Hungarian Late Medieval Sovereigns in the “Austrian Plutarch” by Joseph von Hormayr. Images and their Place in the Historical Discourse of the Habsburg Monarchy (1807–1812)

Abstract

This paper deals with the early attempts of historical discourse construction in the Habsburg Monarchy. They have found an embodiment in creation of narratives aimed to consolidate the peoples of various legal status and identity development level. The author of this article attempts to reveal the images of late medieval Hungarian monarchs in the Habsburg historical discourse of the early nineteenth century. The material chosen for this analysis was the twenty-volume Austrian Plutarch by Joseph von Hormayr. The work was intended to be a history of all Habsburg possessions. To achieve this, Hormayr chronicled those he considered to be the most significant historical characters of the empire: monarchs, ministers, warlords, scientists, and artists. Besides Habsburg sovereigns and Austrian German celebrities, representatives of the non-Germanic peoples of the Empire received significant attention as well. Hormayr had a special view of Hungary; the political situation in Europe and the Empire caused the whole identity policy and relations between the Crown and Hungarian estates to be reviewed. Hormayr did not produce a separate chapter for Hungarian monarchs, but he presented the Austro-Hungarian neighbourhood as dynamic and justified the inclusion of Hungary in the Habsburg Monarchy. Narratives devoted to the late Middle Ages in the Austrian Plutarch were written to prove this thesis. Furthermore, Hormayr used the general threat image to justify the unification of Austria and Hungary into single empire. According to Hormayr, it was intended to protect each ethnic community and identity from the “Turkish threat” on the European stage. Hormayr used the images of János Hunyadi, Ladislaus Posthumus, Matthias Corvinus, Vladislav II, and Louis II to demonstrate the role of Hungary in repelling the Ottoman threat and to justify the integration of Austria and Hungary as a sensible political and historical decision. The material was at the top of the agenda during the Napoleonic wars and was used to mobilize all the ethnic groups living in the empire against the French threat.