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Gheorghe Șincai | |
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 Gheorghe Șincai | |
| Born | (1754-03-13)13 March 1754 |
| Died | (1806-11-02)November 2, 1806 |
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| Era | |
| Movement | Transylvanian School |
| Writing career | |
| Language | Romanian |
| Notable works | |
Gheorghe Șincai (Romanian pronunciation:[ˈɡe̯orɡeˈʃiŋkaj]; 13 March [O.S. 28 February] 1754 – November 2, 1816) was aRomanian historian,philologist, translator, poet, and representative of theEnlightenment-influencedTransylvanian School.
As the director ofGreek Catholic education in Transylvania he brought a fundamental contribution to the process of promoting culture in rural environments. He revised before publishingSamuil Micu's firstgrammar of theRomanian language:Elementa linguae daco-romanae sive valachicae (The elements of theDaco-Roman orVlach/Wallachian language) (Vienna, 1780), in which they demonstrated theLatin origins of theRomanian language.[1]
He was born in Mezősámsond (nowȘincai,Mureș County), though some sources put his birthplace at the nearbyRâciu de Câmpie village.[2][3] He studied atTârgu-Mureș,Cluj,Bistrița,Blaj,Vienna, andRome (in the last two cities together withSamuil Micu, nephew ofBishopInocențiu Micu-Klein).
He turned out to be apolyglot, thoroughly masteringGreek,Latin,Hungarian,German,Italian andFrench. His knowledge and culture allowed him to occupy the function of librarian of theCongregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in Rome, having permission to research any type of document. In thePapal States, and later inHungary and in Vienna (the capital of theHabsburg domains), he carried out research work in various libraries, copying and transcribing exactly any reference to the history of the Romanians.
Șincai assiduously worked to educate commoners, dedicating himself to a career in teaching, and contributing to the establishment of an impressive number of Greek-Catholicparochial schools (in all, over 300). In 1784 he was named general director ofRomanian Uniate schools in all of Transylvania.
He translated and expanded the following basic textbooks for educational purposes:Abecedarul (The Book of ABCs),Gramatica (Grammar),Aritmetica (Arithmetic), andCatehismul (The Catechism), adapting or creating the terminology necessary for pupils to understand these. He proved himself to be a remarkable translator, rendering theBible into Romanian (in 1789, under the name ofThe Blaj Bible).
In 1794 Șincai came into direct conflict with BishopIoan Bob; he was thrown into the harshAiud Prison,[3][4] being followed and persecuted by the Habsburg authorities after his release in 1796.
In 1811 Șincai published a work of history, written in the form of annals and amply titled:Hronica românilor și a mai multor neamuri în cât au fost ele amestecate cu românii, cât lucrurile, întâmplările și faptele unora față de ale altora nu se pot scrie pre înțeles, din mai multe mii de autori, în cursul a treizeci și patru de ani culese (The chronicle of the Romanians and of other peoples insofar as they were mixed with the Romanians, as the things, events and facts of the one regarding the other cannot be written as if everyone understands them, from several thousand authors, gathered over the course of thirty-four years).
Șincai died atSvinica, near Kassa (todayKošice in present-daySlovakia).[2]
There are twoRomanian national colleges named after him: one inBucharest and one inBaia Mare.
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