Dimitrie Cantemir Research Articles

The reception of Dimitrie Cantemir’s work in post-war Bessarabia (the 1950S-1970S)

The research of Dimitrie Cantemir’s work in post-war Bessarabia began in the 1950s. Editions of Cantemirian writings appear in Chisinau (Hieroglyphic History, 1957, Description of Moldova, 1957). The first monographic study belongs to Vasiliy Ermuratski Public and political views of Dmitrie Cantemir. Chisinau, 1956, 103 p., in which the author is among the first to introduce the original Cantemirian manuscripts, preserved in museums and libraries in Russia, into the scientific circuit. The monograph Dmitre Cantemir - thinker and state figure belongs to the same author. Chisinau, 1973, 154 p., edited for the 300th anniversary of Dimitrie Cantemir›s birth. Towards this anniversary was also published in Chisinau the monograph of Vasile Coroban Dimitrie Cantemir - humanist writer. Chisinau, 1973, 284 p. and the work of Tatiana Ursu The language of Dimitrie Cantemir’s Chronicle. Chisinau, 1973, 255 p. The activity of research and editing in the Moldavian SSR of Cantemirian work deserves to be appreciated and promoted

Dimitrie Cantemir in the face of the change of the civilizational paradigm

In the following communication Dimitrie Cantemir in the face of civilizational paradigm change, the authors try to examine from a different angle the actions of Dimitrie Cantemir (1673-1723) during his short reign in Moldova (1710-1711) and especially regarding his alliance with Peter I, Tsar of Russia (April 2/13, 1711). Starting from the fact that the Romanian scholar during his adolescence and youth had been formed as an intellectual and politician in the Orthodox cultural and spiritual environment from Moldova on the one hand and in that of the Islamic world and culture from Constantinople on the other, it can be assumed that he was acquainted both with the Christian European civilization and with the Arab-Turkish-Persian Oriental one. Throughout his entire literary creation as a historian, philosopher, musician, etc., Cantemir relied on representative scientific, cultural and religious values from both civilizational worlds. As for his political activity, both before and during his reign in Moldova, the Romanian prince understood that his homeland was included in the civilizational area of the Ottoman Empire, a circumstance that inhibited its development and affirmation on the international level. In accordance with the Biblical conception of the universal cycle of the four monarchies, which the erudite prince had embraced and further developed in a special study, Monarchiarum physica examinatio / A Natural Research of Monarchies, he considered that the unfolding political-military events at the crossroads of the two great civilizations, that of Europe and that of Islam, inevitably led to the collapse and disappearance of the Ottoman Empire as a historical anomaly. As a result, the baton of universal evolution would soon be taken over by the Northern monarchy, which was represented, according to D. Cantemir, by the Russian state. This system was used as the theoretical basis for the decision of the prince of Moldavia to break his relations with the Ottoman Gate and negotiate an alliance with the new rising European power. Thus, through such an action in these new circumstances, Cantemir was actually trying to break Moldova away from the area of Oriental civilization and place it de facto as a sovereign country in the new system of European international relations.

Theological aspects regarding D. cantemir’s panegyric dedicated to the holy great martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica

In the present article, it begins by providing some insights into the meaning and etymology of the word “panegyric” and its acceptance in Christianity. Subsequently, it presents information about the emergence of Dimitrie Cantemir’s panegyric dedicated to Saint Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki and describes the manuscript. The author then delves into the manuscript’s structure, including the introductory text, the mode of address, the introduction, the announcement of the theme, and the treatment of the theme. Simultaneously, an attempt is made to offer a theological approach to the content of the Panegyric and to restore and explain some of the terms used in the work. In conclusion, the author asserts that the panegyric was composed by an individual well-versed in the Bible and the writings of the Holy Fathers, and this person can be none other than Dimitrie Cantemir.

The Oriental classical music in the Romanian Principalities during the time of Dimitrie Cantemir. The tanbûr on the Romanian territory

The Oriental classical music in the Romanian Principalities during the time of Dimitrie Cantemir. The tanbûr on the Romanian territory

Circulation and versions of the biography of Dimitrie Cantemir. From paratext to independent text. A French – English – German – Romanian route

Circulation and versions of the biography of Dimitrie Cantemir. From paratext to independent text. A French – English – German – Romanian route

Cultural Geography in Dimitrie Cantemir’s Works on the expedition to the Caucasus

Cultural Geography in Dimitrie Cantemir’s Works on the expedition to the Caucasus

Time in Dimitrie Cantemir’s Sacro-sanctae Scientiae Indepingibilis Imago (1700)

Educated in Constantinople in the last decades of the 17th century, Dimitrie Cantemir (1673– 1723) encountered, on the one hand, the Paduan Aristotelianism transmitted by the Greek philo sophical teachers trained in Venice and Padua, and, on the other, was inspired by a Platonic, Neoplatonic and Pseudo-Dionysian tradition, still alive in Eastern Christian thought. Written after a thorough study of the work of J. B. van Helmont, his treatise on time echoes these mul tiple roots and proposes a conception of time which affirms the non-categoriality and neutrality of the notion of time, its continuous, uniform, immovable, non-successive, immiscible, immutable character, distributive in the singular time of each creature (according to the model of Platonic participation), its participation in eternity, the emanation of eternity from the divine Intellect, and the precedence of time over Creation

Between Humanism and Pre-Enlightenment: Dimitrie Cantemir and His Work: Historiographic Controversies

The multi-faceted personality of this Romanian prince, descended from a modest family, who achieved success by virtue of his own merits, became one of the foremost connoisseurs of the Islamic civilization and participated in the elaboration of Tsar Peter the Great’s reform policies, has inspired vivid historiographic debates, concerned especially with his inclusion among the representatives of late Romanian Humanism or among the exponents of Southeast European pre Enlightenment. His career, built at the crossroads between the Orthodox world, Islamic alterity, and the German historical-geographic school for the study of states, justifies the classification of his work as part of this latter cultural movement, illustrated to the fullest in terms of the Roma nian historical writing by the representatives of the Transylvanian School.

Dimitrie Cantemir and the Transylvanian School on the Ideological “Line” of Central Europe in the Modern Age

The present study attempts to highlight the originality of the Romanian Enlightenment in Transylvania, looking at the way in which the pre-Enlightenment ideas belonging to Dimitrie Cantemir, grounded in the ideological structure of pre-Romanticism in Central Europe, ger minated into the discourse of the members of the Transylvanian School. On the one hand, the author of the study investigates, for each member of the Transylvanian School (Gherontie Cotore, Samuil Micu, Gheorghe Șincai, Petru Maior, Ioan Budai-Deleanu), the takeovers from Cantemir’s work, and, on the other hand, their civic, militant, pragmatic interpretation appropri ate to the political priorities in Transylvania.

Strategii de articulare a sensului în Istoria ieroglifică

In this article, the authors conduct a linguistic analysis, tracing the progression of meaning, including aspects of symbolism in Dimitrie Cantemir’s fable novel The Hieroglyphical History. Regarded by most critics as the masterpiece of Moldavian prince’s literary art, it incorporates elements of the fable within a broad epic structure, which can be compared to a stratified labyrinthine novelesque edifice, being enhanced as a political satire of the era. Given the complexity of the analyzed writing, our aim is to partially decipher the levels of meaning, namely the puzzling, historiographic, allegorical-symbolic, and effective literary cores, all unified into a perfect articulate synthesis. The methodology of research implies text analysis within the integral text linguistics conceptual frame, namely identifying elements of the sense creation and evocative functions by virtue of which the novel is structured.

Dimitrie Cantemir și Basarabia

In the present study we propose to make a retrospective on the appearance of Bessarabia as a historical-geographical entity, on the approach and perception of this horonym as a distinct space in relation to Wallachia and Moldova in the works of Dimitrie Cantemir. The prince comes with the geographical and cartographic description of this territory, called by the Romanians "Bessarabia", and by the Turks and Tatars "Bugeac", the administrative structure, the ethno-demographic evolution during several centuries, both before and after the annexation to the Ottoman Empire, from which emerges the idea of continuity and resistance of the Romanian population in these lands

Consideraţii referitoare la recentele ediții critice de text latinesc ale operelor lui Dimitrie Cantemir

This paper aims to emphasize the role of the late Professor Eugen Simion in stimulating research on the works of Dimitrie Cantemir, thus continuing the first project of the Romanian Academy. His project started in 2003, with the republication of the Romanian works of the Prince, and continued between 2014 and 2020, bringing to the public new editions and new translations. This paper will also underline some of the discoveries regarding Cantemir’s bibliography, such as the impact of the compilation Machumetis Saracenorum principis eiusque successorum vitae ac doctrina ipseque Alcoran (1543) or of the works by Petrus Berchorius, Petrus Galtruchius, Nicephoros Blemmidas etc. These critical editions could stimulate future research on Cantemir’s intense and diverse scientific works.

Dimitrie Cantemir de la un centenar la altul

Occasioned by the proclamation of the Year of Cantemir, the present study aims to follow how the knowledge of Dimitrie Cantemir’s work has been reconfigured from one century to another and from one “centenary” of his birth to another. The editing of his writings, their exegesis, the dimensions of cultural institutionalization, as well as other aspects related to the reception of his work and biography are systematically followed, depending on the agenda of each political regime and the priorities of each epoch that naturally selects a Cantemir’ “of its own’’; the approach thus contributes to the creation of a multifaceted profile of the illustrious Moldovan and European voivode and scholar. Whether it be the historical and philosophical recovery, the literary and musical one, the fictional images in prose and cinematography or the political implications, the Cantemirian image is continuously enriched, amplifying the potential of interest of a personality that continues to provoke stimulating intellectual debates among the community of specialists, while increasing, its societal relevance in posterity.

Probleme de cantemirologie

In this article are highlighted the main achievements of generations of researchers of Dimitrie Cantemir’s life and work, which have succeeded during three centuries since the passing of the great encyclopaedist and scholar, writer, historian, philosopher, geographer, cartographer, ethnologist, composer and musician. At the same time, there are mentioned the controversial issues related to the biography of the scholar, from the origin of his family, the place of birth, to the less known periods of his life (for example, being in Istanbul in 1688 (1689) – 1691), including his relations with various personalities of his time, also the biographies of his descendants. The author also addresses the many issues related to the genesis and publication of Cantemirian works, the need to edit the complete works of D. Cantemir, which would include the original texts and his correspondence.

Dimitrie Cantemir between Sword and Pencil Wielder

In this article, we reveal the work and personality of Dimitrie Cantemir between sword and pen, 350 years since the birth of the great scholar of Moldova, ruler of Moldova, and 300 years since his death. To celebrate the event of the Romanian scholar, the Romanian state declared this year, the Year of Dimitrie Cantemir, an event in the attention of world science. This created the opportunity to respond, through a broad presentation of the work and personality of Dimitrie Cantemir, to the deep interest not only of the Romanian people for one of the most renowned figures of national history but also to the many desires from abroad to know his scientific merits.
 Of course, monographic works on the life and activity of personalities of Moldavia and the Romanian Country have been written on numerous other occasions, but since the time of Dimitrie Cantemir the seeds of a new and modern historiographical phenomenon have appeared, going beyond the biographical area of ruling families and approaching histories with a more general character. Author of numerous works, diversified thematically, among which we mention the Description of Moldavia, Dimitrie Cantemir established himself as a European scientific personality through his work, Geschichte des Wachsthums und des Sirkens des osmanischen Reiches. As has been noted, "The history of this kingdom written by him is divided into two periods, the first of its rise until 1672; the second, of its decline, from that date until 1711". In this work, the author highlights the end of the Ottoman victories and the beginning of the decline of the Ottoman Empire, through the loss of "fearful battles... and the power of the Ottomans greatly weakened by the loss of many kingdoms and countries, by the destruction of whole armies, and by internal rebellions and emperors" With this text, Dimitrie Cantemir opened the discussion of the Oriental question. Dimitrie Cantemir proved to be a keen observer and erudite commentator on practices embedded in our material and spiritual culture.

DIMITRIE CANTEMIR ŞI CHIRURGIA

One of the most important works left by Dimitrie Cantemir, among his rich writings, was "INCREMENTORVM ET DECREMENTORVM AVLAE OTHOMANICAE SIVE ALIOTHMANICAE HISTORIAE A PRIMA GENTIS ORIGINE AD NOSTRA VSQVE TEMPORA DEDVCTATE LIBRI TRES", translated nowadays under the title "HISTORY OF THE INCREASE AND THE DECAY OF THE OTTHMAN OR ALIOTHMAN COURT (FROM THE BEGINNINGS OF THE NATION TO OUR TIME), IN THREE BOOKS". Among other information, it also contains a description of the land and the city of Avlonia - i.e. Vlora (dominated then by the Sublime Porta), as well as the Albanians from that region who had several qualities: fierce fighters, builders of aqueducts (without formal education) and healers of hernia by surgical operation. The surgery part has a special significance. In 1734 ”Incrementorum...” was translated into English by pastor Tindal, historian and translator. He used a manuscript in Latin given to him by Antioch Cantemir, son of Dimitrie Cantemir. The English text was translated into French by Fr. de Joncquieres. In 1745, a German translation appeared in the city of Hamburg, also using the English edition. In 1876, the Romanian Academy, published Iosif Hodoş first Romanian translation of the German edition. Fragments adapted from this edition were then used by Romanian researchers, including historians of medicine, such as Pompei Samarian, Dr. Vasile Sârbu. The original Latin manuscript of Dimitrie Cantemir's text was to be found not earlier than 1984 by Virgil Cândea at the Houghton Library in the USA. The Latinist Dan Sluşanschi published the manuscript and made its first translation from Latin into Romanian. The surgeon Dr. A. E. Nicolau published fragments of this translation, namely the passage regarding the surgical cure. În 2015, years after Dan Sluşanschi passing, the Romanian Academy published the text of the transcribed Latin manuscript and a translation version. In parallel, another academic and surgeon, Mircea Beuran, highlighted Cantemir's text, in a different form, exposing in the Floreasca Hospital on large, colorful, how inguinal hernia was operated in the 17th-18th centuries.

Procedee retorice în Divanul lui Dimitrie Cantemir

In this study we have explored the rhetorical function of semantic and syntactic figures in Dimitrie Cantemir's Divanul, which, together with the rhetorical figures proper, highlight key components of the text and intensify meaning. Syntax serves stylistics, with simple inversions and complex hyperbole-like dislocations used to foreground certain constituents in the structure of sentences or textual semantic/ideational units. The dialogic design accommodates several rhetorical devices within the same textual space, making the style excessively ornate.

Portraiture in a Cantemirian-Inspired Manuscript: Faces of the Turkish Emperors, 1710

Appreciated since his lifetime as a great connoisseur of the Ottoman Empire, Dimitrie Cantemir wrote several works on the history, art and customs of the Turks, referring to the reigns of several sultans. This theme also appears in a manuscript written in Romanian with Cyrillic characters, dated 1710, which contains the briefly described histories of 27 Turkish sultans, as well as their portraits. Since 1931, when it was discovered, and until now, several researchers have discussed the authorship of the text and its possible relationship with the work of Dimitrie Cantemir. In this article, the content, style and language of the manuscript are analyzed, aspects that have been less studied until now.

Dimitrie Cantemir and his valuable contribution to the history of surgery: the first description of the transabdominal approach for groin hernia

Dimitrie Cantemir and his valuable contribution to the history of surgery: the first description of the transabdominal approach for groin hernia

Cantemirian works in the community of Saint Paisie from the Neamt monastery

The study shows that some of Dimitrie Cantemir’s works (Divan and Description of Moldavia) reached the Neamt monastery from Moldova between the 18th – the first half of the 19th century. Copies of the Divan ..., printed in Iasi in 1698, were part of the old library of the monastery, being read by monks in the Paisian and post-Pasian period (17631859). The Description of Moldavia was even more appreciated in Neamt, which, thanks to the efforts of the monks, saw the light of print in 1825, within the monastery’s printing house. Since a small part of the edition remained in Neamt, the most of it, thanks to the Neamt monks again, were sent to many ecclesiastical centers, libraries, and universities, in all the lands inhabited by Romanians, including Bessarabia.