EMINESCU, Mihai (born Mihail Eminovici). Botoşani 15.1.1850 — Bucharest 15.6.1889. Romanian Poet interested in India. One of Romania’s most notable poets. Of somewhat unclear origin, son of a Moldavian potentate. Studied in Vienna 1869-72 and in Berlin 1872-74, philosophy, law, economics, Romance philology, even medicine, and privately many other things. In Berlin learned also Sanskrit under Weber, and embraced ideas of German Romanticism (and Indianism). He admired Schopenhauer and translated him and Kant into Romanian. Returned to home he worked as a journalist in Bucharest. From the age of 33 suffered of insanity.
In his poems Eminescu used Indian motifs and figures. Among his papers are some translations from Sanskrit and an extract of three hundred pages from Bopp’s Kritische Grammatik (though it is clumsy and full of errors). He planned a drama on the Śakuntalā.
Publications: Opere. 1-5. 1939-1958.
– A manuscript Gramatica sanscrita of 300 p. in Iaşi, translated from Bopp’s Kritische Grammatik.
Sources: A. Roşu, “Eminescu et l’indianisme romantique”, ZDMG 119, 1970, 241-259; Wikipedia with 2 photos – both referring to further sources.
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