Imaginea lui Carol I la români în perioada 1878-1881
The Image of Carol I Seen by the Romanians in the Period 1878-1881

Summary/Abstract: In this chronological section, the image of the king was a complex one. The sovereign was not in the center of a good-evil, malevolent German - savior of the nation dichotomy, as he was at the beginning of his reign. At that moment, the important political leaders were aware that, after the victory in the Independence War, King Carol not only stood firmly on its throne, but also was popular among the masses. In the period 1878-1881, which was framed by two glorious moments, it was natural for numerous heroic images of the ruler to be spread. Some of them were due to enthusiasm, especially at persons with poetical skills, but some were part of a consciously process of constructing and propagating the king’s image. Painters, photographers, engravers, poets, the staff of the Royal House, central and local authorities, teachers, priests, began to work in this field, stamped medals, coined money, published praising poems, organized the monarch’s visits throughout the country. This image, extremely positive in its core, was affected by a few sensitive problems, the most serious being the issue of Bessarabia and the Jewish one. These formed the aim of accuses pointed at the sovereign, especially trough a few satiric, antimonarchic magazines. In these publications, typically, Carol was represented as ruthless, malevolent, and even, sometimes, evil. As I mentioned before, in the same time, the official image saw the king as a blessed instrument of God, strengthened by unofficial voices that believed sincerely in the existence of all the Royal qualities listed above.

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