Aaron Florian

Illustration of Florian (1962)

Idee repede de istoria prințipatului Țării Românești(volume II, 1837); theRomanian transitional Alpha betis used

Aaron Florian(January 21, 1805–July 12, 1887) was anImperial Austrian-bornRomanianhistorian, journalist and revolutionary.

Biography

Early years and teaching

The son ofRomanian Orthodoxpriest Ioan Florian, he was born inRod,a village located in theMărginimea Sibiuluiregion which at the time belonged to theAustrian Empire’sPrincipality of Transylvaniaand is now in Romania. After attending primary school inSibiu,he studied at the gymnasium inBlaj.He then enrolled at theRoyal University of Pest.In 1826, theWallachianboyarintellectualDinicu Golescuinvited Florian to teach Latin at the school inGolești,where he remained until 1830. At that point, he transferred to theCraiovaCentral School.

In 1832, Florian was named teacher of world history atSaint Sava CollegeinBucharest,the capital of Wallachia. This ushered in the most stable phase of his career, lasting a decade and a half. He became one of the institution’s more prominent faculty members, inspiring his students to cherish their national history. Moreover, Florian published textbooks and took part in committees for bettering the education system. In 1836, he was editor atIon Heliade Rădulescu’sMuzeul național,while also making consistent contributions to theBrașov-basedFoaie pentru minte, inimă și literatură,run by his friendGeorge Bariț.His dispatches from Bucharest, usually unsigned, presented a lucid analysis of the local political scene.

Florian helped popularize the notion of cultural, political and economic unity among Romanians. In 1837, he co-founded an early daily newspaper,România,where these ideas were disseminated. In spite of harsh censorship, it managed to present the situation in all three historic Romanian lands of Wallachia,Moldaviaand Transylvania. The fact that it was written in Romanian, as well as its progressive stance, madeRomâniathe area’s most visible political periodical prior to the1848 Revolution.

1848 Revolution

In his textbooks on history, Florian emphasized the role of the masses in achieving change, anticipating his pupilNicolae Bălcescu.He criticized the boyars for impeding social progress, believing the lower classes would have to take power by force. Thus, he naturally joined the revolutionary movement from its first days. Writing to Bariț on June 12, 1848, he welcomed the “new era” based on principles ofliberté, égalité, fraternité,and heralded the constitution as “an enchanted word, a joyous deed”. Appointed by the provisional government, he served as administrator ofIlfov County(June 23–August 7) and ofDolj County(August 7–September 22). In late June, he was ordered to lead the government members back from their temporary refuge atRucăr.In September, atCraiova,he orchestrated the burning ofRegulamentul Organic.He also tried to stop a messenger from Ottoman military commander Fuad Efendi to the pasha of theVidin Sanjak,seeking reinforcements to crush the revolution inOltenia.He remained loyal to the movement until the end, calling for constitutional principles to be applied.

Fired from his teaching job, Florian was given a passport thanks to the intervention of his close friendGheorghe Magheru.He stopped at Sibiu, where he was named secretary of the Romanian National Committee. AfterTransylvania’s own revolutionwas defeated, he attempted to seek refuge in Wallachia. Arrested inPloieștiin May 1849, he was sent toRâmnicu Vâlceaand Bucharest, investigated, tried and deported for three years.

Aftermath and legacy

In 1853, Florian was chief editor of the BrașovTelegraful Românnewspaper, where he launched a sustained campaign in favor of a national culture and of the Romanian language. He argued for replacingRomanian Cyrillicwith theLatin Alpha bet,and for phonetic spelling. Similarly careful phrasing and reasoned arguments were also employed in an 1840-1841 work he co-wrote, endorsing the use of French neologisms. He returned to Bucharest in late 1853, and was named head of the Brâncovenesc Hospital, where he remained until 1860. By 1857, he was arguing that the entire territory inhabited by Romanians should be considered their fatherland. In 1858, on the eve of theunion of the Principalities,he published a monograph onMichael the Brave,suggesting that the ruler had united all Romanians into a single state.

In 1865, shortly after theUniversity of Bucharestwas founded, Florian began teaching a course on world history, but illness soon forced him to retire. From 1866 to 1872, he belonged to a council on public education. His health steadily deteriorated until his death in 1887.

As a historian, Florian was an important precursor to later scholars. He was among the first to display a modern, synthesized view of the Romanian people’s past. His booksIdee repede de istoria prințipatului Țării Românești(1835¬1838),Manual de istoria prințipatului României(1839) andPatria, patriotul și patriotismul(1843) express a romantic view of history as a magic mirror of bygone eras and a key to the future. Moreover, he used the historic perspective to justify the existence of his nation under liberty. Setting down bold ideas, he sought to impart a vision that borrowed from the advances made by contemporary European science.

References

• Mariana Neguțu, “Aaron Florian — Repere biografice”, inMuzeul Național,vol. XII/2000, pp. 111–15