Marciso Gentino
Marciso Gentino | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | November 3, 1827 Marocino, Grand Empire of Aciria |
| Died | March 18, 1902 (aged 74) Dalora, Grand Empire of Aciria |
| Occupation | Anthropologist, author, archaeologist, linguist |
| Nationality | Acirian |
| Alma mater | University of Trossera |
Marciso Gentino (November 3, 1827 - March 18, 1902) was an Acirian anthropologist, author and archaeologist. One of the most respected archaeologists of his time and one of the earliest Acirian anthropologists, receiving decorations from the Emperor of Aciria for his works in preserving Acirian history. Despite this, Gentino is most remembered for the eccentric books he authored later in his life, most notably the Aciria-Adonerii Connection, where he detailed his theories on how the Adonerii civilization had its roots in Aciria.
In his most famous work, the Collegamento Aciria-Adonerii ("Aciria-Adonerii Connection"), Gentino argued that the ancient Adonerii civilisation was created by the ancient Acirians. His theories relied heavily on pseudo-linguistics where vague connections between the language of the Adonerii and some Glaistic vocabulary. Gaining some traction among Acirian nationalists during his time, the works were widely ridiculed by both Acirian and international scholars.
The ridicule he received following the publishing of the Aciria-Adonerii Connection, he retired from his position at the University of Trossera, moving to Dalora where he continued independent studies and self-published books on various topics.
Background
Early life
Born to a wealthy landowner near Marocino, Gentino was early on sent to a private boarding school in order to acquire an education. He excelled in history, philosophy, ethics and mathematics, which eventually allowed him ease off access into the University of Trossera, where he pursued archaeology. During an archaeological excavation of a Glaistic ruin and the discovery of Istroyan tablets giving insight into the Glaistic language, he acquired a passion for both linguistics and anthropology. He pursued these interests alongside archaeology, and following his graduation, he was immediately employed by the university following the recommendation of his professor, becoming his personal assistant.
Career
Gentino's discovery of the tablets written in the Istroyan script were a source of both frustration and fascination for him, which prompted him to spend vast amounts of time among the tablets in an attempt to learn the language. Gentino reportedly spent multiple days in the university's study without sleep while studying the tablets, staying awake with the help of ampyxime, a recently developed methamphetamine. Eventually Gentino found parallels between the translation guide created by Theokasios and the tablet, leading Gentino to theorize the tablets contained Glaistic writing from a Glaistic author instead of an Istroyan one. Gentino managed to use this to translate the tablets, which revealed the first ever discovered written Glaistic, and established the standard for translating ancient Glaistic texts into Acirian.
His work on the Glaistic texts landed him the leading position on a dig site on Montverd, where a well-preserved ruin gave him great insight on the daily lives of the Glaistic peoples. His works from his time on Montverd ushered forth an era of interest and romanticism for the pre-latinic Aciria, with Gentino even founding the Glaistic Community of Aciria, which advocated for the revival of the Glaistic language.
Later career
In 1875 Gentino's associates had noted a decline in his mental well-being, citing unusual fits of anger and melancholy from him. The aggression pushed some of his associates away from him, which left him alone with his books for most of the time, something that Gentino himself agreed with, once writing "the company of books to be better than those of my fellow man". The periods of solitude resulted in him being locked away in his home in Trossera, where he regularly left the house only to acquire more books or ampyxime.
In 1877 Gentino released the infamous Aciria-Adonerii Connection, publishing it through a personal friend. He compared the vocabulary from the ancient Glaistic texts to the language of the Adonerii, concluding that the similarities between the languages meant a direct link between the two peoples, and that the Adonerii were simply ancient Acirian colonists. The ridicule he faced pushed him into a great depression, which he attempted to mend with both drink and ampyxime, with pressure from his peers leading to him resigning from his post at the University of Trossera.
Life after Trossera
Moving to Dalora on the southern coast to draw distance between him and his peers, he sold all his belongings except for his books. Gentino purchased a cabin in the outskirts of Dalora, with his vast collection of books barely fitting into it. It was here where he became more solitary, spending even longer periods without contact with other humans, only occasionally acquiring new books to study and to use in his studies. He authored 12 different books in the 22 years he lived in Dalora prior to his death, with most of these receiving little attention at the time. The lacking sales from his books meant that his finances suffered further, with his friend and doctor Liseti Usheca citing him to be severly underweight and riddled with parasites during their last meeting, describing his home as "unclean".
Gentino eventually passed away on 18 March 1902 from liver disease.
Legacy
While he is most well-known for his eccentric, nationalistic works, Gentino is still highly regarded for the work he did early on in his career. Starting in the 1960s, some Acirian scholars began highlighting the achievements of Gentino during his early career over the ridicule his name was associated with for the past 80 years. The biggest success of this campaign is considered to be the Trossera Daily series Il più grande Aciriano di tutti i tempi ("The greatest Acirians of all times"). The series consisted of a complimentary addition to every copy of the newspaper once a week which introduced the reader to various important people from Acirian history, with the 22nd being Gentino. Gentino's piece portrayed him as a genius whose promising career was ended through alcoholism, which not only allowed people to know Gentino for his early work, but also made much of the population sympathetic for him.
Selected works
| Title | Year written | First publications | Authorship notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Le Radici Aciriano dell'uomo | 1881 | The Acirian roots of Man; expanded his theory that all language originated in Aciria. | |
| L'uomo dello Spazio Cosciviani | 1887 | The Coscivian Spacemen; the bizarre cultural habits of the Coscivians suggests extraterrestial origin. Has a cult following in Aciria as a satirical sci-fi novel in modern day. | |
| Origini di Aciriano | 1892 | Origins of the Acirians; suggests that the ancient Glaistic beliefs had veiled the true origin story of both Acirians and mankind as a whole. Some consider this a sequel to the The Acirian roots of Man. | |
| Il Popolo Talpa | 1899 | The Mole People; Gentino writes about the Mole people as an actual secret species inhabiting the walls of governmental buildings. |