Emlékezet és identitás a 17. század második felének magyar puritán irodalmában

Erdős, Zoltán (2016) Emlékezet és identitás a 17. század második felének magyar puritán irodalmában. SIC ITUR AD ASTRA : FIATAL TÖRTÉNÉSZEK FOLYÓIRATA (65). pp. 111-132. ISSN 0238-4779 (print); 2732-009X (online)

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Abstract

The aim of this study is to reconstruct the role historical memory could play in the formation of national identity at the end of the early modern period. The main source material of this inquiry consists of the Puritan religious literature of the late 17th century. As for historical memory, the theoretical framework of the article is based on the theories of Maurice Halbwachs, Jan Assmann and Harald Weinrich; as for the concept of nation characteristic of this period, the approaches of Jenő Szűcs and Anthony D. Smith are used. The texts in question used historical examples and references for a variety of purposes (to delight, to provide moral guidelines and to educate) and set them in a variety of contexts. Solely on an analytical basis, three types of discourse can be separated. Firstly, the events and characters of Hungarian history were presented within the framework of the history of salvation. Secondly, the adequate understanding of the past (the Jewish-Hungarian parallels, the continuity of the empire or the theory of fatal periods) aided the understanding of the nation’s destiny. Finally, the past could provide a fertile ground for contemporary political discourses and a basis for particular political programmes. These discourses – combining a variety of ele-ments stressed disparately – were connected and often intertwined, hence serving as a positive basis for the formation of national identity.

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