Constantin D. Aricescu (18 March 1823 –18 February 1886) was a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n poet, prose writer, playwright and revolutionary. Born in

Câmpulung Câmpulung (also spelled ''Cîmpulung'', , , Old Romanian ''Dlăgopole'', ''Длъгополе'' (from Middle Bulgarian), or ''Câmpulung Muscel'') is a municipiu, city in Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania. It is attested on the Fra Mauro map fro ...

, his parents were the ''

serdar Serdar may refer to * Serdar (given name) * Serdar (surname) Serdar is a surname of the following notable people: * Can Serdar (born 1996), German-Turkish football midfielder * Emerîkê Serdar (1935–2018), Kurdish-Yezidi writer from Armenia * I ...

'' Dimitrie Aricescu and his wife Elena (''née'' Chiliașu). His early education took place at home with private tutors and at the Greek and Romanian schools in his native town. It continued at

Saint Sava College Saint Sava College was one of the earliest academic institutions in Wallachia, Romania. It was the predecessor to both Saint Sava National College and the University of Bucharest. History It was the continuator of the Princely Academy from Buchare ...

in the capital,

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, from 1837 to 1844. After graduating, he worked for several months as an engineer's assistant, followed in 1847 by a low-ranking clerk's position at the Treasury. Later, he was editor and administrator of the newspapers ''

Românul ''Românul'' (, meaning "The Romanian"; originally spelled ''Romanulu'' or ''Românulŭ'', also known as ''Romînul'', ''Concordia'', ''Libertatea'' and ''Consciinti'a Nationala''), was a political and literary newspaper published in Bucharest, Ro ...

'', ''Buciumul'' and ''Pressa'' and director of the

State Archives State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

, the State Domains and the State Press (1869–1870; 1871–1876). He was a school inspector in Ilfov and Vlașca counties, as well as in Bucharest. Aricescu's literary debut, the poem "Adio la Colegiul Național Sf. Sava (La corpul profesoral)", was published in 1846 in ''Curierul românesc''. His first volume of poetry, ''Câteva ore de colegiu'', appeared the same year. His contributions appeared in ''Foaie pentru minte, inimă și literatură'', ''Pruncul român'', ''Românul'', ''Zimbrul'', ''Trompeta Carpaților'', and ''Pressa''. A participant in the

Wallachian Revolution of 1848 The Wallachian Revolution of 1848 was a Romanian liberal and nationalist uprising in the Principality of Wallachia. Part of the Revolutions of 1848, and closely connected with the unsuccessful revolt in the Principality of Moldavia, it sough ...

at Câmpulung, he was a fervent supporter of the union of Wallachia and Moldavia, secretary of the local Unionist Committee and a deputy in the 1857 '' ad-hoc Divan''. He was a prolific versifier who had noble intentions but lacked poetic talent. An occasional playwright, he had a certain perceptiveness when it came to creating dialogue. Aricescu's prose work is more interesting, especially his historical writings (particularly the 1874 ''Istoria revoluțiunei române de la 1821'') and his memoir pieces, sometimes naive and emphatic, but written with vigor and in places showing a genuine aptitude for pamphleteering. The ambitious novel ''Misterele căsătoriei'', a dense pastiche published in three volumes between 1861 and 1886, was less well executed.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. I, p. 73. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aricescu, Constantin 1823 births 1886 deaths Organizers of the Wallachian Revolution of 1848 People from Câmpulung Saint Sava National College alumni 19th-century Romanian novelists Romanian dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Romanian poets Members of the Ad hoc Divans Romanian newspaper editors Romanian civil servants Romanian memoirists Romanian male poets Romanian male novelists 19th-century Romanian memoirists 19th-century Wallachian writers