Augustin Bunea (August 4, 1857–November 30, 1909) was an Austro-Hungarian ethnic Romanian historian and priest within the

Romanian Greek-Catholic Church The Romanian Greek Catholic Church or Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic ( la, Ecclesia Graeco-Catholica Romaniae; ro, Biserica Română Unită cu Roma, Greco-Catolică), sometimes called, in reference to its Byzantine Rite, the ...

Biography

Origins and role in Blaj

Bunea was born in Vad, a village in the

Țara Făgărașului Țara Făgărașului (also ''Țara Oltului''; german: Fogaraschland, hu, Fogarasföld, la, terra Fugaras or ''terra Alutus'') is a region is southern Transylvania, Romania. Its main city is Făgăraș. On the north, it is bordered by the Olt Ri ...

region of

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

, then part of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...

. He attended primary school from 1864 to 1870, there and in nearby Ohaba. He went to a gymnasium in

Brașov Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County. According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a pop ...

until the spring of 1877, when he was briefly transferred to

Blaj Blaj (; archaically spelled as ''Blaș''; hu, Balázsfalva; german: Blasendorf; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Blußendref'') is a city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 20,630 inhabitants. The landmark of the city is the f ...

. While in

, he and classmate Andrei Bârseanu edited a magazine by hand; it was called ''Conversațiuni. Jurnal literar''. In the magazine, Bunea published 97 folk poems he had gathered around his native village, accompanied by commentaries that showed familiarity with the relevant literature. In autumn 1877, he began studying philosophy and theology on scholarship at Rome's

Pontifical Urban University The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian,; it, Pontificia Università Urbaniana. is a pontifical university under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of People ...

. Ordained a priest in 1881, he obtained a doctorate in theology the following year.Niță, p. 330 After returning to Blaj, the spiritual center of his church, Bunea was assigned to a number of posts within the hierarchy, from metropolitan's adviser and secretary under Ioan Vancea to scholastic and custodial canon under

Victor Mihaly de Apșa Victor Mihaly de Apşa, commonly Victor Mihali (May 19, 1841—January 21, 1918), was an ethnic Romanian Austro-Hungarian bishop of the Greek-Catholic Church. Born to an old noble family in Ieud, Maramureș County,Făgăraș and Alba Iulia Archdiocese. At Blaj, he taught religion and dogmatic theology within both the gymnasium and the seminar, briefly serving as prefect of studies. From 1900 to 1903, he was archdiocesan commissioner for the examinations given by certain church schools in Blaj. He was a founding member of the Greek-Catholic teachers' association, and served as inspector for the archdiocese's village schools.

Journalism and recognition

Over the course of his career, Bunea contributed to several Romanian-language publications, particularly in his native province. His articles dealt with literature, politics and history, appearing in ''Foaia bisericească și scolastică'' (Blaj), ''

Tribuna ''Tribuna'' (russian: Трибуна) is a weekly Russian newspaper that focuses largely on industry and the energy sector. History Tribunas published its first publication in July 1969. Until 1990, the newspaper titled the ''Sotsialisticheska ...

'' and ''Transilvania'' (

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...

), '' Gazeta Transilvaniei'' (Brașov) and in the periodical ''Dreptatea'' (

Timișoara ), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor) , image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg , map_caption = Location in Timiș County , pushpin_map = Romania#Europe , pushpin_ ...

). In 1890, he helped establish '' Unirea'' newspaper in Blaj. In 1903, he published a selection of the texts he had submitted to this organ as ''Discursuri. Autonomia bisericească. Diverse''. Bunea became a member of Astra in 1886.Niță, p. 331 In September 1900, he was elected a corresponding member of its historical section.Niță, p. 334 He was among the collaborators on the organization's '' Enciclopedia română'' project, signing around fifty articles that covered some sixty pages. These mainly dealt with important figures in the church's past, but also touched on internal administration, the history of Blaj and Romanian monasteries in Transylvania. The author later drew on the articles for other historiographical works.

Nicolae Iorga Nicolae Iorga (; sometimes Neculai Iorga, Nicolas Jorga, Nicolai Jorga or Nicola Jorga, born Nicu N. Iorga;Iova, p. xxvii. 17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a Romanian historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet ...

Ioan Bianu Ioan Bianu (1856 or 1857 – February 13, 1935) was an Imperial Austrian-born Romanian philologist and bibliographer. The son of a peasant family from Transylvania, he completed high school in Blaj, where he became a disciple of Timotei Cipariu a ...

and

Dimitrie Onciul Dimitrie Onciul (26 October / 7 November 1856 – 20 March 1923) was a Romanian historian. He was a member of the Romanian Academy and its president from 1920 until his death in 1923. Biography Onciul was born in Straja, at the time in the D ...

all appreciated Bunea's merits as a historian, and he was distinguished by cultural organizations both in the Empire and in the Old Kingdom. Following his 1900 advancement within Astra, in March 1901, the Romanian Academy received him with the status of corresponding member. Several months later, he was made a member of Astra's central committee. In 1903, he became a paid member of the Hungarian Historical Society. In May 1909, he advanced to titular membership of the Romanian Academy.

Politics and death

Beginning in 1890, Bunea participated in the political movement of Transylvania's Romanians. A distinguished orator, he was among those who defended the

Transylvanian Memorandum The ''Transylvanian Memorandum'' ( ro, Memorandumul Transilvaniei) was a petition sent in 1892 by the leaders of the Romanians of Transylvania to the Austro-Hungarian Emperor-King Franz Joseph, asking for equal ethnic rights with the Hungarians ...

signatories. For many years, he belonged to the

Romanian National Party The Romanian National Party ( ro, Partidul Național Român, PNR), initially known as the Romanian National Party in Transylvania and Banat (), was a political party which was initially designed to offer ethnic representation to Romanians in the ...

. In his will, drafted in early 1906, Bunea provided for the possibility that his money might be used to set up a foundation for Greek-Catholic youth. The foundation would be administered by the Blaj consistory and would be used to send promising graduates to further their studies abroad. Bunea died at Blaj in late 1909. His fellow priests at the theological seminary dedicated an album to him; this featured private messages and newspaper articles from the cities and villages of Transylvania, from Romania, from Vienna, Budapest and other European cities. The album dedicated a lengthy section to the numerous articles in the Romanian press covering the event.Niță, p. 335

Legacy

During Bunea's lifetime, biographical data about him appeared in the 1898 first volume of ''Enciclopedia României'' and in three other sources, from 1899, 1900 and 1908. An article commemorating 30 years since his death appeared in the Cluj-based ''Tribuna'' in 1939. In 1940 and 1941, texts about him appeared in the book ''Dascălii Blajului'', in ''

Convorbiri Literare ''Convorbiri Literare'' ( Romanian: ''Literary Talks'') is a Romanian literary magazine published in Romania. It is among the most important journals of the nineteenth-century Romania. History and profile ''Convorbiri Literare'' was founded by ...

'' and in the Blaj high school yearbook. Subsequently, under the early years of the

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

which banned the church, Romanian historiography fell silent about him. In 1967, a detailed study appeared in ''Revista de etnografie și folclor''; this dealt with the youthful Bunea's collecting of popular poetry in Țara Făgărașului. In 1970, a methodical study appeared in Pompiliu Teodor's ''Evoluția gândirii esoteric românești''. This included biographical data, identified the roots of his activity as a historian and defined his areas of interest, main historiographic achievements and concept of history. Teodor also made judgments about the documentation used by Bunea. The 1978 ''Enciclopedia istoriografiei românești'' devoted a short entry to him. In 1991, following the

Romanian Revolution The Romanian Revolution ( ro, Revoluția Română), also known as the Christmas Revolution ( ro, Revoluția de Crăciun), was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred ...

, Liviu Maior dedicated an article in ''Tribuna'' to Bunea's political activity. A 1994 article deals with his contributions to Romanian cultural history in Transylvania as encapsulated in some of his works and in several articles from ''Unirea''. During the 1990s, three articles, including one by Gabriel Ștrempel, brought to light previously unpublished material from his letters.

Work

Early efforts

Bunea's early interest as a historian lay mainly with the history of the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church. His first book, a short volume from 1890, deals with the church's present condition. First appearing in ''Foaia bisericească și scolastică'', and then as a 40-page brochure, it includes biographical information about incumbent metropolitan Vancea, as well as cataloguing his cultural, administrative and philanthropic activity. Bunea's 1893 work ''Cestiuni din dreptul și istoria Bisericii Românești Unite. Partea a II-a'' also deals with a contemporary issue. The author argued in defense of the church's autonomy, which was being threatened by the policies of the Hungarian government. In 1900, Bunea published two books: ''Istoria scurtă a Bisericii Române Unite'', a brief history of the church; and an important monograph about

Inocențiu Micu-Klein Ioan Inocențiu Micu-Klein, also known by his lay name Ioan Micu (1692 – 22 September 1768), was a Bishop of Făgăraș and Primate of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church from 1730 to his resignation in 1751. He played an instrumental role in t ...

. The first, written on the 200th anniversary of the union with Rome, began with an overview of relations between Romanians and the Holy See from the 2nd to the 15th centuries, going on to discuss Transylvania's Romanian church under the Calvinist princes. He then described the union itself and the life and activity of the early bishops in each diocese, ending with the present day. Bunea's sources were either published Latin and Romanian books or documents he researched in the metropolitan archive at Blaj. It is possible that the work inspired

Zenovie Pâclișanu Zenovie Pâclișanu (1 May 1886 – 1957 or 1958) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian historian, diplomat and cleric. A native of Transylvania, he completed a doctorate at Vienna, and during the 1910s was active in the cultural ...

, whose later history of the church features a similar structure. His study of Micu-Klein, which also touched on

Petru Pavel Aron Petru Pavel Aron (1709–1764) was Bishop of Făgăraş and Primate of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church from 1752 to his death in 1764. He also translated the Biblia Vulgata into Romanian (1760–1761). Life Petru Pavel Aron was born Bis ...

and

Dionisije Novaković Dionisije Novaković ( sr, Дионисије Новаковић, ro, Dionisie Novacovici; ''ca.'' 1705 – 8 December 1767) was a Serbian Orthodox bishop in the Habsburg monarchy, and one of the most learned men of his time. He occupied the po ...

, delved into the problems of the 18th century's first half, reconstructing the facts based on numerous sources collected from Transylvanian and foreign archives. It appears that Bunea began preparation as early as 1894, when he received several copies of documents from the Vienna imperial court's archive. The book demonstrates thorough research on the social, political and cultural history of the Romanians in that era. Later exegeses by Pâclișanu, I. Tóth Zoltán and David Prodan used it as a basis for further research into contemporary Romanian life in Transylvania.Niță, p. 332

Church historian and polemicist

The 1902 ''Istoria românilor transilvăneni de la 1751 până la 1764'' is similarly ample in depth. The preface speaks of the author's purpose: to advance the community's national development and to present his own concept of history. It deals with the figure of Aron; the question of Romanian religious movements, which is allocated considerable space; the organization of his church and of the

Romanian Orthodox Church The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates ...

; the founding and development of Blaj's schools; the history of Transylvanian monasteries; the evolution of printing among the province's Romanians; and the political, economic and social situation of the peasantry. He pinpoints two important processes that took place in the history of Transylvanian Romanians during the period analyzed: their confessional disunity and the founding of the Blaj schools. While he opined that the first was in the interests of their neighboring political adversaries, he saw the second as elevating Micu-Klein above all other Romanians of the period. The book is based mainly on unpublished documents gathered from institutional archives in Blaj, Sibiu, Făgăraș, Vienna, Budapest and Rome, as well as from a few private individuals in Transylvania and the

Romanian Old Kingdom The Romanian Old Kingdom ( ro, Vechiul Regat or just ''Regat''; german: Regat or ) is a colloquial term referring to the territory covered by the first independent Romanian nation state, which was composed of the Romanian Principalities: Wallachia ...

. Some 250 documents were reproduced in the footnotes and appendices. He also used texts published by

Timotei Cipariu Timotei Cipariu (; February 21, 1805, Pánád, Kis-Küküllő County–September 3, 1887, Balázsfalva, Alsó-Fehér County) was a Romanian Greek Catholic cleric and academic. He was one of the founding members of the Romanian Academy The ...

, Iorga and Sterie Stinghe. During the interwar period, the topics broached by Bunea were taken up by the

Cluj ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Status , subdivision_name2 = County seat , settlement_type = City , le ...

historical school. Subsequently, Bunea became more interested in the history of the Orthodox Church in Transylvania, its origins, organizational and institutional evolution. A first work in this direction, published in 1902, was ''Vechile episcopii românesci a Vadului, Geoagiului, Silvașului și Bĕlgradului''. The following year, he amplified and corrected certain conclusions in ''Istoria autonomiei bisericești'', where he frequently cited Cipariu,

George Bariț George Bariț (often rendered as George Barițiu, hu, Báricz György; 4 June 1812 – 2 May 1893), was an ethnic Romanian Austro-Hungarian historian, philologist, playwright, politician, businessman and journalist, the founder of the Romanian ...

Eudoxiu Hurmuzachi Eudoxiu Hurmuzachi (also spelled Eudoxiu Hurmuzache; german: link=no, Eudoxius Freiherr von Hormuzaki) (September 29, 1812, Czernawka, Austria; February 10, 1874, Czernowitz, Austria, buried in Dulcești, Romania) was a Romanian historian, polit ...

and

Nikolaus Nilles Nikolaus Nilles (21 June 1828–31 January 1907) was a Roman Catholic writer and teacher. Life He was born into a wealthy peasant family of Rippweiler, Luxembourg. After completing his gymnasium studies brilliantly, he went to Rome where f ...

. His next two books dealt with similar issues, and were written in response to polemics by contemporary Orthodox writers. ''Ierarhia românilor din Ardeal și Ungaria'' (1904) is Bunea's reply to Teodor Păcățian's ''Istoriografi vechi, istoriografi noi. Studiu critic în chestia vechei mitropolii române''. The latter work, a response to ''Vechile episcopii românesci'', attempted to demonstrate the existence of a Romanian Orthodox metropolis in medieval Transylvania. Bunea, analyzing the church's institutional organization, reiterated that there was no documentary evidence of such an organization. The book displays a biting critique of Păcățian's way of writing history. It also elucidates his theory and approach to the practice: his knowledge of Latin, Hungarian and German allowed Bunea to use valuable historical information in order to complete what he found in Romanian sources, and to broaden his horizon when understanding the historical facts of the region. This made him an authority in debates on ecclesiastical history the western part of the Romanian-speaking lands. The second book, also a polemic, was the 1906 ''Mitropolitul Sava Brancovici''. In his previous work, Bunea had already presented data about the life and activity of Sava Branković. The new text featured a detailed analysis of a book with the same title by Vasile Mangra and reached contrasting conclusions about Branković's place in church history. As with Păcățian, Bunea questioned Mangra's competence as a historian.Niță, p. 333

Late contributions

Bunea's final studies, which have to do with medieval Romanian history, were left incomplete at the time of his death. At the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its byl ...

's request, they were published posthumously as ''Stăpânii Țării Oltului'', which he had prepared as his maiden speech to the Academy; and ''Încercare de istoria Românilor până la 1382''. He chose to analyze the historic importance of Țara Oltului (another name for Țara Făgărașului) because of its role in the origins of the foundation of Wallachia and the consolidation of the Romanian element through longstanding ties with the latter region. The theme also had an emotional resonance: as Bianu inferred, it represented "the country of his parents and his birth". The work comprises a succinct political history of the area from the 9th through the 18th centuries, describing its status and leaders, specifying the political implications of leadership for each of them. Beginning with the year 895, the author highlights the arrival of the Magyars in Pannonia and especially Transylvania; fixes the geographic limits of Țara Oltului; specifies its Romanian character, drawing on toponymy and the first Hungarian documents; credits the tradition that

Radu Negru Radu may refer to: People * Radu (given name), Romanian masculine given name * Radu (surname), Romanian surname * Rulers of Wallachia, see * Prince Radu of Romania (born 1960), disputed pretender to the former Romanian throne Other uses * Radu ( ...

of Făgăraș was responsible for the foundation, which took place at

Câmpulung Câmpulung (also spelled ''Cîmpulung'', , german: Langenau, Old Romanian ''Dlăgopole'', ''Длъгополе'' (from Middle Bulgarian)), or ''Câmpulung Muscel'', is a municipality in the Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania. It is situated amon ...

and

Curtea de Argeș Curtea de Argeș () is a municipality in Romania on the left bank of the river Argeș, where it flows through a valley of the Southern Carpathians (the Făgăraș Mountains), on the railway from Pitești to the Turnu Roșu Pass. It is part of ...

; presents historical information about the region and its Romanian inhabitants over the course of the 13th century and into the first half of the 14th; details offensives launched by the Kingdom of Hungary to the east and south of the Carpathian Mountains during the same period; enumerates nine Romanian lords who possessed Țara Oltului, from Vladislav I to

Vlad III Vlad III, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler ( ro, Vlad Țepeș ) or Vlad Dracula (; ro, Vlad Drăculea ; 1428/311476/77), was Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death in 1476/77. He is often considered one of the most im ...

; summarized their political relations with the suzerain power; listed the leaders from Vlad to

Sigismund Báthory Sigismund Báthory ( hu, Báthory Zsigmond; 1573 – 27 March 1613) was Prince of Transylvania several times between 1586 and 1602, and Duke of Racibórz and Opole in Silesia in 1598. His father, Christopher Báthory, ruled Transylvania as vo ...

; noted the role of the Romanian Mailat family, and the political implications of controlling the region; briefly listed its property owners from the 17th century, drawing on fiscal records; and ended with 1713, when the Făgăraș domain passed to the state. Bunea deliberately focuses on the intervals of Romanian domination. He speaks appreciatively of the historiographic achievements of Iorga, Onciul and

János Karácsonyi János or Janos may refer to: * János, male Hungarian given name, a variant of John Places * Janos Municipality, a municipality of Chihuahua ** Janos, Chihuahua, town in Mexico ** Janos Biosphere Reserve, a nature reserve in Chihuahua * Janos ...

; the text follows the direction set by the leading members of the Romanian critical school, Iorga, Onciul and

Ioan Bogdan Ioan Bogdan may refer to: * Ioan Bogdan (historian) (1864–1919), Romanian historian and philologist * Ioan Bogdan (footballer) (born 1956), Romanian footballer See also

* Ion Bogdan (1915–1992), Romanian footballer and manager * Ioan * Bog ...

. However, at times, he expresses disagreement with other historians' opinions, advancing his own historiographic solutions in the same context.Niță, pp. 333-34 He insistently draws upon the document collections of Hurmuzachi; and among Hungarian historians, he prefers Karácsonyi, Frigyes Pesty and Gyula Pauler. An abundantly documented work, its bibliography features over 80 titles in Romanian, Hungarian, German and Latin; there are 225 footnotes, some shorter, others lengthy. As to ''Încercare de istoria....'', the manuscript was analyzed by Onciul at the Academy's request. He found that the contents mainly dealt with church history and, tangentially, with political history and ethnography. Although it remained unfinished, Onciul recommended publication, both in order to make Bunea's findings known and as an homage. He also began a vast work about the Romanian regiments in the

Transylvanian Military Frontier The Transylvanian Military Frontier ( ro, Granița Militară Transilvăneană; german: link=no, Siebenbürgische Militärgrenze; hu, Erdélyi határőrvidék) was a territory in the Habsburg monarchy. It was a section of the Habsburg Military F ...

. Although he did not live to complete it, he did gather rich material on the subject. His archive includes numerous documents, both copies and originals, in Latin, Hungarian and German, about the border regiments.

Notes

References

* Fănică Niță
"Augustin Bunea, istoric: preliminarii"
in ''Annales Universitatis Apulensis. Series Historica'', nr. 7/2003, pp. 329–36 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bunea, Augustin 1857 births 1909 deaths People from Brașov County Romanian Greek-Catholic priests Pontifical Urban University alumni Romanian Austro-Hungarians Titular members of the Romanian Academy Romanian activists Romanian folklorists Romanian journalists Romanian schoolteachers Historians of Christianity 19th-century Romanian historians 20th-century Romanian historians Romanian historians of religion