Gyula Moravcsik und der Orden Pour le Mérite für Wissenschaften und Künste

Abstract Gyula Moravcsik remains the most renowned Hungarian Byzantinologist to date. However, his scholarly work and academic virtues were not only appreciated in Hungary. His humility towards research and his extraordinary perseverance resulted in outstanding works that also won the recognition of his colleagues abroad. Over the years, he became a member of numerous scholarly organizations both at home and abroad, sometimes holding the post of President or Vice-President. He was elected an external or honorary member of six foreign academies and received a number of prestigious decorations, both military and civilian. Perhaps the most significant of these was the German Orden Pour le Mérite für Wissenschaften und Künste, for whose official presentation he had to wait for four years. This paper examines the reasons behind this, using contemporary documents.