Atanasie Marian Marienescu (–) was an

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

ethnic Romanian folklorist, ethnographer and judge. Born in Lipova,

Arad County Arad County () is an administrative division ( județ) of Romania roughly translated into county in the western part of the country on the border with Hungary, mostly in the region of Crișana and few villages in Banat. The administrative cente ...

, in the

Banat Banat ( , ; ; ; ) is a geographical and Historical regions of Central Europe, historical region located in the Pannonian Basin that straddles Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It is divided among three countries: the eastern part lie ...

region, his father Ion Marian was a trader, while his mother Persida (''née'' Șandor) came from

Nădlac Nădlac (; ; ) is a town in Arad County, western Romania. A former part of the town lies across the border with Hungary; this village is called Nagylak. An international border town, Nădlac is the main border crossing into western Romania from H ...

. After completing the Romanian-language primary school in his native town in 1842, he enrolled in the

Minorite The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest contem ...

gymnasium of Arad.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. II, p. 48. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004. He finished six grades there, interrupting his studies for a year due to the

1848 revolution The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

. He took grade seven in

Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...

and the final year in Pest, prior to entering the law faculty of the

Royal University of Pest Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, ...

.Nicoară-Horia, p. 5 While in the city, he frequently visited

Emanoil Gojdu Emanuil Gojdu ( Hungarian: ''Gozsdu Emánuel'', mostly referred as ''Gozsdu Manó''; 9 February 1802, Nagyvárad, Hungary (now Oradea, Romania)—3 February 1870, Pest-Buda, Hungary) was an ethnically Romanian lawyer in the Kingdom of Hunga ...

. He studied there for three years before transferring to the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

, from which he graduated in 1856. He received a doctorate in 1861 and settled in

Lugoj Lugoj (; ; ; ; ; ) is a list of cities and towns in Romania, city in Timiș County, Romania. The Timiș, Timiș River divides the city into two halves: the "Romanian Lugoj" that spreads on the right bank, and the "German Lugoj" on the left bank. Th ...

, working as deputy notary. The following year, he became an assessor, which marked the beginning of his career in the magistracy; he worked in the town until 1869. Active within the

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

, he served the Arad Diocese in a lay capacity. In 1865, he married Ana, one of eleven children born to Ioan Brote of

Rășinari Rășinari (; ) is a Communes of Romania, commune in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 5,362 inhabitants as of 2021 and is composed of two villages, Prislop (''Priszloptelep'') and Rășinari. Until 2012, Rășinari was ...

Sibiu County Sibiu County () is a county () of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Its county seat () is the namesake town of Sibiu (). Name In Hungarian, it is known as ''Szeben megye'', and in German as ''Kreis Hermannstadt''. Under the ...

; her brother was the politician Eugen Brote. Following his work in Lugoj, he became an assessor at

Oravița Oravița (; ; ; ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Oravica, separator=/, Оравица) is a town in the Banat region of Romania, in Caraș-Severin County, with a population of 9,346 in 2021. Its theater is a fully functional scaled down version of the old Burgth ...

, where he befriended

Simeon Mangiuca Simeon Mangiuca (September 2, 1831 – ) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian ethnic Romanian folklorist. Born in Oravița, Broșteni, Caraș-Severin County, in the Banat region, his father Ioachim was a Romanian Orthodox priest; his mothe ...

, and transferred to Timișoara in 1876. In 1880, he was appointed to the

Curia Regia The Royal Curia of Hungary (, ) was the supreme court of the Kingdom of Hungary (Hungary and Croatia) between 1723 and 1949. Charles VI in 1723 divided it into two courts: the ''Tabula Septemviralis'' (Court of the Seven) and the ''Tabula Regia ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, and became a full member in 1885. He then moved to the Curia Regia in

Oradea Oradea (, , ; ; ) is a city in Romania, located in the Crișana region. It serves as the administrative county seat, seat of Bihor County and an economic, social, and cultural hub in northwestern Romania. The city lies between rolling hills on ...

, serving until his retirement in 1900. From that point until his death, he lived in

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...

. He is buried next to his wife in the Dumbrava Sibiului cemetery.Nicoară-Horia, p. 7 The couple had a daughter and a son. Aside from law, Marienescu's interests lay in literature, ethnography, history and especially folklore. He made his published debut in 1848, with a poem that appeared in Pest's ''Amicul Poporului''.Nicoară-Horia, p. 8 Over the ensuing years, Marienescu contributed to numerous publications, mainly from

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

: ''Foaia pentru minte, animă și literatură'', ''

Gazeta de Transilvania ''Gazeta de Transilvania'' was the first Romanian-language newspaper to be published in Transylvania. It was founded by George Bariț in 1838 in Brașov. It played a very important role in the awakening of the Romanian national conscience in Tran ...

'', '' Familia'', '' Telegraful Român'', ''Aurora română'', ''Albina'', ''Almanahul Societății de Lectură "Petru Maior"'' (Budapest), ''Amicul școalei'', ''Analele Academiei Române'', ''Aurora română'', ''Calendarul diecezan'', ''Columna lui Traian'', ''Concordia'', ''Dâmbovița'', ''Educatorul'', ''Ethnographia'', ''Ethnologische Mitteilungen aus Ungarn'', ''Federațiunea'', ''Foișoara Telegrafului român'', ''Gazeta poporului'', ''Luminătorul'', ''Naționalul'', ''Opinca'', ''Romänische Revue'' and ''Transilvania''. While a student in Pest, he diligently researched archives and libraries for historic and topographic data related to the

origin of the Romanians Several theories, in great extent mutually exclusive, address the issue of the origin of the Romanians. The Romanian language descends from the Vulgar Latin dialects spoken in the Roman provinces north of the "Jireček Line" (a proposed notion ...

. His first folklore collections, the 1859 ''Poesie poporală. Balade culese și corese'' and ''Colinde'', were published with funds donated by

Andrei Mocioni Andrei Mocioni de Foen (also spelled Andrea de Mocioni or Andreiu Mocionĭ, last name also Mocsonyi, Mocsoni, Mocionyi or Mocsony; or ''Andreas von Mocsonyi'', ; June 27, 1812 – April 23/May 5, 1880) was an Austrian and Hungarian jurist, polit ...

and received an enthusiastic endorsement from

Iacob Mureșianu Iacob or Iacov is the Romanian form for Jacob and James and it may refer to: People * Alexandru Iacob (born 1989), Romanian footballer * Caius Iacob (1912–1992), Romanian mathematician * Iacob Felix (1832–1905), Romanian physician * Iacob Iacob ...

.Nicoară-Horia, p. 9 The former marked the first Transylvanian collection of ballads, while the latter was the first anthology of Christmas carols in all the Romanian lands. ''Poesia popurala. Balade culese și corese'' appeared in 1867, followed by ''Doi feți cotofeṭi sau doi copii cu părul de aur'' (1871), ''Seran și Zoran'' (1872) and ''Steaua Magilor sau Cântece la Nașterea Domnului Isus Cristos'' (1875). His novella ''Petru Rareș, principele Moldovei'' appeared in 1862. He was elected a corresponding member of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ) 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 bylaws, the academy's ma ...

in 1877, rising to titular member in 1881; his reception speech, on

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 ...

, was hailed by V. A. Urechia. In 1884, ''Sărbătorile și datinile romane vechi'', the first volume of a planned monumental ''Cultul păgân și creștin'' appeared; he was unable to complete the remainder of the treatise.Nicoară-Horia, p. 10 A diary of his survives covering two periods: his student days from 1853 to 1858, and two months in the summer of 1875.Nicoară-Horia, p. 11 He was described by Ovidiu Bârlea as a "notorious polymath" who "delved into nearly every branch of the humanities: literature, history, ethnography, folklore, political economy" and became "Transylvania's first important folklorist".

Notes

References

* Nicolae Nicoară-Horia
"Atanasie Marian Marienescu"
Biblioteca Judeţeană ASTRA, Sibiu, 64/2010

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marienescu, Atanasie Marian 1830 births 1915 deaths People from Lipova, Arad Romanian Austro-Hungarians Members of the Romanian Orthodox Church University of Vienna alumni Judges from Austria-Hungary Folklorists from Austria-Hungary 19th-century diarists Writers from Austria-Hungary Titular members of the Romanian Academy Moise Nicoară National College alumni