Invented genealogies as political mythologies: definitionand examples

Abstract

The genealogical imaginary is a subcategory of the imaginary referring to the origin and it comprises a wide range of genealogical myths: fictitious ancestors, whether divine or human, fabulous kinships, invented genealogies, descendancies which are impossible to certify with documents, erroneous interpretations of certain degrees of kinship, real genealogies that have received unexpected interpretations and historiographic clichés grown on more or less attestable genealogies. The case of the Balş family is one of the most interesting: trying to integrate in the political structures of the Austrian and Russian Empire, some members of this old Moldavian family invent a fictitious genealogy that links the French counts of Baux, the Balsa family, a Serbian medieval dynasty and the Balş family, Moldavian boyars.

Keywords

• genealogical imaginary
• political mythologies
• fictitious ancestors
• fabulous kinships
• Balș family
• counts of Baux