Naslov
Wallachian and Moldavian Boyars in the Travel Writings of Two Dubrovnik-Born Authors, Ruđer Bošković and Stjepan Rajčević (18th Century)

Autori
Manea-Grgin, Castilia-Luminita

Izvornik
Revue de l 'Association Internalionale d'Etudes du Sud Est Européen (2066-7361) 40-44/2010-2014 (2014); 125-144

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
Ruđer Bošković; Stjepan Rajčević; Wallachian boyars; Moldavian boyars; lifestyle; education; Phanariots; 18th century

Sažetak
This paper looks at how two 18th-century authors of travel writings, Ruđer Bošković(1711-87) and Stjepan Rajčević (1739- after 1813), both born in Dubrovnik, viewed Moldavian and Wallachian boyars. Bošković, a Jesuit and a famous scientist, philosopher, diplomat, and poet, studied and lived in Italy and France where he also published many of his works. His writing analyzed here is "Giornale di un viaggio da Constantinopoli in Polonia" (1784), a trip which he made in 1762. Rajčević, a lawyer, physician, tradesman, diplomat, and erudit writer, studied law and medicine in Italy, where he later lived for some time as well as in Austria. He is only known for his "Osservazioni storiche, naturali, e politiche intorno la Valachia, e Moldavia", his only work, it seems, which was published (1788). He lived in Moldavia and Wallachia for eleven years, between 1775 and 1786, from 1782 being the first Austrian consular agent in the Romanian Principalities. In this paper the two narratives will be compared with one another, as two perspectives of the same realities (especially of Moldavia), although they are different in approach and style - Bošković's work is a travel journal, and Rajčević's is almost a treatise on the two Romanian lands. A comparison with writings of their contemporaries on Wallachia and Moldavia (Anton Maria del Chiaro, Franz Sulzer, etc.) will also be attempted. Travel literature consists of the impressions of one culture viewing another ; therefore it calls for introducing concepts of cultural difference, based on the Self-Other dichotomy. From this perspective, the paper briefly explores the lifestyle and education of the Romanian boyars. The reception of Rajčević's and Bošković's works, as well as their motivation for writing are among the issues introduced into the discussion of the topic. Travelogues often tell us as much, if not more, about the culture of the author as that of the subject matter, therefore the two writings are also analyzed in the context of the Enlightenment and Romanticism.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Povijest

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