''Junimea'' was a
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
literary society
A literary society is a group of people interested in literature. In the modern sense, this refers to a society that wants to promote one genre of writing or a specific author. Modern literary societies typically promote research, publish newsle ...
founded in
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 ...
in 1863, through the initiative of several foreign-educated personalities led by
Titu Maiorescu
Titu Liviu Maiorescu (; 15 February 1840 – 18 June 1917) was a Romanian literary critic and politician, founder of the ''Junimea'' Society. As a literary critic, he was instrumental in the development of Romanian culture in the second half of ...
,
Petre P. Carp
Petre P. Carp (; also Petrache Carp, Francized ''Pierre Carp'', Ioana Pârvulescu"O adresă high-life", in ''România Literară'', Nr. 25/2010 occasionally ''Comte Carpe''; 28 Mircea Dumitriu"Petre P. Carp – un suflet, un caracter, o idee", in ...
,
Vasile Pogor
Vasile V. Pogor ( Francized ''Basile Pogor''; August 20, 1833 – March 20, 1906) was a Moldavian, later Romanian poet, philosopher, translator and liberal conservative politician, one of the founders of ''Junimea'' literary society. Raised in t ...
,
Theodor Rosetti
Theodor Rosetti (5 May 1837, Iași or Solești, Moldavia – 17 July 1923, Bucharest, Romania) was a Romanian writer, journalist and politician who served as Prime Minister of Romania between 23 March 1888 and 22 March 1889.
1837 bir ...
and
Iacob Negruzzi
Iacob C. Negruzzi (December 31, 1842 – January 6, 1932) was a Moldavian, later Romanian poet and prose writer.
Born in Iași, he was the son of Constantin Negruzzi and his wife Maria (''née'' Gane). Living in Berlin between 1853 and 1863, he at ...
. The foremost personality and mentor of the society was Maiorescu, who, through the means of scientific papers and essays, helped establish the basis of the modern
Romanian culture
The culture of Romania is an umbrella term used to encapsulate the ideas, customs and social behaviours of the people of Romania that developed due to the country's distinct geopolitical history and evolution. It is theorized and speculated that ...
. Junimea was the most influential intellectual and political association from Romania in the 19th century.
Beginnings
![Junimea members 1883](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Junimea_members_1883.jpg)
In 1863, four years after the union of
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 ...
and
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...
(''see:
United Principalities
The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia ( ro, Principatele Unite ale Moldovei și Țării Românești), commonly called United Principalities, was the personal union of the Principality of Moldavia and the Principality of Wallachia, f ...
''), and after the moving of the capital to
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
, five enthusiastic young people who had just returned from their studies abroad created in Iaşi a society which wanted to stimulate the cultural life in the city. They chose the name "''Junimea''", a slightly antiquated Romanian word for "Youth".
It is notable that four of the founders were part of the Romanian elite, the
boyar
A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Russian nobility, Russia, Boyars of Moldavia and Wallachia, Wallachia and ...
class (
Theodor Rosetti
Theodor Rosetti (5 May 1837, Iași or Solești, Moldavia – 17 July 1923, Bucharest, Romania) was a Romanian writer, journalist and politician who served as Prime Minister of Romania between 23 March 1888 and 22 March 1889.
1837 bir ...
was the brother-in-law of
Domnitor
''Domnitor'' (Romanian pl. ''Domnitori'') was the official title of the ruler of Romania between 1862 and 1881. It was usually translated as "prince" in other languages and less often as "grand duke". Derived from the Romanian word "''domn''" ...
Alexandru Ioan Cuza
Alexandru Ioan Cuza (, or Alexandru Ioan I, also anglicised as Alexander John Cuza; 20 March 1820 – 15 May 1873) was the first ''domnitor'' (Ruler) of the Romanian Principalities through his double election as prince of Moldavia on 5 Januar ...
, Carp and Pogor were sons of boyars, and Iacob Negruzzi was the son of
Costache Negruzzi
Constantin Negruzzi (; first name often Costache ; 1808–24 August 1868) was a Romanian poet, novelist, translator, playwright, and politician.
Born in Trifeștii Vechi, Moldavia, he studied at home with a Greek teacher. He admitted in a later ...
), while only Titu Maiorescu was the only one born in a family of city elite, his father
Ioan Maiorescu
Ioan is a variation on the name John found in Romanian, Bulgarian, Russian, Welsh (), and Sardinian. It is usually masculine. The female equivalent in Romanian and Bulgarian is Ioana. In Russia, the name Ioann is usually reserved for the clergy ...
having been a professor at the National College in
Craiova
Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...
and a representative of the Wallachian government to the
Frankfurt Parliament
The Frankfurt Parliament (german: Frankfurter Nationalversammlung, literally ''Frankfurt National Assembly'') was the first freely elected parliament for all German states, including the German-populated areas of Austria-Hungary, elected on 1 Ma ...
during the
1848 Wallachian Revolution
The Wallachian Revolution of 1848 was a Romanian liberal and nationalist uprising in the Principality of Wallachia. Part of the Revolutions of 1848, and closely connected with the unsuccessful revolt in the Principality of Moldavia, it sought t ...
.
The literary association
![Iaşi , Romanian Literature Museum (House Pogor)2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Ia%C5%9Fi_%2C_Romanian_Literature_Museum_%28House_Pogor%292.JPG)
The earliest literary gathering was one year after ''Junimeas founding, in 1864, when members gathered to hear a translation of ''
Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
''. Soon afterwards, it became common that they would meet each Sunday in order to discuss the problems of the day and review the newest literary works. Also, there were annual lectures on broad themes, such as ''Psychological Researches'' (1868 and 1869), ''Man and Nature'' (1873) or ''The Germans'' (1875). Their audience was formed of the Iaşi intellectuals, students, lawyers, professors, government officials, etc.
In 1867 Junimea started publishing its own literary review, ''
Convorbiri Literare
''Convorbiri Literare'' ( Romanian: ''Literary Talks'') is a Romanian literary magazine published in Romania. It is among the most important journals of the nineteenth-century Romania.
History and profile
''Convorbiri Literare'' was founded by ...
''. It was to become one of the most important publications in the history of
Romanian literature
Romanian literature () is literature written by Romanian authors, although the term may also be used to refer to all literature written in the Romanian language.
History
The development of the Romanian literature took place in parallel with that ...
and added a new, modern vision to the whole Romanian culture.
Between 1874 and 1885, when the society was frequented by the Romanian literature classics –
Mihai Eminescu
Mihai Eminescu (; born Mihail Eminovici; 15 January 1850 – 15 June 1889) was a Romanian Romantic poet from Moldavia, novelist, and journalist, generally regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Eminescu was an active membe ...
,
Ion Creangă
Ion Creangă (; also known as Nică al lui Ștefan a Petrei, Ion Torcălău and Ioan Ștefănescu; March 1, 1837 – December 31, 1889) was a Moldavian, later Romanian writer, raconteur and schoolteacher. A main figure in 19th-century Romania ...
,
Ion Luca Caragiale
Ion Luca Caragiale (; commonly referred to as I. L. Caragiale; According to his birth certificate, published and discussed by Constantin Popescu-Cadem in ''Manuscriptum'', Vol. VIII, Nr. 2, 1977, pp. 179-184 – 9 June 1912) was a Romanian playw ...
,
Ioan Slavici
Ioan Slavici (; 18 January 1848 – 17 August 1925) was a Romanian writer and journalist from Hungary, later from Romania.
He made his debut in ''Convorbiri literare'' ("Literary Conversations") (1871), with the comedy ''Fata de birău'' ("The M ...
– and many other important cultural personalities, it occupied the central spot of cultural life in Romania.
Theory
"Forms without substance"
After the
Treaty of Adrianople of 1829, the
Danubian Principalities
The Danubian Principalities ( ro, Principatele Dunărene, sr, Дунавске кнежевине, translit=Dunavske kneževine) was a conventional name given to the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which emerged in the early 14th ce ...
(Moldavia and Wallachia) were allowed to engage in trade with other countries than those under
Ottoman rule and with this came a great opening toward the European economy and culture (''see
Westernization
Westernization (or Westernisation), also Europeanisation or occidentalization (from the ''Occident''), is a process whereby societies come under or adopt Western culture in areas such as industry, technology, science, education, politics, economi ...
''). However, the Junimists argued, through their theory of "''Forms Without Substance''" (''Teoria Formelor Fără Fond'') that Romanian culture and society were merely imitating
Western culture
Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''.
image:Plato Pio-Cle ...
, rapidly adopting forms while disregarding the need to select and adapt them to the Romanian context – and thus "lacked a foundation". Maiorescu argued that, while it seemed Romania possessed all the institutions of a modern nation, all were, in fact, shallow elements of fashion:
Moreover, Maiorescu argued that Romania only had an appearance of a complex modern society, and in fact harbored only two social classes: peasants, which comprised up to 90% of Romanians, and the
landlord
A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, the ...
s. He denied the existence of a Romanian
bourgeoisie
The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
, and presented Romanian society as one still fundamentally
patriarchal
Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of Dominance hierarchy, dominance and Social privilege, privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical Anthropology, anthropological term for families or clans controll ...
. The
National Liberal Party (founded in 1875) was dubbed as useless since it had no class to represent. Also, socialism was thought to be the product of an advanced society in Western Europe, and argued to have yet no reason of existence in Romania, where the
proletariat
The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose only possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian. Marxist philo ...
made up a small part of the population – ''Junimea'' saw socialism in the context of Romania as an "exotic plant", and Maiorescu engaged in a polemic with
Marxist
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
thinker
Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea
Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea (born Solomon Katz; 1855, village of Slavyanka near Yekaterinoslav (modern Dnipro), then in Imperial Russia – 1920, Bucharest) was a Romanian Marxist theorist, politician, sociologist, literary critic, and jour ...
.
While this criticism was indeed similar to
political conservatism
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization ...
, ''Junimeas purposes were actually connected with gradual modernization that was meant to lead to a Romanian culture and society able to sustain a dialogue with their European counterparts. Unlike the mainstream
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
, which sought to best represent landowners, the politically active Junimists opposed excessive reliance on agriculture, and could even champion a peasant
ethos
Ethos ( or ) is a Greek word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology; and the balance between caution, and passion. The Greeks also used this word to refer to ...
. Maiorescu wrote:
Influence
The cultural life in Romania was since the 1830s influenced by France, and ''Junimea'' brought a new wave of
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
influence, especially
German philosophy
German philosophy, here taken to mean either (1) philosophy in the German language or (2) philosophy by Germans, has been extremely diverse, and central to both the analytic and continental traditions in philosophy for centuries, from Gottfried W ...
, accommodating a new wave of
Romanticism
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
– while also advocating and ultimately introducing
Realism
Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to:
In the arts
*Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts
Arts movements related to realism include:
*Classical Realism
*Literary realism, a move ...
into local literature. As a regular visitor of the Iaşi club,
Vasile Alecsandri
Vasile Alecsandri (; 21 July 182122 August 1890) was a Romanian patriot, poet, dramatist, politician and diplomat. He was one of the key figures during the 1848 revolutions in Moldavia and Wallachia. He fought for the unification of the Romani ...
was one of the few literary figures to represent both ''Junimea'' and its French-influenced predecessors.
The society also encouraged an accurate use of the
Romanian language
Romanian (obsolete spellings: Rumanian or Roumanian; autonym: ''limba română'' , or ''românește'', ) is the official and main language of Romania and the Moldova, Republic of Moldova. As a minority language it is spoken by stable communi ...
, and Maiorescu repeatedly argued for a common version of the rendition of words in Romanian, favoring a
phonetic transcription
Phonetic transcription (also known as phonetic script or phonetic notation) is the visual representation of speech sounds (or ''phones'') by means of symbols. The most common type of phonetic transcription uses a phonetic alphabet, such as the ...
over the several versions in circulation after the discarding of the
Romanian Cyrillic alphabet
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
. Maiorescu entered a polemic with the main advocates of a spelling that was reflecting pure
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
etymology
Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...
rather than the spoken language, 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 ...
n group around
August Treboniu Laurian __NOTOC__
August Treboniu Laurian (; 17 July 1810 – 25 February 1881) was a Transylvanian Romanian politician, historian and linguist. He was born in the village of Hochfeld, Principality of Transylvania, Austrian Empire (today Fofeldea as part ...
:
At the same time, Maiorescu exercised influence through his attack on what he viewed as excessive innovative trends in writing and speaking Romanian:
Accordingly, ''Junimea'' heavily criticized Romanian
Romantic nationalism
Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...
for condoning excesses (especially in the problematic theses connected to the
origin of Romanians
Several theories address the issue of the origin of the Romanians. The Romanian language descends from the Vulgar Latin dialects spoken in the Roman provinces north of the "Jireček Line" (a proposed notional line separating the predominantly ...
). In the words of Maiorescu:
Using the same logic, ''Junimea'' (and especially Carp) entered a polemic with the
National-Liberal historian
Bogdan Petriceicu-Hasdeu
Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu ( 26 February 1838 – ) was a Romanian writer and philologist, who pioneered many branches of Romanian philology and history.
Life
He was born Tadeu Hâjdeu in Cristineștii Hotinului (now Kerstentsi in Chernivtsi ...
over the latter's version of Dacian
Protochronism
Dacianism is a Romanian term describing the tendency to ascribe, largely relying on questionable data and subjective interpretation, an idealized past to the country as a whole. While particularly prevalent during the regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu ...
.
The society encouraged a move towards
profession
A profession is a field of work that has been successfully ''professionalized''. It can be defined as a disciplined group of individuals, '' professionals'', who adhere to ethical standards and who hold themselves out as, and are accepted by ...
alism in the writing of history, as well as intensified research; Maiorescu, who served as Minister of Education in several late-19th century cabinets, supported the creation of new opportunities in the field (including the granting of scholarships, especially in areas that had previously been neglected – amounting to the creation of one of the most influential Romanian generation of historians, that of
Nicolae Iorga
Nicolae Iorga (; sometimes Neculai Iorga, Nicolas Jorga, Nicolai Jorga or Nicola Jorga, born Nicu N. Iorga;Iova, p. xxvii. 17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a Romanian historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet ...
,
Dimitrie Onciul
Dimitrie Onciul (26 October / 7 November 1856 – 20 March 1923) was a Romanian historian. He was a member of the Romanian Academy and its president from 1920 until his death in 1923.
Biography
Onciul was born in Straja, at the time in the Duc ...
, and
Ioan Bogdan Ioan Bogdan may refer to:
* Ioan Bogdan (historian) (1864–1919), Romanian historian and philologist
* Ioan Bogdan (footballer) (born 1956), Romanian footballer
See also
* Ion Bogdan (1915–1992), Romanian footballer and manager
* Ioan
* Bog ...
).
Although ''Junimea'' never imposed a single view on the matter, some of its prominent figures (Maiorescu, Carp, and ''Junimea'' associate
Ion Luca Caragiale
Ion Luca Caragiale (; commonly referred to as I. L. Caragiale; According to his birth certificate, published and discussed by Constantin Popescu-Cadem in ''Manuscriptum'', Vol. VIII, Nr. 2, 1977, pp. 179-184 – 9 June 1912) was a Romanian playw ...
) notoriously opposed the prevalent anti-Jewish sentiment of the political establishment (while the initially Junimist intellectuals
A. C. Cuza
Alexandru C. Cuza (8 November 1857 – 3 November 1947), also known as A. C. Cuza, was a Romanian far-right politician and economist.
Early life
Born in Iași, Cuza attended secondary school in his native city and in Dresden, Saxony, Germany, ...
,
A. D. Xenopol
Alexandru Dimitrie Xenopol (; March 23, 1847, Iaşi – February 27, 1920, Bucharest) was a Romanian historian, philosopher, professor, economist, sociologist, and author. Among his many major accomplishments, he is the Romanian historian credi ...
, and
Ioan Slavici
Ioan Slavici (; 18 January 1848 – 17 August 1925) was a Romanian writer and journalist from Hungary, later from Romania.
He made his debut in ''Convorbiri literare'' ("Literary Conversations") (1871), with the comedy ''Fata de birău'' ("The M ...
became well-known
anti-semites
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
).
Moving to Bucharest
![Titu Maiorescu House, on Mercur Street](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Titu_Maiorescu_House%2C_on_Mercur_Street.jpg)
In 1885, the society moved to
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
, and, through his
University of Bucharest
The University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea din București), commonly known after its abbreviation UB in Romania, is a public university founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princel ...
professorship, Titu Maiorescu contributed to the creation of a new ''Junimist'' generation. However, ''Junimea'' ceased to dominate the intellectual life of Romania.
This roughly coincided with the partial transformation of prominent Junimists into politicians, after leaders such as Maiorescu and Carp joined the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
. Initially a separate wing with a moderately conservative political agenda (and, as the ''Partidul Constituţional'', "Constitutional Party", an independent political group between 1891 and 1907), ''Junimea'' representatives moved to the Party's forefront in the first years of the 20th century – both Carp and Maiorescu led the Conservatives in the 1910s.
Its cultural interests moved to historical research, philosophy (the theory of
Positivism
Positivism is an empiricist philosophical theory that holds that all genuine knowledge is either true by definition or positive—meaning ''a posteriori'' facts derived by reason and logic from sensory experience.John J. Macionis, Linda M. G ...
), as well as the two greatest political problems – the peasant question (''see the
1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt''), and the issue of ethnic Romanians in Transylvania (a region which was part of
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
). It ceased to exist around 1916, after becoming engulfed in the conflict over Romania's participation in World War I; leading Junimists (Carp first and foremost) had supported continuing Romania's alliance with the
Central Powers
The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...
, and clashed over the issue with pro-French and anti-Austrian politicians.
Criticism of ''Junimeas guidelines
The first major review of Junimism came with the rise of
Romanian populism (''Poporanism''), which partly shared the group's weariness in the face of rapid development, but relied instead on distinguishing and increasing the role of peasants as the root of Romanian culture. The populist
Garabet Ibrăileanu
Garabet Ibrăileanu (; May 23, 1871 – March 11, 1936) was a Romanian-Armenians in Romania, Armenian Literary criticism, literary critic and theorist, writer, translator, sociologist, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, University of Iași professor ...
argued that ''Junimeas conservatism was the result of a conjectural alliance between low and high
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
boyars
A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars were sec ...
against a Liberal-encouraged
bourgeoisie
The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
, one reflected in the "''
pessimism
Pessimism is a negative mental attitude in which an undesirable outcome is anticipated from a given situation. Pessimists tend to focus on the negatives of life in general. A common question asked to test for pessimism is "Is the glass half empt ...
of the
Eminescu
Mihai Eminescu (; born Mihail Eminovici; 15 January 1850 – 15 June 1889) was a Romanian Romantic poet from Moldavia, novelist, and journalist, generally regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Eminescu was an active memb ...
generation''".
[Ibrăileanu, ''Deosebirile dintre vechea şcoală critică moldovenească şi "Junimea"''] He invested in the image of low boyars, the
Romanticist
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
agents of the
1848 Moldavian revolution
The Moldavian Revolution of 1848 is the name used for the unsuccessful Romanian liberal and Romantic nationalist movement inspired by the Revolutions of 1848 in the principality of Moldavia. Initially seeking accommodation within the political fra ...
, as a tradition which, if partly blended into ''Junimea'', had kept a separate voice the literary society itself, and had more in common with ''Poporanism'' than Maiorescu's moderate conservatism:
The officially sanctioned criticism of ''Junimea'' during the
Communist regime in Romania found its voice with
George Călinescu
George Călinescu (; 19 June 1899, Bucharest – 12 March 1965, Otopeni) was a Romanian literary critic, historian, novelist, academician and journalist, and a writer of classicist and humanist tendencies. He is currently considered one of the mos ...
, in his late work, the
Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
-inspired ''
Compendium
A compendium (plural: compendia or compendiums) is a comprehensive collection of information and analysis pertaining to a body of knowledge. A compendium may concisely summarize a larger work. In most cases, the body of knowledge will concern a s ...
'' of his earlier ''Istoria literaturii române'' ("The History of Romanian Literature"). While arguing that ''Junimea'' had created a bridge between peasants and boyars, Călinescu criticised Maiorescu's strict commitment to ''
art for art's sake
Art for art's sake—the usual English rendering of ''l'art pour l'art'' (), a French slogan from the latter part of the 19th century—is a phrase that expresses the philosophy that the intrinsic value of art, and the only 'true' art, is divorce ...
'' and the ideas of
Arthur Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer ( , ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is best known for his 1818 work ''The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the phenomenal world as the prod ...
, as signs of rigidity.
[Călinescu, ''Compendiu, XII. Titu Maiorescu''] He downplayed ''Junimeas literature, arguing that many Junimists had not reached their own goals (for example, he rejected Carp's criticism of
Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu
Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu ( 26 February 1838 – ) was a Romanian writer and philologist, who pioneered many branches of Romanian philology and history.
Life
He was born Tadeu Hâjdeu in Cristineștii Hotinului (now Kerstentsi in Chernivtsi ...
and others as "''little and unprofessional''"),
[Călinescu, ''Compendiu, XII. Filologi, istorici, filozofi''] but looked favorably upon the major figures connected with the society (
Eminescu
Mihai Eminescu (; born Mihail Eminovici; 15 January 1850 – 15 June 1889) was a Romanian Romantic poet from Moldavia, novelist, and journalist, generally regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Eminescu was an active memb ...
,
Caragiale
Ion Luca Caragiale (; commonly referred to as I. L. Caragiale; According to his birth certificate, published and discussed by Constantin Popescu-Cadem in ''Manuscriptum'', Vol. VIII, Nr. 2, 1977, pp. 179-184 – 9 June 1912) was a Romanian playw ...
,
Creangă etc.) and secondary Junimists such as the
materialist
Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds matter to be the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materialis ...
philosopher
Vasile Conta
Vasile Conta (; hy, Վասիլե Գրիգորեիի Կոնտա (Գոնտա); November 15, 1845 – April 21, 1882) was a Romanian philosopher, poet, and politician.
He was born in Ghindăoani, a village in Bălțătești commune, Neamț County ...
.
Notes
References
*
George Călinescu
George Călinescu (; 19 June 1899, Bucharest – 12 March 1965, Otopeni) was a Romanian literary critic, historian, novelist, academician and journalist, and a writer of classicist and humanist tendencies. He is currently considered one of the mos ...
, ''Istoria literaturii române. Compendiu'' ("The History of Romanian Literature. Compendium"), Editura Minerva, 1983 (Chapter XII, "Junimea")
*
Keith Hitchins
Keith Arnold Hitchins (April 2, 1931 – November 1, 2020) was an American historian and a professor of Eastern European history at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, specializing in Romania and its history.
He was born in Schenect ...
, ''Rumania : 1866–1947'', Oxford History of Modern Europe,
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 1994
*
Garabet Ibrăileanu
Garabet Ibrăileanu (; May 23, 1871 – March 11, 1936) was a Romanian-Armenians in Romania, Armenian Literary criticism, literary critic and theorist, writer, translator, sociologist, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, University of Iași professor ...
''Spiritul critic în cultura românească''("Selective Attitudes in Romanian Culture"), 1908
''Un junimist patruzecioptist: Vasile Alecsandri''("An 1848 Generation Junimist: Vasile Alecsandri")
''Evoluţia spiritului critic – Deosebirile dintre vechea şcoală critică moldovenească şi "Junimea"''("The Evolution of Selective Attitudes – The Differences Between the Old School of Criticism and ''Junimea''")
*
Titu Maiorescu
Titu Liviu Maiorescu (; 15 February 1840 – 18 June 1917) was a Romanian literary critic and politician, founder of the ''Junimea'' Society. As a literary critic, he was instrumental in the development of Romanian culture in the second half of ...
''În contra direcţiei de astăzi în cultura română''("Against the Contemporary Direction in Romanian Culture", 1868) an
''Direcţia nouă în poezia şi proza română''("The New Direction in Romanian Poetry and Prose", 1872)
External links
(an essay on Junimist attitudes and more recent developments)
Ovidiu Morar, "Intelectualii români şi 'chestia evreiască'"("The Romanian Intellectuals and the 'Jewish Question'"), in ''
Contemporanul
''Contemporanul'' (The Contemporary) is a Romanian literary magazine published in Iaşi, Romania from 1881 to 1891. It was sponsored by the socialist circle of the city.
A new magazine ''Contimporanul
''Contimporanul'' (antiquated spelling of ...
'', 6(639)/June 2005
{{Romanian nationalism
1863 establishments in Romania
Political parties disestablished in 1916
Culture in Iași
Defunct political parties in Romania
Kingdom of Romania
1916 disestablishments in Romania