Constantin Negruzzi (; first name often Costache ; 1808–24 August 1868) 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,

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

, translator,

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

, and politician. Born in Trifeștii Vechi,

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

, he studied at home with a Greek teacher. He admitted in a later article that he learnt

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

by himself, from a book written by

Petru Maior Petru Maior (; 1756 in Marosvásárhely ''(now Târgu Mureș, Romania)'' – 14 February 1821 in Buda) was a Romanian writer who is considered one of the most influential personalities of the Age of Enlightenment in Transylvania (the Transylv ...

. During the 1821 Revolution, his family took refuge in

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...

Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

, where he met

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...

and became interested in literature. Notable among his writings are his

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

s – ''Amintiri din junețe'' ("Memories of youth") – and his historical writings, ''Fragmente istorice'' ("Historical fragments"), ''Negru in alb'' ("Black in white"), ''Aprodul purice'' (an '' aprod'' was a minor noble title, typically the son of a lord; ''Purice'' is a proper name, but literally means "flea"; see

Movilești The House of Movileşti, also Movilă or Moghilă (, Cyrillic: Могила), was a family of boyars in the principality of Moldavia, which became related through marriage with the Mușatin family – the traditional House of Moldavian sovereig ...

). He translated some of the ballads of

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

, some of

Thomas Moore Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852), was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist who was widely regarded as Ireland's "National poet, national bard" during the late Georgian era. The acclaim rested primarily on the popularity of his ''I ...

's poetry and Antiochus Kantemir's poetry. Negruzzi wrote two plays, ''Muza de la Burdujeni'' ("The Muse of Burdujeni") and ''Cârlani'' ("Lambs"), while translating several other plays. In 1841, Negruzzi, together with

Mihail Kogălniceanu Mihail Kogălniceanu (; also known as Mihail Cogâlniceanu, Michel de Kogalnitchan; September 6, 1817 – July 1, 1891) was a Romanian Liberalism, liberal statesman, lawyer, historian and publicist; he became Prime Minister of Romania on Octo ...

, printed the first

cookbook A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (food), course (appetize ...

in the Romanian language: '' 200 Proven Recipes for Dishes, Pastries, and Other Household Works''. Negruzzi also held several functions, including

finance minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

and deputy under Sturdza-Vodă. A supporter of liberal causes, he was twice exiled to his house in Trifești for criticism of the government. His son was the writer

Iacob Negruzzi Iacob C. Negruzzi (December 31, 1842 – January 6, 1932) was a Moldavian, later Romanian poet and prose writer. Born in Iași, he was the son of Constantin Negruzzi and his wife Maria (''née'' Gane). Living in Berlin between 1853 and 1863, he a ...

References

* (1897) ''Dicționarul contimporanilor'', Editura Lito-Tipografiei "Populara"

External links

Biography of Costache Negruzzi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Negruzzi, Constantin Romanian poets Romanian male poets Romanian memoirists Writers from the Principality of Moldavia Government ministers of the Principality of Moldavia Founding members of the Romanian Academy People from Iași County 1808 births 1868 deaths 19th-century Romanian writers 19th-century Romanian translators Romanian male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Romanian poets 19th-century Romanian dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Romanian male writers 19th-century Romanian memoirists 19th-century Moldavian people

See also

References

External links