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HUNGARY (LANGUAGE.) 



of Eastern Europe, until they reached a 

 country with a settled constitution and a consolidated 

 government (Germany, under Henry I. and Otho I.), 

 which set bounds to Uieir warlike incursions (in 955). 

 From this period, the attention of the people, previ- 

 ously occupied with external subjects, began to be 

 turned inward upon itself. The civilization of the 

 Magyars commenced, and advanced so rapidly that, 

 in less than fifty years, the domestic and foreign 

 security of the kingdom was established, industry 

 awakened, milder manners introduced, and the na- 

 tion prepared for the reception of Christianity; but, 

 instead of being contented with this gradual progress, 

 and awaiting the natural development of the na- 

 tional character, Stephen I. and most of his succes- 

 sors imprudently endeavoured to hasten the progress. 

 The discontents caused by this policy were increased 

 by the frequent admission of foreigners into the cleri- 

 cal and noble orders, by the exaltation of the clergy 

 to the highest rank in the kingdom, by the preference 

 given to the Latin over the national language, not 

 only in the church, but in judicial proceedings, legal 

 documents, and forms. These circumstances gave 

 rise to an opposition, which, though checked, in 

 some degree, by the prudent measures of the princes 

 of the house of Anjou, in the 14th century, was after- 

 wards continually renewed. The Latin language 

 predominated in this country, as it did at that time 

 in every country which had reached any degree of 

 civilization ; but in Hungary it has, from obvious 

 causes, continued prevalent to the present day, while 

 in other nations it is employed only as an instrument 

 of learning. The use of a dead language in common 

 life, as well as on all scientific subjects, could neither 

 be advantageous to the language itself, to the general 

 improvement of the people, nor to the national litera- 

 ture. Notwithstanding these disadvantages, some 

 buds of literature from time to time unfolded them- 

 selves, and native genius, though chained, would 

 sometimes attain distinction; yet how much greater 

 would have been the results, if the spirit of the nation 

 had been permitted a free development of its pecu- 

 liarities, under the influence of national manners ! 

 As early as the eleventh century, several monastic 

 and episcopal schools were founded, and the students 

 were numerous. In the twelfth century, many young 

 men, particularly those destined for the church, were 

 sent to Paris, where the university had just been 

 erected. In the beginning of the thirteenth century, 

 the first studium generate was established at Wes- 

 sprim, a university modelled after that of Paris : it 

 was much frequented. This studium generate was 

 afterwards revived, and at a later period one was 

 established at Buda. In 1473, the printing press 

 was brought into Hungary. In the sixteenth century, 

 the number of schools was much increased, particu- 

 larly among the Protestants ; and the situatioli of the 

 country would have been very different, had not the 

 Protestants been persecuted by the Catholics, and 

 had not Hungary fallen under the sway of the Haps- 

 burgs, and thus become merely a part of a great em- 

 pire, to whose true interests little attention was paid. 

 We cannot refrain from expressing a wish, that one 

 consequence of the present commotions in Europe 

 may be the establishment of an independent govern- 

 ment in H ungary, whose natural advantages are at 

 present paralyzed by a government unable to provide 

 tor the general welfare of the heterogeneous mass 

 under its rule. Hungary can boast of many distin- 

 guished writers in the Latin language, at this early 

 period ; but this exotic literature had so little influ- 

 ence on the nation at large, that, though it had 

 attained a high degree of excellence in the time of 

 Matthias Corvinus, yet many of the higher officers 

 of the kingdom could neither write nor read, in the 



reign of his successor, Ladislaus II. (1491). In (lie 

 eleventh century, with the introduction of Christianity 

 in Hungary, the Latin language acquired the ascen- 

 dency in the church, in schools and public affairs; yet 

 the Hungarian was used in commerce, in the camp, 

 and even the resolutions of the diet were first drawn 

 up in Hungarian. When the missionaries addressed 

 the people in Latin, an interpreter was usually pre- 

 sent ; and there are several relics of poetry, sacred 

 eloquence, and state papers, extant in Hungarian. 

 A new impulse was given to this language, on the 

 accession of the house of Anjou to the throne of Hun- 

 gary. The Latin was indeed still the language of 

 church and state ; but the Hungarian became the 

 language of the court. Documents were drawn up 

 in Hungarian, and the Hungarian oath, in thecorpiu 

 juris Hung., dates from this time. The Holy Scrip- 

 tures were translated into Hungarian ; in the 

 imperial library of Vienna, there is a MS. translation, 

 of 1382 ; and, in spite of the violent opposition of the 

 inquisitores hereticez pravitatis, several translations 

 were published. In 1465, Janus Pannonius wrote a 

 Hungarian grammar, which is lost. The sixteenth 

 century was favourable to Hungarian literature, 

 through the religious disputes in the country, the 

 sacred, martial, and popular songs, as well as by the 

 histories written and published for the people, and 

 the multiplied translations of the Bible. It then 

 reached a degree of perfection which it retained until 

 the latter part of the eighteenth century. A large 

 number of grammars and dictionaries were printed 

 from the sixteenth century to the eighteenth. But 

 the hopes of the further development of Hungarian 

 literature were not realized ; a Latin period again 

 succeeded, from 1700 to 1780, during which time 

 numerous and finished works were composed in Latin 

 by Hungarian writers. In 1721, a Latin newspaper 

 was established, and the state calendar, which com- 

 menced in 1726, was, and continues to be in Latin. 

 In 1781, the first Hungarian newspaper was printed 

 in Presburg. At present there are two, one in Vien- 

 na, the other in Pesth. When Joseph II. died, many 

 violent yet bloodless changes were made in the Hun- 

 garian constitution, and several laws were passed in 

 favour of the Hungarian language. It was required 

 to be used in all public proceedings. Courses of 

 lectures were delivered in Hungarian in some of the 

 schools, and it was taught in all of them. Several 

 periodicals were established, Hungarian theatres 

 erected in Buda and Pesth, many works were written 

 on the grammar of the language, &c. ; but these 

 measures were gradually pursued with less zeal. 

 See Bowring's Specimens of the Poetry of the Mag- 

 yars. 



Hungarian Language. The language of the 

 Magyars, as spoken and written at present in Hun- 

 gary, is a phenomenon in philology well worthy of 

 study, and the knowledge of it unlocks rich stores for 

 the philosophical historian and philologist. As the 

 Magyars belonged to the great tribe, which was 

 spread from the south-western part of Asia on the 

 Caspian sea, to the north-eastern extremity of 

 Europe, to Finland, of whose branches transplanted 

 to Europe (as the Uzi, Polovtzes, Avars, Chazars. 

 Petschenegues, &c.), only one has taken deep root ; 

 so the Magyarian language is derived from the lan- 

 guage which is common to that great tribe, arid 

 which comprises the Semitic and Finnish tongues. 

 This view, as Niclas Revai has shown, settles the 

 long dispute among the learned, whether the Hunga- 

 rian language is allied to the Lapland and Finland 

 language, as some maintain (Rudbeck, Eccard, Ihre, 

 Hell, Sajnovits, Gatterer, Schloezer, Busching, 

 Hagen, and particularly Gyarmathi), or to the Orien- 

 tal languages, as others assert (Otroktosi, CSrtel, K.'ii- 



