ION POP RETEGANUL AS LITERARY HISTORIAN

Abstract

After 1848, the area inhabited by Romanians outside the Carpathian Arc underwent profound mental and social changes, which culminated in 1859 with the Little Union of Moldova and Wallachia. However, the consciousness of race and language were not realities that manifested themselves only in these Romanian provinces, Transylvania being united in national feeling with the other Romanians, despite the special historical conditions in which it is located. This consciousness of Romanianness would eventually lead to the Great Union in 1918 in Alba Iulia. One of the promoters of national consciousness was Ion Pop Reteganul, whose activity was also carried out in literary history, which he approached from a moderately critical perspective. His teacher training left its mark on his writing because he tried to bring out always in evidence the moralizing side of any text he brought to his reader. In its pages of historical-literary journalism, this moralizing side is doubled by the admiration for the personalities it presents, their activity, and their creation, which touched on topics necessary for the growth of a healthy Romanian community as a mentality and recognition of its value.