Ienăchiță Văcărescu (Romanian pronunciation: [jenəˈkit͡sə vəkəˈresku]; 1740 – 11 July 1797) was a Wallachian Romanian poet, historian, philologist, and boyar belonging to the Văcărescu family. A polyglot, he was able to speak Ancient and Modern Greek, Old Church Slavonic, Arabic, Persian, French, German, Italian, and Ottoman Turkish.
Ienăchiță Văcărescu | |
|---|---|
 Ienăchiţă Văcărescu, portrait by Anton Chladek | |
| Born | 1740 |
| Died | July 11, 1797 (aged 57) |
Resting place | Bellu Cemetery |
| Occupations | Poet, Writer |
| Notable work | Romanian Grammar |
| Partners | Ecaterina Caragea Elena Rizo |
| Children | Nicolae Văcărescu Alecu Văcărescu |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | Ianache Văcărescu (grandfather) |
| Family | Văcărescu[1] |
Biography
editVăcărescu wrote one of the first printed books on Romanian grammar in 1787, an edition which also included a section dedicated to the study of prosody; it was titled Observaţii sau băgări de seamă asupra regulilor şi orânduielilor gramaticii româneşti ("Observations or Reckonings on the Rules and Dispositions of Romanian Grammar"). He also completed a work on Greek grammar (Gramatica greacă completă).[2]
Văcărescu's lyrical works take inspiration from both Anacreon and folklore, and center on romantic love. The best-known poems he left behind are Amărâta turturea ("Embittered Turtle Dove") and the minuscule Într-o grădină ("In a Garden"). Aside from these, he was also the author of a Istorie a Preaputernicilor Împăraţi Otomani ("History of the All Mighty Ottoman Emperors").[3]
On several occasions, Ienăchiţă Văcărescu served Wallachia as a diplomat in missions abroad, including negotiations carried out in the Habsburg realms for the sons of Prince Alexander Ypsilantis to return after their 1782 flight to Vienna; he met and conversed with Emperor Joseph II, and also befriended the French ambassador, Baron de Breteuil. His impressive knowledge of Italian was the subject of a 1929 study by historian Nicolae Iorga, De unde a învăţat italieneşte Ienăchiţă Văcărescu ("Where Has Ienăchiţă Văcărescu Learned His Italian From?").
References
edit- ↑ van de Pas, Leo; Fettes, Ian; Mahler, Leslie. "Ienăchiță Văcărescu". Genealogics. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
- ↑ "Văcărescu Family". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
- ↑ Catanoy, Nicholas; Simion, Eugen (1982). "Dimineaţa poeţilor". World Literature Today. 56 (1): 100. doi:10.2307/40136972. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
- Neagu Djuvara, Între Orient şi Occident. Ţările române la începutul epocii moderne, Humanitas, Bucharest, 1995, p. 345