Abstract
While early Romanian historiography and public opinion primarily chose the Romans as their imagined ancestors, late Romanticism from the end of the nineteenth century (e.g. M. Eminescu) discovered the Dacians as the true forefathers of the Romanian people. This idea was further developed in the nationalist discourse beginning with Sămănătorism in the early twentieth century and endorsed by ultranationalist discourses in the Interwar Period, culminating in academic work on the origins of the Romanian neam (people). This chapter focuses on the perception of the public and the traditions of thought in Romanian philosophy, which is still today dependent on the school of Nae Ionescu and Constantin Noica, who in turn were influenced by late Romantic German models. This chapter analyses publications of the Interwar Period, such as the right-wing journal Gândirea, highlighting this tradition of Romanian thought which can be traced to the present-day. I emphasize how the Romanian version of the idea of Blut und Boden (Blood and Soil) is still prevalent in Romanian academic and public discourse.
