József Dessewffy

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József Count Dessewffy of Csernek ( Partium , Hungary , today Cernuc , Romania ) and Tarko ( Upper Hungary , now Kamenica , Slovakia ) (*  13. February 1771 in Krivany ( County Saris , Upper Hungary, now Krivany , Slovakia); †  2. May 1843 in Pest (Hungary)) was a Hungarian lawyer, politician and writer who wrote both poetic and political writings. He was a deputy in Ständetag , panel judge in several counties , as well as director and honorary member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences .

Life

József Graf Dessewffy , portrait by Johann Ender , 1827

József Graf Dessewffy was born in 1771 as the son of the Imperial Chamberlain István Graf Dessewffy and the Imperial and Royal Star Cross Order Lady Anna Mária Vécsey . His mother died after giving birth; then Count Dessewffy was brought up in a patriotic spirit by his aunt Karolina Szirmay .

At the age of 9, Count Dessewffy went to the high school in Kaschau . At first he was not a very good student, but this changed when the Piarist monk Károly Koppi, who was close to the Freemasons,  became his teacher and got him enthusiastic about literature and Hungarian history. Count Dessewffy followed Koppi to Klausenburg and Pest , where he attended a high school of the Piarist Order. His love for poetry from classical antiquity was particularly promoted there, but he also received extensive training in philosophy, mathematics, aesthetics, natural sciences, economics and history, which should make him one of the most important intellectuals in Hungary during the reform period .

After a course in philosophy, Count Dessewffy studied law in Košice. He then accompanied Count Mihaly Sztáray , the chief clan of Saboltsch County , to the Standing Day in Buda and gained his first political experience. In 1792 he was admitted as a lawyer and initially worked as a volunteer for the provincial regent of St. Vitus am Flaum , Sándor Pászthory . Since the work did not meet his expectations, he soon left this position and traveled to Italy in 1793 , where he again dealt with poetry and fine arts.

In the First Coalition War , he made a name for himself as a captain in the fight against France on the Hungarian side from 1795 and therefore enjoyed great trust after the end of the war through the peace of Campo Formio in 1797.

He then retired to his estates back and worked since then as a scholar, writer, panel judge and the stalls days as an envoy of the nobility of several counties (1802 Saris , 1805 and 1807 Zemplín , 1811 and 1825 Saboltsch ). In 1807 he was secretary of the Standing Day in Buda for a short time .

On September 25, 1806, Count Dessewffy Eleonóra married Countess Sztáray , daughter of Count Mihaly Sztáray  . Not only did he inherit large estates from his father, but also considerable debts that burdened him throughout his life.

Count Dessewffy was involved in the founding of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences under István Count Széchenyi from 1825 and also in the design of the academy building. On November 11, 1830 he became director of the academy and on February 15, 1831 its honorary member.

Count Dessewffy died in Pest on May 2, 1843.

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Throughout his entire political career, Count Dessewffy was not only repeatedly active as a poet and writer, but was also in constant contact with fellow scholars and writers. His relationship with the Hungarian poet Ferenc Kazinczy was particularly close, as was he a Freemason  , to whom he was a loyal friend and patron. The very extensive correspondence between Count Dessewffy and Kazinczy was published posthumously. Kazinczy was also the principal author in Felső Magyar-Országi Minerva (" Upper Hungarian Minerva "), a quarterly literary magazine founded by Count Dessewffy in 1825 and which was involved in all major Hungarian literary debates and intellectual life until it was discontinued in 1836 Hungary and Europe critically accompanied with high-quality texts.

Politically, Count Dessewffy was a conservative who tried to preserve the privileges of the nobility. Although he had celebrated Count István Széchenyi in 1825 for the establishment and financial support of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences with the Ode A 'Szép Példa ("A noble example") in Felső Magyar-Országi Minerva and then worked with him on the implementation, he opposed the further reform efforts of the circle around Count Széchenyi and Nikolaus Freiherr Wesselényi von Hadad . When Count Széchenyi published the important reform paper Hitel (German: Ueber den Credit ) in 1830 , in which he branded remnants of feudalism such as serfdom and the inalienability of aristocratic property as obstacles on the way to the economic modernization of Hungary, Count Dessewffy referred in his book A “ Hitel “czímű munka taglalatja (German: Zergliederung des Werks : Ueber den Credit ) 1831 in a sharp tone against this position and especially defended serfdom.

Works (selection)

  • Poetry and factual texts on historical, linguistic and economic topics in: Mihály Dulházy (Ed.): Felső Magyar-Országi Minerva . ("Upper Hungarian Minerva"). Kaschau ( eMag [accessed on February 4, 2011] quarterly publication 1825-1836).
  • Breakdown of the work: About the credit . Carl Werfer, Kaschau 1831 (300 pages, limited preview in the Google book search - Hungarian: A "Hitel" czímű munka taglalatja . Translated by S. v. Ludvigh).
  • About freedom of the press and censorship of books . in general and with particular reference to Hungary. Weygand'sche Buchhandlung, Leipzig 1831 (64 pages).
  • Bizodalmas Levelezése Kazinczy Ferenczczel 1793–1831 . (“Confidential correspondence with Ferencz Kazinczy 1793–1831”). In: Gábor Kazinczy (ed.): Irodalmi Hagyományai . ("Literary Legacy"). tape 1 . Gusztáv Heckenast , Pest 1860 (388 p., Limited preview in the Google book search).
  • Bizodalmas Levelezése Kazinczy Ferenczczel 1793–1831 . (“Confidential correspondence with Ferencz Kazinczy 1793–1831”). In: Gábor Kazinczy (ed.): Irodalmi Hagyományai . ("Literary Legacy"). tape 2 . Gusztáv Heckenast , Pest 1861 (412 p., Limited preview in Google Book Search).

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  1. ↑ Mihály Dulházy (Ed.): Felső Magyar-Országi Minerva . ("Upper Hungarian Minerva"). 1st year, no. 4 . Kaschau December 1825, p. 501–505 ( eMag [accessed February 4, 2011]).

literature

Individual evidence

  • Quotes by Éva H. Balázs from: Éva H. Balázs : Hungary and the Habsburgs 1765–1800 . An experiment in enlightened absolutism . 1st edition. Central European University Press , Budapest 1997, ISBN 963-9116-03-3 ( eBook (excerpt) [accessed February 3, 2011]).
  1. ↑ " A Piarist freemason is a strange combination but Koppi 's was not the only such instance ", page 294
  2. ↑ " The older masons also gave some thought to the rising generation [...] József Dessewffy , as well as Kazinczy , were introduced early on as 'apprentices' and then 'masters' " ", page 271
  1. ↑ " Main purpose was to create a cultured reading public for Hungarian literature by publishing literary and learned articles of high quality. Involved in every major literary controversy of the time and followed the literary and learned life of Hungary and Europe critically. Ferenc Kazinczy was the most important contributor ”, page 711 f.
  • Evidence from the web:
  1. ^ Family tree of the Sztáray family (entry A5-B2 , accessed on March 12, 2011).

Remarks

  1. ↑ In the German translations of the books by Count Széchenyi and Count Dessewffy , subjects are spoken of, whereas the Hungarian original speaks of serfs.
personal data
SURNAME Dessewffy, József
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dessewffy, József Graf (with title); Dessewffy, Joseph (German); Dessewffy, Joseph Graf (German with title)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Hungarian lawyer, politician and writer
DATE OF BIRTH February 13, 1771
PLACE OF BIRTH Krivany
DATE OF DEATH May 2, 1843
Place of death pest