Four Great Hungarians Seen Through the Glasses of a Foreigner

Harald Pöcher

doi:10.17047/HADTUD.2025.35.E.105

Harald Pöcher https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5147-739X

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17047/HADTUD.2025.35.E.105

Keywords: great Hungarians heroes, Matthias Corvinus, Francis II. Rákóczi, Count István Széchenyi, Miklós Zrínyi evaluation

Abstract

Compatriots of important persons always find it difficult to judge the work and the aftermath of historical figures, because national patriotic feelings resonate too much, according to the motto “Our heroes are the greatest”. It is therefore always good for foreigners who have a solid knowledge of the achievements of such persons to be judged to look at them through their own glasses. The author does not presume to be the person who can achieve this objective all-encompassingly, however, through his many years of studying Hungarian culture, history, and daily life, he believes that he can at least understand the Hungarian soul a little better and heat least makes an attempt to appraise the achievements of four great Hungarians –Matthias Corvinus, Francis II. Rákóczi, Count István Széchenyi and Miklós Zrínyi. The author will also give a brief presentation of the merits of the selected great Hungarians in each criterion.

References

The essay is essentially based on essays by the author on Zrínyi Miklós, Matthias Corvinus and István Széchenyi, written in German for the Austrian military journal (Österreichische Militärische Zeitschrift – ÖMZ)

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Pöcher Harald 2010. Miklós Zrínyi (1620–1664) „sors bona, nihil aliud“ Staatsmann, Poet, Feldherr und Gründungsvater der ungarischen Militärwissenschaften. ÖMZ 2/2010.

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