Translation Strategies in Damaschin Bojincă’s Historical Writings

Abstract

This study intends to analyze Damaschin Bojincã’s historical writing about the emblematic ruler Michael the Brave, published in the Romanian periodical Bibliotecã româneascã (Romanian li brary) in 1830. Illustrative of the ideological principles promoted by the Transylvanian School, to which Damaschin Bojincã belonged, the writing is in fact a translation, the source text being Johann Christian von Engel’s Geschichte der Moldau und Walachey (1804). Yet, this translation can be understood only in the context of the ideology of the Transylvanian School. Even though trans lation activities did not abide by any scientific rigors in premodern Romanian literature, Bojincã made use of certain strategies, in order to convey his nationalist credo, which was symptomatic of the period around the turn of the 19th century. Thus, starting from the historical and cultural context of the Transylvanian School, the article will present some of the translation strategies used by Bojincã in his historical writing, as a means of national propaganda.