Alexandru Lambrior

Alexandru Lambrior (January 12, 1845 – September 20, 1883) was a Romanian philologist and folklorist. A native of Fălticeni in Moldavia, he studied at Iași University and, after beginning a career as a teacher, in Paris. He resumed teaching in 1878, but died of tuberculosis five years later. A pioneer of linguistics in his country, he revered the Romanian of the old medieval chronicles, deploring what he saw as the corrosive effects of neologisms. Lambrior compiled a successful anthology of texts covering some three centuries, and his work on early literature existed alongside an interest in folklore, about which he also proposed original theories.

Born in Fălticeni, his father was Dimitrachi Lambrior; a poor child who was adopted, Dimitrachi's origins are unknown, and his son would later strive to find them out. His mother Marghiolița was the daughter of a low-ranking boyar: her father Vasile Cumpătă was vistiernic (treasury official) who owned a large estate in Soci village. By 1848, Dimitrachi had become a pitar (bread supplier), but he died later that year, and Marghiolița followed in 1850, leaving five-year-old Alexandru and his younger sister orphans; he was subsequently raised by various relatives, first at his grandparents' and then in Flămânzi. In 1852, he began primary school in Târgu Neamț, continued in his native town and completed in Piatra Neamț in 1860. That year, he entered the Iași central gymnasium on a scholarship; he was classmates with George Panu, Calistrat Hogaș and Constantin Dimitrescu-Iași.

After graduating from high school, he enrolled in the literature faculty of Iași University. There, immediately after obtaining his degree, he became a substitute professor in the literature department in 1868, and the following year secured a similar position in the history section. He was later named teacher and principal at A. T. Laurian High School in Botoșani, but was arbitrarily dismissed for political reasons after two years. The May 1871 firing, which involved a number of teachers in several cities and was carried out by Education Minister Cristian Tell, prompted all but two of the faculty at Laurian to resign within two days and sparked ample but ultimately futile protests. In 1872, he became a history teacher at the Iași military school. At the beginning of the same year, he joined Junimea literary society. He delivered several public lectures on various topics, gaining esteem for his intelligence and critical ability. From September 1874 to February 1875, he taught advanced history at the city's National College.

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