Transylvanian Saxon Culture and Civilization—Pattern of Becoming
Transylvanian Saxon Culture and Civilization—Pattern of Becoming

Summary/Abstract: The premise of this article is that the Transylvanian Saxons are a unique phenomenon and have had a great impact on the local identity and, to a certain degree, they have become famous. This study aims to showcase and explain the uniqueness of the Saxon ethnic phenomenon as well as their particular and general cultural dimensions. There are two research questions that guide the interest in the topic. Is Saxon ethnicity in Transylvania a unique phenomenon? What are the ethnic particularities and historic events that shaped the Transylvanian Saxon cultural identity? Following the civilization patterns defined by historian Neagu Djuvara (1975) we can reconstruct the history of Transylvanian Saxons. The historian identifies four main stages in the development of every culture and civilization, which can also be identified in the history of the Transylvanian Saxons in Romania. The juxtaposition of the historical archetype identified by Djuvara and the Saxon’s historical synthesis reveals two important facts. Firstly, the Saxon ethnicity developed as they assumed the role of colonizers in Transylvania. Secondly, Saxon development in Transylvania is not a unique and displaced historical event, as it can be compared with the way great cultures formed. Saxon ethnicity can be interpreted as a new, developing culture and as the creation of a new civilizational phenomenon in the complex historic circumstance of a multifaceted and immersive time-space context. The paper disentangles and structures into phases of evolution one millennium of Saxon history in Transylvania. Changes of historical context are highlighted as milestones that triggered the development of cultural identity and civilization.

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