Culture of Romania: Encyclopedia II - Culture of Romania - Historical evolution

Culture of Romania - Historical evolution

Culture of Romania - The beginnings

The Origin of Romanians is highly disputed. Few written records from the Dark Ages shed any light on the subject. Two things are sure:

• Romanian is a Romance language. Moreover, some degree of cultural descent from Ancient Rome is clear from the customs and affinities with the other Romance nations.
• The Romanian (Vlach) people that appears on records from the 10th century on is already Christian, and Christianity seems to have been adopted here early on, under Latin influence. However, medieval Romanians will gradually adopt Eastern Orthodoxy, under the influence of Constantinople (but through Slavic influence).

Some customs, names and a substratum of words in the Romanian language are considered Dacian influence, although some are also disputed, as is the theory of Daco-Romanian continuity which has at times played a significant role in Romanian national identity.

Culture of Romania - The birth of a nation

Between the 11th century and the 14th century the medieval principalities of Transylvania, Wallachia and Moldavia arose in the area around the Carpathian Mountains. Most of Romanian culture unfolded in these areas, which correspond roughly to the modern nation state of Romania.

Transylvania came under Hungarian influence towards the end of the 11th century and the evolution of the Romanian culture there was therefore somewhat different than in Wallachia and Moldavia. Hungarians brought Roman Catholicism as a religion, as well as foreigners to colonise Transylvania: Saxons in the South, and Szeklers in the west. One of the most important personalities to have been born there is Nicolaus Olahus (Oláh în Hungarian comes from Vlach, an older word for Romanian), historian, politician and bishop in the Kingdom of Hungary and one of the top representatives of humanism in Europe. An important document originating from 1521 is a letter from Neacşu of Câmpulung to the mayor of Braşov about an imminent attack of the Turks written using the Cyrillic alphabet, like most early Romanian writings.

Wallachia and Moldavia were both situated on important commercial routes often crossed by Polish, Saxon, Greek, Armenian, Genovese and Venetian merchants, connecting them well to the evolving culture of medieval Europe. Grigore Ureche's chronicle Letopiseţul Ţărîi Moldovei (The Chronicles of the land of Moldavia), covering the period from 1359 to 1594, is a very important source of information about life, events and personalities in Moldavia. It is among the first non-religious Romanian literary texts; due to its size and the information that it contains it is, probably, the most important Romanian document from the 17th century.

At the end of the 17th and the beginning of 18th century, European humanism influenced the works of Miron Costin and Ion Neculce, the chroniclers who continued Ureche's work. Constantin Brâncoveanu, prince of Wallachia, was a great patron of the arts and was a local Renaissance figure. During Şerban Cantacuzino's reign the monks at the monastery of Snagov, near Bucharest published in 1688 the first translated and printed Romanian Bible (Biblia de la Bucureşti - The Bucharest Bible). The first successful attempts at written Romanian-language poetry were made in 1673 when Dosoftei, a Moldavian metropolitan, published a Romanian metrical psalter.

Dimitrie Cantemir, a Moldavian prince, was undoubtedly the greatest personality of the medieval period in Moldavia. He was a prolific man of letters with interests in philosophy, history, music, linguistics, ethnography and geography. The most important works containing information about the Romanian regions were Descriptio Moldaviae published in 1769 and Hronicul vechimii a romano-moldo-valahilor (roughly, Chronicle of the durability of Romans-Moldavians-Wallachians), the first critical history of Romania.

Culture of Romania - Classical age

In Transylvania, although they formed a majority of the population, Romanians were merely seen as a "tolerated nation" by the Austrian leadership of the province, and were not proportionally represented in political life and the Transylvanian Diet. At the end of the 18th century an emancipation movement known as the Transylvanian School (Şcoala Ardeleană) formed, which emphasized the ancient Roman origins of the Romanian people and created the modern Latin-based Romanian alphabet (which eventually supplanted an earlier Cyrillic script). It also accepted the leadership of the pope over the Romanian church of Transylvania, thus forming the Romanian Greek-Catholic Uniate Church. In 1791 they issued a petition to Emperor Leopold II of Austria, named Supplex Libellus Valachorum based on the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, demanding equal political rights with the other ethnicities for the Romanians in Transylvania and thus starting the movement of national awakening.

The end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century was marked in Wallachia and Moldavia by the reigns of Phanariote Princes; thus the two principalities were heavily influenced by the Greek world. Greek schools appeared in the principalities and in 1818 the first Romanian School was founded in Bucharest by Gheorghe Lazăr and Ion Heliade Rădulescu. Anton Pann was a successful novelist, Ienăchiţă Văcărescu wrote the first Romanian grammar and his nephew Iancu Văcărescu is considered to be the first important Romanian poet.

The revolutionary year 1848 had its echoes in the Romanian principalities and in Transylvania, and a new elite from the middle of the 19th century emerged from the revolutions: Mihail Kogălniceanu (writer, politician and the first prime minister of Romania), Vasile Alecsandri (politician, playwright and poet), Andrei Mureşanu (publicist and the writer of the current Romanian National Anthem) and Nicolae Bălcescu (historian, writer and revolutionary).

The union between Wallachia and Moldavia in 1859 brought a growing consolidation of Romanian life and culture. Universities were opened in Iaşi and in Bucharest and the number of new cultural establishments grew significantly. The new prince from 1866 and then King of Romania Carol I was a devoted king, and he and his wife Elisabeth were among the main patrons of arts. Of great impact in Romanian literature was the literary circle Junimea, founded by a group of people around the literary critic Titu Maiorescu in 1863. It published its cultural journal Convorbiri Literare where, among others, Mihai Eminescu, Romania's greatest poet, Ion Creangă, a storyteller of genius, and Ion Luca Caragiale, novelist and the Romania's greatest playwright published most of their works. During the same period Nicolae Grigorescu and Ştefan Luchian founded modern Romanian painting; composer Ciprian Porumbescu was also from this time.

In Transylvania, the emancipation movement became better organised and in 1861 an important cultural organisation ASTRA (The Transylvanian Association for Romanian Literature and the Culture of the Romanian People) was founded in Sibiu under the close supervision of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan Andrei Şaguna. It helped publish a great number of Romanian language books and newspapers, and between 1898 and 1904 it published a Romanian Encyclopedia. Among the greatest personalities from this period are: the novelist and publicist Ioan Slavici, the poet and publicist George Coşbuc, the poet Ştefan Octavian Iosif, the historian and founder of Romanian press in Transylvania George Bariţiu and Badea Gheorghe Cârţan, a simple peasant shepherd from Southern Transylvania who, through his actions became a symbol of the emancipation movement.

Culture of Romania - Golden age

The first half of the 20th century is regarded by many as the golden age of Romanian culture and it is the period when it reached its main level of international affirmation and a strong connection to the European cultural trends. The most important artist who had a great influence on the world culture was the sculptor Constantin Brâncuşi, a central figure of the modern movement and a pioneer of abstraction.

The relationship between traditional and Western European trends was a subject of heated polemics and outstanding personalities sustained the debates. The playwright, expressionist poet and philosopher Lucian Blaga can be cited as a member of the traditionalist group and the literary critic founder of the literary circle and cultural journal Sburătorul, Eugen Lovinescu, represents the so-called Westernizing group, which sought to bring Romanian culture closer to Western European culture. Also, George Călinescu was a more complex writer who, among different literary creations, produced the monumental "History of the Romanian literature, from its origins till present day".

The beginning of the 20th century was also a prolific period for Romanian prose, with personalities such as the novelist Liviu Rebreanu, who described the struggles in the traditional society and the horrors of war, Mihail Sadoveanu, a writer of novels of epic proportions with inspiration in the medieval history of Moldavia, and Camil Petrescu was a more modern writer distinguishing himself through the analytical prose writing. In dramaturgy, Mihail Sebastian was an influential writer and as the number of theaters grew also did the number of actors, Lucia Sturdza Bulandra being an actress representative of this period.

Alongside Lucian Blaga, a poet of an equal importance was Tudor Arghezi who was the first to revolutionize the poetry in the last 50 years. One should not neglect the poems of George Bacovia a symbolist poet of neurosis and despair and those of Ion Barbu a brilliant mathematician who wrote a series of very successful cryptic poems. Tristan Tzara and Marcel Janco, founders of the Dadaist movement, were also of Romanian origin.

The period was dominated by the overwhelming personality of the historian and politician Nicolae Iorga who, during his lifetime published over 1,250 books and wrote more than 25,000 articles. In music, the composer George Enescu and pianist Dinu Lipatti became world famous. The number of important Romanian painters also grew, and the most significant ones were: Nicolae Tonitza, Camil Ressu, Lucian Grigorescu and Theodor Pallady. In medicine a great contribution to human society was the discovery of insulin by the romanian scientist Nicolae Paulescu. Also Gheorghe Marinescu was an important neurologist and Victor Babeş was one of the earliest bacteriologists. In mathematics Gheorghe Ţiţeica was one of romania's greatest mathematicians, and also an important personality was the mathematician/poet Dan Barbilian.

Culture of Romania - Post-war period

After World War II, due to the occupation by the Red Army and the establishment of a communist regime in Romania, a great number of Romanian cultural personalities left the country, some of them managing to make a mark on the international cultural scene. Three individuals emerged as the most important Romanians abroad: playwright Eugen Ionescu (who became known in France as Eugène Ionesco), creator of the theatre of the absurd and eventual member of the Academie Francaise; religious historian and writer Mircea Eliade; and the essayist and philosopher Emil Cioran. Fellow Romanian Ioan Petre Culianu continued Eliade's work with great success, in the United States.

Well-known Romanian musicians outside of Romania during this period include conductors Sergiu Celibidache—the main conductor at the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and later of Munich Philharmonic Orchestra—and Constantin Silvestri, main conductor at the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Gheorghe Zamfir was a virtuoso of the pan pipes and made this instrument known to a modern worldwide audience, and was also also a composer or interpreter for a great number of movies. Composer and architect Iannis Xenakis was born in Romania and spent his childhood there.

George Emil Palade a cell biologist and a teacher became the first Romanian to receive the Nobel Prize, winning the 1974 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for describing the structure and function of organelles in cells. Elie Wiesel, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986, was born in the Romanian town of Sighetu Marmaţiei.

In Romania, the communist regime imposed heavy censorship an almost all elements of life and they used the cultural world as a mean to better control the population. Two currents appeared: one that glorified the regime and another that tried to avoid censorship. The first is of almost no lasting cultural value, but the second managed to create valuable works, successfully avoiding censorship and being very well received by the general public. From this period the most outstanding personalities are those of: the writer Marin Preda, the poets Nichita Stănescu and Marin Sorescu, and the literary critics Nicolae Manolescu and Eugen Simion. Most dissidents who chose not to emigrate lived a life closely watched by the regime, either in "house arrest" or in "forced domicile"; some chose to retreat to remote monasteries. Most of their work was published after the 1989 Revolution. Among the most notable examples are the philosophers Constantin Noica, Petre Ţuţea and Nicolae Steinhardt.

A strong editorial activity took place during the Communist regime. With the purpose of educating the "large masses" of peoples, a huge number of books were published. Large-scale editing houses such as Cartea Românească, Editura Eminescu and others appeared, which published huge collections of books, such as the Biblioteca pentru Toţi ("The Library for Everyone") with over 5,000 titles. Generally, a book was never published in an edition of less than 50,000 copies. Libraries appeared in every village and almost all were kept up to date with the newest books published. Also, due to low prices, almost everyone could afford to have their own collection of books at home. The negative part was that all the books were heavily censored, and usually sought to promote Communist ideals. Also, due to rationing in every aspect of life, the quality of the printing and the paper also was very low, and the books therefore degraded easily.

During this period, there was a significant increase in the number of theatres, as they appeared even in the smallest towns. Many new establishments were built and in the big cities they became important landmarks, such as the building of the National Theatre of Bucharest, situated right in the middle of the city, immediately adjacent to Romania's kilometre zero. In the smaller towns, there existed the so-called "Worker's Theatre", a semi-professional institution. Partly due to the lack of other entertainment venues, theatre was highly popular and the number of actors increased. All of the theatres had a stable, state-funded budget. Again, however, the drawback was the heavy control imposed on them by the regime: censorship was very present and only ideologically-accepted plays were allowed. More progressive theatres managed to survive in some remote cities that became favorite destinations for young actors, but they generally had only a local audience.

Cinemas evolved the same way as the theatres; sometimes the same establishment served both purposes. Movies were very popular, and from the 1960s, foreign films started becoming quite widespread. Western films, when shown, were heavily censored: entire sections were cut, and dialogue was translated only using ideologicaly accepted words. Domestic or "friendly" foreign productions constituted the bulk of films in cinemas. During this period, cinematography started to develop in Romania and the first successful short films were made based on Caragiale's plays. Financed by the government, during the 1960s. a whole industry developed at Buftea, a town close to Bucharest, and some films, especially gangster, Western-genre and historical movies were very well received by the public. The most prolific director was Sergiu Nicolaescu, and probably the most-acclaimed actor from that period was Amza Pellea.

Culture of Romania - Evolutions after 1989

After the fall of communism in 1989, there was an almost immediate explosion of publication of books previously censored by the regime. Books were published in huge numbers per edition, sales were high, and a great number of publishing houses appeared. However, this soon reached a saturation point, and publishing houses began to decline, due to a combination of bad management, a rapid decline in sales, and the absence of subsidies. Many closed after only a few titles published; some changed their profile and started editing commercial literature - mainly translations - and the state-owned publishers entered a "state of lethargy". These last survived due to state financing, but their publishing activity diminished. Despite this, some publishing houses managed to survive and develop by implementing market policies, and also by increasing the quality and the general aspect of the books they published. Among the most notable contemporary Romanian publishers are Humanitas in Bucharest, Polirom in Iaşi - two of the elite publishing houses, or Teora - oriented toward technical topics and dictionaries. Some publishing houses developed their own chains or bookstores, and also other new, privately owned bookstore chains opened, replacing the old state owned ones.

Culturally oriented newsprint periodicals followed a similar trajectory of boom and bust. A few have survived and managed to raise their level of quality and to maintain a critical spirit despite the hardships they encountered. Dilema Veche (Old Dilemma) and Revista 22 (Magazine 22) remain respected forces in Romanian culture, with Observator Cultural a lesser, but also respected, weekly paper. Also, a state financed radio (Radio România Cultural) and a television channel (TVR Cultural) with a cultural programme exist, but they are not highly popular.

Many new young writers appeared, but due to financial constraints, only those who have gained a strong reputation could get the financial backing to publisj their works. The Writers Association, which should, in principle, support these writers' efforts, hasn't undergone much change since 1989 and there is much controversy surrounding its activity and purpose. The most successful writers, like Mircea Cărtărescu, Horia Roman Patapievici, Andrei Pleşu, Gabriel Liiceanu and Mircea Dinescu, are respected personalities in Romanian life, but they have to devote some of their would-be writing time to other activities, mainly journalism. The ties with the Romanian diaspora are now very strong and even foreign-language Romanian writers like Andrei Codrescu (who now writes primarily in English) are very popular.

Romanian theatre suffered also from economic hardships, and its popularity decreased drastically due to the increased popularity of television and other entertainment venues. Some theatres survived due their prestige (and some continued subsidies); others survived through good management, investing in themselves and earning a steady audience through the high quality of their productions. Experimental or independent theatres appeared and are quite popular in university cities. Uniter - The Romanian Theatres Association - gives yearly awards to the best performances. Some of the most criticaly acclaimed directors in contemporary Romania are Silviu Purcărete, Tompa Gabor, Alexandru Dabija and Alexandru Darie. Also, among the most appreciated actors, both from the new and old generation, one can name Ştefan Iordache, Victor Rebenciuc, Maia Morgenstern, Marcel Iureş, Horaţiu Mălăele, Ion Caramitru, Mircea Diaconu, Marius Chivu and others.

Due to the lack of funds, Romanian film-making suffered heavily in the 1990s; even now, as of 2005, a lot of controversy surrounds state aid for movies. Well known directors such as Dan Piţa and Lucian Pintilie have had a certain degree of continued success, and younger directors such as Nae Caranfil and Cristi Puiu have became highly respected. Caranfil's film Filantropica and Puiu's The Death of Mr. Lăzărescu were extremely well received and gained awards at international festivals in Paris and Cannes. Beside domestic production, Romania became a favorite destination for international producer due to the low cost of filming there, and big investments have been made in large studios.

The number of cultural events held yearly in Romania increased in the last years. Some sporadic events like the "2005 Bucharest CowParade" have been well received and yearly events and festivals have continually attracted interest. Very popular are medieval festivals in cities in Transylvania, which combine street theatre with music and battles reenactment to create a very lively atmosphere. In theatre, a yearly National Festival takes place, and one of the most important international theatre festivals is the "The Sibiu Theatre Festival" while in filmmaking, the "TIFF" Film Festival in Cluj, the "Dakino" Film Festival in Bucharest and the "Anonimul" Film Festival in the Danube Delta are have an ever stronger international presence. In music, the most important event is the "George Enescu" Classical Music Festival but also festivals like "Jeunesses Musicales" International Festival and Jazz festivals in Sibiu and Bucharest are appreciated. An important event will take place in 2007 when the city of Sibiu will be, along with Luxembourg, the European Capital of Culture

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Historical evolution", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki