- Jean Alexandre Vaillant
Jean Alexandre Vaillant (d.
March 21 ,1886 ) was a French andRomania n teacher, political activist, historian, linguist and translator, who was noted for his activities inWallachia and his support for the 1848 Wallachian Revolution. A Romantic nationalist and Freemason, he was an associate of the liberal faction in both Wallachia andMoldavia , as well as a collaborator ofIon Heliade Rădulescu ,Ion Câmpineanu ,Mitică Filipescu , andMihail Kogălniceanu .A
tutor and later teacher at the Saint Sava School inBucharest during the 1830s, he rose suspicions for his involvement in political conspiracies and was ultimately banned from Wallachia. Vaillant advocated the unification of theDanubian Principalities and other Romanian-inhabited areas, an ideal he notably expressed in his 1844 work "La Roumanie". Credited with having publicized the Romanian cause in his native country during the 1850s, and with having introduced the modern references to "Romania" in international discourse, he briefly returned to Bucharest and was naturalized by the new Romanian state in 1864. The state of the Roma community was another one of Vaillant's interests, and the practice of Roma slavery led him to express support for abolitionist goals.Career
Private tutor
Vaillant arrived in Bucharest on
November 4 ,1829 , being first employed as aFrench language tutor by the Great Ban George Iordachi, a member of theFilipescu family ofboyar s. [Ursu, p.14] Joining a sizable community of French and otherEurope an expatriates, [Giurescu, p.274; Iorga, "La Monarchie de juillet..."] he was, according to historianNicolae Iorga , "the only one [of them] whose literary activity was able serve the "rapprochement " between distant France and this Latin coutry on theDanube ". [Iorga, "La Monarchie de juillet..."]He terminated his contract in spring of the following year, and decided to open of school for boys aged 12 to 15; the initiative was publicized by Heliade Rădulescu's magazine "
Curierul Românesc ". [Ursu, p.14] Vaillant's school was located in buildings owned by "Serdar" Popa, in the vicinity ofStavropoleos Church . [Djuvara, p.211; Ursu, p.14] Together with the similar activities of Félix Colson (who was tutoring young members of theVăcărescu family ), and those of the Moldavian-based Cuénim and the "abbé " Lhommé, [Djuvara, p.211] this brought an important step in theWesternization of Romanian society, while contributing to enforcing admiration for France among young boyars. [Drace-Francis, p.105; Djuvara, p.211; Giurescu, p.274] It also signified a breaking point with education in Greek, which had been the norm before and during the Phanariote age (ever since the 17th century initiatives of PrinceMatei Basarab ). [Djuvara, p.211-212] The memoiristIon Ghica later noted that, among Vaillant's pupils, were scions of the Filipescu family, as well as those of the Grădişteanus, Bălăceanus, Rosettis, Golescus and his own family (the Ghicas). [Djuvara, p.211] Another of his pupils was the future radical politician and historianNicolae Bălcescu . [Iorga, "La Monarchie de juillet..."] Vaillant was also a teacher at a school for girls, which functioned withouttuition . [Drace-Francis, p.104; Iorga, "La Monarchie de juillet..."]aint Sava professor
In 1832, he was appointed French-language teacher and head of the
boarding house at the prestigious Saint Sava School, [Drace-Francis, p.104; Iorga, "La Monarchie de juillet..."; Polet, p.953; Ursu, p.14] which he had been commissioned to modernize. [Polet, p.953] This came upon the end of the Russo-Turkish War of 1828-1829, when Imperial Russian troops had taken over administration of Wallachia, without removing it from Ottoman tutelage. Vaillant was able to persuade the new authorities after authoring a poem in honor of GovernorPavel Kiselyov . [Drace-Francis, p.104]The high standards he endorsed earned him even more popularity, as well as a salary worth twice that of local staff. [Drace-Francis, p.104] Nevertheless, his contract was terminated in 1833 or 1834. The reason for this is unclear: some sources have attributed it to Vaillant's advocacy of nationalist tenets in front of his students, which reportedly rose suspicions from Russia, who was overseeing administration of the country under the "
Regulamentul Organic " regime; [Polet, p.953] others still indicate that he was involved in a conflict withInspector Petrache Poenaru (in turn, this clash was attributed to Valliant's activities as Freemason or to him having continued to teach privately, thus competing with his state employers). [Drace-Francis, p.104]Vaillant also published a concise textbook of
Romanian language and grammar (1836), intended as a learning instrument for French people ("Grammaire valaque à l'usage des français"). [Ursu, p.14] It featured aglossary , as well as a historical overview and translations of poems (notably,Vasile Cârlova 's "Ruinurile Târgoviştii" and Heliade Rădulescu's "Visul"). [Ursu, p.14] In the preface to this work, Vaillant stressed theLatin origin of the Romanian language (in relation to otherRomance languages ), and, elaborating, argued that "Wallachian is nothing less than a dialect of the "Roumannesque" language, a name which in itself serves to indicate its descent". [Ursu, p.14]Conspiracies and return to Paris
By the late 1830s, Jean Alexandre Vaillant became involved with the liberal trend in opposition to the "Regulamentul Organic" regime, engaging in conflict with Prince
Alexandru II Ghica . As such, he first associated withIon Câmpineanu , who stood out in the Wallachian Assembly in opposition to Ghica's policies. [Iorga, "La Monarchie de juillet..."; Ursu, p.15] According to Iorga, he was also sympathetic to the cause of other Balkan peoples in their conflict with theOttoman Empire (including the rebellious activities of Bulgarian activists inBrăila and the plans devised by the former Prince of Serbia, Miloš Obrenović, who was residing in Bucharest at the time). [Iorga, "La Monarchie de juillet..."]By that time, he was a noted figure in Wallachian Freemasonry, which reportedly owed inspiration to a conspiratorial system first applied by the
Filiki Eteria during the early stages of the Greek Independence War; other people involved in this subversive movement were, among others, Câmpineanu, Heliade Rădulescu,Mitică Filipescu ,Nicolae Bălcescu ,Eftimie Murgu . [Lăzărescu] After Câmpineanu was defeated, Vaillant rallied with a conspiracy formed around Filipescu; onNovember 18 ,1840 , as authorities clamped down on Filipescu's movement, he fled Bucharest, heading for the Moldavian capital ofIaşi . [Ursu, p.15] According to Iorga, Vaillant's involvement with the revolutionary milieu, and especially with Filipescu and Heliade Rădulescu, had made him the object of suspicion. [Iorga, "La Monarchie de juillet..."] It was in Iaşi that he became an associate of Kogălniceanu, after taking an interest in Moldavianchronicle s which the latter was reviewing and publishing; [Ursu, p.15] later, it was proposed that Vaillant's 1844 volume, "La Roumanie", featured sections of text actually contributed by the Moldavian writer. [Ursu, p.15] OnJune 19 ,1841 , the Wallachian Assembly voted to expel him indefinitely from the country for his role in Filipescu's revolutionary attempt. [Ursu, p.15]Vaillant returned to
Paris , where he continued publicizing his arguments in favor of Wallachian and Moldavian causes. [Ursu, p.15] OnAugust 2 ,1844 , he spoke in front of the "Société Orientale ", of which he had been made a member, protesting againstcensorship imposed by Russia in theDanubian Principalities (he expanded on this perspective in "La Roumanie"). [Ursu, p.15] At the time, he became close toÉdouard Drouyn de Lhuys , President of the "Société Orientale", whose support for the cause of ethnic Romanians he consequently enlisted. [Ursu, p.15] He also contacted the poetAlphonse de Lamartine , who, in 1846, became head of "Societatea Studenţilor Români" (the Society of Romanian Students). [Ursu, p.15]Vaillant continued to publish various works by Romanian writers, this time in the "
Revue de l'Orient " — among its contributors wereVasile Alecsandri ,Nicolae Bălcescu ,Cezar Bolliac , Kogălniceanu, andCostache Negruzzi (the latter notably sent hisnovella "Alexandru Lăpuşneanu"). [Ursu, p.15] He would later publish a volume grouping several of Bolliac's works. [Polet, p.953] Vaillant also welcomed Romanian students into any of three Parisian Lodges he had helped create: "La Loge du Parfait Silence" ("The Lodge of Perfect Silence"), "La Loge de la Bonne Amitié" ("The Lodge of Good Friendship"), and "La Loge de l'Athénée des Étrangers" ("The Lodge of the Atheneum of Foreigners"). [Lăzărescu]Later activism and naturalization
After 1848, when the Wallachian Revolution ended in occupation by Ottoman and Russian troops, and until the
Crimean War , Vaillant continued to printpamphlet s supporting the Romanian cause. [Iorga, "La Révolution de 1848..."; Ursu, p.15] As Russian troops retreated, to be replaced by a provisional Austrian administration, in turn superseded by aprotectorate of powers (including the French Empire), he issued text supporting a Moldo-Wallachian union and emphasizing the two countries' autonomy in respect to thePorte . [Ursu, p.15] In 1857, he authored an appeal to Duke Colonna-Walewski, the French Foreign Minister, in which he called for "France's sympathies" in respect to "the Moldo-Wallachians", based on "their magnificent past and the hope of their future". [Ursu, p.15] At the time, he made several references to Romania as "la langue d'or" ("the golden language"), a name notably featured in the title of aRomanian literature collection he printed in 1851. [Polet, p.953] Vaillant also wrote pieces criticizing Moldavian separatists. [Iorga, "La Révolution de 1848..."]The union he supported was accomplished in 1859, through the election of
Alexander John Cuza as ruler of both countries. Three years later, Vaillant was back inBucharest for a few months, giving free lectures onancient history . [Polet, p.953; Ursu, p.15] He was naturalized Romanian in 1864, at the same time as his compatriots and fellow pro-Romanian activistsPaul Bataillard andJean Henri Abdolonyme Ubicini . [Ursu, p.15] In addition, "Domnitor " Cuza awarded him apension worth 4,000French franc s. [Ursu, p.15]Jean Alexandre Vaillant died in Paris 22 years later, and was buried with full honors at the expense of the Romanian Kingdom. [Ursu, p.15] The Romanian Legation, headed by its secretary
George Bengescu , and other members of the Romanian community in the city accompanied thehearse . [Ursu, p.15] Bengescu spoke at the ceremony, referring to Vaillant as "a brother", he noted that he had been one of the "the courageous and enthusiastic pioneers of the Romanian people's political and national regeneration". [Ursu, p.15]Views
"La Roumanie"
Vaillant's 1844 "La Roumanie" (in its long version, the title was given as "La Roumanie, ou Histoire, langue, littérature, orogrphie, statistique des peuples de la langue d'or, Ardialiens, Vallaques et Moldaves, résumés sur le nom de Romans") was notably reviewed by
Nicolae Iorga in his 1918 essay on French-Romanian relations). He noted that Vaillant extended the scope of his researches into Romanian history out of Wallachia and Moldavia, and into Austrian-ruledTransylvania : "He preoccupied himself [...] , for the first time, with the Romanians in Transylvania, [a region] which he named, taking in view the national [Romanian] term serving to designate this enslaved land, "Ardeal" ("Ardial"), whence "Ardialiens" (in Romanian: "Ardeleni")". [Iorga, "La Monarchie de juillet..."]Iorga also concluded that Vaillant was among the first persons to use the terms "Romania" and "Romanian" in the modern sense, after they had been in circulation for some time as designations of Wallachia and its citizens (commonly known in Romanian as "Ţara Românească", the latter principality had, Iorga contended, come to adopt the term "România" as self-reference by the time Vaillant was writing his essay). [Iorga, "La Monarchie de juillet..."] The names were subsequently adopted by
Mihail Kogălniceanu ,Vasile Alecsandri and other Romanian revolutionaries. [Iorga, "La Monarchie de juillet..."] The French versions of the names "Romania" and "Romanians", in the form supported by Vaillant, were to be "Romanie" and "roma [i] n", both alluding toAncient Rome — these were not received asneologism s, and the enduring names in became "Roumanie" and "roumain", probably based on the Romanian folk references to "rumân". [Iorga, "La Monarchie de juillet..."]"La Roumanie" provided a detailed account of the region's history, highlighting Vaillant's arguments in various controversial aspects. It began with an account of
Dacia andRoman Dacia , which detailed the impact of Romanization, as well as the eventual retreat of Imperial Roman administration to the south of theDanube underAurelian by 270. [Iorga, "La Monarchie de juillet..."] Commenting at length on theorigin of the Romanians , he stressed that the Roman colonists had stayed behind during theMigration Period . [Iorga, "La Monarchie de juillet..."] Arguing that these had come from a "latifundia "-dominatedItalian Peninsula to Dacia "as if to anEl Dorado ", he elaborated that it was impossible for them to have forsaken their property and becomenomad s (as suggested by various other historians). [Iorga, "La Monarchie de juillet..."] Vaillant notably drew comparisons with the end of colonial rule overNew France , as well as with Early Modern Romanian history (noting that, during the Russo-Turkish Wars and related incursions, while theboyar s and other notabilities took refuge in various regions, "the proletarians did not follow suit"). [Iorga, "La Monarchie de juillet..."]Thus, he claimed, when Transylvania was taken over by the
Hungarians in the 9th century, Romanians were the main presence in the area; he believed that the Hungarian-language name for Transylvania, "Erdély", was borrowed from Romanian, and had its origins in the Latin name "Jupiter " ("seeHistorical names of Transylvania "). [Iorga, "La Monarchie de juillet..."] Vaillant also supported the view that Walachia had been established by Romanian Transylvanians who wanted to preserve their Eastern Orthodox faith in front of Roman Catholic pressures stemming in theKingdom of Hungary — Iorga disagreed with this thesis, stressing his own (according to which Wallachia was created through the union of several local polities). [Iorga, "La Monarchie de juillet..."] Vaillant gave a summary of subsequent developments in Transylvanian history, making references to theBudai Nagy Antal Revolt , to the careers ofJohn Hunyadi , his son Matthias Corvinus, andNicolaus Olahus (viewing all three as Romanians, he erroneously argued that John was a native ofOltenia ), and to the Transylvanian conquests of the Moldavian PrincePetru Rareş (who, he believed, had been assigned the Transylvanian throne by SultanSuleiman the Magnificent ). [Iorga, "La Monarchie de juillet..."]The account he gave of
Michael the Brave 's rule, during which Wallachia, Transylvania, and Moldavia were first gathered under one rule, was to inspire his pupilNicolae Bălcescu (who was to author an entire volume on this period, titled "Românii supt Mihai-Voievod Viteazul"). [Iorga, "La Monarchie de juillet..."] He attributed Michael's expedition in Transylvania to him having "seen his brothers treated like serfs by the Magyar conquerors and the Saxon foreigners", and deplored his "cowardly assassination" on the orders of the Imperial generalGiorgio Basta . [Iorga, "La Monarchie de juillet..."] He notably attributed the policy failures of Wallachian PrinceRadu Şerban to Imperial opposition, claiming that he could have otherwise reestablished Michael's domain. [Iorga, "La Monarchie de juillet..."]In reference to the 18th and early 19th centuries, Vaillant mentioned in passing the start of Habsburg rule in Transylvania, the Greek-Catholic conversions among Romanians in exchange for the unfulfilled promise of
political rights , and the interestMoise Nicoară had taken in theFrench Revolution . [Iorga, "La Monarchie de juillet..."] QuotingGeorge Bariţ , a major figure of theTransylvanian School , he noted that most Transylvanians were Romanian (1.2 million, as opposed to the 900,000 members of all other ethnicities), and recounted his own dissemination of unification ideals among Transylvanian expatriates in Wallachia. [Iorga, "La Monarchie de juillet..."]In addition to these tenets, "La Roumanie" provided details on the
history of Bucharest during the 1830s, including the number and type ofwagon s andcarriage s (70hansom cab s, 1,775 phaetons and 7,502 wagons), [Giurescu, p.282] and that ofinn s andhotel s (he calculated that there were 20 of each). [Giurescu, p.314]On Roma slavery
Vaillant also authored a work on the history of the
Romani people , to whom he referred as "Romes" or "the actual "Bohémiens". [Iorga, "La Révolution de 1848..."; Polet, p.953; Pons, "passim"] Centered on the Roma community in Wallachia and Moldavia, the work was an investigation of slavery, to which Roma people were subjected in both lands. Making reference to the "corvée s" required from peasants, Vaillant stressed: "if the peasant is a serf, the Gypsy is entirely a slave", while noting the prevalence of slavery among in Romanian society, the Orthodox Church included ("the state sells them, the private entrepreneurs buy them, and themonk s also sit around with their palms exposed"). [Pons, p.16]He noted that the institution relied on Roma settlement, indicating that most members of the ethnic group had abandoned their semi-nomadic lifestyle, commenting that the remaining few "do not pay taxes, but neither are they worth more than the wolves in the forest to their country". [Pons, p.15] Reflecting on the status of slaves involved in manual labor, he provided an indignant account of the way in which they were chained. [Pons, p.18] Vaillant's abolitionist views were probably an influence on his students, and arguably contributed to the proclamation ending slavery that was issued during the
Wallachian Revolution of 1848 . [Pons, p.21]elected works
*"Grammaire valaque à l'usage des français" ("Wallachian Grammar for French People"), 1836
*"Grammaire roumaine" ("Romanian Grammar"), 1840
*"Vocabulaire roumain-français et français-roumain" ("Romanian-French and French-Romanian Vocabulary"), 1840
*"La Roumanie, ou Histoire, langue, littérature, orographie, statistique des peuples de la langue d'or, Ardialiens, Vallaques et Moldaves, résumés sur le nom de Romans" ("Romania, or The History, Language, Literature, Orography, Statistics of the People with a Golden Language, Ardialians, Wallachians and Moldavians, Concisely Referred to as Romans"), 1844
*"Les Romes, histoire vraie des vrais Bohémiens" ("The Rom, the Actual History of the Actual Bohemians"), 1857Notes
References
*
Neagu Djuvara , "Între Orient şi Occident. Ţările române la începutul epocii moderne", Humanitas, Bucharest, 1995. ISBN 9732805234
*Alex Drace-Francis, "The Making of Modern Romanian Culture: Literacy and the Development of National Identity",I.B. Tauris , London, 2006. ISBN 1845110668
*Constantin C. Giurescu , "Istoria Bucureştilor. Din cele mai vechi timpuri pînă în zilele noastre",Editura Pentru Literatură , Bucharest, 1966. OCLC|1279610
*fr iconNicolae Iorga , [http://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Histoire_des_relations_entre_la_France_et_les_Roumains "Histoire des relations entre la France et les Roumains"] (wikisource)
** [http://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Histoire_des_relations_entre_la_France_et_les_Roumains:La_Monarchie_de_juillet_et_les_Roumains "La Monarchie de juillet et les Roumains"]
** [http://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Histoire_des_relations_entre_la_France_et_les_Roumains:La_R%C3%A9volution_de_1848_et_les_%C3%A9migr%C3%A9s "La Révolution de 1848 et les émigrés"]
*ro iconDan Amedeo Lăzărescu , [http://www.itcnet.ro/history/archive/mi1998/current6/mi10.htm "1848: Revoluţia intelectualilor"] , in "Magazin Istoric ", June 1998, retrievedJune 14 ,2007
*Jean-Claude Polet, "Patrimoine littéraire européen: anthologie en langue française", De Boeck Université, Paris, 2000. ISBN 2804128059
*ro icon Emmanuelle Pons, [http://adatbank.transindex.ro/html/cim_pdf450.pdf "De la robie la asimilare"] , at the [http://adatbank.transindex.ro/ Erdélyi Magyar Adatbank] , retrievedJune 14 ,2007
*Ioana Ursu, "J. A. Vaillant, un prieten al poporului român", in "Magazin Istoric", July 1977, p.14-15
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