National Romanticism: The Formation of National Movements

Johann Majláth: An examination of the question: whether to annex the Carpathian Slavs and Ruthenians to the Magyars

JOHANN MAJLÁTH: AN EXAMINATION OF THE QUESTION: WHETHER TO ANNEX THE CARPATHIAN SLAVS AND RUTHENIANS TO THE MAGYARS Title: Beleuchtung der Frage, ob die karpatischen Szlaven und Ruthenen wieder den Magyaren zuzuteilen, oder als sebstständige Distrikte nach ihrer Nationalität zu behandeln sind (An examination of the question: whether to annex the Carpathian Slavs and Ruthenians to the Magyars or to deal with them as autonomous districts according to nationality) Originally published: The text was an internal memo for the imperial government and was therefore not published at the time of its origin Language: German The excerpts used are from Daniel Rapant, ed., Slovenské povstanie 1848– 1849, Vol. III., Part 2., (Bratislava: SAV, 1954), pp. 532–534. About the author Count Johann (János) Majláth [1786, Pest – 1855, Starnberg (Bavaria)]: landowner , historian, publicist and politician. Majláth came from an aristocratic family originating from Transylvania but settled in Upper Hungary since the seventeenth century. After finishing university studies in philosophy and law, he was employed in the Hungarian governmental offices in Buda and Vienna. Later he turned to historical studies and literature. During the 1840s he worked for the Hungarian literary almanac Aurora and edited the German-language Iris. Politically he belonged to the conservative camp opposing the Hungarian reform movement, especially the radical current led by Lajos Kossuth. He was in favor of cooperation between the Hungarian political elite and the Court of Vienna; he was therefore critical of the prevalent anti-Habsburg undertones of Hungarian politics and also supported national tolerance in Hungary. In 1848 Majláth moved from Hungary to Vienna and later to Munich . He remained an advocate of the unified Habsburg monarchy and of the conservative political system built on a loyal supra-national bureaucracy. Ravaged by political failures, problems with family estates and personal troubles, he committed suicide in 1855. Majláth wrote several historical compilations on the history of Hungary , Europe and Vienna and on the religious question in Hungary. He collected indigenous Hungarian tales and legends and published a Hungarian textbook for German speakers. He also published poetry and translations from Hungarian to German and compiled the first German-language history of Hungarian poetry. Main works: Magyarische Sagen und Märchen [Hungarian sagas and tales] (1825); Magyarische Gedichte [Hungarian poems] (1825); Geschichte der Magyaren JOHANN MAJLÁTH: AN EXAMINATION OF THE QUESTION 263 [History of the Magyars], 5 vols., (1828–31); Über die Krönung der Könige in Ungarn [Concerning the coronation of the kings in Hungary] (1830); Geschichte der Stadt Wien von der Gründung derselben bis 1830 [History of Vienna from its foundation till 1830] (1832); Geschichte des österreichischen Kaiserhauses [History of the Austrian Imperial House], 5 vols., (1834–50); Vallásmozgalmak Magyarországban [Religious movements in Hungary] 2 vols., (1844–46); Geschichte der europäischen Staaten [History of the European states] (1853). Context Federalism was a principle of re-organization contemplated by different political camps in the 1840s, usually promoted by circles opposed to the Habsburg Court. The revolutionary atmosphere in 1848 created a space in which these programs and their political, social and cultural consequences were discussed. The federalization of the monarchy, promoted especially by the Slavic nations and the Romanians, was seen for some time as a possible way out of the current crisis. The principles of federalization as well as the concrete design of the future state were earnestly discussed not only on the floor of the Imperial Diet in Kremsier (Cz. Kroměříž) but also in the press. In the autumn of 1848 the existence of the monarchy was in question and the Imperial government concentrated on fighting first the revolution in Vienna and later that in Hungary. After the defeat of the revolutionary uprising in Prague in June 1848, the conflict between the two strongest political forces in the Austrian monarchy reached its peak. The camp of the Hungarian revolutionaries was also divided, but the position of Lajos Kossuth, advocating a radical administrative separation from Vienna, became increasingly influential . In response, the Imperial Court and the general staff, after initial hesitation , became increasingly inclined to suppress the Hungarian revolution and restore unity and ‘order’ in the monarchy via military intervention. In this situation new ideological tools were sought to secure the Monarchy from ‘Hungarian radicalism,’ and federalism—originally the weapon of the critics of the Habsburg government—became instrumentalized by the Court as well. A division of Hungary into ‘national provinces’ and their direct formal and legal integration into the Habsburg...