Mythe et Histoire : Éléments contemporains de philosophie de l’histoire
Myth and History: Contemporary Elements in the History of Philosophy

Summary/Abstract: Although the past two centuries have witnessed at least a few significant contributions, one cannot speak of a historiographic retrospective of the Romanian philosophy of history per se. Authors such as A. D. Xenopol (1847-1920), Lucian Blaga (1895-1961), Mircea Eliade (1907-1986) and Neagu Djuvara (n. 1916) have in turns elaborated more or less systematic viewpoints upon history, marking out the field through works of great consistency. Nevertheless, their acknowledgement in this particular field of interest is still scarce, while other authors, maybe less systematic, yet highly inciting, remain insufficiently explored and deciphered. The present paper aims at pursuing two of the historians who although did not leave theoretical works of great importance, have nevertheless worked out their personal approaches and inherent premises with great insight, providing suggestions for a different way of understanding the mission of historians and historiography. Thus, in order to achieve its intentions, the paper unfolds into two sections. Accordingly, the first section focuses on the concept of “myth-history” as it appears in the works of Eugen Lozovan, Mircea Eliade and Al. Busuioceanu. The second section observes the way in which the perception of the historiographic approach changed in the period that preceded the editorial debut of Ioan Petru Culianu. In all four cases we deal with Romanian historians who have asserted themselves abroad in the post-war years. Far from the official Marxism imposed from above upon the Romanian historiography, their conceptions reveal theoretical approaches that are in sharp contrast with it.

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