Constantin Negruzzi (; first name often Costache ; 1808–24 August 1868) was a

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 poet,

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

, translator, playwright, and politician. Born in Trifeștii Vechi,

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 ...

, he studied at home with a Greek teacher. He admitted in a later article that he learnt

Romanian 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, tradition ...

by himself, from a book written by

Petru Maior Petru Maior (; 1761 in Marosvásárhely ''(now Târgu Mureș, Romania)'' – 14 February 1821 in Budapest) was a Romanian writer who is considered one of the most influential personalities of the Age of Enlightenment in Transylvania (the ''Tran ...

. During the

1821 Revolution The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

, his family took refuge in Chișinău, Bessarabia, where he met

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

and became interested in literature. Notable among his writings are his

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

s – ''Amintiri din junețe'' ("Memories of youth") – and his historical writings, ''Fragmente istorice'' ("Historical fragments"), ''Negru in alb'' ("Black in white"), ''Aprodul purice'' (an '' aprod'' was a minor noble title, typically the son of a lord; ''Purice'' is a proper name, but literally means "flea"; see Movilești). He translated some of the ballads of

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

, some of

Thomas Moore Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852) was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist celebrated for his ''Irish Melodies''. Their setting of English-language verse to old Irish tunes marked the transition in popular Irish culture from Irish ...

's poetry and

Antiochus Kantemir Antiochus or Antioch Kantemir or Cantemir (russian: Антиох Дмитриевич Кантемир, ''Antiokh Dmitrievich Kantemir''; ro, Antioh Cantemir; tr, Antioh Kantemiroğlu; french: Antioche Cantemir; 8 September 1708 – 31 Mar ...

's poetry. Negruzzi wrote two plays, ''Muza de la Burdujeni'' ("The Muse of Burdujeni") and ''Cârlani'' ("Lambs"), while translating several other plays. Negruzzi also held several functions, including

finance minister A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

and deputy under Sturdza-Vodă. A supporter of

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

causes, he was twice exiled to his house in Trifești for criticism of the government. His son was the writer

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 ...

References

* (1897) ''Dicționarul contimporanilor'', Editura Lito-Tipografiei "Populara"

External links

Biography of Costache Negruzzi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Negruzzi, Constantin Romanian poets Romanian male poets Romanian translators Romanian memoirists Government ministers of the Principality of Moldavia Founding members of the Romanian Academy People from Iași County 1808 births 1868 deaths 19th-century Romanian people 19th-century translators Male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century poets 19th-century Romanian dramatists and playwrights 19th-century male writers 19th-century memoirists

See also

References

External links