FORMAL
Ienachita Vacarescu
Ienăchiţă Văcărescu (1740 – July 11,
1797) was a Wallachian Romanian
poet, historian, philologist, and boyar
belonging to the Văcărescu family. A
polyglot, he was able to speak Ancient and Modern Greek, Old Church
Slavonic, Arabic, Persian,French,
German, Italian, and Ottoman Turkish.
Văcărescu wrote one of the first
printed books on Romanian grammar
in 1787, an edition which also included a section dedicated to the
study of prosody; it was titled Observaţii sau Băgări de seamă asupra
regulilor şi orânduielilor gramaticii
româneşti ("Observations or Reckonings on the Rules and Dispositions of
18
Romanian Grammar"). He also completed a work on Greek grammar
(Gramatica greacă completă).
Văcărescu's lyrical works took inspiration from both Anacreon and folklore, and centered on romantic love.
The best-known poems he left behind
are Amărâta turturea("Embittered
Turtle Dove") and the minuscule Întro grădină ("In a Garden"). Aside from
these, he was also the author of a Istorie a Preaputernicilor Împăraţi Otomani ("History of the All Mighty Ottoman Emperors").
On several occasions, Ienăchiţă Văcărescu served Wallachia as a diplomat in missions abroad, including
negotiations carried out in the Habs-
burg realms for the sons of Prince
Alexander Ypsilantis to return after
their 1782 flight to Vienna; he met
and conversed with Emperor Joseph
II, and also befriended the French
ambassador, Baron de Breteuil. His
impressive knowledge of Italian was
the subject of a 1929 study by historian Nicolae Iorga, De unde a învăţat
italieneşte Ienăchiţă Văcărescu
("Where Has Ienăchiţă Văcărescu
Learned Italian From?").