Maria Rosetti (born Marie Grant; 1819 – ) was a
Guernsey born
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 s ...
n and
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
n political activist, journalist, essayist, philanthropist and socialite. The sister of
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
diplomat
Effingham Grant and wife of
radical leader
C. A. Rosetti, she played an active part in the
Wallachian Revolution of 1848
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 ...
. She was also noted for her enduring friendships with the painter
Constantin Daniel Rosenthal
Constantin Daniel Rosenthal (''b''. Pest, Austrian Empire: ''Rosenthal Konstantin'', 1820 – July 23, 1851) was a Romanian painter and sculptor of Austrian-Jewish birth and a 1848 revolutionary, best known for his portraits and his choice of ...
and with
Pia Brătianu, the wife of
National Liberal
National liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal policies and issues with elements of nationalism. Historically, national liberalism has also been used in the same meaning as conservative liberalism (right-liberalism).
A seri ...
politician
Ion Brătianu
An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge.
The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...
. The Rosettis were parents to eight sons:
Mircea, Ion,
Vintilă (journalist and writer),
Horia Horia or ''Horea'' may refer to:
Places in Romania Communes
*Horea, Alba
*Horia, Constanța
* Horia, Neamț
*Horia, Tulcea
* Hilișeu-Horia, Botoșani Villages
*Horea, in Sanislău, Satu Mare
*Horia, in Vladimirescu, Arad
*Horia, in Surdila-Greci, ...
, Elena-Maria, Toni, Floricel and Libertatea Sophia, all of whom were noted for their political activities.
Biography
Born to Captain Edward Grant, a ship-owning resident of
Guernsey, and his Guernsey wife Marie Le Lacheur, Marie belonged to the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
. The Grants, who eventually settled in
Plymouth, claimed lineage from the
Scottish Clan Grant of Cannon, but this is uncertain.
Life
In 1837, her younger brother Effingham was appointed secretary of
Robert Gilmour Colquhoun, the British
consul
Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...
in Wallachia; soon after, Mary herself arrived in
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 ...
, where she began work as a
tutor
TUTOR, also known as PLATO Author Language, is a programming language developed for use on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign beginning in roughly 1965. TUTOR was initially designed by Paul Tenczar for use in ...
. It was then that she met Rosetti, Effingham Grant's close friend and a member of the
Rosetti family
The House of Rosetti (also spelled ''Ruset'', ''Rosset, Rossetti'') was a Moldavian boyar princely family of Byzantine Greek and Italian (from Genoa) origins. There are several branches of the family named after their estates: Roznovanu, Solescu, ...
of
boyars, who fell in love with her.
[Cernovodeanu, p.39] Mary Grant was employed by the family of
Wallachian Militia Colonel
Ioan Odobescu, and gave lessons to his children—including his son
Alexandru
Alexandru is the Romanian language, Romanian form of the name Alexander. Common diminutives are Alecu, Alex (disambiguation), Alex, and Sandu (disambiguation), Sandu.
Origin
Etymology, Etymologically, the name is derived from the Greek language, ...
, the future writer and politician.
At the time, she was residing in the Bucharest area around
Curtea Veche
Curtea Veche (the Old Princely Court) was built as a palace or residence during the rule of Vlad III Dracula in 1459. Archaeological excavations started in 1953, and now the site is operated by the ''Muzeul Municipiului București'' in the histor ...
.
Grant married C. A. Rosetti at her family's house in Plymouth, with an
Anglican service (August 31, 1847); they remarried later in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, through an
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
ceremony.
The latter was attended by Rosetti's collaborators,
Ştefan and
Alexandru Golescu, who were the couple's
godfathers.
According to historian Paul Cernovodeanu, she met difficulty in integrating boyar society, but "
erinnate qualities, noble demeanor, intelligence and culture did not fail
..to impose her".
During the 1848 revolution, her husband played a prominent part in rallying the Bucharest populace to the radical cause, and sat on the Provisional Government. As
Ottoman troops entered the country, crushing the rebellion and arresting its leaders, he was himself taken into Ottoman custody and, together with other prominent participants, transported by
barge
Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...
from
Giurgiu, on his way to the
Austrian
Austrian may refer to:
* Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent
** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law
* Austrian German dialect
* Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
-ruled
Sviniţa, near the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...
port of
Orschowa. With the
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
ish
Constantin Daniel Rosenthal
Constantin Daniel Rosenthal (''b''. Pest, Austrian Empire: ''Rosenthal Konstantin'', 1820 – July 23, 1851) was a Romanian painter and sculptor of Austrian-Jewish birth and a 1848 revolutionary, best known for his portraits and his choice of ...
, Maria followed the ships on shore; upon arrival, she pointed out to the local authorities that the Ottomans had stepped out of their jurisdiction, persuading the mayor of Sviniţa to disarm the guards, which in turn allowed the prisoners to flee. The Rosettis then made their way to
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. Her role in this last stage of the revolution was celebrated by French historian
Jules Michelet in his 1851 essay ''Madame Rosetti'', and by her husband, who compared her to
Anita, the
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian-born wife of
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
insurgent
Giuseppe Garibaldi.
[Alin Ciupală, ''Femeia în societatea românească a secolului al XIX-lea'', Editura Meridiane, Bucharest, 2003, p.69. ]
Around 1850, Rosenthal completed one of his most celebrated paintings, ''România revoluţionară'' ("Revolutionary Romania").
A
national personification showing a woman in
Romanian folk costume, it was also a portrait of Maria Rosetti.
The artist died in July 1851, after his attempt to cross into Wallachia was intercepted by Austrian authorities, who tortured him to death in his native
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
. In 1878, Maria Rosetti authored a piece for her ''Mama şi Copilul'' ("Mother and Child") magazine, in which she offered praise to her deceased friend: "
osenthal wasone of the best and the most loyal people that God created after His image. He died for Romania, for its liberties; he died for his Romanian friends.
..This friend, this son, this martyr of Romania is an Israelite. His name was Daniel Rosenthal."
During the 1850s, before and after the
1856 Treaty of Paris allowed her family to return to the
Danubian Principalities, Maria Rosetti and her husband invested their energies into support for ''
Partida Naţională'', calling for Wallachia's union with
Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and for ...
(effected in 1859 by the election of
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 Janua ...
as Wallachian
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...
, and subsequently ''
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''" ...
'' of the two states). She was a collaborator on C. A. Rosetti's numerous publications, including ''
Românul'', before issuing her own weekly magazine, ''Mama şi Copilul''.
[ Marian Petcu]
"Jurnaliste şi publiciste uitate"
, in the 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 ...
Faculty of Journalism'
''Revista Română de Jurnalism şi Comunicare''
, Nr. 2-3/2006, p.129 The latter, which mostly featured advice on educating young children, and motivated by the concern that the society had changed after union,
[Livezeanu & Farris, p.246] was only published between 1865 and 1866. Such activities give Rosetti a claim to the title of Romania's first female journalist, ahead of
Maria Flechtenmacher.
Maria Rosetti was subsequently involved in organizing charity events and public ceremonies: in 1866–1867, she raised funds to combat
famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompani ...
, and, in 1871, organized celebrations in the Moldavian locality of
Putna.
Her prestige increased especially after 1875, when C. A. Rosetti joined the
National Liberal Party's leadership.
["C. A. Rosetti"](_blank)
, in the Ohio University
Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subseq ...
'
''Encyclopedia of Revolutions of 1848''
, retrieved July 16, 2007 As a journalist, she contributed articles promoting women's liberation.
In 1877, as Romania proclaimed her independence and joined the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
in the
anti-Ottoman war, Maria Rosetti rallied funds to aid the wounded, establishing and managing the hospital in
Turnu Măgurele
Turnu Măgurele () is a city in Teleorman County, Romania, in the historical region of Muntenia. Developed nearby the site once occupied by the medieval port of Turnu, it is situated north-east of the confluence between the Olt River and the Da ...
.
Maria and C. A. Rosetti had eight children, only four of whom reached adulthood.
These were a daughter, Liberty Sofia (commonly known as Libby, born June 1848) and three sons born in exile:
Mircea,
Vintilă and
Horia Rosetti.
Her brother was himself a resident of Romania, and married to Zoe, the daughter of Wallachian landowner and politician
Alexandru Racoviţă (among their children was the painter
Nicolae Grant). Through her brother Effingham, who married into the
Racoviţă family, Maria Rosetti was also distantly related with physician
Carol Davila
Carol Davila (; 1828 – 24 August 1884) was a prestigious Romanian physician of Italian ancestry. He is considered to be the father of Romanian medicine.
Biography
He started from humble beginnings, most probably as an abandoned child, and the ...
and his son, playwright
Alexandru Davila
Alexandru Davila (; February 12, 1862 – October 19, 1929) was a Romanian dramatist, diplomat, public administrator, and memoirist.
Biography
The son of Carol Davila, a distinguished military physician of French origin, and Ana Racoviţă (a de ...
.
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 de la origini pînă în prezent'', Editura Minerva
Editura Minerva is one of the largest publishing houses in Romania. Located in Bucharest, it is known, among other things, for publishing classic Romanian literature
Romanian literature () is literature written by Romanian authors, although the ...
, Bucharest, 1986, p.653
Death
Upon her death, a large
obituary was published in the National Liberal newspaper ''
Voinţa Naţională'', who proclaimed her one of the most outstanding Romanian women of her generation.
Her writings of the 1860s were collected in an 1893 volume carrying Michelet's introduction.
[Livezeanu & Farris, p.284] She is also one of the characters in
Camil Petrescu
Camil Petrescu (; 9/21 April 1894 – 14 May 1957) was a Romanian playwright, novelist, philosopher and poet. He marked the end of the traditional novel era and laid the foundation of the modern novel era in Romania.
Life
Petrescu was born in Bu ...
's novel ''
Un om între oameni''. A street in central Bucharest, nearby
Bulevardul Magheru, was named in her honor—it constitutes the eastward extension of C. A. Rosetti Street; a school in the
Floreasca
Floreasca () is a district in Bucharest, Romania, in Sector 2. Its name comes from Lake Floreasca, which is situated in the north of the neighborhood. The Floreasca Hospital is also situated in the neighborhood, in its southern part. Floreasc ...
neighborhood of the city was also named after her. Several
monographs on her life were published during the
communist regime
A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...
years.
Notes
References
*
Irina Livezeanu
Irina Livezeanu (born 1952) is a Romanian-American historian. Her research interests include Eastern Europe, Eastern European Jewry, the Holocaust in Eastern Europe, and modern nationalism. Several of her publications deal with the history of Roma ...
, June Pachuta Farris (eds.), ''Women & Gender in Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and Eurasia: a Comprehensive Bibliography, Volume I: Southeastern and East Central Europe'',
M. E. Sharpe, Armonk, 2007.
*Paul Cernovodeanu, "Punţi între două lumi. Britanici printre români", in ''
Magazin Istoric
''Magazin Istoric'' ( en, The Historical Magazine) is a Romanian monthly magazine.
Overview
''Magazin Istoric'' was started in 1967. The first issue appeared in April 1967. The headquarters is in Bucharest. The monthly magazine contains articles ...
'', July 1995
*
Ion Frunzetti
Ion Frunzetti (1918–1985) was a Romanian art critic and historian. He was vice president of the Union of Fine Artists, head of the Literature and Arts Section of the Academy of Social and Political Sciences, professor at Bucharest
Buchares ...
, ''Pictorul revoluţionar C.Rosenthal'',
Editura de Stat pentru Literatură şi Artă, Bucharest, 1955
*Elena Georgescu, "La loc de mare cinste în istoria patriei", in ''Magazin Istoric'', May 1975
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosetti, Maria
Romanian essayists
Romanian magazine editors
Romanian magazine founders
Romanian opinion journalists
Romanian philanthropists
Romanian women writers
People of the Revolutions of 1848
People from Plymouth, Devon
British expatriates in Romania
Maria Rosetti
1819 births
1893 deaths
Guernsey women
Romanian women essayists
Romanian women in business
Women magazine editors
19th-century Romanian women
19th-century journalists
19th-century women writers
19th-century essayists
19th-century philanthropists