Aron Densușianu (pen name of Aron Pop; November 19, 1837 – ) was an Imperial Austrian-born

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n critic, literary historian, folklorist and poet. He was born in Densuș,

Hunedoara County Hunedoara County () is a county ('' județ'') of Romania, in Transylvania, with its capital city at Deva. The county is part of the Danube–Criș–Mureș–Tisa Euroregion. Name In Hungarian, it is known as , in German as , and in Slovak as ...

, in the

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

region. His parents were the

Romanian Orthodox The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates i ...

priest Vizantie Pop and his wife Sofia (''née'' Popovici). He was the brother of historian

Nicolae Densușianu Nicolae Densușianu (; 18 April 1846 – 24 March 1911) was a Transylvanian, later Romanian ethnologist and collector of Romanian folklore. He was a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy, with a specialty in history. His main work, for ...

. From 1846 to 1848, he attended the normal school in

Hațeg Hațeg (; german: Wallenthal; hu, Hátszeg) is a town in Hunedoara County, Romania with a population of 9,340. Three villages are administered by the town: Nălațvad (''Nalácvád''), Silvașu de Jos (''Alsószilvás''), and Silvașu de Sus ( ...

, followed by the

Blaj Blaj (; archaically spelled as ''Blaș''; hu, Balázsfalva; german: Blasendorf; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Blußendref'') is a municipiu, city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 20,630 inhabita ...

gymnasium (1852–60) and the

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...

legal academy (1860–64). He made his poetry debut in 1860 in ''Foaie pentru minte, inimă și literatură'' and submitted poems, critical studies and political articles to the main Transylvanian periodicals of the time: ''Amicul școalei'', ''Concordia'', ''Federațiunea'', ''Albina'', ''Transilvania'' and '' Familia''. A politically motivated trial was held against him in 1873, and he spent a month in prison.Ioan Octavian Tătar, ''Aron Densușianu despre Avram Iancu'', p. 97, in ''Restituiri. Acta Musei Devensis'', vol. V. Deva, 1997 In 1874–75, he edited the

Brașov Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County. According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a popu ...

political newspaper ''Orientul latin'', with his brother and

Ioan Alexandru Lapedatu Ioan Alexandru Lapedatu (; July 6, 1844 – March 28, 1878) was an ethnic Romanian Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian poet, prose writer and newspaper contributor. Born in Porumbacu de Jos, Colun, Sibiu County, in the Transylvania region, his pare ...

as collaborators. He belonged to Astra, and in 1877 was elected a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy. Residing at

Făgăraș Făgăraș (; german: Fogarasch, Fugreschmarkt, hu, Fogaras) is a municipiu, city in central Romania, located in Brașov County. It lies on the Olt (river), Olt River and has a population of 28,330 as of 2011. It is situated in the historical regi ...

, he practiced law from 1864 to 1880; in 1881, he moved to the

Romanian Old Kingdom The Romanian Old Kingdom ( ro, Vechiul Regat or just ''Regat''; german: Regat or ) is a colloquial term referring to the territory covered by the first independent Romanian nation state, which was composed of the Romanian Principalities: Wallachia ...

, settling in the

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

n capital of

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...

. There, he was a professor of Latin language and literature at the

University of Iași The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (Romanian: ''Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza"''; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in Iași, Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former Academia Mih ...

, as well as a substitute professor of Romanian literary history. He was vice president of the city's

Cultural League for the Unity of All Romanians Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...

chapter, and from 1893 to 1897 edited ''Revista critică-literară''. As a fiction writer, he was mediocre but prolific and ambitious; his work includes a two-volume saga, ''Negriada'' (1879, 1884). His main calling was as a critic and literary historian (''Aventuri literare'', 1881; ''Cercetări literare'', 1887). His views were grounded in a rigorous, classically oriented theoretical base; he was studious, conscientious and erudite, a competent interpreter of old literature as well as that dating to the 1848 revolution era. However, he was less conscious of contemporary literature's achievements and a firm opponent of '' Junimism'', which caused his contributions to be neglected or minimized for a long time.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. I, p. 477. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004. In 1864, he married Elena Circa, a native of Cernatu in

Brașov County Brașov County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Transylvania. Its capital city is Brașov. The county incorporates within its boundaries most of the Medieval "lands" (''țări'') Burzenland and Făgăraș. Name In Hungarian, it is known ...

four years his junior. The couple had a number of children, including

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

; Eliza, who would marry Vespasian Erbiceanu; and

Elena Elena may refer to: People * Elena (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name * Joan Ignasi Elena (born 1968), Catalan politician * Francine Elena (born 1986), British poet Geography * Elena (town), a town in Veliko ...

, a future physician and university professor married to Emil Pușcariu.Lucian Nastasă, ''Intelectualii și promovarea socială'', p. 36. Cluj-Napoca: Editura Limes, 2004.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Densusianu, Aron 1837 births 1900 deaths People from Hunedoara County Romanian Austro-Hungarians Prisoners and detainees of Austria-Hungary Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to Romania Academic staff of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University 19th-century Romanian lawyers Romanian poets Romanian opinion journalists Romanian magazine editors Romanian newspaper editors Corresponding members of the Romanian Academy 19th-century poets