a borítólapra  Súgó epa Copyright 
Aetas17. évf. (2002.) 2-3. sz.

Tartalom

Tanulmányok

  • Dominkovics Péter :

    Abstract

    The professional biography of an early modern lawyer: János Szepsy (Zepsy)

    Research into the Hungarian "legal intellectuals" of the sixteenth and seventeenth-centuries has been far behind the achievements of medieval studies. This essay gives an account of the career of a lawyer, János Szepsy (Zepsy), living in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth-centuries, and who was a tax-paying nobleman coming from Kisvölcsej, Sopron County. As a lawyer, Szepsy was in the familiar service of the Nádasdy family. His course of life was not typical of the lesser nobility. Being a lay notary, he did not serve at any places of authentication and he failed to exploit his familiar connections in order to occupy county offices. He commenced his career as a lawyer in Sopron County in 1596, then having earned some reputation, from 1602 he also worked in Vas County. In both counties, until 1620, he represented families of the higher nobility (Nádasdy, Zrínyi, Széchy of Rimaszécs), well-to-do landed noblemen (Viczay of Loos) as well as lesser noblemen in all kinds of legal transactions. During his career as a regional lawyer, he held positions in forums of various levels of justice. He represented parties in the law courts of Sopron and Vas Counties, in manorial courts and when administering justice in the market town magistrates of Szombathely. As well as intervening on behalf of the citizens of Sopron, he participated in administering justice in military cases of national and local significance.

    In autumn 1619 Szepsy's professional career as a lawyer changed into a political one. In November, same year, alongside Ferenc Szántóházy, town-clerk of Vas and Sopron Counties, protonotary of chief justice, Szepsy was elected parliamentary deputy of Sopron County. At the time Szepsy became a follower of Gábor Bethlen, prince of Transylvania and was among the prince's confidants from Western Transdanubia. As the deputy of Sopron County, and supported by Bethlen, he attended the parliament of 1620 in Besztercebánya. In 1620–1622, in Western Transdanubia, Szepsy worked as the tax-collector of the prince, the manager of royal revenues as well as master of musters.

    Western Transdanubia having reassumed loyalty to the Hapsburg emperor, Szepsy's position became untenable in this region. His lord, Pál Nádasdy, lent him a helping hand. He had to manage the affairs of the Nádasdy family's estates in Regéc, Abaúj County, as well as to represent their interests in Abaúj County. Thanks to his political and social connections, he rose into the ranks of the counsellors of Gábor Bethlen's Chamber of Szepes in 1624 and continued to hold this position even as late as 1625. He managed to fit in the society of the nobility of Abaúj County: he was elected judge of the Court of Appeal in 1626–27. He died in 1627.

    Through representing the course of life of Szepsy I intended to present a case study of social mobility in early modern Hungary.

  • Cieger András :
    Árny- és fényképek. Lónyai Menyhért személyisége [101.90 kB - HTML]EPA-00861-00022-0020

    Abstract

    Images and shadows: The personality of Menyhért Lónyay

    The author of the essay provides a multi-perspective picture of the life of Menyhért Lónyay (1822–1884), who was the Minister of Finance, later Prime Minister of Hungary. On the one hand, He attempts to show how his contemporaries viewed and depicted him as well as to find an explanation of the fact that the favourable portrait drawn about Lónyay underwent a spectacular transformation within a few years' time: his characteristic features lauded before appeared as distorted qualities of his personality.

    On the other hand, relying on personal records (diary, correspondence, memoirs), the author also attempts to reconstruct the way in which Lónyay regarded himself and assessed his own personality. He has to admit that the available sources offer only limited opportunity to achieve this, hence only a few of the predominant components of Lónyay's life and personality will be highlighted in the essay. On the basis of the documents written by Lónyay himself the author will deal with the childhood education of the would-be politician, as well as his schooling and his pleasure in self-education. Furthermore, he discusses the maturing process in which Lónyay got acquainted with the world of politics, chose heroes to follow, developed professional and oratorical skills. Following this, the author examines how Lónyay's fall in 1872 (his own party lost its trust in him and the opposition accused him of corruption) affected his personality and his subsequent behaviour: Lónyay became insecure, and from this time on, paradoxically, he became attracted and at the same time repelled by the world of politics; his acts were characterized by the feeling of offense, the desire for redress and a constant drive for self-justification. The author regards family relationships as an important component of the personality, and hence he puts great emphasis on mapping Lónyay's relationship with his own family (with his mother, wife, children and siblings). Finally, the author also covers briefly Lónyay's physical conditions, how he related to the maladies of his own body.

    In the third place, the last chapter of the essay investigates the ways in which posterity – from Lónyay's death to present times – remembered him. The most important conclusion of this part is that authors writing about Lónyay, in most cases, only repeat the contemporary charges against his political persona, making them into anecdotes without undertaking a circumspect examination of his political activity. The author is convinced, however, that scrutinizing Lónyay's career can take us closer to the understanding of the life of the political generation (1840s), which in spite of a long struggle and several failures was able to create the political and economic conditions and frameworks for the evolution and prosperity of modern Hungary. On the other hand, Lónyay's portrait can also show that in addition to the common features that he shared with his generation, what were the peculiar characteristics of his career. Such an examination can be especially rewarding in the case of Lónyay, who was a politician (Prime Minister), financial expert, president of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, entrepreneur, landlord and leader of his family.

  • Csapó Csaba :
    Életrajz és mentalitás. Ráday Gedeon elfelejtett élete [162.61 kB - HTML]EPA-00861-00022-0030

    Abstract

    Diary, visual autobiography, and Künstlerroman: Identity and privacy in the 'Juvenile Diary' of Bertalan Székely

    The article aims at reinterpreting the so-called "Juvenile Diary" of one of the greatest nineteenth-century Hungarian painters, Bertalan Székely, as an autobiographical construction. The diary has a very complex structure, originally consisting of isolated parts fulfilling different functions over the time. First, it served as a sketch-book (around 1855–56, see parts 1 and 2 in the diagram), later as a written painter's book (1858–1861, see part 3, and 1861–1866, see part 9). In the winter of 1861, Székely filled up the empty spaces in the diary with sketches made in the period 1855–1861 (see parts 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8). This heterogeneous structure of the "juvenile diary" puzzled many scholars, who could not reconcile the 'impersonal' methodological parts with the numerous 'personal' sketches. The article argues that the key to understanding the organization of the diary is offered by the function of the sketches added in 1861. Székely inserted them into the diary not only in a chronological order, but arranged them in order to retrospectively connect the isolated parts of the diary into a coherent "narrative" about the author's origin, artistic development and events in private life.

    Since for Székely, becoming an artist meant not only the acquisition of technical skills, but also building an artistic identity, the parts of the diary concomitantly documented his technical, artistic and personal development. The sketch-book did not simply record the development of his technical skills; its fictional (auto-)biographical series were also part of the gradual construction of the artist's identity. The painter's book registered pieces of advise and summarized various painting methods. At the same time, these notes also allowed him to compare his abilities and skills with those of other artists, to legitimize his choice of becoming a painter, to choose among artistic genres, and ways of living.

    The process of building up the identity of Székely as an artist developed in different stages, from the readings of fictional (auto-)biographical narratives in a first phase (attentively documented in the diary), to their experimental recreation in the form of fictional autobiographical series. These series demonstrate Székely's familiarity with contemporary visual and written (auto-)biographies recording the formation and development of a young personality, such as popular visual (auto-)biographies and fictional novels narrating the development of a young personality. Among these Bildungsromans, several belong to the sub-genre of Künstlerroman, which recorded the process of becoming an artist – be it a painter, an actor or a musician. In Künstlerromans, privacy and emotional life hold a crucial role in the process of becoming an artist: they form the basis of artistic creativity by fusing experience and its representation. These visual and written genres can be regarded as social and cultural models facilitating the identity building of an artist (i.e. a painter). This perspective helps us understand the function of Székely's numerous series representing private life of artists and sketches dealing with love-scenes, or mother-child relations. They document not only his artistic activities, but they also "record" and "visualize" experiences of his private life, as authentic expression of his privacy in his autobiographical construction.

    Finally, Székely's developed interest in various forms of biographies led him to the conscious construction of his own autobiography about his becoming an artist. Thus, based on the various parts of his diary written in the previous period, in 1861 Székely looked back to his own artistic and personal development, and retrospectively inserted into the diary sketches created in the previous years in order to compile a comprehensive 'narrative' of his artistic development and private life.

    Székely's "diary" thus developed into a complex autobiographical construction consisting of visual and written parts covering the formative period between 1855–1866. During this time, Székely transited from a student to a young artist completing his training, and finally to a nationally and internationally known artist. In his private life, he matured, fulfilling the roles of a lover, a husband and a father. The diary suggestively documents these interrelated processes. It can be read—from the beginning up to the end—as a 'narrative' of his own life from his origins to his artistic maturity, recording his early artistic achievements at the Viennese academy, his sketching tours, his wanderings, the years spent in Munich, exchanges of thoughts and methods with other artists, and the story of his love.

  • Bicskei Éva :

    Abstract

    Diary, visual autobiography, and Künstlerroman: Identity and privacy in the 'Juvenile Diary' of Bertalan Székely

    The article aims at reinterpreting the so-called "Juvenile Diary" of one of the greatest nineteenth-century Hungarian painters, Bertalan Székely, as an autobiographical construction. The diary has a very complex structure, originally consisting of isolated parts fulfilling different functions over the time. First, it served as a sketch-book (around 1855–56, see parts 1 and 2 in the diagram), later as a written painter's book (1858–1861, see part 3, and 1861–1866, see part 9). In the winter of 1861, Székely filled up the empty spaces in the diary with sketches made in the period 1855–1861 (see parts 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8). This heterogeneous structure of the "juvenile diary" puzzled many scholars, who could not reconcile the 'impersonal' methodological parts with the numerous 'personal' sketches. The article argues that the key to understanding the organization of the diary is offered by the function of the sketches added in 1861. Székely inserted them into the diary not only in a chronological order, but arranged them in order to retrospectively connect the isolated parts of the diary into a coherent "narrative" about the author's origin, artistic development and events in private life.

    Since for Székely, becoming an artist meant not only the acquisition of technical skills, but also building an artistic identity, the parts of the diary concomitantly documented his technical, artistic and personal development. The sketch-book did not simply record the development of his technical skills; its fictional (auto-)biographical series were also part of the gradual construction of the artist's identity. The painter's book registered pieces of advise and summarized various painting methods. At the same time, these notes also allowed him to compare his abilities and skills with those of other artists, to legitimize his choice of becoming a painter, to choose among artistic genres, and ways of living.

    The process of building up the identity of Székely as an artist developed in different stages, from the readings of fictional (auto-)biographical narratives in a first phase (attentively documented in the diary), to their experimental recreation in the form of fictional autobiographical series. These series demonstrate Székely's familiarity with contemporary visual and written (auto-)biographies recording the formation and development of a young personality, such as popular visual (auto-)biographies and fictional novels narrating the development of a young personality. Among these Bildungsromans, several belong to the sub-genre of Künstlerroman, which recorded the process of becoming an artist – be it a painter, an actor or a musician. In Künstlerromans, privacy and emotional life hold a crucial role in the process of becoming an artist: they form the basis of artistic creativity by fusing experience and its representation. These visual and written genres can be regarded as social and cultural models facilitating the identity building of an artist (i.e. a painter). This perspective helps us understand the function of Székely's numerous series representing private life of artists and sketches dealing with love-scenes, or mother-child relations. They document not only his artistic activities, but they also "record" and "visualize" experiences of his private life, as authentic expression of his privacy in his autobiographical construction.

    Finally, Székely's developed interest in various forms of biographies led him to the conscious construction of his own autobiography about his becoming an artist. Thus, based on the various parts of his diary written in the previous period, in 1861 Székely looked back to his own artistic and personal development, and retrospectively inserted into the diary sketches created in the previous years in order to compile a comprehensive 'narrative' of his artistic development and private life.

    Székely's "diary" thus developed into a complex autobiographical construction consisting of visual and written parts covering the formative period between 1855–1866. During this time, Székely transited from a student to a young artist completing his training, and finally to a nationally and internationally known artist. In his private life, he matured, fulfilling the roles of a lover, a husband and a father. The diary suggestively documents these interrelated processes. It can be read—from the beginning up to the end—as a 'narrative' of his own life from his origins to his artistic maturity, recording his early artistic achievements at the Viennese academy, his sketching tours, his wanderings, the years spent in Munich, exchanges of thoughts and methods with other artists, and the story of his love.

  • Perényi Roland :

    Abstract

    "The autobiography of Lajos H ., written by himself in the condemned cell:" The memoirs of a nineteenth-century robber and murderer

    Through the autobiography of a mid-nineteenth-century Hungarian robber and murderer, Louis Huszti, this study aims at presenting the course of life of an individual who aspired after social mobility but eventually became an outcast. Imprisoned in Debrecen in 1864, Huszti gave a brief account of the decisive events of his life in his narrative, written on the eve of his execution and published in the year of his execution, entitled "The autobiography of Lajos H ., written by himself in the condemned cell." A rarity, this criminal recollection is dominated by his wish to justify the committed crimes; in addition to a squandering grandfather, the major motives are deficient moral upbringing, the political turns of 1860–61 and poverty. Yet, when complemented with archival sources, the career that unfolds in the autobiography turns out to be distorting in several respects, and it also adds certain elements to the story reconstructed from the historical sources. Accordingly, for instance, this is how Huszti's post as first lieutenant during the 1848/49 Hungarian war of independence becomes part of the biography, and so does his claiming to have been a political prisoner, which no sources other than his autobiography refer to. The investigation of Huszti's course of life reveals that coming from an impoverished family of the lesser nobility, thanks to his schooling, without which he could not have become a clerk in the Hajdú district, he had substantially more alternatives than suggested in his narrative. This is supported by the point in Huszti's life when having committed two murders in his youth he had the opportunity to start his career anew, avoiding punishment and persecution – first as a private tutor, then following his father's example, as a farm manager. Then, in spite of his criminal past, the opportunity of social advancement was available for Huszti, who, nonetheless, continued to be incapable of overcoming his criminal inclination: it was between 1859 and 1861 that he committed the crimes for which he was executed eventually. Lajos Huszti's autobiography gives an insight into the course of life of a "gentleman criminal" who, besides the problems caused by the social and political transformation typical of the mid-nineteenth century, had to cope with his criminal leaning. At the same time, Huszti's life also exemplifies the opportunities an individual had for social advancement in Hungary undergoing modernization.

  • Fisli Éva :

    Abstract

    An unknown soldier: János Kurucz (1916–1951) – Attempt at a biography

    Being of peasant stock, János Kurucz, whose life is the subject of this study, was a citizen of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy; then over two decades later, he became one of the unknown soldiers of the Second Hungarian Army. Under higher orders – together with German, Italian, Slovak and other fellow-soldiers of diverse nations – he was sent to fight on the Russian front in 1942 and 1943. One month after the Soviet breakthrough of 12 January 1943, he started a diary, when, during the retreat, accompanied by an unknown friend, he kept breaking away from the march. This act of breaking away, at the same time, meant and presupposed independence and being outside the law. Although known to be religious, Kurucz was forced to transgress religious prescriptions, and his diary offers an insight into his inner world, while we can trace a series of individual decisions under extraordinary circumstances. With the help of the diary, the problem of obligations and liberty, or the observation of systems of norms can be investigated. Kurucz, as opposed to his nearly 120 thousand fellow Hungarians, returned from the bend of the Don, but becoming the victim of a disease contracted during the war, a hundred per cent disabled veteran, he died in 1951. My biography is an attempt to sketch the brief course of life of Kurucz from a tiny village of Somogy County on the road to the army, continuously shifting the perspective, relying on personal (family-related) and official sources alike.

  • Majtényi György :

    Abstract

    Memory and personality: On reconstruction of the life story

    Socio-statistical research tends to displace the individual as a subject of history. This essay intends to show how individuals actually perceive social changes and how social historians try to reconstruct the social reality from individual personal experiences. With an emphasis on narrative sources, this essay analyses the letters and memoirs of a woman who was afforded the opportunity to study in a program designed for worker and peasant students and acquire a profession in the post-World War II period in Hungary. Interviews with her provide us with valuable information and with a unique perspective through which to view this period.

    To interpret her memoirs properly it is crucial to understand that what she writes is not only a reconstruction of her own life story but also a reconstruction of her past and present. Life stories are in themselves forms of transitions (how we have become what we are); they are objects of reconstruction that act as interlocutors between remembering and creating. From an analysis of the narrated life story of the subject it is possible to draw conclusions concerning the questions of identity. As the author asks at the very beginning of the story: Who am I and why am I so?

    The author of the memoirs remembers seeking motivations for a purposeful future. Descriptions of apartments where she lived in the past represent the different chapters of her life story with which she was able to weave the events of her life into a coherent biography and give meanings to them. The "social facts" realized by the individuals can also be interpreted in a social historical context. Introducing an apartment dimension of life story could throw light on the advantages of the occupational mobility and also on how individuals perceived social change. Analysing the text of (so-called) subjective sources, personal motivations and emotions become accessible and help to document the individual reading of social mobility. But as the author states, the life strategies which social historians write on the basis of their "own knowledge" are not so much collective strategies as selections from individual life stories. Only self-reflexivity allows us to understand persons as active narrators of their own lives and helps us to know their own viewpoints.

  • Apor Péter :

    Abstract

    Immortalitas Imperator: The birth of the Pantheon of the Labour Movement in Budapest

    The present study concerns itself with the construction of the largest project in commemoration during the communist period of Hungarian history: the Pantheon of the Labour Movement in Budapest. The paper relates its birth to the return of historical consciousness after 1956. One of the main arguments for defining the anti-Stalinist uprising in 1956 as counterrevolution was the thesis that it meant a second edition of the counterrevolution and white terror after the fall of the First Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919. From the perspective of 1956, the events of 1919 meant the starting point of a special history. This historical narrative was based on the putative constant struggle between revolution and counterrevolution. This imagination made it possible to construct a continuous narrative of modern Hungarian history. However, as a story with a well-defined beginning and end the interpretation formulated a temporal process, thus ordering the past and the present according to the Enlightenment mode of historical consciousness. The sepulcher of the communist martyrs represented through the chronologically perceived sequence of the actual corpses this particular historical interpretation. Apart from that the study analyses the nature of this continuity and argues that communists attempted to create a perpetual and immortal continuity – corpus mysticum – that was independent of the individual characteristics of its constituents. This technique of representation permitted the party to claim its continuity from its foundation in 1918 and, at the same time, the discontinuity with the widely hated Rákosi-regime that was overthrown by the revolution in 1956. This body politic, however, existed only in its material representations, thus in intangible body natural. - the actual corpses and tombs. The study concludes that without the material form no fundamental identity for the exercise of power could be constructed.

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