DESPRE EPITOMA UNEI LUCRĂRI CANTEMIRIENE
ON THE EPITOME OF A WORK BY CANTEMIR

Summary/Abstract: More common than Vita ConstantiniCantemyrii drafted in Latin by DimitrieCantemir is its epitome signed by the scholar which was published after the death of the epitomist (1738) in a Latin-Russian bilingual edition as De vita et rebus gestisConstantiniCantemiriPrincipis Moldavia/ История о жизни и делах Молдавского господаря князя Константина Кантемира. This variant of the biography of the voivode Constantin Cantemir lacks the strong influence of the Romanian language and the stylistic embellishments of the Romanian literate; furthermore, it was more accessible to the public that knew Latin and closer to what a historiographic work conveyed in the era. In practice, the drafting of the work was perhaps useful due to its considerably little length which made it easier to read. Although Bayer goes to the source for entire passages, the wish to transpose the text into a correct and “intelligible” Latin led to massive interventions at the level of expression. Following, nonetheless, the subjective manner lying at the basis of Cantemir’s text and being given credit for it, the historical value of this processing is likely to be reduced despite the epitomist’s endeavour to provide additional information and complete the chronology.

• Details
• Contents