Vasile Grecu (31 July 1885 – 26/27 May 1972) was an

Austro-Hungarian 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 ...

-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 ...

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 ...

and Byzantinist. Born in Mitocu Dragomirnei, north of

Suceava Suceava () is the largest urban settlement and the seat town ( ro, oraș reședință de județ) of Suceava County, situated in the historical region of Bukovina, northeastern Romania, and at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central and Eastern E ...

, his parents were Manole Greciuc and Ana (née Burac). He studied at the Greek-Orthodox Gymnasium in Suceava (1897-1905), followed by the Universities of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

(1905-1907) and

Czernowitz Chernivtsi ( uk, Чернівці́}, ; ro, Cernăuți, ; see also other names) is a city in the historical region of Bukovina, which is now divided along the borders of Romania and Ukraine, including this city, which is situated on the up ...

(1907-1909), where

Sextil Pușcariu Sextil Iosif Pușcariu (4 January 1877 – 5 May 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian linguist and philologist, also known for his involvement in administrative and party politics. A native of Brașov educated in France and Germany, he was ...

was his professor. From 1910 to 1914, he taught Latin and Greek at the state high school in

Câmpulung Moldovenesc Câmpulung Moldovenesc (; formerly spelled ''Cîmpulung Moldovenesc'') is a town in Suceava County, northeastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Bukovina. Câmpulung Moldovenesc is the fourth largest urban settlement in the c ...

. After the outbreak of World War I, he took refuge in 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 ...

. There, he was a proofreader at ''

Monitorul Oficial ''Monitorul Oficial al României'' is the official gazette of Romania, in which all the promulgated bills, presidential decrees, governmental A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, general ...

'' 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 ...

and a substitute teacher at Mircea cel Batrân High School in

Constanța Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...

until Romania entered the war in August 1916. From that point until autumn 1918, he was in

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...

, where he helped develop Romanian-language education. Returning to Cernăuți, he took part in the Romanian National Council and voted for union with Romania in late November. His doctorate, earned at Cernăuți in 1919, dealt with flora and fauna in Plato’s philosophical system.Satco and Niculică, pp. 88-90 Among the first Romanian scholars in the field, Grecu taught

Byzantinology Byzantine studies is an interdisciplinary branch of the humanities that addresses the history, culture, demography, dress, religion/theology, art, literature/epigraphy, music, science, economy, coinage and politics of the Eastern Roman Empire. T ...

at Cernăuți from 1920 to 1938, and 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 ...

from 1938 to 1947. He was dean of the letters and philosophy faculty at Cernăuți (1927-1938) and secretary of the history and linguistics institute. Elected a corresponding member of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its byl ...

in May 1936, he was purged in 1948 by the new

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 ...

and posthumously restored in 1990. He edited ''Candela'' and ''Codrul Cosminului'' magazines, contributing to '' Glasul Bucovinei'', ''Byzantinoslavica'' (Prague), ''Revista de studii sud-est europene'', ''Visantinskii vreminik'' (Moscow), ''Revue des Études Bysantines'' and ''Revista Istorică Română''. He wrote studies on Byzantine history, literature and painting, as well as on the influence of Byzantium on Romanian history. He translated a collection of teachings by

Neagoe Basarab Neagoe Basarab (; c.1459 – 15 September 1521) was the Voivode (Prince) of Wallachia between 1512 and 1521. Born into the boyar family of the Craioveşti (his reign marks the climax of the family's political influence) as the son of Pârvu Cra ...

from Greek into Romanian. He discovered and translated the Byzantine source for a book of teachings by

Coresi Coresi (also known as diaconul coresi)d. 1583, Brașov) was a Romanian printer of the sixteenth century. He was the editor of some of the earliest printed books in the Romanian language. Biography Coresi first became active at Târgoviște, but th ...

. He prepared critical editions of the works of the Greek historians

Doukas The House of Doukas, Latinized as Ducas ( el, Δούκας; feminine: Doukaina/Ducaena, Δούκαινα; plural: Doukai/Ducae, Δοῦκαι), from the Latin title ''dux'' ("leader", "general", Hellenized as 'ðouks'', is the name of a Byzant ...

, Kritoboulos of Imbros,

George Sphrantzes George Sphrantzes, also Phrantzes or Phrantza ( el, Γεώργιος Σφραντζής or Φραντζής; 1401 – c. 1478), was a late Roman (Byzantine) historian and Imperial courtier. He was an attendant to Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos, ''p ...

and

Constantine Porphyrogenitus Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Kar ...

. He was president of the Romanian Society for Byzantine Studies and vice president of the

International Association of Byzantine Studies International Association of Byzantine Studies (french: Association Internationale des Études Byzantines, AIEB) was launched in 1948. It is an international co-ordinating body that links national Byzantine Studies member groups. Background and A ...

Notes

References

*Emil Satco, Alis Niculică (eds.), ''Enciclopedia Bucovinei'', Vol. II. Suceava: Editura Karl A. Romstorfer, 2018. {{DEFAULTSORT:Grecu, Vasile 1885 births 1972 deaths People from Suceava County Romanian Austro-Hungarians Romanian Byzantinists Romanian schoolteachers Corresponding members of the Romanian Academy Chernivtsi University alumni Academic staff of Chernivtsi University Academic staff of the University of Bucharest 20th-century Romanian historians Scholars of Byzantine history