The Circulation of Utopian Ideals in Hungary

Abstract

The influence of Thomas More’s Utopia and the presence of utopian ideals in Hungary can be observed well before More’s book was first translated in 1910, or the term utopia appeared in a written form in Hungarian. This chapter maps the various aspects of this influence and gives an overview of the most relevant utopian writings. The main context of the early utopias in Hungary is the religious tensions in the sixteenth century, and utopian literature develops through the influence of Thomas More’s book and through such foreign writers as Jacobus Paleologus and Johannes Comenius. Enlightenment gave an impetus to utopian literature, which never became prevailing in Hungary, yet the oeuvres of major writers such as Bessenyei, Madách, Jókai, Karinthy, and Babits include important utopian pieces. This chapter maps the development of Hungarian utopian literature until the early nineteenth century when the first proper utopian writing in Hungarian was written. Apart from an overview of these works, the controversial translation history of Thomas More’s eponymous work is also discussed.

Shrank, C., and P. Withington. Eds. In Press. The Oxford Handbook of Thomas More’s Utopia. Oxford: Oxford University Press.