The Princely Academy of Bucharest (

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 ...

: Academia Domnească din București, el, Αυθεντική Ακαδημία Βουκουρεστίου) was an institution of higher education, active from the end of the 17th century to the beginning of the 19th century.

History

According to some scholars, the Academy was most likely founded during the reign of Şerban Cantacuzino (1678-1688). Others believe that the initiative belonged to

Constantin Brâncoveanu Constantin Brâncoveanu (; 1654 – August 15, 1714) was Prince of Wallachia between 1688 and 1714. Biography Ascension A descendant of the Craiovești boyar family and heir through his grandfather Preda of a considerable part of Matei Ba ...

together with his uncle, Constantin Cantacuzino, in 1694, or to Gheorghe Duca (1675). The institution underwent several reorganisations, under

Gheorghe Ghica George Ghica ( sq, Gjergj Gjika, ro, Gheorghe Ghica) (3 March 1600 – 2 November 1664) founder of the Ghica family, was Prince of Moldavia in 1658–1659 and Prince of Wallachia in 1659–1660. George Ghica was born in Köprülü, present ...

Constantine Mavrocordatos Constantine Mavrocordatos (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Μαυροκορδάτος, Romanian: ''Constantin Mavrocordat''; February 27, 1711November 23, 1769) was a Greek noble who served as Prince of Wallachia and Prince of Moldavia at several ...

Constantin Racoviţă Constantin is an Aromanian, Megleno-Romanian and Romanian male given name. It can also be a surname. For a list of notable people called Constantin, see Constantine (name). See also * Constantine (name) * Konstantin The first name Konstant ...

and Alexandru Ipsilanti. The Academy’s language of study was Greek, the universal language of culture in the Eastern Orthodox world. For the most part, the teachers were also Greek. The students of the Academy came from all over the Orthodox world. In 1818

Gheorghe Lazăr Gheorghe Lazăr (5 June 1779 – 17 September 1823), born and died in Avrig, Sibiu County, was a Transylvanian, later Romanian scholar, the founder of the first Romanian language school in Bucharest, 1817. Biography A Habsburg Empire subject, ...

began teaching courses in Romanian. In 1821, as a consequence of the increasing activity of the Greek patriotic organization,

Filiki Eteria Filiki Eteria or Society of Friends ( el, Φιλικὴ Ἑταιρεία ''or'' ) was a secret organization founded in 1814 in Odessa, whose purpose was to overthrow the Ottoman rule of Greece and establish an independent Greek state. (''ret ...

, the Greek-speaking Academy was disestablished, and replaced with a similar institution where teaching was done in Romanian, the Saint Sava Academy.

Organisation and curriculum

We do not know very much about the Academy’s structure before the reforms of Ipsilanti. From 1776, however, by the decree of Ipsilanti, the studies in the Academy were organised in 5 cycles, each of them lasting 3 years. The first three-year cycle was dedicated to the study of the Greek and Latin grammar. The following was dedicated to the study of Greek, Latin, and classic literature. In the third cycle the students studied poetics, rhetoric, Aristotle’s ethics, Italian and French. In the fourth cycle the arithmetic and the geometry, as well as the history and the geometry were taught. Finally, the last cycle was dedicated to the study of philosophy and astronomy. If at the beginning the teaching was done mostly after the commentaries of Korydaleos to the works of Aristotle, later the courses took a modern orientation. The natural sciences, the philosophy, were taught after occidental handbooks, many of them translated in Greek.

Notable teachers

Sevastos Kyminitis Sevastos Kiminitis or Sebastos Kyminites ( pnt, Σεβαστός Κυμινήτης) (1630-1703) was a Pontic Greek scholar who was born in a village close to Τrebizond, Pontus. He was principal of the Patriarchal Academy in Constantinople in ...

(1689–1703) *

Grigorios Konstantas Grigorios Konstantas ( el, Γρηγόριος Κωνσταντάς; 1753–1844) was a Greek scholar and figure of the modern Greek Enlightenment. He was actively involved in various educational issues as well as participated in the Greek War of In ...

(1782–1787) * Lambros Photiadis (1792–1805, Principal) * Constantinos Vardalachos (1803–1815 rincipal: 1805-1815 1820–1821) *

Neophytos Doukas Neophytos Doukas or Dukas ( el, Νεόφυτος Δούκας; 1760 – 1 January 1845) was a Greek priest and scholar, author of many books and translations from ancient Greek works, and one of the most important personalities of the modern Greek ...

(1815–1818) *Stephanos Kommitas (1816–1818) *

Veniamin Lesvios Benjamin of Lesbos ( el, Βενιαμίν Λέσβιος; alternatively transliterated as Veniamin of Lesvos or Lesvios; 1759–1824) was a Greek monk, scholar, and politician who was a significant figure in the Modern Greek Enlightenment. Biogr ...

(1818) *

Rigas Feraios Rigas Feraios ( el, Ρήγας Φεραίος , sometimes ''Rhegas Pheraeos''; rup, Riga Fereu) or Velestinlis (Βελεστινλής , also transliterated ''Velestinles''); 1757 – 24 June 1798), born as Antonios Rigas Velestinlis ( el ...

(1757–1798) *

Georgios Gennadios Georgios Gennadios ( el, Γεώργιος Γεννάδιος; 1784–1854) was a Greek man of letters who was instrumental in the founding of some of the first educational establishments of modern Greece, considered among the most important pers ...

(1784–1854)

Notable alumni

* Grigorie Brâncoveanu *

Dinicu Golescu Dinicu Golescu (usual rendition of Constantin Radovici Golescu; 7 February 1777 – 5 October 1830), a member of the Golescu family of boyars, was a Wallachian Romanian man of letters, mostly noted for his travel writings and journalism. Bor ...

* Iordache Golescu *

Ion Heliade Rădulescu Ion Heliade Rădulescu or Ion Heliade (also known as ''Eliade'' or ''Eliade Rădulescu''; ; January 6, 1802 – April 27, 1872) was a Wallachian, later Romanian academic, Romantic and Classicist poet, essayist, memoirist, short story writ ...

Daniel Philippidis Daniel Philippidis ( el, Δανιήλ Φιλιππίδης; ro, Dimitrie Daniil Philippide; c. 1750 – 1832) was a Greek scholar, figure of the modern Greek Enlightenment and member of the patriotic organization Filiki Etaireia. He was one of the ...

* Petrache Poenaru * Eufrosin Poteca * Barbu Ştirbei * Alecu Văcărescu * Ienăchiță Văcărescu * Nicolae Văcărescu *

Stefan Bogoridi Prince ('' Knyaz'' or ''Bey'') Stefan Bogoridi (born Стойко Цонков Стойков, ''Stoyko Tsonkov Stoykov''; ; ; ; ; 1775 or 1780–August 1, 1859) was a high-ranking Ottoman statesman of Bulgarian origin, grandson of Sophron ...

References

Sources

*Camariano-Cioran, Ariadna, ''Les Academies princières de Bucarest et de Jassy et leurs professeurs'', Thessaloniki : Institute for Balkan Studies, 1974 {{Modern Greek Enlightenment Educational institutions established in the 1690s History of Bucharest Modern Greek Enlightenment 1821 disestablishments History of Wallachia (1714–1821) 1694 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Greeks in Romania