12Elisabeta Negrau
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Political Decay and Cultural Achievements: The Politics of Cultural Patronage During the Phanariot Administration of the Romanian Principalities Annales d’Université Valahia Targoviste, Section d’Archéologie et d’Histoire, Tome XI, Numéro 2, 2009, p. 131-136 ISSN: 1584-1855 Political Decay and Cultural Achievements: The Politics of Cultural Patronage During the Phanariot Administration of the Romanian Principalities Elisabeta Negrău* *Universitatea Na Ńional ă de Arte din Bucure şti, Facultatea de Istoria şi Teoria Artei, str. General Budi şteanu nr. 19, sector 1, Bucure şti, cod 010773; e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: Political Decay and Cultural Achievements: The Politics of Cultural Patronage During the Phanariot Administration of the Romanian Principalities .The study presents some observations regarding the diligent cultural activity of the Phanariot governors in the Romanian Principalities (1711/1716-1821), in response to the necessity to gradate with notes and details the general negative overview of the scholars regarding the cultural achievements of the Southeastern Europe and particularly of the Romanian Principalities in this late period of political decay, i.e. of accentuation of the Greek political dominance against the Romanian people in the times of Ottoman economics’ and ideas’ decadence. Key-words: cultural patronage, cultural recession, national conscience, Phanariots, post-Byzantine culture. By the end of the 18 th century the They brought nothing but trouble, they weakened our Graecization of the Romanian society was much power to fight and they cooled us the love for our advanced, owing to the presence of the Phanariot country. In a word, they made us poorer even than the bourgeoisie at many levels in the government, populations in Africa and America.... And if this administration and culture. In reaction, Romanian tyranny will be further, alas the woefulness of our people began to manifest profoundly the conscience country! Even now, during six years, the tyrant of alienation towards the imperial Ottomans who had Karadja showed himself off in the mankind... like been taken the place of the former Byzantine Empire, those tyrants of Sicily. His tyranny made the as well as towards the Greeks who showed the peasantry decay so much…” (C. Erbiceanu, 2003). intention to patronize the Romanians culturally, There is to remark also the interesting knowledge prospecting, in fact, to bring the Principalities into about world’s history at this churchman, about whom their influence sphere and make them to provide is known he have studied only in the country. economic and political support for the Greek The Romanian role in the financial provinces. By the beginning of 19 th century, the sustainment of the eastern Orthodox culture is at negative effects of this domination were already maximum during the 17 th -18 th centuries, by the profoundly felt, especially by the population from the donations, the book printings and the renderings of lower classes. A Romanian contemporary chronicler, monasteries, mainly actions of the voevods’ cultural protosynkellos Naum of Râmnic, describes the politics. Though, these affiliations of Romanian situation this way: „... until the coming of the monasteries to Balkan and near eastern foundations Phanariot rulers, we lived much better in our country increased so much until the end of the 18 th century, (Simbatriotismos) . But when the Phanariot rulers that the phenomenon worked in the detriment of the came, by their political determents, by their diabolical Romanian churches and countries and this was actions, they made us obey them more and more. possible because of a lack in the ecclesiastical censure 131 Tome XI, Numéro 2, 2009 Elisabeta Negr ău inside the Romanian law of church founding Patriarchate and the Wallachian voevods, who had to regarding the establishment which the founder built plight for receiving and supporting these hierarchs; it and financially supported (A. Elian, 2003; V. A. is established, thus, a tight relation between the Georgescu, 1980). In the case of the numerous Patriarchate, the Wallachian Metropolis and the affiliations of the monasteries practiced by the voevods during the Phanariot domination. Then, these voevods and boyars, the Metropolitan didn’t have any hierarchs are often present at the Wallachian court, rights to interfere, the law not specifying the necessity fact which will also determine them to compete to the of his censure or approval. The founders had more Wallachian Metropolitan chair, too. The Wallachian prerogatives than the clergy upon churches and tradition of electing the Metropolitans prescribed that monasteries and, practically, their administration and for this chair should be designated the bishop of legal status was yet very tied to the feudal law of Râmnic. This tradition, however, will be Byzantine tradition. But to the end of the 18 th century consequently disestablished during the 18 th century, the Divan proceeds to stave off the numerous due to the close relations between the Phanariot renderings, the Metropolitans acceding, as the former princes, the Patriarchate and the oriental clergy. person in the hierarchy of the Divan, to the Seven of the twelve Metropolitans of Wallachia who chrysobulls and the anaphora of the voevod (A. Elian, activated during the Phanariot leadership were 2003). The 18 th century reveals, thus, unexpected Greeks. It is significant that in Moldavia, where the contributions in the matter of protecting the society was somewhat anti-Greek for it was more establishments from the interference of the foreign Slavophil, in the 18 th century was only one Greek hierarchs and from their pretensions to use the bishop, designated by the insistences of the Phanariot Romanian church’s resources. It is an epoch in which Gregory Ghyka the Third, if we disregard the case of the effects of the Austrian Josephinism are felt also by Gabriel Kallimaki, a Graecized Romanian, ex the Phanariots in Wallachia and Moldavia, in the Metropolitan of Thessalonica who, helped by his direction of an increasing control of the laical power brother John, dragoman at sultan’s court, became upon the monastic institutions, in purpose to protect Metropolitan of Moldavia (A. Ciurea, 1974). the country’s interests. In this process, to the voevod The favorable economic conditions and the is associated the Metropolitan too, whoever Greek or more liberal atmosphere in Wallachia attract the Romanian (A. Elian, 2003). The voevod Gregory tradesmen, intellectuals and diverse functionaries Alexander Ghyka intervenes in Moldavia (N. Iorga, from the Balkans and Constantinople. There was 1929), Constantine Hangerli and Alexander Moruzi firstly, a pre-Phanariot period, which prepared the in Wallachia, together with the Wallachian Greek administrative and political monopole from the 18 th Metropolitan Dositheos Filliti in the same cause, of century (A. Pippidi, 1975; E. St ănescu, 1974; L. staving off the foreign interference in the Vranoussis, 1977). The effective instauration of the administration of Romanian monasteries (A. Elian, Phanariot governance in the Romanian principalities 2003). These initiatives are noticeable, considering brought forth a new stage in the cultural development, that they come from rulers of Greek origin. accentuating the Balkan unity, and meanwhile, On the other hand, the Constantinopolitan building the bases for the modern revolutions of Patriarchate confers Wallachian Metropolitan, by the national liberation from 1821 (A. Daskalakis, 1974). second half of the 18 th century, the Archbishopric Mainly, the baroque-orthodox cultural legacy of the titular see of Caesarea in Cappadocia –hardly to be former Romanian voevods - the Cantacuzens and supported these times by the ecumenical Patriarchate- voevod Constantine Brancovan are continued, but in and, also, a higher status beside other old dioceses a more eclectic spirit, very tributary to the lasting from the Byzantine times, but which declined Constantinopolitan one: the Mavrocordatos’ family, and were not representing anymore but a bygone the first Phanariot rulers of the Principalities, found reality: Soteriopolis, Sevastia, Cerven, Pogoniana. there an atmosphere of cultural familiarity in which The Constantinopolitan Patriarchate decides that the they integrated themselves quickly and without any hierarchs of those ancient Balkan and near eastern trouble, continuing as well the cultural patronage on dioceses should be elected within the Wallachian the directions of Romanian antecessors. The Metropolis, fact which has multiple procedural domination of the Mavrocordatos’ dynasty lasted implications (A. Elian, 2003). Firstly, an array of over a half of century in the two Principalities, giving rituals takes place between the Constantinopolitan to the Romanian society an interesting evolution, Tome XI, Numéro 2, 2009 132 Political Decay and Cultural Achievements: The Politics of Cultural Patronage During the Phanariot Administration of the Romanian Principalities especially by their reforms concerning human rights – the Greek provinces in the Balkans, by donations, the abrogation of villainy (1746 in Wallachia and scholarships, periodical annuities in poorer zones of 1749 in Moldavia), the first act of this kind in the the Greek, Bulgarian, Albanian, Anatolian, Antioch Eastern Europe which generated transformations communities (A. Camariano-Cioran, 1979, 1980). between the traditional social structures The main Greek, Turkish and Romanian (F. Constantiniu, 1974)