The Awakening of Magyar Nationalism before 1848

Abstract

It has been said that Magyar nationalism was the chief disintegrating force in the Habsburg empire. This statement2 obviously refers to the period when integral nationalism was one of the major centrifugal force3 tearing the Dual Monarchy apart. As Hans Kohn has suggested, “Only nineteenth century nationalism stressed the Magyar character of the multiracial kingdom,” since previously the Holy Crown of St. Stephen rather than the Magyar nationality was the symbol of the Hungarian nation.4 Indeed, that often quoted admonition of the founder of the Hungarian state, “unius linguae uniusque moris regnum imbecille et fragile et,”5 can be interpreted in such a way as to place the emphasis on the a priori multinational character of the medieval Hungarian state and feudal nation. It is ironical that a recent school of Hungarian political writers has endeavored to use even the “idea of St.