Interroger l’histoire. Le questionnaire d’Alexandru Odobescu et son impact sur la mise en évidence des stratégies patrimoniales roumaines

Abstract

The questionnaire drafted by Alexandru Odobescu in the second half of the 19th century shows an x-ray of the fate of Romanian civilization. In a few carefully-considered questions, the man of letters tried to reconstruct the history of his people, in manner as consistent and credible as possible. Weary with waiting for the scholars’ long-promised treatises and papers written in the local public sphere, Alexandru Odobescu “set off” to hear from his contemporaries the stories, traditions, legends preserved for generations. He did not assume a heavily-scientific program and hoped to collect enough evidence which was to be used to create national histories. Odobescu’s work coordinated by the Ministry of Cults and Public Education legitimized the questionnaire as a historical source and pleaded for another way of revisiting and understanding the past.