Theodor Șerbănescu (; December 29, 1839 – July 2, 1901) was a

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

n-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 ...

n army officer and poet.

Biography

Born in

Tecuci Tecuci () is a municipiu, city in Galați County, Romania, in the historical region of Western Moldavia. It is situated among wooded hills, on the right bank of the Bârlad River, and at the junction of railways from Galați, Bârlad, and Mără ...

, his father Eni Șerban (later Șerbănescu) was a ''

paharnic The ''Paharnic'' (plural: ''Paharnici''; also known as ''Păharnic'', ''Paharnec'', or ''Păharnec''; Moldavian dialect: ''ceașnic'', el, παχαρνίκοσ, ''pakharnikos'', russian: пахарник, ''paharnik'') was a historical Romanian ...

'' (cup-bearer) and a member of the minor '' boyar'' nobility; his mother was named Smaranda, and the couple had eighteen children. Theodor attended primary school in his native town, followed by high school at

Academia Mihăileană Academia Mihăileană was an institution of higher learning based in Iași, Moldavia, and active in the first part of the 19th century. Like other Eastern European institutions of its kind, it was both a high school and a higher learning institute ...

in the capital Iași and then the military school in the same city. A distinguished student throughout, he entered the army as a second lieutenant of the military engineers. Having reached the rank of captain in 1869, he resigned. He re-entered the army in 1877, participating in the

Romanian War of Independence The Romanian War of Independence is the name used in Romanian historiography to refer to the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78), following which Romania, fighting on the Russian side, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire. On , Romania and the R ...

as an officer with the general staff. He then worked at the War Ministry, rising to colonel and holding command posts in several garrisons (

Bacău Bacău ( , , ; hu, Bákó; la, Bacovia) is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. At the 2016 national estimation it had a population of 196,883, making it the 12th largest city in Romania. The city is situated in the historical region of ...

Buzău The city of Buzău (formerly spelled ''Buzeu'' or ''Buzĕu''; ) is the county seat of Buzău County, Romania, in the historical region of Muntenia. It lies near the right bank of the Buzău River, between the south-eastern curvature of the Carp ...

, Brăila). He left the army for good in 1893 and mainly lived at his Vameș estate in

Covurlui County Covurlui County is one of the historic counties of Moldavia, Romania. The county seat was Galați. In 1938, the county was disestablished and incorporated into the newly formed Ținutul Dunării, but it was re-established in 1940 after the fall of ...

. He served as

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

Cahul County Cahul County was a county of Bessarabia. In the Middle Ages, its territory belonged to the Fălciu County, but after the annexation of Bessarabia by the Russian Empire in 1812 it became a county by itself. History Two smaller, Codru County and ...

in 1876, but failed to make further inroads into political life. In 1868, Șerbănescu joined ''

Junimea ''Junimea'' was a Romanian literary society founded in Iași in 1863, through the initiative of several foreign-educated personalities led by Titu Maiorescu, Petre P. Carp, Vasile Pogor, Theodor Rosetti and Iacob Negruzzi. The foremost pers ...

'', and in 1891 was 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 ...

. He died in Brăila. His first published journalism appeared in ''Steaua Dunării'', while his first verses ran in ''Ateneul Român'' in 1861. Other publications that ran his work include ''Albina Pindului'', ''

Convorbiri Literare ''Convorbiri Literare'' ( Romanian: ''Literary Talks'') is a Romanian literary magazine published in Romania. It is among the most important journals of the nineteenth-century Romania. History and profile ''Convorbiri Literare'' was founded by ...

'' (which championed him), ''Literatură și artă română'', ''Oltul'', ''Perseverența'' and ''Revista contimporană''. Much of Șerbănescu's relatively ample poetic output remains in the magazines' pages or in manuscript form as letters and albums. His first book, ''Poesii'', appeared posthumously in 1902. ''Poesii alese'' (1927) was edited by

Eugen Lovinescu Eugen Lovinescu (; 31 October 1881 – 16 July 1943) was a Romanian modernist literary historian, literary critic, academic, and novelist, who in 1919 established the ''Sburătorul'' literary club. He was the father of Monica Lovinescu, and the u ...

, while ''Poesii'' (1941) received commentary from his great-nephew

Ion Petrovici Ion (Ioan) Petrovici (June 14, 1882 – February 17, 1972) was a Romanian professor of philosophy at the University of Iași and titular member of the Romanian Academy. He served as Minister of National Education in the Goga cabinet and Ministe ...

and from

Nicolae Cartojan Nicolae Cartojan (December 4, 1883–December 20, 1944) was a Romanian literary historian. Born in Uzunu, Giurgiu County, his parents were Anghel Cartojan and Maria (''née'' Petrescu). He graduated from Bucharest's Saint Sava National Colleg ...

. A polyglot, he translated poems by

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 ...

Alphonse de Lamartine Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine (; 21 October 179028 February 1869), was a French author, poet, and statesman who was instrumental in the foundation of the Second Republic and the continuation of the Tricolore as the flag of France. ...

, Alfred de Musset, Heinrich Heine and Ada Negri; these feature in the 1902 volume. In 1894, he and Dimitrie C. Ollănescu-Ascanio translated

Frédéric Damé Frédéric and Frédérick are the French versions of the common male given name Frederick. They may refer to: In artistry: * Frédéric Back, Canadian award-winning animator * Frédéric Bartholdi, French sculptor * Frédéric Bazille, Impress ...

's ''Le Rêve de Dochia, poème dramatique''. He sometimes used the pen name Dornescu.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. II, p. 656. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Serbanescu, Theodor 1839 births 1901 deaths People from Tecuci Romanian nobility 19th-century Romanian poets Romanian translators Prefects of Romania Junimists Corresponding members of the Romanian Academy Romanian military personnel of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) Romanian Land Forces officers