The Intellectual Biography of a Scientist: Fragments of the Life and Creation of Istvan Mandoki

Abstract

The study of the creative path and scientific legacy of scientists occupies a special place in the subject field of intellectual history — one of the most dynamically developing areas of contemporary historical science. Thus, the need to study this topic is conditioned by the growing interest of the scientific community in the biographies of scientists as carriers of scientific and cultural knowledge. At the present stage, researchers are increasingly focusing on issues such as the role of the historian’s personality in the development of scientific problems, the social functions and role of the historian in modern society. In this context, the biography and work of István Mandoki are of particular interest. The article is devoted to the intellectual biography of the renowned Hungarian scholar, Turkologist, and European Kipchak expert István Konyár Mandoki, author of a fundamental work on the remnants of the Kipchak language in Hungarian and many other works on the history, culture, and language of the Turkic peoples, born in the city of Karcag. The scientific novelty of this article lies in the historical understanding and interpretation of István Mandoki’s rich legacy in terms of the interdisciplinary methodology of new biographical history. The article examines the life and scientific activity, the main directions of creativity and scientific research of István Mandoki, and analyzes his contribution to Turkology and Kipchak studies. The aim of the study is to reveal the mechanisms of exchange, dissemination, and influence of the scientist’s ideas on the professional historical community by referring to the intellectual phenomenon of I. Mandoki, his professional biography, and his work.