Joseph Deguinges, Georgius Pray, and the Reshaping of the Hungarian National Identity in the Eighteenth Century

Abstract

Georg Pray, a Jesuit professor (1723-1801), studied the early history of the Hungarians on the basis of the work of Joseph Deguignes, identifying differences among the Huns, Avars, and Hungarians. He made use of the famous work Gesta Hungarorum of Master P. (P. dictus magister), or the Hungarian Anonymous, in his work and held the view that Hungarian is a Finno-Ugric language.