Simion Florea Marian

Simion Florea Marian (September 1, 1847–April 11, 1907) was an ethnic Romanian Austro-Hungarian folklorist, ethnographer, Eastern Orthodox priest and teacher, from the Duchy of Bukovina.

[1] His first published work appeared in Familia magazine between 1866 and 1867: Datinile poporului român: o nuntă la Ilișești în Bucovina.

He produced a large body of work on folklore and ethnography, in which traditional Romanian culture was first researched systematically.

[1] His pioneering investigations into Romanian folklore appeared in book form as Descântece poporane române (1886) and posthumously as Păsările noastre și legendele lor.

Works of synthesis that laid a foundation for Romanian ethnography include: Chromatica poporului român (1882), the first Romanian-language book of its kind; Ornitologia poporană română (two volumes, 1883), which won the Năsturel-Herescu Prize from the Romanian Academy and was the first of its type anywhere; and Insectele în limba, tradițiile și obiceiurile românilor (1903).