Dimitrie Onciul (1856-1923)

Abstract

Dimitrie Onciul was born in 1856 in Straja, in the present day county of Suceava. He attended the Orthodox primary school, the high school and the university (specializing in history and geography) in Chernivtsi. In Vienna he attended the Faculty of Philosophy, specializing in Latin epigraphy, diplomatic, palaeography and sigillography. In 1884, he obtained his PhD in history at the University of Chernivtsi. Since 1885, he has been a secondary professor of history and geography in Chernivtsi. In 1895, Onciu decided to leave Bukovina and go to Romania, the decision being made following the conflict with the school inspector Carl Tumlirz. In Bucharest he knew the full consecration of his activity: He became the holder of the Chair of Old History of Romanians until the End of the 17th Century of the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy of the University of Bucharest (1896–1923) and then dean of this faculty (1919–1923). Since 1900 he has been the director general of the archives, being involved in the organization on a modern basis of this institution, following the model of those from other European centres. As president of the Commission of Historical Monuments (1919) he inaugurated medieval archaeological research, and in 1922 he founded the Heraldic Consultative Commission, of which he was the first president. Dimitrie Onciu’s scientific activity was rewarded by his election, first as a corresponding member (1889) and then as a titular member of the Romanian Academy (1905). He was vice-president (1913–1916) and president (1920–1923) of the Academy, and president of the historical department of the Romanian Academy (1911–1914, 1919–1922). Dimitrie Onciul focused his research mainly on two major themes: ethnogenesis and Romanian continuity in the Carpathian-Danubian-Pontic space and and the way of formation of the Romanian principalities as independent states. Based on the thorough study of historical sources, Dimitrie Onciu’s studies have been pioneering future research. Dimitrie Onciul did not draw up an edition of his writings, most of them, except for a few studies that were printed in the form of extracts, being published in the press of the time. Over time, several editions of the writings of the Bukovinian historian appeared. He was a member or president of cultural societies (“Arboroasa”, “Junimea”, “România Jună”, the Society for Romanian Culture and Literature in Bukovina, “The Romanian School”, the National Orthodox Society of Romanian Women, the League for Cultural Unity of All Romanians), He contributed, through public conferences and university lectures, to the spiritual training of the Great Union generation, being confident in the triumph of the national cause. On March 20, 1923, suffering of a disease he had since childhood, Dimitrie Onciu passed away. He was buried in the Horecea Central Cemetery, in Chernivtsi. He remained in the memory of posterity as a tireless researcher of the history, being considered the one who introduced the concept of „critique” in the Romanian historiography. Along with other great personalities, such as Ioan Bogdan, A. D. Xenopol, Nicolae Iorga or Vasile Pârvan, he made valuable contributions to the progress of Romanian historical science.