Johannes Caioni (''Ion Căian'' or ''Căianu'' in

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, traditional ...

or ''Kájoni János'' in Hungarian; 8 March 1629 – 25 April 1687) was a

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...

and

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

priest, musician, folklorist,

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

, constructor and repairer of

organs In a multicellular organism, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to a ...

origin (according to his own testimony, "''Natus valachus sum''" - "I was born a

Vlach Vlach ( ), also Wallachian and many other variants, is a term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate speakers of Eastern Romance languages living in Southeast Europe—south of the Danube (the Balkan peninsula) ...

").

Biography

Caioni was born in Kiskaján ( Căianu Mic), in the Principality of Transylvania (now in

Bistrița-Năsăud County Bistrița-Năsăud () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Transylvania, with its capital city at Bistrița. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian, it is known as ''Beszterce-Naszód megye'', and in German language, German as ''Kreis Bistritz-N ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

). He was raised in Kolozsvár (

Cluj-Napoca Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

) and Csíksomlyó (

Șumuleu Ciuc Șumuleu Ciuc (, ) is a neighbourhood in the city of Miercurea Ciuc, Harghita County, Romania. Until 1959, it was a separate Communes of Romania, commune. It is the site of an annual Roman Catholic pilgrimage, when Catholics from all over Hungar ...

). He was of a

noble family Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the rea ...

— Caioni's aunt was the wife of a

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

commander in Csíkszereda (

Miercurea Ciuc Miercurea Ciuc (; ; ) is the county seat of Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, a mainly Hungarian-speaking ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania, and is situated in the Olt River valley. The city administers three ...

). Through her connections, he was admitted in the Franciscan

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

of Csíksomlyó (

). Caioni studied with the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

in Kolozsvár, and continued his studies in Csíksomlyó. In 1647, he became a friar, and continued his studies in Nagyszombat (

Trnava Trnava (, , ; , also known by other #Names and etymology, alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of the Trnava Region and the Trnava District. It is the seat o ...

), training in music. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

in 1655. Subsequently, he lived in Csíksomlyó, Gyergyószárhegy (

Lăzarea Lăzarea ( or colloquially ''Szárhegy'', Hungarian pronunciation: , meaning ''Bald Mountain in Gyergyószék, Gyergyó'') is a commune in Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania, an ...

), and Mikháza (now Călugăreni, a village in

Eremitu Eremitu (, Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a commune in Mureș County, Transylvania, Romania, composed of five villages: Călugăreni (''Mikháza''), Câmpu Cetății (''Vármező''), Dămieni (''Deményháza''), Eremitu (''Nyárádremete''), and Mă ...

commune,

Mureș County Mureș County (, , ) is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in the Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Transylvania, with the administrative centre in Târgu Mureș. The county was established in 1968, after the administrative reor ...

). He died in Gyergyószárhegy.

Works and legacy

A Renascentist and precursor of the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a Europe, European Intellect, intellectual and Philosophy, philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained th ...

in Transylvania, he is best known for his most important works: *Codex Caioni, *Organo Missale, *Cantionale Catolicum, *Sacri Concentus, *Calendarium, *Antiphonarium Romanum and others. His mentioning of the traditional ''

Călușari The Călușari (, ; ; singular: Călușar) are the participants to an old traditional Romanian dance known as the . "Căluș" translates to horse, but in an endearing form. Originally Romanian, the practice later spread to North Bulgaria. From ...

'' dance in his musical notations makes this among the first to have ever recorded the custom. In 1675, Caioni founded a

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in whi ...

in Csíksomlyó, printing both his works and textbooks for the local Franciscan school. His ''Cantionale Catolicum'' went through four editions—1676, 1719, 1805 and 1806. The press was noted for serving the cultural needs of Roman Catholics in the

Székely Land The Székely Land or Szeklerland (, , Old Hungarian script, Székely runes: 𐲥𐳋𐳓𐳉𐳗𐳌𐳞𐳖𐳇; and sometimes ; ; ) is a historic and ethnographic area in present-day Romania, inhabited mainly by Székelys, a subgroup of Hung ...

and neighbouring

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

. It was later used by Hungarian revolutionaries of 1848 to print their '' Hadi Lap'' newspaper, and other publications.

Music

* See ''Five centuries of German music in Transylvania''. Bucharest: Electrecord, 1995. * See
Black Pencil: Come out, Caioni!
' Münster: Dreyer Gaido, 2021

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caioni, Johannes 1629 births 1687 deaths 17th-century Romanian writers 17th-century Hungarian Roman Catholic priests Romanian Franciscans Romanian Roman Catholic priests Early modern Romanian writers Romanian people in the Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711) People from Bistrița-Năsăud County