Iulia Hasdeu (; 14 November 1869 – 29 September 1888) 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, the daughter of writer and

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu (; 26 February 1838 – ) was a Romanian writer and philologist who pioneered many branches of Romanian philology and history. Life He was born Tadeu Hâjdeu in Cristineștii Hotinului (now Kerstentsi in Chernivtsi ...

and his wife Iulia Faliciu. From a very young age, Hasdeu wrote

poem Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

s and

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

in both Romanian and French, taught herself foreign languages and studied piano and opera singing. She was the first Romanian woman to study at

La Sorbonne The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

University in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Life

At the age of six she wrote her study of the life and work of

Michael the Brave Michael the Brave ( or ; 1558 – 9 August 1601), born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia (as Michael II, 1593–1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and ''de facto'' ruler of Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711), Transylvani ...

. Fluent in French, English, and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, she graduated from primary school at age eight, and at eleven she completed piano and classical singing at St. Sava Gymnasium and the Bucharest Conservatory of Music. In 1881 her mother accompanied her to Paris, where she entered Sévigné College and passed the Baccalaureate exam. In 1886 Hasdeu enrolled at the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy at

Sorbonne University Sorbonne University () is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to the Middle Ages in 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sorbon as a constituent college of the Unive ...

and attended courses at the École des hautes études (''School of Higher Studies'') in

. Hasdeu gave two lectures at the university on the logic of hypothesis and on the second book of

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

. She started writing a doctoral thesis with the theme centered on Romanian folk philosophy: logic, psychology, metaphysics, ethics, and theodicy. While preparing her doctoral thesis, Hasdeu contracted tuberculosis in

. After undergoing treatments in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, she returned to

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 ...

. She died on 29 September 1888 and was buried at Bellu Cemetery. Affected by her death,

built her a temple in the family vault in his

Câmpina Câmpina () is a city in Prahova County, Romania, north of the county seat Ploiești, located on the main route between Wallachia and Transylvania. Its existence is first attested in a document of 1503. It is situated in the historical region of ...

mansion. Her father dedicated the rest of his life to publishing her works and memories, such as: ''Bourgeons d'Avril'', ''Fantésies et Rêves'', ''Chevalerie'', ''Confidences en Canevas et Théâtre'', ''Légendes et Contes'', works which were published in French and Romanian. In her memory, he also built the Iulia Hasdeu Castle in

with the "spiritual guidance of his daughter," with whom he supposedly communicated until the end of his life.Iulia Hasdeu - Genialul copil al culturii române și viața de apoi
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Gallery

Image:Iulia Hasdeu.jpg, Portrait by

Diogène Maillart Diogène Ulysse Napoléon Maillart (28 October 1840 – 3 August 1926) was a French painter, illustrator, designer, teacher and art critic. Biography He was born in Lachaussée-du-Bois-d'Écu. His first art lessons were at the "Imperial School ...

Image:Stamp of Moldova 271.gif, 1996 stamp Image:Iulia Hasdeu - Foto01.jpg, Photograph from the archives of ''Formula AS'' File:Castelul Iulia Hasdeu07.JPG, The small castle built in her memory File:Sava Hentia - Iulia Hasdeu.JPG, Portrait by

Sava Henția Sava Henția (1 February 1848, Sebeșel - 21 February 1904, Sebeșel) was an Austrian Empire, Imperial Austrian-born Romanian painter, decorator and illustrator. Biography He was one of fourteen surviving children of a priest. In 1862, after finis ...

File:Grave of Iulia Hașdeu in the Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest, Romania (13).jpg, Grave at Bellu Cemetery

References

External links

Official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasdeu, Iulia 1869 births 1888 deaths Writers from Bucharest University of Paris alumni Romanian philologists Women philologists 19th-century Romanian poets Romanian writers in French Romanian women poets 19th-century Romanian women writers 19th-century Romanian writers Tuberculosis deaths in Romania 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Burials at Bellu Cemetery Romanian expatriates in France Saint Sava National College alumni