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Bartholomeides’s Portrayal of the Enlightenment Ruler

100%

Brtáňová E.

Poznańskie Studia Slawistyczne

2018

issue 15

The intensity of the literary movement that took place in the Slovak territory integrated within the Kingdom of Hungary due to the Enlightenment policy of the ruler Joseph II can be properly illustrated by the genre-varied works of Ladislav Bartholomeides, an Evangelical priest and teacher. His first literary work Rozmlouvání Jozefa Druhého s Matějem Prvním Korvínus řečeným v království zemřelých, 1790 (The Conversation of Joseph II with Matthias I, Called Corvinus in the Kingdom of the Dead, 1790) is, in the first place, a significant evidence of the impact of the antique dialogue on the Slovak literary works. Bartholomeides updates the conversation of the dead, a popular genre form of the Enlightenment literature. Based on his predecessors’ assertions, he shapes the image of Joseph II as a clever and kind-hearted ruler. The Hungarian monarchs that Joseph II meets after his death defend his Enlightenment reforms. A critical reflection can be heard from Joseph’s lips. In terms of the contemporary Enlightenment writing, Bartholomeides put emphasis on the aesthetic category of “ingenuity”. In his attempt at an objectified interpretation of Joseph II’s political actions, he appeals also to his compatriots’ national sentiments. By the fact that the relationship of the Hungarian rulers with the Slavic ethnicity and its language is positive, he indirectly encourages them to cultivate their mother tongue. He gives the conversation also distinctive religious characteristics, he points out the connection between the earthly and the eternal life, since it is only immortality that gives purpose to the ruler’s earthly journey.

The reading ideal and reading preferences in the age of Joseph II

83%

Kollárová I.

Human Affairs

2013

vol. 23

issue 3

344-358

When censorship was reformed during the era of Joseph II publishing and the book trade underwent a liberalisation. Enlightenment conceptions helped create the image of the ideal reader-someone who reads to acquire knowledge or to improve his spiritual life. During the reign of Joseph II reading spread to all social strata, but readers’ preferences did not follow a reading ideal. This is demonstrated by significant urban-rural disparities. The publishing projects of the Protestant elite met with failure in the distribution phase and with the indifference country people displayed towards spiritual literature. This relates to several other social phenomena such as literacy and living conditions. Archival sources, which are relevant to lending library research, indicate the reading preferences of the urban classes. An uncontrollable reading mania targeted literature and short political and anticlerical writing, which triggered public discussions on the dangers of uncontrolled reading. The print medium helped shape a “reading public“, whose reading activities occupied an area between mainstream cultural consumption and the dissemination of political news.

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Bartholomeides’s Portrayal of the Enlightenment Ruler

The reading ideal and reading preferences in the age of Joseph II