Ovid Densusianu (; also known under his

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Ervin; 29 December 1873,

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 ...

– 9 June 1938,

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 ...

) 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 poet,

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

folklorist Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...

, literary historian and critic, chief of a poetry school, university professor and journalist. He is known for introducing new trends of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

into

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 ...

. The son of Aron Densușianu, a university professor 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 ...

, and Elena (b. Circa), he received a degree from the Faculty of Letters, University of Iași, in 1892. Between 1893 and 1895, he studied in Berlin, Germany, and Paris, France. After he received his diploma from the

École pratique des hautes études The École pratique des hautes études (), abbreviated EPHE, is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is highly selective, and counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions. It is a constituent college o ...

, Paris, in 1896, he worked his way up at 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 ...

, eventually becoming a professor in 1901. In 1918, he became a full member of the Romanian Academy. Densusianu was briefly married to

Elena Bacaloglu Elena A. Bacaloglu, also known as Bakaloglu, Bacaloglu-Densusianu, Bacaloglu-Densușeanu etc. ( Francized ''Hélène Bacaloglu''; December 19, 1878 – 1947 or 1949), was a Romanian journalist, literary critic, novelist and fascist militant. Her ...

, who later came to admire

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

and organized the

National Italo-Romanian Cultural and Economic Movement The National Italo-Romanian Cultural and Economic Movement ( ro, Mișcarea Națională Culturală și Economică Italo-Română) or National Italo-Romanian Fascist Movement () was a short-lived Fascist movement active in Romania during the early 1 ...

. He is buried at

Bellu Cemetery Șerban Vodă Cemetery (commonly known as Bellu Cemetery) is the largest and most famous cemetery in Bucharest, Romania. It is located on a plot of land donated to the local administration by Baron Barbu Bellu. It has been in use since 1858. T ...

, in Bucharest. Streets in

Călan Călan (; ; ) is a town in Hunedoara County, Romania. Twelve villages are administered by the town: Batiz (''Batiz''), Călanu Mic (''Kiskalán''), Grid, Nădăștia de Jos (''Alsónádasd''), Nădăștia de Sus (''Felsőnádasd''), Ohaba Streiul ...

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 ( ...

Oradea Oradea (, , ; german: Großwardein ; hu, Nagyvárad ) is a city in Romania, located in Crișana, a sub-region of Transylvania. The county seat, seat of Bihor County, Oradea is one of the most important economic, social and cultural centers in the ...

, and

Pitești Pitești () is a city in Romania, located on the river Argeș. The capital and largest city of Argeș County, it is an important commercial and industrial center, as well as the home of two universities. Pitești is situated in the historical re ...

are named after him. A county library in

Deva Deva may refer to: Entertainment * ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film * ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film * ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film * Deva (2007 Telugu film) * ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film * Deva ...

and schools in Călan,

, and Hațeg also bear his name.

Writings (selection)

*, Firmin Didot et cie, Paris, 1896. *, Paris, 1896. *, București, 1898. *, E. Bouillon, Paris, 1899. *, Institutul de Arte Grafice and Editură Minerva, București, 1899. *, E. Leroux, Paris, 1901. *, București, 1910; second edition, București, 1937 *, București, 1911 *, Editura Vieței Nouă, București, 1912. *, București, 1913 *, Editura Vieața nouă, București, 1914. *, Socec, București, 1915. *, Editura Vieața nouă, București, 1916. *, București, 1918 *, Editura Vieața nouă, București, 1911. *, București, 1919 *, București, 1920–1933; re-edited by I. Șerb, București, 1985 *, Editura Vieața nouă, București, 1921. *, Ancora, București, 1921. *, Editura Casei Școalelor, București, 1922. *, București, 1922–1923; second edition, București, 1943 *, H. D'Arthez, Paris; Vieața Nouă, București, 1924. *, București, 1924–1938 *, Socec, București, 1925. *, E. Droz, Paris, 1934. *, edited and foreword by Marin Bucur, Ed. pentru literatură, București, 1966. *, edited by B. Cazacu, V. Rusu, and I. Șerb, București, 1968–1985 *, edited and foreword by Călin Manilici, Cluj-Napoca, 1980 *, București, 1998

References

*Aurel Sasu, ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române (A-L)'', Paralela 45, Pitești, 2006, pp. 476–477 *Ion Diaconu și Ioan Șerb (eds.), ''Ovid Densusianu în amintirea și conștiința critică românească'', Editura "Grai și suflet" – Cultura Naţională, 2005, XXII * {{DEFAULTSORT:Densusianu, Ovid 1873 births 1938 deaths People from Făgăraș Alexandru Ioan Cuza University alumni École pratique des hautes études alumni Romanian folklorists Linguists from Romania Romanian philologists Romanian poets Romanian male poets University of Bucharest faculty Titular members of the Romanian Academy Burials at Bellu Cemetery Romanian ethnographers