National Assembly of 1832–1836: it examines how it became a national grievance that in the summer of 1835 the Governor’s Council sent a map, made in Vienna and depicting the road network of the Habsburg Monarchy, to the counties. The estates disapproved of the fact that the map presented Hungary as one of the Monarchy’s territories, and they thought that both the memorandum of the Governor’s Council and the map’s drawing and its labeling were insulting to the country’s independence. As a result, the National Assembly demanded that the map be recalled and destroyed. The case is interesting because the representation of the empire as shown on the map cannot explain the indignation in itself because, on the basis of our investigation, it did not contain anything unusual compared to other maps of the Habsburg Monarchy published in Vienna at the time. The fact that it was the Governor’s Council to send the map to the counties undoubtedly played a part in the indignation, but the real reasons are rather to be found in the political climate of the time. At the time of the publication of the map, a debate was ongoing about the proper title of the newly elected emperor, Ferdinand, which was essentially about Hungary’s constitutional status and the recognition of the country’s independence. Moreover, previously the government took several measures which were against the law (the dissolution of the Transylvanian diet, taking legal action against Miklós Wesselényi and other cases), so the opposition could attempt to add any such steps on the part of the government, no matter how insignificant they may have seemed, to its “grievance discourse”. At the same time, the case illustrates that the estates realized how important cartographic representations could be in political processes, thus it can provide additions to a better understanding of the map usage habits in the Reform Era.

Források a Csanádi Egyházmegye 1848–1849-es történetéhez

Author(s): Péter Zakar / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 2/2017

„Egy a lengyel a magyarral”

Author(s): Krisztián Kemény / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 2/2017

István Kovács: „Érdek és szeretet”. Lengyel visszaemlékezések a szabadságharcra 1848–1849. Magyar Napló, Budapest, 2016.

„Voltam én már ütközetekben, de ilyen pokoli tüzérségi tüzet még nem éltem meg”

Author(s): József Solymosi / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 2/2017

Hadaink vonulnak. K. R. Szemjakin orosz ezredes magyarországi levelei 1849-ből. Ed.: Ildikó Rosonczy. Argumentum – Balassi Intézet – Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár, Budapest, 2014.

A kolozsvári gázgyár körüli érdekek és konfliktusok a 19. század végén

Author(s): László Fazakas / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 11/2017

Amit a gróf mesél a barokk keretből (III.)

Author(s): Ervin Fenyő / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 11/2017

Az angol orvos esete a magyarokkal. John Paget utazása Magyarországon és Erdélyben

Author(s): Gyöngy Kovács Kiss / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 12/2017

The English doctor, who will later settle down in Transylvania as Wesselényi Polixéna’s husband, become a “Hungarian patriot” and even participate in the Revolution of 1848 as Generl Bem’s wingman, has put his experiences in writing after his two journeys in Hungary and in Transylvania. Going beyond customary travel descriptions, he also presents the social, political, and economical situation of the country, far from the mannerisms of an “English travelling dandy”, but building upon a rich English and European experience, wide erudition, and British pragmatism. He describes the Hungarian and Transylvanian landscapes as well as social the social and political structure, which lags so far behind English parliamentarism, even offering suggestions for the improvement of the situation. His volume is one of our most important sources on Hungary and Transylvania in the Reform Era.

A kiegyezés "kossuthiánus" kritikája

Author(s): László Csorba / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 02/2018

Deák Ferenc politikusi alkata

Author(s): János Estók / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 02/2018

Kossuth Lajos, az örök rebellis?

Author(s): Róbert Hermann / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 02/2018

Among the historical figures of 19th Hungarian history, Kossuth is counted among the persons prepared to fight for the cause of the bourgeois transformation and national autonomy even with illegal means. This study seeks an answer to the question whether he was really a rebel. According to its arguments, this categorisation can only be applied to some of the stages of his political career and with important stipulations. In the Hungarian Reform Era, Kossuth took not of the existing political framework and has fought for their change with legal means. The spring of 1848, however, created a completely new situation for him, but he nevertheless insisted on the observance of legality. After April 1849, he considered that Hungary has no future within the Habsburg empire, and his struggle was directed at escaping its confines.

Sangye Phuntsog est-il alle a Lhassa en 1824-1825 ?

Author(s): Bernard Le Calloc'h / Language(s): French Issue: 4/2004

La personalité du lama zanskari Sangye Phuntsog, qui fut le maître de tibétain d'Alexandre Csoma de Kőrös entre juin 1823 et juin 1830, nous est assez mal connue. Certain auteurs ont cru pouvoir supposer, et même parfois affirmer, que s'il n'avait pas suivi son élève au Sud de la grande chaîne himalayenne en octobre 1824, comme celui-ci l'y avait expressément invité, c'était pour aller s'expliquer à Lhassa sur sa collaboration avec un Européen que les autorités tibétaines auraient jugé suspect ou dangereux. La présente étude vise à démonstrer que cette hypothèse est sans fondement et qu'un tel voyage au Tibet en plein hiver était tout simplement impossible.

Egy össze nem álló kép mozaikjai

Author(s): Bálint Varga / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 4/2017

The paper investigates the various ways in which the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy was represented, both officially and unofficially. It examines the creation of the official state symbols (the very name of the dual state, its flag, coat of arms, anthem, commemorative practices) and their dissemination. The representations of the dual state will be compared to other political representations within Austria-Hungary, mostly in the academic and artistic circles. The paper argues for the fragmented nature of the representations of the dual state and its limited resonance among citizens. The only major exception to this pattern was during the early years of World War I, when the duality of the state became more tangible for all citizens.

Himnusz, Szózat kontra Gotterhalte

Author(s): Ildikó Nagy / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 4/2017

Gotterhalte, the Austrian imperial anthem, was composed by Haydn in 1797, and its lyrics were finalized in 1854. Two poems were in competition to become the Hungarian national anthem: Mihály Vörösmarty’s Szózat (Summons or Appeal), set to music by Béni Egressy in 1843; and Ferenc Kölcsey’s Himnusz (Anthem), set to music by Ferenc Erkel in 1844. In the end, the latter became the unofficial national anthem, and after the fall of the Monarchy the official state anthem as well. After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, the Hungarian lyrics of Gott erhalte were changed to reflect the independence of the Hungarian state. However, the Austrian imperial anthem remained highly unpopular among Hungarians, as it reminded them of the defeat in the war of self-defense of 1848–49, and the oppression and retaliation following it. As a non-opposition Hungarian author wrote, „an active or passive dislike for Gotterhalte is a matter of national tradition, upbringing, taste, and manners for us.” Its public performances were often sabotaged at the turn of the century. The Hungarian opposition at that time, the Independence Party, regularly used these scandals to attack the government, and in 1903 they managed to topple Kálmán Széll’s administration. The sources used for this study were releases of the contemporary press and the papers of the Hungarian Parliament. The study aims to 1) summarize the history of Gotterhalte’s, Himnusz’s and Szózat’s creation and public use, 2) discuss the failed attempts to create a Hungarian royal anthem, and finally 3) to examine the conflicts generated by the use of the imperial anthem in Hungary, and among Hungarians, with an emphasis on the period between 1896 and 1903, particularly on the first years of the 20th century.

Ferenc József főherceg/császár/király Magyarországon, 1843–1867

Author(s): Orsolya Manhercz / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 4/2017

Franz Joseph first visited Hungary as an archduke, later as emperor, and after the AustroHungarian Compromise as king. How did the young archduke; the stark, soldierly emperor; and the king ready to compromise appear before his Hungarian "subjects"? Who did he support or oppose? How did these visits change the image of the archduke/ruler? In this study we are examining Franz Joseph's changing image in Hungary between 1843 and 1867. Before December 1848, the Hungarian public got to know him as a healthy, young archduke and a promising young man. Starting from 1849, he came to the country as a military leader and a victorious conqueror, and a few years later as a Catholic ruler. In 1857, he introduced himself to his Hungarian "subjects" as a husband and father. Only in the 1860s did he visit Hungary as king, which happened even before the Compromise and his coronation. In general, Franz Joseph's travels in the 1850s were primarily characterized by an emphasis on representation as opposed to politics, however, this tendency turned around at the middle of the 1860s. The events of 1865-1866 were not only turning points in terms of politics, but in symbolic politics as well, since in these years the methods of symbolic politics were used to complement real political action, not to replace it.

Stephen F. Austin és a Texasi Köztársaság születése

Author(s): Andrea Kökény / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 4/2017

2016 marked the 180th anniversary of the Texas Revolution, during which the territory formerly belonging to the Spanish colonial empire seceded from Mexico, and thus the Republic of Texas was established. Stephen F. Austin played an important role in this process as he founded the first American colony in the area with the permission of the Spanish, and then the Mexican government. Eugene C. Barker’s work of 1925, The Life of Stephen F. Austin, was the only monograph about the Austin-family and Stephen F. Austin for a long time, therefore it affected generations of historians. In 1999, Gregg Cantrell’s biography entitled Stephen F. Austin, Empresario of Texas was published, which, based on a wide range of sources, put Austin’s life and career in a new perspective. It took new aspects into consideration to make the highly idealized image more nuanced. While Barker’s biography depicted Austin as a humble, self-sacrificing statesman who worked tirelessly for his new homeland, Cantrell focused on his complex personality. He showed the reasons for his decisions; his dilemmas in his private life, as a businessman, politician, and diplomat; the challenges and opportunities he had; and most importantly, how all these influenced the history of Texas in the first decades of the 19th century. The aim of this study is to bring Stephen F. Austin into the limelight and examine his role in the Americanization of Texas from a new perspective, focusing on his relationship with the American settlers as well as the Mexican and American governments. The analysis is based on primary sources: Austin’s private and official correspondence, newspaper articles, travelers’ accounts, and other documents.

Két ember, két korszak. Széchenyi István és Clemens Metternich

Author(s): András Oplatka / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 4/2017

Első mindenek közül

Author(s): Márton Simonkay / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 4/2017

Arató György – Nemes Gábor – Vajk Ádám [szerk.]: Primus inter omnes. Tanulmányok Bedy Vince születésének 150. évfordulójára. [A Győri Egyházmegyei Levéltár Kiadványai. Források, feldolgozások 25.] Győr, 2016