Born as a member of the Conachi family, he was an affluent boyar from Moldavia.[5] If the PaharniculConstantin Sion writes that the "Konaki family" is of Greek origin, "but for more than 160 years they came and have been related to many of the big [local] families", Paul Păltănea brought documents "which implies that the Conachi family descends from a family of "răzeși"[n 1] from the village of Știoborăni,[n 2] with documentary attestation from the time of Ștefăniță Vodă (1517-1527) or even of Stephen the Great (1457-1504). The female line of the family is also of 'răzeși'."[6]: 13
As a child, Costache Conachi's education was the object of the most enlightened care. He was initiated into the finer points of Greek by a Greek archimandrite who lived in his father's house. A Turkish schoolmaster taught him his language and he learned French alongside a refugee revolutionary - Mr. Fleury.[7]: 391 At the Princely Academy of Iași, he studied modern Greek, Slavonic, philosophy, mathematics and law. He had undeniable aptitude for the profession of engineer and his in-depth knowledge of Moldavian law was to make him an indispensable man at a time when problems of organization and legislation were brought to the fore. He participated in the drafting of the Callimachi code[n 3] which he had translated into Romanian when he became Logothete and, later, he was part of the commission in charge of drafting the "Regulamentul Organic".[7]: 392
Great boyar and great landowner, a contradictory figure at the time because he pleaded for the illumination of the people, he proposed a project to reform the education in Moldavia on the principle "The study must have a moral purpose".[8]
All the data about Costache Conachi, corroborated with the testimonies of reliable foreign observers, highlight his culture, seriousness, tact and frugality - rare qualities in the corrupt and ignorant environment of the boyar oligarchy in the time of the phanariots. His sober existence contrasted too violently with the habits of his time and foreigners have understood this best. In the well-documented memoir he wrote in 1834, the French consular agent Bois le Comte[n 4] depicts him as follows: „Under soft, caressing and shy forms, he hides instruction, a rather delicate spirit“. Another French consular agent is of the same opinion and praises the political prudence of the Grand Boyar. As for Saint-Marc Girardin, he discovered in Conachi „a figure such as I imagine those of the eighteenth century: something mocking and sardonic; but his sarcasm was directed against vice“.[7]: 391
Preoccupied with astronomy, he bought from Vienna all the instruments necessary to establish an observation tower, including a telescope, bequeathed to the Society of Physicians and Naturalists; as a "geometer and boundary marker" he established boundaries and drew up plans of the boyars' estates[2]
In the literary field, Costache Conachi is regarded by many as the first true Romanian poet of his time. He is credited with infusing eroticism into Romanian poetry. Although he lived and worked in an era of Romanian literature that is hazy at best, his name is not easily forgotten.[9]
Coming from a wealthy family, Conachi had access to readings on foreign cultures and the works of great authors. This foundation of knowledge shaped his poems. It resulted in verses in Romanian marked with unprecedented elements such as eroticism.[9]
The great logothete Costache Conachi died on February 4, 1849, being buried next to his wife, in the Banu Church cemetery. Later, the remains of Costache Conachi and his wife were transported to Țigănești, near the church he had founded.[10]
A book by Conachi
Brief presentation
Studies
in the parental home, under the guidance of foreign teachers;
he studied French language and literature with Professor Fleury;
he attended the courses of the Princely Academy of Iași where he learned French, German, Greek and Turkish (March - Dec. 1792).[2]
member of the Finance Administration Committee, under Ioan Sturdza (1828-1831);
he was appointed by the Public Divan of Moldavia to be part of the Drafting Commission of the Organic Regulation, where he introduced the chapters that set the conditions for the future union of the Romanian Principalities (June 17, 1829 - 1831);
Great Logothete for Justice (Ministry of Justice) (1831-1833);
president of the Administration of the public settlements "St. Spiridon" from Iași (1840);
conversant in Greek, French and Turkish, he translated some poems and philosophical writings from French into Romanian, among which is "Essai sur l'homme" by the poet and philosopher Alexander Pope.[2]
Works
Debut: literary, with a political ode - Moruz Voivod (Sept. 1802),
he writes small comedies with allusions to contemporaries such as Judgment of women, Love and all graces, the first writings for puppet theater in Romanian literature,
he also produced a treatise on versification: The Craft of Romanian Verses.[2]
Poems
Amoriul din prieteşug
Asară, de-un vac trecut
Ce este nurul
Cu prietena-mpreună
De-ai privi marea vr'odată
Dorul
Jaloba mea
Mă sfârșesc, amar mă doare
Nume
Omule, slabă fiinţă...
Răspunsul unei scrisori
Săracelor tinerețe
Scrisoare către Zulnia
Visul amoriului
Ziori de ziuă se revarsă
Posthumous Collections
Poetry
Alcătuiri și tălmăciri, edited by N. Ionescu, Iași, 1856
Alcătuiri și tălmăciri, 2nd ed., edited by M. Pompiliu, foreword by Ecaterina Vogoride-Conachi, introduction Short events from the life and family of the Logothete Conachi by Em. Vogoride-Conachi, Iași, 1887;
Poems, edited by I. Pillat, Bucharest, 1942;
Selected writings, preface, glossary and bibliography by Ecaterina and Al. Teodorescu, Bucharest, 1963.
Translations
Mme Cottin, Mathilde, I-III, translated by Costache Conachi, Iași, 1844.
^The Callimachi (Calimach) Code[ro] was a civil code of Moldavia, created at the initiative of the ruler Scarlat Callimachi (Calimach), who promulgated it in 1817. This code is also called the Civil Code of Moldavia. When promulgated, the code was written in Greek. Its application became more consistent after 1833, when it was finalized, through translation, in the Romanian language. When compiling this code, it was aimed to combine local law, based on the custom of the land, with Byzantine law (Basilika and imperial legislation), while actually using, as main models, the French civil code from 1804 and the Austrian civil code from 1811.
^The General epitropy of the House of Saint Spiridon Hospitals was a non-profit organization that administered the "Saint Spiridon" Hospital in Iași as well as other hospitals in Moldavia from the mid-18th century until the health reform of 1948.
^Epitrop - administrator of the wealth of a church
^Păltănea, Paul (2001). Neamul logofătului Costache Conachi [Logothete Costache Conachi's family] (in Romanian). Bucharest: Ed. Albatros. ISBN9789732407653. OCLC164594917.
^ abcPopovici, Dumitru (1945). La litterature roumaine a l'epoque des lumieres [Romanian Literature in the Enlightenment Age] (PDF) (in French). Sibiu: Centrul de studii si cercetari. OCLC1078105796 – via Central University Library "Lucian Blaga" Cluj-Napoca.
