Petru Maior

Petru Maior (* 1754 in Târgu Mureş, † February 2nd 1821 in Buda ) was a Romanian theologian, historian, linguist and lexicographer of the Transylvanian School.

Life and work

Maior was ordained a priest in 1774. He studied in Rome to 1779 and from 1779 to 1780 in Vienna, where he met with Samuil Micu and Gheorghe Şincai. From 1780 to 1785 he taught in Blaj. Subsequently he was pastor, then pastor in Gurghiu. Micu was one of the authors of the Supplex Libellus of 1791, in the ( vain) the political equality of the Transylvanian Romanians were required. In 1809 he went to Buda, to the university to monitor (as successor of Samuil Micu ) until his death the pressure of the Romanian texts.

Maior belonged to the Transylvanian School, which combined historical research on the origin of the Romanians with language description and language planning of Romanian. He wrote pamphlets for the Romanian language and was the chief editor of the Dictionary of Buda (1825 ). He wrote to the Romanian history and church history. Many of his books and posthumous manuscripts were reissued lately.

In Romania, numerous streets and institutions bear his name, first and foremost in Targu Mures Petru Maior University.

Works (selection)

  • Protopopadichia, 1795; Clusium 1997; ed. by Laura Stanciu, Alba Iulia 1998
  • Didahii. ADECA învăţături pentru creşterea fiilor, la îngropăciunea pruncilor Morti, Budapest 1809; ed. by Laura Stanciu, Cluj- Napoca 2011 ( with English summary )
  • Istoria pentru începutul Romanilor Dachia, Buda in 1812 ( in: Disertaţie pentru începutul limbei romanesti ); ed. Florea Fugariu, 2 vols, Bucharest from 1970 to 1971; Iasi 1990
  • Istoria besericei Romanilor Buda 1813; ed. Ioan Chindriʂ, Bucharest 1995
  • Ortographia romana immersive latino - valachica, Buda 1819
  • Lesicon Românescu - lătinescu - ungurescu - nemţescu quare de mai mulţi authorized, în cursul a trideci, şi mai multoru ani s'au lucrat seu Lexicon valachico - latino - hungarico -italiano quod pluribus a auctoribus decursu Triginta et Amplius annorum elaboratum est, Buda 1825 ( Dictionary of Buda )
  • Scrisori şi documente inedite, ed. Nicolae Albu, Bucharest 1968
  • Scrieri, ed. Florea Fugariu, 2 vols, Bucharest 1976
  • ( Samuil Micu and Gheorghe with Şincai ) Despre vechimea si continuitatea Romanilor, ed. by Dan Horia Mazilu and Anatol Ghermanschi, Bucharest, 1989 ( anthology )
  • Scripta minora: Ars literaria. Animadversiones. Epistolarium. Ultimae, ed. Ioan Chindris, Bucharest 1995
Samuil Micu-Klein Integrated Authority File
645441
de