Lajos Domokos (1728–1803)

Opponent of Vienna

Lajos Domokos dedicated his life to the service of Debrecen just like his father, Márton Domokos, had done. Private student of István Hatvani, Domokos later conducted his studies at the university of Utrecht.

The exquisitely learned intellectual, who spoke and wrote in several languages, was first appointed chief justice in 1774. He was consistent in opposing Maria Theresa’s and Joseph II’s absolutist plans, challenging the efforts of Catholic Restoration, as well as any edicts on centralisation and Germanisation. His belligerent character and dedication to the sovereignty of Debrecen led the Habsburg court to believe he would be capable of starting an insurrection, so in 1786, under the pressure of the emperor, he was removed from his post of chief justice. In 1790, after Joseph II’s death he was again invited to lead the cívis town, which he turned down citing his old age as a reason. He was present in the national assemblies of 1790–1792 as a representative of Bihar county, active in the fight for the recognition of the Hungarian language. His contemporaries granted him the title ‘champion protector of the freedom of the Protestant faith and the Hungarian language’.

As chief warden of the Reformed College he introduced several innovations such as the establishment of the faculties of Law and Philosophy, and the official language of education, which was Hungarian from 1795. In the age of language reform he opposed Ferenc Kazinczy and company’s ideas basing his arguments on ancient elements of the Hungarian language, in line with which he participated in the compilation of Debrecen Grammar. He was heavily influenced by the Enlightenment, translating François Fénelon’s moral and political didactic novel into Hungarian entitled The Adventures of Telemachus, Son of Ulysses.