Medical Controversies and Dilemmas in Discussions about the Illness and Death of Mihai Eminescu (1850–1889), Romania’s National Poet

Mihai Eminescu (1850–1889), the first great Romanian poet and a defining figure in Romanian culture, may be situated among the most important romantic bards of his times—-Byron, Novalis, Holderlin, Hugo, Lamartine, and Leopardi. He was born to a family affected by tuberculosis and predisposed to mental disorders. Although Eminescu may have suffered from bipolar disorder and may have been killed by iatrogenic mercury poisoning, erysipelas, head trauma, or endocarditis, his final illness and death continue to be associated with the most stigmatized disease of those times, syphilis. This historical review addresses the pros and cons of arguments about the diseases from which Eminescu may have suffered, as well as their causes and consequences.