Intellectuals, School and the birth of the Romanian nation in Transylvania
Intellectuals, School and the birth of the Romanian nation in Transylvania

Summary/Abstract: The national identity of the Romanian people emerged in the last part of 18th century and was shaped in 19th century. Imagining a Romanian nation is the brain child of intellectuals who have defined the national community and built first a cultural identity, then a political identity. After the Habsburg conquest, the Greek-Catholic Church favored the formation of a new generation of intellectuals, who contributed to the formation of a national conscience crossing religious boundaries. Half a century later, the Transylvanian School set the ground for the formation of the Romanian nation. The revolutionary generation of 1848 imagined the nation beyond social and confessional boundaries, mobilizing the peasantry and the townspeople to achieve its national political goals. The national identity of the Romanians of Transylvanian was shaped in a competitive manner, as an answer to the hostile images of foreigners, especially in competition with the Hungarians’ national ideology.

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