Title: “Udrişte Năsturel ‐ Nobleman”

Author: Costion Nicolescu

How to cite this article: Nicolescu, Costion. 2007. “Udrişte Năsturel ‐ Nobleman”. Martor 12: 35‐40.

Published by: Editura MARTOR (MARTOR Publishing House), Muzeul Țăranului Român (The

Museum of the Romanian Peasant)

URL: http://martor.muzeultaranuluiroman.ro/archive/martor‐12‐2007/

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Martor is indexed by EBSCO and CEEOL. 35

UDRI{TE N~STUREL Nobleman

Costion Nicolescu

Last name Basarab), regent for a short time (1631), buried N`sturel (attested in his first documents), (at at the princely church of Târgovi[te († August times adding „ot Fiere[ti“ or „ot Fier`[ti“), 1653) sometimes N`sturelovici Wives (the first) Maria Corbeanu, from the First name great family of the Corbeni noblemen (from Cor- Udri[te bii of Arge[); dies in 1635, two weeks after Other names Mateia[’s birth; buried at C`scioarele (County Uriil, Orest, Iorest (as he would sometimes Giurgiu) spell his first name) (the second) Despa Origin Children Old family of noblemen, documented as early Mateia[ (from his first marriage, born in 1635) as the 15th century – adopted by his aunt, Lady Elina and her The family blazon husband, Matei Basarab, at the age of two weeks, (emblazoned on the house of Her`[ti – shortly after his mother’s death 1647): A two-headed eagle is held by two Ro- – he died at the age of 17 (1652), in the arms mans; within the emblem there is a lion sitting of his foster parents; previously, on his death on a cannon with a cross between his paws, bat- bed, he rescinded slavery and due property in all tling a snake rising against him, and the Latin the neighbouring villages under his trusteeship slogan: Honor et Patria. It signifies the idea of Radu Toma crusade. It resembles the one in Udri[te – he was tutored by Teodor, a teacher from N`sturel’s translation of Imitatio Christi Kiew Date and place of birth – he spoke Latin around 1596-1598, Here[ti (Her`[ti), at the – he founded a Slavonic-Romanian school junction of the Dâmbovi]a with the Arge[ (in (the first Romanian one!) (and) for disadvan- today’s County Giurgiu); at that time its name taged children at Câmpulung (1669) was Fiere[ti (Fier`[ti) – he transcribed his father’s translation from Close relatives Varlaam and Ioasaf Grandfather Radu Calomfirescu (after his – he had Catholic orientations; he assisted in mother) the rebuilding of the Franciscan church in Father Radu N`sturel, chancellor (he brought a copy of „De imitatione Christi“ from – Great ban (1674-1677; 1680-1688) Ia[i as a war prey M`ricu]a Mother Despina, from the house of Michael Brother-in-law Matei Basarab, ruling prince the Brave of Brothers {erban Studies Cazan He gets trained in the Slavonic culture, pos- Elina (the future wife of Matei sibly in Kiew (there is no evidence in this res- 36 Costion Nicolescu pect), or monk from Kiew may have tutored High Spatharus (?) (1658-1659) him. Diplomatic missions: He learns Latin from a copy of Imitatio – to the king of Poland (1638) Christi which he finds at home (and which he is – to the emperor in Vienna (1638) to translate later on as well) and from the con- – in , holding talks with the tinuous conversations he has with the Latin Hungarian prince Gheorghe Rakoczi (1648 or speakers at the princely court (Catholic mission- 1649, 1652 or 1655) aries most likely). Some uphold that he even had Travels abroad (often as an envoy of his „higher studies of the Latin language and litera- brother-in-law) ture“. , Transylvania, Austria, Hungary, Foreign languages Poland – Slavonic (a „sacred“ language, rooted in Background knowledge the tradition of the Church; he speaks about the Owner of a fairly large library containing „holy Slavonic dialect“ (Predoslovia la Molitfel- „news books“ (Paul of Alep) nicul slavon - Preface to The Slavonic Prayer Apparently he read Plato, Aristophanes, An- Book, 1635); he tries to create a literary Slavon- tistenes, Diogenes Laertius, Simonides of Keos, ic language, a rhetorical, pompous and artificial Homer (The Odyssey), Theognis of Megara, Stra- one, addressing an elite of intellectuals and the bo (Geography), Suetonius (Lives of the Twelve Chancellery) Caesars), Plutarch (Moralia), Lucian of Samosa- – Russian ta (Saturnalia), Seneca, Epicurus, Pythagoras, – Latin (a language „undoubtedly related to Aristotel. our own“, for which he has a „great and pas- Cross-cultural connections sionate love“ – Preface to Imitatio Christi, 1647) Links with scholars from Kiew and with – Hellenistic Greek Petru Movil` Residence Intellectual debates with: seneschal Con- His stable residence was the capital, Târ- stantin Cantacuzino, metropolitan bishop Var- govi[te. The stone house in Her`[ti seems to laam of Moldavia (about Calvinism), metropoli- have only been his occasional summer-residence. tan bishop {tefan of Ungrovlachia (Walachia), his Functions sister Lady Elina He starts out as a scholar of the princely Cultural connections with foreigners: Divan. – Greeks: Blasios, Meletie Sirigos, Paisie Li- Clerk of the princely Chancellery (16250, at garidis, Ignatie Petrizis; first copying documents, subsequently transcrib- – Ruthenians: Arsenie Suhanov (theologian), ing (in the name of Matei and Elina, of course, Grigore the Scholar; but for others as well) prefaces to Slavonic or Ro- – Serbs: Longhin and Sava Brancovici, Gavril manian books printed after 1635 (Documente – patriarch of Peci, Mihail, metropolitan bishop privind istoria României. B. }ara Româneasc` - of Kratovo; Documents Regarding the History of . – Croats: father Rafael Levakovici of the B. Walachia, the 17th century, vol. IV, Order of Minorites, the Pope’s envoy, printer Bucharest, 1956, pp. 482-483, nr. 498.) with the De Propaganda Fide Congregation (cor- Head of the princely Chancellery (which is- respondence on religious matters: about the sued over 1300 charters at that time, which have Symbol of faith); been preserved to date), – Macarie, patriarch of Antioch, and Paul of Second Chancellor (Matei Basarab’s reliable Alep, his son. advisor) (1632-1658) Udri[te N`sturel 37

Cultural accomplishments Publisher of some of the books released at Founder of „Schola Graeca et Latina“ in Târ- the time. govi[te (the capital at the time), with teachers He supervised printing at that time. He from Kiew, and where: worked with Matei Basarab for the setting up of – classical languages were taught; three printing houses, at Govora, Câmpulung – it was upheld that Romanian was related to and Dealu. Latin; Writings – notions of metrical structure were taught. Prefaces to: Teacher of Slavonic studies at the „Slavonic – Antologhionul slavon (The Slavonic Antho- School“ in Târgovi[te (around 1640). logy), Câmpulung, 1643 He advocates the idea of the Romanians’ na- – Evanghelia înv`]`toare (The Learning tional unity, linking „the Romanian nation“ to Gospel), Govora, 1642; Dealu, 1644 (anti-Calvi- the notion of „the “. nistic propaganda) He believes that through education one can – Pravila (Law), Govora, 1640 actively campaign for Orthodoxy against foreign – Nomocanonul (The Nomocanon), Kiev, religious influences („due to the scarcity and 1629 shortage of such books, many, if not all of us, – Molitvenicul slav (The Slavonic Prayer both at home and in other countries praying fer- Book), Câmpulung, 1635 vently, I’ve felt duty bound to have this book in – Carte despre imitarea lui Hristos (On Imi- print“ Preface to Pravila de la Govora (Law of tating Christ), Dealu, 1647 Govora), 1640). – Triod-Penticostarul (Triodion-Pentecostari- He searched – by order of Matei Basarab – on), Târgovi[te, 1649 (in Slavonic) the monasteries in Walachia to discover the old – this preface is actually a small treatise On books that needed transcribing in order to be Generosity addressing the monks at the Serb Hi- preserved. landar Monastery on Mount Athos He built the house in Her`[ti (1642) with his Encomiastic verse brother Cazan, on the family estate in Renais- In Slavonic: sance style, like his house in Transylvania. It is a La prealuminata stem` a milostivilor domni sumptuous residence, situated in a picturesque Basarabi (To the All-glorious Blazon of the Mer- setting. Paul of Alep noted „there is no similar ciful Basarab Princes) in Molitfelnicul (The palace in the world, except, perhaps, for the land Prayer Book) of 1635, reprinted at Govora in of the Franks.“ 1640. Founder of the Church in Her`[ti (1635 – In Romanian: the tombstone laid by Lady Elina for her mother La prealuminata stem` a prealuminatei case or 1644 – the church’s patron saint plaque a m`riilor lor, domnilor Basarabi (To the All-glo- placed by Udri[te N`sturel), along with his broth- rious Blazon of the All-glorious House of Their ers, Cazan and Lady Elina. Highness, the Basarab Princes), in the An- Founder of the Borough Church in Târ- tologhionul (Anthology) published at Câmpulung govi[te (1653) in 1643. Builder of „Sfânta Vineri („St. Friday“) La prealuminata stem` a milostivilor domni Church, close to his houses in Bucharest. Basarabi (To the All-glorious Blazon of the Mer- Literary activity ciful Basarab Princes) in Evanghelia înv`]`toare Editor par excellence of prefaces to books (The Learning Gospel) at Dealu in 1644. printed during Matei Basarab’s rule; he never The Epitaph engraved on the tombstone of signed his works. his son, Mateia[. 38 Costion Nicolescu

Translations tan bishop of Moldavia) 1. Thomas of Kempis, Imitatio Christi (from „The most learned scholar in Walachia in Latin into Slavonic), published at the Dealu mid- 17th century“; „the typical case of the monastery in 1647 Counter-reform scholar“ (Virgil Cândea). 2. The folk novel Varlaam [i Ioasaf (Varlaam „A highlight in the Romanian medieval cul- and Ioasaf) (from Slavonic into Romanian), after ture“ (Victor Predescu). „A landmark when we one of Petru Movil`’s Russian printings at the look at the upward path of the Romanian me- Kutein monastery (1648). The original was lost; dieval culture“ (www.pedagocallibrary. 15 copies at B.A., the first one dating from edinfo.ro). „One of the main figures of the cultu- 1671, the second from 1673. The last one is ral life in Walachia during Matei Basarab’s published in Bucharest in 1904 by general P.V. rule“ (Nicolae Stoicescu). „The champion of the N`sturel with the title Vie]ile sfin]ilor Varlaam [i extensive cultural policy at the time of Matei Ioasaf, tradus` din limba elen` (?!), la anul Basarab“ (Dan Horia Mazilu). „He illustrates 1648, de Udri[te N`sturel din Fiere[ti, al doilea the last thriving stage of culture in the Slavonic logof`t (The Lives of Saints Varlaam and Ioasaf, language“ (P.P. Panaitescu). Translated in 1648 from Hellenistic Greek (?!) A representative of the Romanian humanism by Udrie[te N`sturel from Fiere[ti, Second Chan- as an extension of our Christian medieval hu- cellor)1. manism, therefore a „religious humanism“; 3. [Via]a Sf. Nifon (The Life of St. Nifon) „Udriste Nasturel’s cultural outlook: promoting (from Greek into Romanian)] – doubtful, he Romanian humanism in Slavonic“ (Virgil Cân- might have been more of a moral writer. dea; Nicolae Stoicescu), „a scholarly human- 4. [Înv`]`turile lui Neagoe Basarab c`tre fiul ism“ (Nicolae Stoicescu). He was „the advocate s`u Theodosie (Neagoe Basarab’s Teachings to of a Western type of humanism of an anachro- His Son, Theodosie) (from Slavonic into Roma- nistic Slavic expression“ (Virgil Cândea). nian)] – doubtful, he might have been more of a „Promoter of the Romanian religious litera- moral writer. ture in the first half of the 17th century“ (History [Via]a Sfintei Caterina (The Life of Saint of Romanian Literature, I, p. 359); „he aspired Catherine)] – it is only mentioned by Sextil to introduce the Greek-Latin Classicism into the Pu[cariu, p. 98 Romanian culture by means of the scholarly Date of death Slavonic at the time (obsolete)“ (Virgil Cândea); 1657 or 1658 „The first Wallachian Latinist“ (Victor Petres- About him… cu); „The first Wallachian ever to pay homage to „Happening to roam Walachia, with princely the Latin language“ (www.muzee- and people’s business in Târgovi[te, addressing dambovitene.ro). high-ranking and most distinguished dignitaries „The first poet [Romanian, that is] whose in a most sensitive way, especially a certain hon- poems spread out by means of the written word“ est and faithful noble, and hard-working with all (Marcel Crihan`). his competence, knowledge and devotion, Udri[te „He is among the first ever to advocate the N`sturel, who loves education above all and idea of the Romanians’ national unity“ (Roma- treasures our true faith…“ (Varlaam, metropoli- nian Literature Dictionary).

1 The exact original title is the following: Udri[te N`sturel, Traiul [i viia]a a preacuvio[ilor p`rin]ilor no[tri a lui Varlaam [i a lui Ioasaf (TheDays and the Time of Our Fathers, the Allpious Varlaam and Ioasaf). One copy of those published in 1904 is enlisted at the library of the Romanian Peasant’s Museum, at 3639. Udri[te N`sturel 39

Together with Lady Elina and Lady B`la[a, in Bucharest (1796 - † December 31st, 1874) – he was „an enlightened patron of fine and deco- and with his death „the male branch of the rative arts“ (Ionescu-Gion). N`sturel family at „Sfânta Vineri“ („Saint Fri- day’s“) passed away“ (Ionescu-Gion, p. 61) Descendants (over time) N`sturel, Petru Vasiliu, general, publishes his Constantin N`sturel-Herescu, Chancellor, ge- novel on Varlaam and Ioasaf in Bucharest in neral, Great Ban, buried at Saint Friday Church 1904. 40 Costion Nicolescu

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