Sámuel Teleki and Janus Pannonius

Count Sámuel Teleki (1739–1822) was, by all accounts, a “Neo-Latinist”. His love for the written word went beyond his book collection, which is now preserved in the Teleki Library in Târgu Mureș / Marosvásárhely. He is also one of the most important editors of the Hungarian Neo-Latin writer Janus Pannonius; after twenty years of preliminary work, Teleki prepared the first editio of the poet’s opera omnia. This text, which was published in Utrecht in 1784, contributed to the revival of Janus and has been constantly used by researchers over the years—nearly up until modern times. The editio exhibits some excellent philological achievements. Not only is Teleki responsible for the first collatio of some very important manuscripts and editions of Janus, but he also completed the edition with a biography and a collection of valuable historical testimonies. My proposal thus aims both to present both the work of Sámuel Teleki and analyse his editio of Janus.