Egy 18. század végi életút eszmetörténeti értelmezésének lehetőségei – Debreczeni Bárány Péter
Intellectual History in the Interpretation of an Eighteenth-Century Life: Péter Debreczeni Bárány

Summary/Abstract: Péter Debreczeni Bárány’s life is an example for a peculiar career type around the turn of the eighteenth century. At first sight, Bárány, a Catholic man of wide social network connections and a past overshadowed by troubles with censorship, seems to have had an atypical career, especially in the light of comparing and contextualising his political oeuvre and career. At the same time, examining his political writings in the light of his social and political functions may also provide insight into the characteristics of the political thinking of the age. Bárány’s life history shows the possibilities and limitations of microhistorical research into intellectual history. It sheds light on how social and intellectual history may merge in the analysis of a non-canonical figure of a given historical period and how this may affect our understanding of the canon. This entails research into the history of ideas, the adaptation mechanisms of the period and a peculiar mixture of political idioms. A perfect example for all these is a translation by Bárány, which reflects an interesting concept of Enlightenment and an unusual interpretation of political and social order.

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