Nation-Building and Contested Identities: Romanian & Hungarian ...

The Intellectual Horizons of LiberalNationalism in Hungary:The Case of Mihály Horváth (1809-1878)MÓNIKA BAÁRAhistorian from Central and Eastern Europe who accomplished hisoeuvre in the 19 th century might well be associated with irrationalideas, problems of ethnicity and national messianism. The historical thinkingof Mihály Horváth, however, challenges these clichés. At the sametime, it also raises more general questions about the nature and the varietyof nationalist historiography in this region. In the following, someaspects of Horváth’s scholarly works are scrutinized, with special attentionto themes that might throw light on the uncommon aspects of hishistorical writing as compared to his contemporaries.Born in 1809, Horváth was the fourth child in a family of 17 children.Though the family once belonged to the lower nobility, by the time of hisbirth, they were rather poor. This fact affected Horváth’s future carrier.He pursued his studies in a seminary – a choice which was most likely notmotivated by a strong vocation for the priesthood. Since this option providedthe sole opportunity for higher education, it was probably a more decisivestimulus. Horváth’s interest in contemporary politics arose whilst inschool (this was a time when the Hungarian counties started their resistanceagainst the policies of the Habsburg government) and perhaps this interestinspired him to examine the historical aspects of that period. After Horváthwas ordained, several poorly-paid positions followed. In the following sevenyears, he was alternately a private tutor and an assistant priest, neither positionoffering him the respect and independence he longed.Horváth regularly devoted time to historical research, but thisactivity was often subordinated to the time and energy-consumingattempts to earn a living. Indeed, the motif of “self-support” appearsnot only in his life but also in his works. It is not a coincidence that oneof his favorite personalities in Hungarian history was Cardinal Martinuzzi,a 16 th century statesman with a career that was exceptional forthose days. He was born as a serf and achieved a high political positiondue to his own talent and efforts (and as a member of the clergy). Also,in a later work, Horváth applied this theme to the political circumstancesin Hungary between 1809-1849:21