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Dan Simonescu

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Dan Simonescu
Simonescu in 1977
Born
Dan Simon

(1902-12-11)December 11, 1902
Câmpulung,Kingdom of Romania
DiedMarch 10, 1993(1993-03-10)(aged 90)
Bucharest,Romania
Other names
  • Simon Dănescu
  • Dan Simionescu
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Bucharest
Influences
Academic work
Era20th century
Main interests

Dan Simonescu(bornDan Simon,also known asSimionescuandSimon Dănescu;December 11, 1902 – March 10, 1993) was a Romanian literary historian, bibliographer, folklorist, and librarian. His debut was in his late teens, when he accompaniedConstantin Rădulescu-Codinduring fieldwork inMuscel County,publishing his first contributions in the field ofRomanian folklore.After graduating from theUniversity of Bucharestin 1925, and publishing his first book, a collection of articles, in 1926, he became an assistant professor at his alma mater, and was also employed as a librarian by theRomanian Academy.Simonescu joined an editorial team headed by senior scholarsIoan BianuandNicolae Cartojan,and, in the 1930s and 1940s, became a major contributor to the collection and publication of oldRomanian literature;he was also Cartojan's disciple, though the two disagreed on a parallel project, namely the publication ofMihail Kogălniceanu's collected works, with Simonescu favoring, and eventually putting out, a topical selection of Kogălniceanu's social-themed essays. His own first major contributions were his doctoral thesis, which explored court ceremonials in theDanubian Principalities,and a paper on the emergence ofhistoriographyinEarly Modern Romania.

Having obtained a professorship atIași Universityduring World War II, Simonescu joined theSocial Democratic Partyin the late 1940s, and was briefly employed as a department head by theEducation Ministry.He became marginalized during the early stages ofRomanian communism:sent to do work at theNicolae Iorga Institute of Historyand the Technical School for Librarians, he was involved in the technical aspects of bibliographic work. By 1956, he could return with more editions of Kogălniceanu, and more secretly networked with other old-regime intellectuals, includingG. T. Kirileanu;they ensured the preservation and eventual resumption of cultural research that went against the official interpretation ofMarxism–Leninism.

In the 1960s, the regime allowed Simonescu to teach at the Bucharest Pedagogical Institute, and then granted him a Bucharest University chair, which he preserved to his official retirement in 1972. He is widely seen as responsible for the definitive Kogălniceanu edition, while also contributing studies of ancient literature, includingromancesand rhyming chronicles, with additional returns to both bibliography and folkloristics. Simonescu was additionally instrumental in the rediscovery of historical writings byBalthasar Walther,though also criticized for allowingcommunist censorsto remove a fragment referencingMichael the Brave's antisemitism. Organizing a specialized class for antiquarian booksellers when he was already in his late eighties, he continued to write into the early 1990s. Three years after theRomanian Revolution of 1989,and four months before his death, he was made an honorary member of the academy.

Biography

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Beginnings and interwar

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Dan Simon was born on December 11, 1902, inCâmpulung,which was back then the seat of local government for Muscel, in theKingdom of Romania.[1][2]His parents, who adhered to theRomanian Orthodox Church,[3]were the civil servant Ion Simon and his wife Ecaterina (née Slăvescu).[1]The couple had eleven other children,[2]includingRomanian Land ForcesColonel Constantin Simonescu.[3]The Simons, all of whom later used the name "Simonescu",[3]had deeper ties to Muscel, with Ion being born atSuslăneștivillage, near Mateiaș Hill;[4]a local legend has it that Dan's grandfather, Simon of Suslănești, had spared the village devastation by pleading with the brigandRadu Anghel.[5]Dan himself recalled being involved in village life from his early years, "with a sort of liberty that was rarely impinged upon by pedagogic principles."[4]

The future scholar lived out World War I andoccupation by German troopsin that region. In late 1916, he had boarded with the mayor ofMioveni,witnessing first-hand the town's takeover by theImperial German Army.[6]He later referred to this period, which lasted down to the creation ofGreater Romaniain 1918, as one of wanton destruction.[7]His early education was completed in Câmpulung andPitești,where, according to his own recollections, he became more disciplined and began modelling himself on his teachers, especially Alexandru Bărcăcilă and Mihai Mihăileanu, who taught him Latin.[4]After completingIon Brătianu High School,[1]Simon enrolled in the University of Bucharest in September 1921. He was initially drawn by classical scholarship, in the same class asAlexandru Graur,but was put off by professorDumitru Evolceanu,whose teaching methods he regarded as superficial; he was instead impressed byIuliu Valaori,who introduced him toLatin literature.[4]According to his own recollections, in 1922 he metConstantin Rădulescu-Codin,a clerk and schoolteacher who was traveling throughout Muscel andArgeș Counties,collectingRomanian folklore;one such trip took them to Suslănești.[8]

Looking back in 1981, Simonescu described Muscel and Argeș as a "region [...] with old, and, it seems to me, unaltered traditions."[6]As noted by folklorist Mihail M. Robea, he was one of the young intellectuals who did much of the uncredited fieldwork, with the results of their research being effectively exploited by Codin.[9]A fellow literary historian, G. G. Ursu, dates Simonescu's writing debut to 1923, noting his "unrelenting passion for books".[10]These early contributions were published byArthur Gorovei's specialized magazine of folkloristics,Șezătoarea.[10][11]According to Gorovei's recollections, his first signature wasDan Simionescu,withSimonescueventually settled as his definitive surname.[11]He sometimes alternated it with a pen name,Simon Dănescu.[12]"Student Dan I. Simonescu, originally from Câmpulung" was cited as aninformantby the folkloristIoan Aurel Candrea,referencing a Muscel legend which claimed that brigand Gheorghe Fulga had escaped from jail using a miraculous week callediarba fiarelor.[13]He also rediscovered a collection of primary sources on Câmpulung's history, attributing it to the clerk Dumitru I. Băjan.[14]

Simonescu was trained inpalaeography,and in 1924–1925 held a job at theNational Archives.[2]He graduated university in 1925, when he also became a substitute high school teacher; he held a permanent position in 1929–1931.[1]His first published volume[1][15]was the 1926Încercări istorico-literare( "Literary and Historical Essays" ). Done from papers he presented at university seminars, it formulated Simonescu's identification ofAlecu Russoas the author of aRomanian nationalistessay,Cântarea României,and presentedUdriște Năsturel's translation ofBarlaam and Josaphat.[15]A separate chapter discussedGheorghe Asachi's poetic debt toAdam Mickiewicz.[16]Încercăriwas followed that same year by a monograph on the Câmpulung Monastery—Viața literară și culturală a Mănăstirii Câmpulung (Muscel) în trecut,which was essentially his final dissertation, with scholarIoan Bianuas the supervisor.[15][17]Drawing praise from the establishment historianNicolae Iorga(and, as Simonescu notes, still cited by scholars into the 1970s),[15]it was rated as "excellent" by Ursu.[10]Also in 1926, Simonescu arranged for print the late Rădulescu-Codin's final manuscript, a monograph of Câmpulung.[18]

Upon Bianu's recommendation, and upon finishing his mandatory military service in December 1927,[15]Simonescu became a teaching assistant atBucharest's Faculty of Letters and Philosophy. He replacedNicolae Cartojan,who had been advanced to lecturer,[15]and was originally a substitute for Iorga (to 1929).[17]He was later accepted as a provisional (1931) and permanent (1938) assistant; from 1931, he was also a librarian at theRomanian Academycollections[1][15]and the manuscript section of theCentral University Library.[10]His first tasks were in cataloguingTeodor Burada's documentary fund.[15]His second specialization was inByzantine studies,after attending a seminar held by philologistDemostene Russoin 1933–1934.[17]Collaborating with senior bibliographers such as Bianu and Cartojan, who informed his approach to historiography, he became fascinated withincunabula;on behalf of the academy, he was editor of the well-received third-volume ofBibliografia românească veche( "Old Romanian Bibliography" ), which came out in 1936.[10][15][19][20][21]Also that year, his own literary reviews were collected into a single volume (asIstorie literară în recenzii).[1]From 1935, he also taught at a pedagogical high school in Bucharest—a stint which ended in 1938[1]or 1940.[2]

Researcher Nicolae Scurtu notes that Simonescu's enduring admiration for Bianu and Cartojan were "of a rare kind in the Romanian cultural space."[6]He maintained his admiration of Cartojan throughout his life, calling him a "perfect man",[17]as well as "just, decent, humane, [and] self-effacing".[22]Cartojan, alongside Bianu, Russo and others whom he met at the academy, gave him living proof that "one cannot complete a thorough paper without sacrificing one's hours of leisure and entertainment, one's personal and family interests, one's health and friendships."[15]As Cartojan's assistant at the Bucharest faculty of letters, Simonescu held two seminars—one teaching students the minutiae of theRomanian Cyrillic alphabet,and the other familiarizing them with the major works of oldRomanian literature.[23]Spurred on by Cartojan,[15]he attended specialized courses at Athens and Istanbul (1934), followed by an extended stay as a visiting scholar at theBibliothèque nationale de Francein Paris (1937).[10]Also in 1937, he issued a monograph calledDela istorie la istorie literară,which discussedAlexandru Lapedatu's contribution as a historian.[24]On May 16 of that year, he published inCurentulan article which announced the first efforts to establishcomparative literatureas an independent academic domain.[25]

Wartime and communist repression

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Simonescu took a doctorate of letters in 1938,[1]with a paper on the court ceremonial in the oldDanubian Principalities.[10][19]Its starting point was aMoldaviancodex of 1762, compiled in Greek and identified as the work ofLogotheteGeorgiaki. This had been first issued in print in the 19th century by scholarMihail Kogălniceanu,whose errors he was forced to correct as part of his commentary.[26]Simonescu's first article on this subject had been published by Cartojan'sCercetări Literaremagazine, which had him as a contributor into the 1940s;[23]according to Scurtu, it was this collaboration which fully consolidated his reputation.[6]A younger literary historian, Dimitrie Păcurariu, rates his definitive, published thesis a work of reference for the study of older Romanian literature;[21]another scholar,Mircea Anghelescu,sees it as "marking a date in Romanian medieval studies".[19]Historian Emil Lăzărescu took a reserved view, noting that Simonescu had failed to reveal some of his sources, and that the paper contained too few direct citations from Georgiakis. He believed that the work was rather a "point of departure" for later investigations.[27]Also in 1938, Simonescu and Emil Murcade put out an introduction to books ofArabic literatureappearing inWallachia,[19]followed in 1939 by their study,Tipar românesc pentru arabi în secolul al XVIII-lea( "Romanian Printing for the Arabs during the 18th Century" ).[28]Simonescu underwent further training in France during 1939.[1]

During World War II and theIon Antonescudictatorship, Simonescu was substitute professor at the Higher School of Archives and Paleography (1939–1941; 1942–1943).[1]In early 1941, after abrief civil waragainst theIron Guard,Antonescu and his newEducation Minister,Radu R. Rosetti,proceeded with a purge of known Guardists in academia. As part of this maneuver,Giorge Pascuwas forced to resign from the Bucharest University's Chair of Old Literature; Cartojan tried to get Simonescu nominated for that position, but failed to obtain relevant support.[29]Simonescu functioned instead as a substitute professor at the Letters and Philosophy Faculty ofIași University(1941–1942),[1][2]but no longer employed by the Central Library after 1942.[10]Alongside Ion C. Chițimia andAlexandru Rosetti,and under Cartojan's guidance, he began publishing a corpus of old Romanian literature, of which only three volumes came out (two in 1942, and the third, namely the German Chronicle ofStephen the Great's reign, in 1944).[30]During his tenure, Romania entered the war as an ally ofNazi Germany,participating in theinvasion of the Soviet Union.In December 1941,Convorbiri Literarehosted Simonescu's homage to three of his seminar students who had since been killed on theEastern Front;it referred to the "Eastern enemy" as "a dispenser of human misery and a persecutor of the [Christian] cross".[31]In October–November 1943, he visited theTransnistria Governorate,established by Antonescu in former Soviet territory, and lectured atOdesa University.[32]By then, he was also affiliated withVictor Papacostea'sBalcaniagroup, which, although well received (and budgeted) by Antonescu, conflicted with theGreater Germanic Reichby revivingBalkan federalism.[33]

Simonescu was the first expert to investigate the collection of Romanian manuscripts that scholarMoses Gasterhad bequeathed to the academy, publishing his results in a 1940 issue ofViața Romînească.[34]His other research at the Higher School was taken up in print with a 1943 tract on the emergence of a critical dimension in Romania's history-writing (Spiritul critic în istoriografia veche românească). It detailed the old chroniclers' emancipation from the standards imposed byConstantine Manasses,dwelling onGrigore UrecheandMiron Costin's effort to distinguish propaganda and calumny from historical truth.[35]Taking over as head of Iași University's Chair of Old Romanian Literature in mid-1942,[36]Simonescu successfully proposed (though with some reservations) thatGeorge Călinescubecome his counterpart at the Modern Literature Department.[37]This proposal was vetoed by government overseers, who viewed Călinescu as politically suspect, and Simonescu retained that chair as well, as a substitute.[38]Cartojan's death in 1944 left Simonescu in charge of another project, namely the publication of works by Kogălniceanu.[39]He was also the sole editor of an addendum to (or fourth volume of)Bibliografia românească veche.[15][19][20][21][40]The book was completed under duress, with Simonescu showing up for work at the academy throughout theair raids on Bucharest;though commended for the effort, he was criticized by classical scholar Nestor Camariano for not including a number of works, such asRigas Feraios' maps of the Principalities.[40]

The turn of tides on the Eastern Front saw the scholar's brother Constantin killed in action duringOperation Little Saturnof late 1942.[3]In August 1944, Antonescu wasdeposed by coup,and Romania was placed undera Soviet occupation.In February 1945, Simonescu was lecturing at the newly formedRomanian Society for Friendship with the Soviet Union(ARLUS) of Bucharest, discussingDimitrie Cantemir's activity in theRussian Empire.[41]That August, ARLUS'Iașichapter hosted his presentation ofNikolai Spathari,a Moldavian soldier and geographer in service to theTsardom of Russia.[42]He continued to publish articles, including, in 1946, one detailing the spread ofBaltasar Gracián'sEl Criticónin 18th-century Moldavia.[43]He was elected a regional delegate of the Democratic Students' Front,[44]and, at a congress held on June 18, 1946, joined the national executive board of the Union of Teachers' Syndicates.[45]By October 1946, Simonescu had set up a private school for boys in Bucharest, called "Mihail Kogălniceanu High School".[46]Exactly a year later, during the Week of Romanian–Soviet Friendship, he spoke at ARLUS' library onCalea Victorieiabout the Soviet tradition in book editing "for the masses".[47]Also then, he and Sergiu Calmanovici co-authored and published secondary-school textbooks for both Romanian and French.[48]

During the early stages ofRomanian communism,Simonescu focused mainly on his work as a bibliographer. As recalled by Anghelescu, who was at a time a student of literature, the senior scholar had been barred from teaching by thecommunist censors—a lesser punishment than those reserved for other specialists, whose work was entirely purged from academia.[19]By January 1948, he had joined theSocial Democratic Party,and was writing for its journal,Viitorul Social.[49]From 1947,[2]he was employed by the Education Ministry's Study Offices, and by February 1948 was collecting statistical data from the various schools.[50]That year, a book collection put out byVatramagazine hosted his edition of Kogălniceanu's "social writings". In his introductory study, Simonescu explained that this was a spin-off from Cartojan's own Kogălniceanu corpus, which, he argued, had neglected the Kogălniceanu's social directives.[51]He was moved to Iași University Philology Section where, in February 1949, he andAlexandru Dimaestablished a study circle which took inspiration fromSoviet historiography.[52]As noted in 1977 by Ursu, the "demands of the cultural revolution in our country" also led Simonescu to participate in popular education, with lectures at the Bucharest people's university.[10]His works of the time include a May 1951 article which discussed the governingWorkers' Partyas depicted "in new works of folk literature".[53]He made returns to his native area (by then included inArgeș Region), and in 1953 stayed with teacher Vasile Marin atMușătești.[6]

Recovery

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Simonescu was chief scientific researcher at theNicolae Iorga Institute of Historyfrom 1952[1]or 1953.[2]During that same period, he was also a staff educator at the Technical School for Librarians.[10][2]His position at Iași was filled by a former student, and personal friend, I. D. Lăudat.[17]In 1955, Simonescu curated Kogălniceanu's selected works for theBiblioteca pentru toțicollection, with a preface which depicted the author "as a thinker of progressive outlook, who never went down the reactionary path taken by the bourgeoisie".[54]Simonescu also edited an edition of Kogălniceanu's literary essays and articles, which came out in 1956 asDespre literatură.This contribution was noted for featuring works that had only ever seen print in their Cyrillic version.[55]In mid-1957, he was allowed to publish in the historical magazineStudii și Materiale de Istorie Modernă,earning praise for putting out Kogălniceanu's first-ever complete bibliography.[56]Another one of his work traced Kogălniceanu's role in establishing the modernRomanian lexis.It was panned by linguist Ion Gheție, who argued that Simonescu had merely put together a collection of words which modern Romanian never adopted, such as "ill-adapted neologisms" and samples of Kogălniceanu's preference for theMoldavian dialect.Also according to Gheție, Simonescu was poorly familiarized with historical grammar, and "seems to confuse literary language with theMuntenian dialect".[57]

In 1958, Simonescu was in correspondence withG. T. Kirileanu,a former librarian of the royal court, who was asking him to look after books he had donated to the academy.[58]As argued by historian Constantin Prangati, the Kirileanu–Simonescu exchanges show that the latter formed part of a clandestine intellectual network, also includingConstantin C. Giurescu,Traian Herseni,Iorgu Iordan,Simion Mehedinți,as well as others. These "supported national culture, defending the Romanians' language and history, while maintaining faith in the arrival of better times".[58]Simonescu made another celebrated return in 1960, when he described the late-16th-century chronicle ofBalthasar Walther,a hitherto ignored historical source on the reign ofMichael the Brave.[59]As noted by scholarAndrei Oișteanu,Simonescu paid service to the communist habit of avoiding discussion aboutJewsand antisemitism in Romania. In his Walther edition, he "expunged—by replacing it with dots—the [...] passage" which detailed how Michael "had all the Jews murdered, who, according to their custom, as they were wont, conducted themselves as traitors to the country."[60]This act of self-censorship caused some controversy in later decades, since reference works preserved the text in Simonescu's version.[60]

Alexander the Greatleading his cavalry into battle. Scene from Năstase Negrule's illuminated version ofAlixăndria,1790
Simonescu (second from the left) with fellow literary historians Al. Oprea,Dan GrigorescuandȘerban Cioculescuat aMuseum of Romanian Literatureexhibit, October 1978

Academic Alexandru Niculescu argues that, by the mid-to-late 1960s, with the communist regime signaling an interest in "recovering the literary inheritance", Simonescu and Chițimia, as well as Iordan, Lăudat andAlexandru Piru,could hope to restore Cartojan's legacy in letters.[22]In 1961, on behalf of the academy, he and Constantin Grecescu published a critical edition of the late-17th-century chronicle known asLetopisețul Cantacuzinesc.[61]The regime awarded him recognition as adocentof philological science in 1962, as well as a position on the Romanian association forSlavic studies.[2]A professor at the Bucharest Pedagogical Institute from 1963 (where he also led the librarians' association),[10]Simonescu was then granted his own chair at the university—holding it from 1968 or 1969 until retirement in 1972.[1][2][19]He was again becoming noted for his dedication in researching old Romanian literature, including for his 1966 overview of literary contributions byAnthim the Iberianand his 1967 work in French, for theStudia et Acta Orientalia,constituting an overview of Arabic andKaramanlibooks issued in Wallachia.[62]

Simonescu kept in touch with the Romanian-born Eric Tappe, who headed theUCL School of Slavonic and East European Studiesin England. Tappe also put him in contact with his British student,Dennis Deletant,who writes: "Dan Simonescu taught me most of what I know about early Romanian culture. Without the guidance given by both these gentlemen [Tappe and Simonescu], I would not have had the linguistic and cultural background to develop my studies."[63]Simonescu was rated among the "prestigious researchers" by Piru, in 1970,[64]and by bibliographer G. Pătrar as "the most reputable connoisseur of old books", in 1971.[65]His other area of expertise remained mid-19th-century literature, and in particular Kogălniceanu, whose complete works he now helped edit.[1][10]As literary criticIon Simuțcautions, Simonescu actually shared credit with a team of historians, includingAlexandru ZubandDan Berindei,but was widely regarded as a "coordinator of sorts" after prefacing the first Kogălniceanu volume, in 1974.[66]Zub himself credits Simonescu for at least the first volume in that collection.[67]

Simonescu reported that the year 1963, with its "professional and didactic necessities", had forced him to prioritize "bibliological science", which he viewed as a companion to literary history.[15]However, he returned as an anthologist that same year, publishingCărțile populare( "Books of Folk Literature" ), with Chițimia as his co-editor.[19]This contribution was followed in 1965 by his ownRomanul popular în literatura română medievală( "Folk Novels in Medieval Romanian Literature" ).[1]Here and in other works, Simonescu advanced his vision ofromancessuch asAlixăndriaandEsopiaas the basis of lay Romanian literature, while also criticizing Cartojan's belief that the Principalities were always indebted and peripheral toGreek literature.[19]In that context, Simonescu was researching the work of a Greek chronicler,Matthew of Myra,as read through its Romanian translation. In a French-language article published in 1966, he posited that Matthew's translator wasAxinte Uricariul,himself the author of a Romanian chronicle.[68]

Later life

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From 1965, Simonescu was welcomed into theWriters' Union of Romania(USR), a member of its Literary History and Critique Section.[2]One year later, he wrote and publishedCronici și povestiri românești versificate( "Romanian Chronicles and Stories in Verse" ), which included detail on the mourning song forConstantin Brâncoveanuand its transition into Wallachian folklore.[69]The 1967 collective volumeStudii de folclor și literatură( "Studies in Folklore and Literature" ), appearing atEditura pentru Literatură,featured his contributions, alongside those of Giurescu,Ernest Bernea,Eugeniu Sperantia,Henri H. Stahl,andEugen Todoran.[70]Also noted for his editorial work on manuscripts left byConstantin Cantacuzino,[10]in 1969 he attended a colloquium at theUniversity of Padua,presenting the results of his finds from Cantacuzino's personal book collection.[71]His work as a bibliographer also produced a specialized textbook, put out byȘtefan Gheorghiu Academyin 1967.[20]

In the early 1970s, Simonescu and Victor Petrescu worked on inventorying the book collections ofTârgoviște,creating a catalogue for the city's Museum of Old Books.[72]Also located there, the Romanian Association of Bibliophiles elected him as its honorary president in 1972.[2]In 1971, Bucharest University's yearbook hosted his overview ofConstantin Karadja,who had died in 1950, and whom he introduced as a "great Romanian bibliologist";[73]that same year, he introduced a brochure on Kirileanu's collection of antique books.[65]He was also focusing his attention on the Western European manuscripts preserved by the Batthyaneum ofAlba Iulia,which he precisely dated.[20]In 1973, he put out an album on theCodex Aureus of Lorsch,followed in late 1976 by another such work on theCodex Burgundus.[74]Romanul popularandCronici și povestiriwere followed in 1976 by a textbook,Teoria bibliografiei( "A Theory of Bibliography", 1976).[1][19][20]The first book of its kind in Romania, it was followed by Simonescu's similarly pioneeringbiblioteconomytextbooks for high school.[20]

In 1980, Simonescu put out a complete bibliography of Cartojan's scholarship. In parallel, he directed Alexandru Chiriacescu andDan Zamfirescu,who were contributing new editions of Cartojan's interwar books.[30]In 1981, Simonescu and Gheorghe Buluță co-wrotePagini din istoria cărții românești( "Pages from the History of Romanian Books" ), which advanced the claim that "Romanian incunabula" existed as books printed byTransylvaniansor "Dacians"active in Western Europe before 1500.[75]Around the time of his eightieth birthday in 1982, Simonescu was active in the USR, and sent by this body as a representative in regional meetings—at Câmpulung,Constanța,and in various villages ofTeleorman County.[4]He was additionally a contributor toManuscriptumjournal, where, in early 1983, he defended his 1940sBibliografiain a polemic with fellow scholarPaul Cornea.[76]He declared his disappointment that, rather than being reprinted in Romania, this work had been reissued by a "famous American publishing house", and fromLiechtenstein;he also urged the authorities to invest more resources in the literary education of Romania's high-school students.[17]

Another selection of Simonescu's various articles was published in 1984 atEditura Eminescu,[21]asContribuții: literatura română medievală( "Contributions: Medieval Romanian Literature" ).[1]The work received a prize from the Bucharest Writers' Association.[2]It was noted by Păcurariu for its musings on the history of Romanian pedagogy and public speaking, as well as for its "very important study" on early Romanianprosody—with focus on rhyming chronicles by anonymous historians, seen in a "large comparativist framework".[21]Simonescu was also involved with editing a Kogălniceanu reader for schoolchildren, which came out atEditura Albatrosin 1987.[77]In 1988–1990, Simonescu and Florin Rotaru coordinated a specialized class for antiquarian booksellers. Held atDalles Hallof Bucharest, it had topical contributions by various guest speakers, including Buluță, artistMarcel Chirnoagă,and historianLudovic Demény.[78]The scholar also made a return to folkloristics with an introductory study to Rădulescu-Codin, published in 1986 as part ofEditura Minerva's folk-literature reader (Literatură populară).[6][79]He was at the time living in Bucharest, but corresponding with his various pupils and disciples. As he noted in his correspondence, his re-familiarization with Muscel's traditions required him to read the works of Mihail M. Robea; he also relied on biographical material sent to him by Ion Cruceană ofPitești.[6]

After theRomanian Revolution of 1989,and precisely on his ninetieth birthday (December 11, 1992), Simonescu was elected an honorary member of the academy.[2]The day was marked by the new political establishment, withPresidentIon Iliescusending him a congratulatory message.[2]Simonescu was still regularly writing at the time, and had prepared for print a paper onOvid Densusianu;as argued by Anghelescu, his work in comparative literature had reached its peak with additional studies on 18th- and 19th-century translators, fromJohn CaradjatoCezar Bolliac,as well as with his opening up discussions about Western influences on 17th-century Romanian culture.[19]Another contribution was his preface to Virgil Olteanu's handbook of bibliology, which came out later in 1992.[80]His death, which took place on March 10, 1993, in Bucharest,[20]interrupted his work on the Kogălniceanu corpus. It was continued on his behalf by Georgeta Penelea Filitti.[66][67]Simonescu, Buluță andIurie Colesnicare also credited as the authors ofScurtă istorie a cărții românești( "A Short History of the Romanian Book" ), put out by Editura Demiurg in 1994.[81]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^abcdefghijklmnopqrAurel Sasu (ed.),Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române,Vol. II, p. 569. Pitești:Editura Paralela 45,2004.ISBN973-697-758-7
  2. ^abcdefghijklmnoPetrescu, p. 43
  3. ^abcd"Colonel Constantin I. Simonescu", inUniversul,January 22, 1943, p. 5
  4. ^abcdePop & Simonescu, p. 6
  5. ^Simonescu (1957), p. 102
  6. ^abcdefgNicolae Scurtu, "Restituiri. Dan Simonescu și unul dintre discipolii săi", inRomânia Literară,Issues 25–26/2013, p. 23
  7. ^Simonescu (1957), p. 93
  8. ^Simonescu (1957), pp. 94, 102
  9. ^Mihail M. Robea, "Dumitru I. Mihalache", inArgesis. Studii și Comunicări. Seria Istorie,Vol. XVII, 2008, p. 410
  10. ^abcdefghijklmG. G. Ursu, "Dan Simonescu — 75", inRomânia Literară,Issue 50/1977, p. 9
  11. ^abNicolae Scurtu, "Restituiri. Însemnări despre epistolograful Artur Gorovei", inRomânia Literară,Issue 36/2014, p. 15
  12. ^Mihail Straje,Dicționar de pseudonime, anonime, anagrame, astronime, criptonime ale scriitorilor și publiciștilor români,pp. 202, 651. Bucharest:Editura Minerva,1973.OCLC8994172
  13. ^Ioan Aurel Candrea,"Anexă. Studii și materiale. Iarba fiarelor", inRevista de Etnografie și Folclor,Vol. 40, Issue 2, 1995, pp. 163–164
  14. ^Ioachim Crăciun, "Dări de seamă. Dumitru I. Băjan.Documente Câmpulungene",inAnuarul Institutului de Istorie Națională,Vol. III, 1924–1925, pp. 737–738
  15. ^abcdefghijklmValeriu Nițu, "Anul Internațional al Cărții. Cu prof. univ. dr. Dan Simonescu prin lumea cărților", inVatra,Vol. II, Issue 21, December 1972, p. 19
  16. ^Eufrosina Dvoichenko,"O satiră polonă imitată de Asachi și Stamati", inRevista Fundațiilor Regale,Vol. V, Issue 8, August 1938, p. 325
  17. ^abcdefPop & Simonescu, p. 7
  18. ^Simonescu (1957), p. 94
  19. ^abcdefghijkMircea Anghelescu,"Istorie literară. Un patriarh al cărții vechi românești", inRomânia Literară,Issue 42/1992, p. 10
  20. ^abcdefgPetrescu, p. 44
  21. ^abcdeDimitrie Păcurariu, "Erudiția și rigoarea istoricului literar", inLuceafărul,Vol. XXVIII, Issue 14, April 1985, p. 6
  22. ^abAlexandru Niculescu, "Istorie literară. Un savant, o epocă", inRomânia Literară,Issue 5/2002, p. 16
  23. ^abNae Antonescu, "RevistaCercetări Literare",inSteaua,Vol. XXXVII, Issue 2, February 1986, p. 47
  24. ^"Carnetul zilei. Dela istorie, la istorie literară", inCurentul,May 11, 1937, p. 2
  25. ^Dan Simonescu, "Studii de literatură comparată", inCurentul,May 16, 1937, pp. 1–2
  26. ^Lăzărescu, pp. 264, 267
  27. ^Lăzărescu, pp. 265–267
  28. ^Ștrempel, pp. 421, 422
  29. ^Țugui, pp. 69–70
  30. ^abOctavian Șchiau, "Nicolae Cartojan", inSteaua,Vol. XXXIV, Issue 12, December 1983, p. 14
  31. ^Dan Simonescu, "Pentru Biruința Crucii și Întregirea Neamului. Cei mai buni...", inConvorbiri Literare,Vol. LXXIV, Issues 11–12, November–December 1941, pp. 1468–1470
  32. ^"Institutul de istorie națională 'A. D. Xenopol', la Odesa", inCurentul,November 7, 1943, p. 5
  33. ^Nicolae Șerban Tanașoca,Balcanologi și bizantiniști români,pp. 219–220. Bucharest: Editura Fundației PRO, 2002.ISBN973-8434-03-3
  34. ^Gheorghe Chivu,"Moses Gaster. Perenitatea unei opere filologice deosebite", inRevista de Istorie și Teorie Literară,Issues 1–4/2022–2023, pp. 129–130
  35. ^Nicolae Predescu, "Cronica literară. Dan Simonescu:Spiritul critic în istoriografia veche românească",inConvorbiri Literare,Vol. LXXVII, Issue 1, January 1944, pp. 125–126
  36. ^Țugui, pp. 69–70. See also Petrescu, p. 43; Pop & Simonescu, p. 7
  37. ^Lucian Boia,Capcanele istoriei. Elita intelectuală românească între 1930 și 1950,pp. 204–205. Bucharest:Humanitas,2012.ISBN978-973-50-3533-4
  38. ^Țugui, pp. 80–84
  39. ^Zub, p. 229
  40. ^abNestor Camariano, "Recenzii. Bianu Ioan și Simonescu Dan,Bibliografia Românească Veche, 1508—1830,tom. IV, adăogiri și îndreptări ", inRevista Istorică Română,Vol. XIV, Fascicle IV, 1944, pp. 522–523
  41. ^"Informații", inUniversul,February 28, 1945, p. 4
  42. ^I. Istrati, "Un savant român ajutat de Ruși: Nicolae Milescu. Conferința d-lui prof. univ. Dan Simonescu", inLupta Moldovei,August 17, 1945, p. 2
  43. ^Andrei Pippidi,Tradiția politică bizantină în țările române în secolele XVI–XVIII,p. 62. Bucharest:Editura Academiei,1983
  44. ^T. N., "Politice – Sociale. Congresul național al studenților democrați. Iașul universitar își trimite reprezentanții", inLupta Moldovei,June 11, 1946, p. 3
  45. ^"Comitetul Uniunii sindicatelor profesorale", inUniversul,June 21, 1946, p. 4
  46. ^"Informații", inUniversul,October 1, 1946, p. 4
  47. ^"In preajma săptămânii prieteniei româno–sovietice", inUniversul,October 13, 1947, p. 2
  48. ^"Cărți școlare noui apărute pentru gimnaziul unic", inUniversul,October 2, 1947, p. 3
  49. ^"Bibliografie", inAdevărul,January 29, 1948, p. 2
  50. ^"Informații", inUniversul,February 28, 1948, p. 2
  51. ^Al. I. Ștefănescu, "Cronica literară. Mihail Kogălniceanu:Scrieri sociale.Ediție îngrijită de Dan Simonescu ", inContemporanul,Issue 79/1948, p. 4
  52. ^"Cercul de studii al profesorilor Facultății de Filologie", inOpinia,February 16, 1949, p. 2
  53. ^"Iașul Nou.Almanah literar al Uniunii Scriitorilor din R. P. R., Filiala Iași. Nr. 3—4, anul III Mai 1951 ", inLupta Moldovei,May 31, 1951, p. 3
  54. ^Domnica Filimon, "Breviar. Mihail Kogălniceanu:Scrieri alese",inGazeta Literară,Vol. II, Issue 23, June 1955, p. 2
  55. ^Dimitrie Florea-Rariște, "Viața cărților. M. Kogălniceanu:Despre literatură",inSteaua,Vol. VII, Issue 12, December 1956, pp. 93–94
  56. ^Dimitrie Florea-Rariște, "Mențiuni și opinii. O contribuție bibliografică prețioasă", inSteaua,Vol. VIII, Issue 7, July 1957, p. 127
  57. ^Ion Gheție, "Pe marginea volumului deContribuții la istoria limbii române literare în secolul al XIX-lea",inStudii și Cercetări Lingvistice,Vol. VIII, Issue 2, 1957, pp. 214–215
  58. ^abG. T. Kirileanu,Constantin Prangati, "Inedit. Jurnal – 1958 (II)", inAteneu,Vol. 36, Issue 5, May 1999, p. 3
  59. ^Ion Apostol Popescu, "Mențiuni și opinii. Un studiu valoros", inSteaua,Vol. XI, Issue 5, May 1960, pp. 124–125
  60. ^abAndrei Oișteanu,Inventing the Jew. Antisemitic Stereotypes in Romanian and Other Central East-European Cultures,p. 27. Lincoln:University of Nebraska Press,2009.ISBN978-0-8032-2098-0
  61. ^I. D. Lăudat, "Recenzii.Letopisețul cantacuzinesc",inIașul Literar,Vol. XII, Issue 9, September 1961, pp. 79–81
  62. ^Ștrempel, pp. XLIV, 421, 422
  63. ^Dennis Deletant,Ceaușescu and the Securitate. Coercion and Dissent in Romania, 1965–1989,pp. v–vi. Abingdon & New York City:Routledge,2015.ISBN1-56324-633-3
  64. ^Alexandru Piru,"Istorie literară. P. V. Haneș", inRomânia Literară,Issue 34/1970, p. 13
  65. ^abG. Pătrar, "Mircea Filip:Cartea românească veche în biblioteca G. T. Kirileanu",inAteneu,Vol. VIII, Issue 1, January 1971, p. 7
  66. ^abIon Simuț,"Istorie literară. Șantierul unei ediții", inRomânia Literară,Issue 3/2006, p. 13
  67. ^abZub, p. 230
  68. ^Dan Zamfirescu,"Discuția noastră: 'Cele mai utile cărți'.Istoria literaturii române",inLuceafărul,Vol. XIII, Issue 26, June 1970, p. 1
  69. ^I. Ionescu, "Materiale. Personajul doica țigancă, roaba Gherghina, în 'Cântecul despre moartea lui Brâncoveanu'", inRevista de Etnografie și Folclor,Vol. 37, Issue 2, 1992, pp. 277–278
  70. ^Iordan Datcu, "In memoriam.Ernest Bernea (1905—1990) ", inRevista de Etnografie și Folclor,Vol. 37, Issue 2, 1992, p. 323
  71. ^"Semnal. Padova 1969: Omagiu stolnicului Cantacuzino", inMagazin Istoric,November 1969, p. 82
  72. ^r.e.d., "Revista revistelor", inRomânia Literară,Issue 8/1974, p. 13
  73. ^Nicolae Scurtu, "Restituiri. Constantin I. Karadja și contemporanii săi", inRomânia Literară,Issue 19/2013, p. 15
  74. ^N. Vasilescu Capsali, "Cărți – reviste. Dan SimonescuCodex Burgundus",inContemporanul,Issue 11/1976, p. 10
  75. ^Titus Furdui, "Cîteva aspecte istoriografice privitoare laCronica turceascăa studentului anonim de la Sebeș-Alba (Preliminarii la primul incunabul românesc) ", inActa Musei Napocensis,Vol. XXI, 1984, pp. 771–772
  76. ^G. M., "Revista revistelor.Manuscriptum1/1983 ", inRomânia Literară,Issue 11/1983, p. 5
  77. ^Lector, "Vitrina", inRomânia Literară,Issue 43/1987, p. 10
  78. ^Florin Rotaru, "Bibliofilia și comerțul de artă", inContemporanul,Issue 8/1990, p. 5
  79. ^Ion P. Mihăilă, "Documente inedite despre viața și activitatea lui C. Rădulescu-Codin", inArgeș,Vol. XXII, Issue 7, July 1987, p. 11
  80. ^Ana-Cristina Halichias, "Recenzii și prezentări. Virgil Olteanu,Din istoria și arta cărții",inRevista Ahivelor,Issue 3/1992, p. 366; Liviu Onu, "Istoria și arta cărții", inRomânia Literară,Issue 50/1993, p. 10
  81. ^"Cărți primite la redacție", inRomânia Literară,Issue 17/1995, p. 6. See also Petrescu, p. 44

References

[edit]
  • Emil Lăzărescu, "Comptes rendus. Dan Simonescu,Literatura românească de ceremonial. Cronica lui Gheorghiaki, 1762. Studiu și text",inRevue Historique du Sud-Est Européen,Vol. XVIII, 1941, pp. 264–268.
  • Victor Petrescu, "Remember. Dan Simonescu. Cartea, crezul unei existențe", inCurier. Revistă de Cultură și Bibliologie,Vol. XIX, Issue 1, 2013, pp. 43–44.
  • Marius Pop, Dan Simonescu, "Scriitorii trebuie să simtă activ necesitatea contactului cu lumea...", inArgeș,Vol. XVII, Issue 9, December 1982, pp. 6–7.
  • Dan Simonescu, "Din istoria folclorului și folcloristicii. Folcloristul C. Rădulescu-Codin (1875—1926)", inRevista de Folclor,Issue 4/1957, pp. 91–121.
  • Gabriel Ștrempel, introduction and notes toAnthim the Iberian,Opere.Bucharest:Editura Minerva,1972.
  • Pavel Țugui,"G. Călinescu la Universitate și la Academia română. Precizări și adăugiri (II)", inRevista de Istorie și Teorie Literară,Issues 1–4/2009, pp. 69–114.
  • Alexandru Zub,"Posteritatea lui Kogălniceanu", inZargidava,Vol. XVI, 2017, pp. 226–231.
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