Ignác Martinovics
Encyclopedia
Ignác Martinovics was a philosopher, political adventurer, and a leader of the Hungarian
Jacobin
movement. He was condemned to death for high treason and beheaded on 20 May 1795, along with Count Jacok Sigray, Ferenc Szentmarajay, Jöszeph Hajnoczy, and others.
school. He was a teacher in natural sciences at the University of Lemberg.
Martinovics worked as a secret agent for the Austrian Emperor Leopold II
until 1792. In his Oratio pro Leopoldo II he is explicit that only the authority that follows from a social contract
should be recognized; he saw the aristocracy as the enemy of mankind, because they prevented people from becoming educated. In another of his works, Catechism of People and Citizens, he argued that citizens tend to oppose any repression and that sovereignty resides with the people. He became a Freemason. He was in favour of a federal republic for Hungary. A member of the Hungarian Jacobins, he was considered an idealistic forerunner of revolutionary thought by some, and an unscrupulous adventurer by others. He was in charge of stirring up a revolt against the nobility among the Hungarian serfs. Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
dismissed Martinovics and his boss Gotthardi, the former chief of the secret police, for these subversive acts. He was executed, together with 40 other prominent Jacobins, in May 1795.
The masonic lodge of Budapest is named after him.
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
Jacobin
Jacobin
Jacobin may refer to:* Jacobin , a member of the Jacobin club, or political radical, generally* The Jacobin Club, a political club during the French Revolution* Jacobin , an American leftist political magazine....
movement. He was condemned to death for high treason and beheaded on 20 May 1795, along with Count Jacok Sigray, Ferenc Szentmarajay, Jöszeph Hajnoczy, and others.
Biography
Martinovics belonged to a Serbian family who had fled from Serbia in the 17th century. His mother was a German Catholic who sent him to a FranciscanFranciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
school. He was a teacher in natural sciences at the University of Lemberg.
Martinovics worked as a secret agent for the Austrian Emperor Leopold II
Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
Leopold II , born Peter Leopold Joseph Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard, was Holy Roman Emperor and King of Hungary and Bohemia from 1790 to 1792, Archduke of Austria and Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1765 to 1790. He was a son of Emperor Francis I and his wife, Empress Maria Theresa...
until 1792. In his Oratio pro Leopoldo II he is explicit that only the authority that follows from a social contract
Social contract
The social contract is an intellectual device intended to explain the appropriate relationship between individuals and their governments. Social contract arguments assert that individuals unite into political societies by a process of mutual consent, agreeing to abide by common rules and accept...
should be recognized; he saw the aristocracy as the enemy of mankind, because they prevented people from becoming educated. In another of his works, Catechism of People and Citizens, he argued that citizens tend to oppose any repression and that sovereignty resides with the people. He became a Freemason. He was in favour of a federal republic for Hungary. A member of the Hungarian Jacobins, he was considered an idealistic forerunner of revolutionary thought by some, and an unscrupulous adventurer by others. He was in charge of stirring up a revolt against the nobility among the Hungarian serfs. Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until 6 August 1806, when he dissolved the Empire after the disastrous defeat of the Third Coalition by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz...
dismissed Martinovics and his boss Gotthardi, the former chief of the secret police, for these subversive acts. He was executed, together with 40 other prominent Jacobins, in May 1795.
The masonic lodge of Budapest is named after him.