Social and Administrative Elite

in the Romanian Space

(15th-19th Centuries)
Edited by
Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu, Cristian Ploscaru

S Hartung-Gorre Publishers,
Konstanz

2021
 This work was supported by a grant of the Ministry of Research
and Innovation, CNCS – UEFISCDI, project number
PN-III-P1-1.1-TE-2016-1312, within PNCDI III.

Cover Illustration: Painting by Giovanni Schiavoni depicting the

inauguration of the Moldavian Academy (Academia Mihăileană)
from Iaşi (1835).

The authors are entirely responsible for the scientific contents of

the texts published here, including the fair use of copyrighted
works.

All Rights Reserved

© 2021 by the contributors

First Edition 2021

Hartung-Gorre Publishers, Konstanz

ISBN 978-3-86628-692-4
 CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 9

IDENTITIES AND SOCIAL TRANSFORMATIONS

Lidia Cotovanu, Étapes générationnelles d’ascension sociale chez les migrants

balkaniques installés dans les Pays Roumains (XVe – début du XVIIIe siècle) ........ 25
Ioan-Augustin Guriţă, Contributions to the History of the Ecclesiastical Elite in the
Romanian Space: the Titular Bishops from Moldavia in the 18th and
19th Centuries ........................................................................................................ 61
Cristian Ploscaru, Administrative Hierarchies and Redistributions of Power to the
Moldavian Nobility under the Impact of the Organic Regulation ........................ 77
Lucian-Valeriu Lefter, Evidence on the Founding Vocation of the Cazimir Family .... 101
Simion-Alexandru Gavriş, Moldavian Institutions during the Organic Statute
Regime: the First Members and Employees of the Iaşi Municipal Council ......... 115
Marius Chelcu, The Portrait of a High Moldavian Clerk in Mid-19th Century ............. 125
Laurenţiu Vlad, Brief Notes on the Education of a Young Wallachian Boyar.
Constantin N. Brăiloiu and His Studies in Sibiu, Geneva and Paris (1822-1832) .. 141
Nicoleta Hegedűs, Csaba Horváth, Vlad Popovici, Officers of Romanian Descent in
the Royal Hungarian Honvéd Army. Family Histories, Career Paths, and Life
Choices .................................................................................................................. 155
Mircea-Cristian Ghenghea German Contributions to the Foundation of the
Romanian Modern Medical System in Mid-19th Century: Jacob Czihak and
Friedrich Albert Wehnert ...................................................................................... 177

POLITICAL CHANGES AND RECONSTRUCTING LEGITIMACIES

Liviu Cîmpeanu, Prestige and Power: The Estates of John Hunyadi (1409-1456) ...... 191
Mihai Mîrza, The Mavrocordat Family and the Beginnings of the ‘Phanariote Era’
in the Romanian Principalities. A Few Observations ........................................... 207
Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu, The Moldavian Metropolis – Necropolis of the Grand
Boyars in the 18th Century ..................................................................................... 223
Cătălina Chelcu, Criminal Justice Delivery in Moldavia, from Late 18th Century to
the First Two Decades of the 19th Century ............................................................ 239
Tudor-Radu Tiron, In Quest of a New Identity. Nobiliary Issues Reflected in the 1839
Documents of the Moldavian “Confederative Conspiracy” ................................. 263
Cosmin Mihuţ, A Pamphlet by Ion Heliade Rădulescu (1839) and the Rhetorical
Deconstruction of Legitimacy ............................................................................... 291
Filip-Lucian Iorga, Thou Shalt not Remember. Memory and Oblivion among
Romanian Aristocrats, during the Communist Regime and after its Collapse ..... 303

ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................................. 369

 THE MOLDAVIAN METROPOLIS –
NECROPOLIS OF THE GRAND BOYARS IN THE 18TH CENTURY *

MIHAI-BOGDAN ATANASIU **

The interests regarding the origin, evolution, and political role of the grand
boyars in the East-Carpathian space have been reified in the Romanian
historiographical space for over a century 1. From this comprehensive topic, the
historians who have openly chosen – in the last few decades – to bring together
social history and political anthropology have highlighted a direction enabling to

*
This work was supported by a grant of the Ministry of Research and Innovation, CNCS –
UEFISCDI, project number PN-III-P1-1.1-TE-2016-1312, within PNCDI III.
**
CS III, PhD, Institute for Interdisciplinary Research, Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Department, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University Iasi, Romania;
bogdan23atanasiu@yahoo.com.
1
Radu Rosetti, Despre originea şi transformările clasei stăpânitoare din Moldova, in
ARMSI, s. II, tom. XXIX, 1906-1907, p. 145-213; idem, Pământul, sătenii şi stăpânii în
Moldova, Bucureşti, 1907, p. 232-256; N. Iorga, Rostul boierimii noastre, in idem, Istoria
românilor în chipuri şi icoane, with an introduction by Andrei Pippidi, Bucureşti, 2012,
p. 237-249; Ioan C. Filitti, Evoluţia claselor sociale în trecutul Principatelor Române, in
“Arhiva pentru Ştiinţa şi Reforma Socială”, V, 1924, 1-2, p. 71-113; Ion I. Nistor, Clasele
boiereşti din Moldova şi privilegiile lor, in ARMSI, s. III, tom. XXVI, 1943-1944,
p. 511-550; Nicolae Stoicescu, Sfatul domnesc şi marii dregători din Ţara Românească şi
Moldova (sec. XIV-XVII), Bucureşti, 1968, p. 26-41; idem, Legăturile de rudenie dintre
domni şi marea boierime şi importanţa lor pentru istoria politică a Ţării Româneşti şi
Moldovei (secolul XV – începutul secolului al XVIII-lea), in “Danubius”, V, 1971,
p. 115-137; D. Ciurea, Evoluţia şi rolul politic al clasei dominante din Moldova în
secolele XV-XVIII, in AIIAI, XVII, 1980, p. 159-228; Vlad Georgescu, Istoria ideilor
politice românești (1369-1878), Jon Dumitru-Verlag, München, 1987; Ștefan S. Gorovei,
Clanuri, familii, autorități, puteri (Moldova, secolele XV-XVII), in ArhGen, I (VI), 1994,
1-2, p. 87-93; idem, Caracterizarea puterii în Moldova la cumpăna veacurilor XVI-XVII, in
Ideologii politice și reprezentări ale puterii în Europa, studies reunited by Alexandru Florin
Platon, Bogdan-Petru Maleon, Liviu Pilat, Iași, 2009, p. 175-190; Cristian Ploscaru,
Originile “partidei naţionale” din Principatele Române, I, Sub semnul “politicii
boiereşti” (1774-1828), foreword by Mihai Cojocariu, Iaşi, 2013.
 Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu

formulate pertinent conclusions regarding the ways in which the grand boyars
asserted their pre-eminence, the mechanisms used to stress on the differences
between them and the other social categories, (leading to the construction and
reinforcement of a social identity) 2. Whereas consistent investigations on the
matter bring into discussion social realities regarding the 15th and 16th centuries 3, I
believe that most of their conclusions are also reliable in what concerns the
subsequent centuries, despite the change in the political conjuncture of Moldavia
and the penetration of foreign elements among grand boyars. Thus, for the 18th
century – on which I focus – obvious trademarks of social distinction largely
remained the seniority and importance of the family, the dignity, the matrimonial
strategies, and the solidarities entailed, the use of a name connecting an individual
to a group of families, the use of a heraldic symbol, a nobility mark and, not least,
the wealth ad living standard. However, “belonging through family ties or their
own merits in a privileged category was not sufficient; it had to be confirmed
continuously, by displaying the materials signs of social importance” 4.
Therefore, the daily lifestyle of the medieval time constituted a code of
power per se. From the most obvious forms of showing off the material wealth, it is
worth noting the residences – built or rebuilt following the fashion of the time – of
the grand boyars, either in Iaşi, as close to the princely curt as possible 5, or in one
or more of the managed villages 6. The success of these expensive initiatives was

2
Cf. Maria Magdalena Székely, Forme de afirmare a preeminenţei sociale la marii boieri
moldoveni (secolele al XV-lea – al XVI-lea), in Elitele puterii – puterea elitelor în spaţiul
românesc (secolele XV-XX), vol. edited by Cristian Ploscaru, Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu,
Iaşi, 2018, p. 23-48.
3
Ibidem, p. 25. See also Ştefan S. Gorovei, Puterea. Ctitorii şi genealogii, in “Suceava.
Anuarul Muzeului Bucovinei”, XLV, 2018, p. 77-83.
4
Maria Magdalena Székely, Forme de afirmare, p. 39.
5
See, for instance, the court of the grand logofăt [chancellor] Ioniţă Cantacuzino Deleanu
(N. Iorga, O gospodărie moldovenească la 1777, după socotelile cronicarului Ioniţă
Canta, in AARMSI, series III, VIII, 1927-1928, p. 105-116). See other examples of
palaces owned by the members of the great noble families in Dan Bădărău, Ioan Caproşu,
Iaşii vechilor zidiri până la 1821, second edition, revised, Iaşi, 2007, p. 309-354.
6
For instance, the courts of the grand spătar [literally sword-bearer, the high office-holder
in charge of the armed forces and the police] Iordache Cantacuzino at Paşcani (Ştefan S.
Gorovei, Paşcani – un sat în evul mediu, in Paşcani – municipiu şi zona. Monografie,
ed. Constantin Ciopraga, Iaşi, 2000, p. 65-66; Nicolae Stoicescu, Repertoriul bibliografic
al localităţilor şi monumentelor medievale din Moldova, Bucureşti, 1974, p. 627-628;
Grigore Ionescu, Istoria arhitecturii în România. De la sfârşitul veacului al XVI-lea, până
la începutul celui de-al cincilea deceniu al veacului al XX-lea, vol. II, Bucureşti, 1965,
p. 71-74) or of paharnic [cupbearer] Constantin Palade at Negreşti (Mircea Ciubotaru, O

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 The Moldavian Metropolis – Necropolis of the Grand Boyars in the 18th Century

not related only to personal comfort, but it was reified especially when the
country’s prince would pass by with his entire suite. Here, in an informal
framework, familiarly, with rich meals, where the prince and the host were in the
limelight, promises were made or matrimonial alliances were set up. A remarkable
moment is when in August-September 1732, Grigore Ghica – in a journey to the
monasteries – made a stop to the courts of Ion Neculce at Prigoreni, of hatman
Sandu Sturza at Ruginoasa or at Horodniceni to visit Şerban Cantacuzino 7. On
another occasion, in June 1729, the same prince visited the sumptuous mansion
owned by Iordache Cantacuzino at Deleni, which seemingly included a library with
Greek and Romanian books, while the main entrance was flanked by two water
fountains 8. That was when the prince proposed to Safta – one of the host’s
daughters – on behalf of his son Scarlat, but the marriage was not materialised,
though 9. In the same place, in 1737, Prince Ghica retreated during the plague
epidemic for 40 days, along with his entire family and suite 10. And in this context,
as in any other public outing, luxury merchandises had to be shown off: the horses,
the harnessing, the weapons, the attire, the jewellery, turned from daily life items
into “outers signs of social position and of power” 11.
The field where the grand boyars invested a good part of their wealth was
the spiritual one. The founding of churches – court churches or monasteries – and
the restoration or the donations to the places of worship in our country and in the
Holy Places allowed the founder to show his religious devotion, his hope for the
salvation of his soul, as well as ensuring the eternal remembrance of his family

curte boierească la Negreşti (judeţul Vaslui). Indicii de civilizaţie românească la mijlocul

secolului al XVIII-lea, in RIS, VIII-IX, 2003-2004, p. 485-490).
7
Ion Neculce, Opere. Letopiseţul Ţării Moldovei şi O samă de cuvinte, critical edition and
introductory study by Gabriel Ştrempel, Bucureşti, 1982, p. 716-717 (hereinafter: Ion
Neculce, Letopiseţul).
8
Ştefan S. Gorovei, Cantacuzinii moldoveni (II), in MI, XVII, 1983, nr. 5, p. 16. This also
includes the identification of a coat of arms pertaining to the family, decorating the front
side of the building; it appears that this artefact represents “the first example of statuary
heraldry in the Romanian Principalities” (Tudor-Radu Tiron, O stema Cantacuzină la
conacul din Deleni (Iaşi), in Familiile boiereşti din Moldova şi Ţara Românească.
Enciclopedie istorică, genealogică şi biografică, vol. III, Familia Cantacuzino, editor and
co-author Mihai Dim. Sturdza, Bucureşti, 2014, p. 400-401).
9
Ştefan S. Gorovei, Cantacuzinii moldoveni (II), p. 16; Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu, Marital
strategies of the Cantacuzinos, in RI, XXII, 2011, nr. 3-4, p. 403-404.
10
Cronica Ghiculeştilor. Istoria Moldovei între 1695-1754, Greek text accompanied by the
Romanian translation, with preface, introduction, glossary, and index. Edited by Nestor
Camariano and Adriana Camariano-Cioran, Bucureşti, 1965, p. 431.
11
Maria Magdalena Székely, Forme de afirmare, p. 39, 43.

225
 Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu

members 12. From a secular perspective, the founding gesture was a social
representation act, while the endurance and sumptuousness of these endeavours
had to reflect both the founder’s position on the hierarchy of power and their
financial capacity 13. The foundations of the grand boyars – garnished with frescoes
and votive inscriptions, expensive liturgical items featuring heraldic symbols and
other inscriptions reminding of their gesture – also had in many cases a specially
designed funerary space for the earthly remains of the family members, underneath
stones comprising – in their turn – symbols and names. Hence, “each [boyar]
depending on his social status and economic power manifested his concern for the
preservation and perpetuation of the dear ones’ memory” 14, and graves became one
more way of showing social pre-eminence. The foundation right allowed the
founder – among others – and to his successors for an indefinite period to host the
earthly remains within the foundation in question15. At the same time, the same
privilege was granted to the persons who acquired the funder status due to their
donations 16. Thus, a more careful analysis of the burial place choices 17 by the grand

12
Among the landmark works concerning the founding act and its meanings in the
Romanian space, I mention here Gheorghe Cronţ, Dreptul de ctitorie în Ţara
Românească şi Moldova. Constituirea şi natura juridică a fundaţiilor din Evul Mediu, in
SMIM, IV, 1960, p. 77-116; Maria Crăciun, Semnificaţiile ctitoririi în Moldova
medievală. O istorie socială a religiei, in vol. Naţional şi universal în istoria românilor.
Studii oferite prof. dr. Şerban Papacostea cu ocazia împlinirii a 70 de ani, editors Ovidiu
Cristea, Gheorghe Lazăr, Bucureşti, 1998, p. 137-171; Voica Puşcaşu, Actul de ctitorire
ca fenomen istoric în Ţara Românească şi Moldova până la sfârşitul secolului al
XVIII-lea, Bucureşti, 2001.
13
Maria Magdalena Székely, Forme de afirmare, p. 46.
14
Ştefan S. Gorovei, Ansambluri pierdute: necropole familiale ale Moldovei medievale, in
“Monumentul”, XVIII, Simpozionul Internaţional Monumentul – Tradiţie şi viitor,
18th edition, 6-9 October 2016, Iaşi, volume edited by Lucian-Valeriu Lefter and Aurica
Ichim, Iaşi, 2017, p. 14.
15
Maria Crăciun, Semnificaţiile ctitoririi, p. 138-139.
16
Gheorghe Cronţ, Dreptul de ctitorie, p. 106-108.
17
The building of a monument with or without a funerary stone, the written decision
concerning the burial place, through a testament or a donation act, or often orally, on the
deathbed, represent undisputable evidence that people – from time immemorial to our
days – mostly people with a certain social status and aware of their power and their
importance chose for them and for their dear ones “a place for eternal rest”. There are
numerous examples in this respect; at Humor, for instance, the founder’s funerary stone
reads: “He decorated this stone for himself during his lifetime Toader, grand logofăt, for
his own grave, during the reign of Prince Petru, when he set up his own grave. And he
was laid in his eternal place of rest in the year 7047 <1539>, on the 1st day of January”
(Eugen A. Kozak, Die Inschriften aus der Bukovina. Epigraphische Beiträge zur
Quellenkunde der Landes- und Kirchengeschichte, Viena, 1903, p. 34, nr. III); on 1st

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 The Moldavian Metropolis – Necropolis of the Grand Boyars in the 18th Century

boyars during the entire Moldavian Middle Ages revealed a ranking of the eternal
rest places by the location of the place of worship and by their prestige. Most of
them are laid to rest in the churches funded by themselves or by their predecessors

May, 1384, Prince Petru Muşat donated the income of the customs in the town of Siret to
the Church Sf. Ioan Botezătorul, the foundation of his mother, Margareta, “in this church,
our mother has chosen her burial place” (DRH, A, Moldova, vol. I (1384-1448),
elaborated by C. Cihodaru, I. Caproşu, L. Şimanschi, Bucureşti, 1975, p. 1-2, nr. 1);
before 26 November 1587, Lucoci, feeling that his end was near, requested to the clergy
community at the St Sava Monastery in Iaşi to come to his court, “to take my body to the
holy monastery. The hegumen came with priests and deacons and they took my body and
buried it in the holy church” (Documente privitoare la istoria oraşului Iaşi, vol. I, Acte
interne (1408-1660), edited by Ioan Caproşu an Petronel Zahariuc, Iaşi, 1999, p. 45-46,
nr. 29 – hereinafter: Documente Iaşi); in late 16th century, Sima former head customs
officer promised to the clergy community at the Sf. Sava Monastery in Iaşi a significant
amount of money for a burial place and for remembrance by this place of worship
(ibidem, p. 73-74; nr. 50); on 6 July 1673, Andrieş, former medelnicer [boyar who poured
water for the lord to wash, was laying the table], left the following provisions in his will:
“bury me at Cârsteşti, in front of the house, wherever you see fit and after six months, if
there is peace in the country, move my body at Sânt Ilie [in Iaşi – author’s note], near my
father, for I have already set the place there”, as well as “set a stone for me on the grave at
Sânt Ilie“ (ibidem, vol. II, Acte interne (1661-1690), edited by Ioan Caproşu, Iaşi, 2000,
p. 368-371, nr. 403); on 1 January 1703, Constantin Sevastos gave to the Three Hierarchs
Monastery in Iaşi an estate, mentioning that “when death comes […] we will be buried in
the same monastery” (ibidem, vol. III, Acte interne (1691-1725), edited by Ioan Caproşu,
Iaşi, 2000, p. 186-187, nr. 217); on 10 September 1754, Maria – the wife of Ion customs
clerk – left in her will a house to the Bărboi Monastery in Iaşi, “where I wish to be buried
next to my husband” (ibidem, vol. V, Acte interne (1741-1755), edited by Ioan Caproşu,
Iaşi, 2001, p. 529-530, nr. 808). Of course, in case of premature death, the descendants
had to order a cross or even a funerary stone, but the express choice of the burial place
usually belonged to the deceased, which is proven by the burial in the church founded by
them or by someone in their family, or by the burial next to the ancestors or the wife’s
ancestors, or by making one or more significant donations to a certain place of worship,
subsequently turned int a burial place (see, infra, the examples featured in the notes
18-22). Sources also prove the existence of fortuitous burials when – for justified reasons
– they had to bury the deceased far from home, where he died (see the case of the young
Constantin Canzacuzino, the son of the grand logofăt Iordache Deleanul who in 1739,
was at Galaţi in the army led by Prince Grigore Ghica; he died of the plague and he was
buried in the local Monastery of Precista – Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu, Din lumea
cronicarului Ion Neculce. Studiu prosopografic, foreword by Ştefan S. Gorovei, Iaşi,
2015, p. 232). Most of the times, however, when times were peaceful, relatives did their best
to bring the remains back to the place of origin (in 1686, the sons of the grand vistiernic
[treasurer] Toderaşcu Cantacuzino, assisted by their relatives from Muntenia, managed to
bring back to Moldavia their father’s body, who had died in mission in Constantinople, and
to have him buried in the Monastery of Bisericani – ibidem, p. 212-213).

227
 Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu

either in the countryside or in the court church 18, or in cities 19. Some of the grand
boyars, upon inheriting the foundation right, took over the prerogatives after their
benefaction acts and they founded their own necropolises 20; others have chosen as

18
For instance, the necropolis of Bălineşti, the foundation of the grand logofăt Ioan Tăutu –
hosting graves of family members having lived in the 15th to 18th century (Ştefan S.
Gorovei, Biserica de la Bălineşti, in MMS, LII, 1-2, p. 115-117; idem, Un tablou votiv şi
o necropolă familială. Biserica logofătului Tăutu de la Bălineşti, in AP, XI, 2015, 1,
p. 19-22; idem, Ansambluri pierdute, p. 19-20); at Humor, where the grand logofăt
Toader set up his own place of burial with a funerary stone, along with his wife, Nastasia
(Maria Magdalena Székely, Sfetnicii lui Petru Rareş. Studiu prosopografic, Iaşi, 2002,
p. 58, 69); at the court church of postelnic [chamberlain] Cozma Şarpe from Şcheia, the
Neamţ region, members of the Ciolpan family, maternal grand-grandsons of the founder
(Ştefan S. Gorovei, Epigrafie, genealogie, istorie. Noi contribuţii, in SMIM, XXXI, 2013,
p. 153-154) were buried in the 17th century; in the church of Buciuleşti, the founder –
grand logofăt Dumitraşcu Ştefan (November 1630) was buried, as well as Grigoraş, one
of his sons (24 February 1649) (Nistor Ciocan, Date noi despre logofătul Dumitraşco
Ştefan şi satul Buciuleşti, in AIIAI, 1986, 2, p. 791); at Iveşti, in the Tutova region –
formerly belonging to the Bogdan family – they buried in the village church in October
1680, grand jitnicer [in charge with the princely grain warehouses] Gheorghe Bogdan,
executed for treason, on the order of Prince Gheorghe Duca (Nicolae Costin, Letopiseţul
Ţerei Moldovei de la Ştefanu sin Vasilie vodă, in Cronicele României, edited by Mihai
Kogălniceanu, vol. II, second edition, Bucureşti, 1872, p. 19; Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu,
Din lumea cronicarului, p. 150); at Prigoreni (Avrămeni), in the Cârligătura region, the
necropolis belonging to the family of the great chronicler Ion Neculce (ibidem, p. 41-42,
54, 89, 102).
19
See, for instance, the case of ban Savin Nacu (Zmucilă), buried at the end of the second
decade of the 18th century in his foundation of Iaşi (Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu, Din lumea
cronicarului, p. 527).
20
A relevant example is the case of the Dulceşti church, founded in 1605 by the grand
paharnic Ioan Caraiman, the place of the former necropolis pertaining to the Şoldan
family; the foundation right was transferred to the grand vornic [magistrate] Dumitraşcu
Şoldan, the husband of Safta – daughter of paharnic Caraiman (Mihai Anatolii Ciobanu,
Marele paharnic Ioan Caraiman (†1609) şi câteva date despre neamul său, in AŞUI, s.n.,
Istorie, LXV, 2019, p. 298, 303-305; see also Ştefan S. Gorovei, Ansambluri pierdute,
p. 20-23, where the author believed that the Dulceşti church was “a model for the study of
the old family necropolises”). Another example is the church of Sf. Dimitrie in Iaşi,
founded most probably by Zaharia Bârlădeanu in the second half of the 16th century
(Maria Magdalena Székely, Ctitori mari şi ctitori mici la biserica Sfântul Dimitrie (Balş)
din Iaşi, in vol. Contribuţii privitoare la istoria relaţiilor dintre Ţările Române şi
Bisericile Răsăritene în secolele XIV-XIX, edited by Petronel Zahariuc, Iaşi, 2009,
p. 90-91). In the subsequent century, it was administered by the grand logofăt Solomon
Bârlădeanu, who died without any heirs (Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu, Contribuţii
prosopografice: Solomon Bârlădeanu, mare logofăt al Moldovei, in AŞUI, s.n., Istorie,
LXIII, 2017, p. 161-181). Then, the church of Iaşi was transferred – through the
foundation right inheritance – to his cousin, medelnicer Vasile Balş, and from him to his

228
 The Moldavian Metropolis – Necropolis of the Grand Boyars in the 18th Century

burial place the country’s capital, to the detriment of the court church, where their
ancestors were buried 21. It is also worth highlighting that some of the grand boyars
set up their own graves in princely foundations, benefitting from this right either by
lineage or by being made founders following the prince’s consent 22. This was not

son, vornic Ionaşcu (Petronel Zahariuc, Ctitorii bisericii Sfântul Dimitrie (Balş) din Iaşi,
in idem, De la Iaşi la Muntele Athos. Studii şi documente de istorie a Bisericii, Iaşi, 2008,
p. 41-42). The decrease in financial power recorded by Ionaşcu’s descendants made the
place of worship be transferred – after it caught fire in 1723 – to the representatives of
another branch within the Balş family (cf. Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu, Din lumea
cronicarului, p. 131-132). As early as from the 17th century, the church became a
necropolis for the Balş family (ibidem, p. 132; see also N. Iorga, Inscripţii din bisericile
României, vol. II, Bucureşti, 1908, p. 122-123).
21
For instance, the case of the Bogdan family, with courts – including a stone church – at
Iveşti, in the Tutova region, where in October 1680, jitnicer Gheorghe Bogdan was buried
(Nicolae Costin, Letopiseţul Ţerei Moldovei, ed. cit, p. 19), most likely next to his
predecessors, from whom he had inherited the place (Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu, Din lumea
cronicarului, p. 150). His son – hetman Lupu Bogdan – became spiritually close to an old
foundation of Iaşi, known after the name of one of its founders, Dancu, turned into a
monastery in 1701 and submitted by the prince to the Xiropotamou Monastery on Mount
Athos (Petronel Zahariuc, Date noi despre două vechi mănăstiri ieşene: Clatia şi Dancu,
in idem, De la Iaşi la Muntele Athos. Studii şi documente de istorie a Bisericii, Iaşi, 2008,
p. 59-60). The hetman’s interest for this place of worship – turned int a princely
foundation – was not random, and his donations earned him the right to be buried there in
1705, and his wife Ruxandra, a few years later (Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu, Din lumea
cronicarului, p. 157). 18th-century records show that their son too, grand logofăt Ioan
Bogdan, as well as their grandson Manolache took care of this place of worship (ibidem,
p. 162-163), but there is no evidence of the two being buried there. An equally relevant
case is the one of grand vornic Dumitraşcu Palade who, whereas having managed the
courts and the church of Băcani, in the Tutova region,the burila place for his father Ion,
he was buried before 3 December 1763 (Mihai Mîrza, Constantin Cehan Racoviţă, domn
al Ţării Moldovei, doctoral benefitting from a foundation right inherited from his
ancestor, postelnic Enache Palade, also buried there a century before (Petronel Zahariuc,
Un sigiliu, o stemă, un ctitor şi o ctitorie (The Monastery of Sfântul Sava din Iaşi), in
Putna. Ctitorii ei şi lumea lor, Bucureşti, 2011, p. 168). His wife Ilinca was buried three,
too, next to his daughter Ruxandra (Documente Iaşi, vol. VII, Acte interne (1771-1780),
edited by Ioan Caproşu, Iaşi, 2005, p. 569-570, nr. 440).
22
Examples are numerous from this perspective; from among all the cases, I mention here
the Monastery of Probota where grand boyars are buried, such as Frăţian, pârcălab of
Neamţ (†1544) (Ştefan S. Gorovei, Contribuţii prosopografice şi epigrafice, in SMIM,
XXVIII, 2010, p. 78 and note 38; Maria Magdalena Székely, Sfetnicii lui Petru Rareş,
p. 265-266); Nicoară Hâra, pârcălab of Hotin (†1545) (ibidem, p. 204-205); Petru Vartic,
portar of Suceava (†1548) (ibidem, p. 319-320), members of the Stroici family in the 16th
and 17th centuries (Ştefan S. Gorovei, Contribuţii prosopografice şi epigrafice, p. 79, with
all the references of note 44); at Sf. Dumitru in Suceava, Toma vistiernic was buried
(†1543) (Maria Magdalena Székely, Sfetnicii lui Petru Rareş, p. 344-345); at the

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 Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu

coincidental, but it was the express desire to be buried in a princely foundation,

showing clearly the ranking mentioned above, given that most boyars had already
built their own churches. A relevant example is the case of the grand vistiernic
Iordache Cantacuzino, who had founded a church in the Cârligi village, in the
region of Neamţ, another one at Paşcani, the region of Suceava, and even a third
one in Iaşi, in the periphery of Talpalari 23, but he was buried at the Monastery of
Barnovschi 24. From what I have summarised here thus far, there is a clear
preference of the grand boyars– especially after the second half of the 17th century
– to be buried as close as possible to the epicentre of the laic and religious power
and, as much as possible, in churches and monasteries (given their special

Monastery of Slatina, in the 17th century, Gheorghe pârcălab of Hotin and his wife
Cristinawere buried, but even more members of the Mogâldea family were buried in the
same church (Ştefan S. Gorovei, Ansambluri pierdute, p. 16; idem, Genealogie dinastică:
familia lui Alexandru vodă Lăpuşneanu, in AŞUI, s.n., Istorie, LX, 2014, p. 201-202); at
the Monastery of Bisericani, the following were buried: before 1640, Eftimia, the first
wife of vornic Toma Cantacuzino; before 1641, Catrina Bucioc, the first wife of the grand
vistiernic Iordache Cantacuzino (idem, Epigrafie, genealogie, istorie, p. 181); in the year
1686, the son of the last, grand vistiernic Toderaşcu Cantacuzino, as well as one of his
children (Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu, Din lumea cronicarului, p. 191, 197, 200, 209-210 and
note 10, 212-213; see also Ştefan S. Gorovei, Epigrafie, genealogie, istorie, in Izvoare
istorice, artă, cultură şi societate. În memoria lui Constantin Bălan (1928-2005), volume
edited by Constantin Rezachevici, Bucureşti, 2010, p. 253-258); at the Monastery of Golia,
the following rest eternally: Toma Cantacuzino († February 1666) along with his second
wife Aniţa Prăjescu (Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu, Din lumea cronicarului, p. 196 and note
53) and their daughter Catrina (†1685) (ibidem, p. 191 and note 14); at the Monastery of
Barnovschi in Iaşi, the following persons were buried: the grand visternic Iordache
Cantacuzino (†1664); his second wife Alexandra († a. 1690); their son, the grand stolnic
Iordache († a. 23 July 1701) and his wife Ileana Catargiu (†1722); Maria Cantacuzino
(†1673/1674), another daughter of the same grand vistiernic, along with hr husband
Gheorghe Ursache (†1689); then their son Dumitraşcu Ursache (†1707) and his wife
Maria, her monastic name being Martha/Marfa (Serafima) († a. 1736) (idem, Manastirea
Barnovschi din Iaşi – necropolă a Cantacuzinilor moldoveni, in vol. Contribuţii
privitoare la istoria relaţiilor dintre Ţările Române şi Bisericile Răsăritene în secolele
XIV-XIX, edited by Petronel Zahariuc, Iaşi, 2009, p. 95-100). Benefitting from the same
foundation right given the biological relation to the founder, the Monastery of Barnovschi
was also the burial place for the Ion brothers († a. 1703) and for Nicolae Costin (†1712),
the sons of the famous chronicler Miron Costin (Ştefan S. Gorovei, Pagini din istoria
Iaşilor (secolul XVIII) în documente din arhiva Sfântului Mormânt, in vol. Contribuţii
privitoare la istoria relaţiilor dintre Ţările Române şi Bisericile Răsăritene în secolele
XIV-XIX, edited by Petronel Zahariuc, Iaşi, 2009, p. 145-147).
23
Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu, Din lumea cronicarului, p. 206-207.
24
See, supra, note 22.

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 The Moldavian Metropolis – Necropolis of the Grand Boyars in the 18th Century

symbolical weight, translating into this place everything that remined of their name
and their prestige).
The prosopographical studies conducted in the recent years have reported
that – after having moved the see of the Moldavian metropolitan to Iaşi – several
grand boyars organised the space destined to their eternal rest in the Metropolis.
The cases attested by the sources of the time are not very numerous, but I believe
they are enough to formulate several conclusions regarding the people and the
reasons for their choice. Therefore, from late 17th century to the subsequent
century, the Metropolis of Iaşi represented the burial place for the members of the
following families:

BUHUŞ

The grand logofăt Ion Buhuş, who died in the first half of the year 171525. The
proof of his burial in the metropolitan cathedral is in a document dated one year later –
5 June 1755, through which Radu Racoviţă – the logofăt’s son-in-law – and some
others gave to the Metropolis five parts of the Batăreşti village, “the estate being a
donation and a purchase by the deceased Neculai Buhuş, the father of my deceased
father-in-law Ion Buhuş. And, given that he is buried in this sacred Metropolitan
church, I donated these parts of the estate for the eternal remembrance of their souls” 26.
A tombstone which inscription was published by N. Iorga attests that this is also the
place of burial for Maria, Chiriac Sturza’s daughter, the first wife of the grand logofăt
Ion Buhuş, “who died at the beginnings of the second reign of Prince Constantin
Duca”, on 14 July 1703, as well as two of their children, Catrina and Andrei, who died
as children, in the period 1686-1687 27. Therefore, the necropolis of this branch of the
Buhuşeşti family in the Metropolis had begun shortly upon having consecrated the new
Metropolitan church, as the foundation of Anastasia Duca, dedicated to the Lord’s
Presentation at the Temple 28. The founding initiative taken by Anastasia was not

25
Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu, Din lumea cronicarului, p. 187.
26
Mihai Costăchescu, Sâneştii cu trupurile sale: Onişcanii, Podobiţii, Bătărăştii, Storneştii
şi Pleşeştii (din jud. Iaşi). Schiţă istorică, in IN, fasc. 4, 1924, p. 32.
27
N. Iorga, Inscripţii, vol. II, p. 172-173. See also Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu, Din lumea
cronicarului, p. 182, where there is a correction of the editor’s reading, who interpreted
the deceased woman’s name as “Con”, adding “stantin”, instead of “Ion” Buhuş (ibidem,
p. 182, note 8).
28
Constantin Erbiceanu, Istoria Mitropoliei Moldoviei şi Sucevei şi a Catedralei
Mitropolitane din Iaşi, followed by a series of documents, of facsimiles, and of portraits
concerning the Romanian’s national and ecclesiastical history, Bucureşti, 1888, p. XLIII-

231
 Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu

random, either; she had this church built, which subsequently became a metropolitan
seat29, pursuant to a right derived from her father’s donations (vistiernicDumitraşcu
Buhuş) to Biserica Albă 30, which had also served for a while as a Metropolis 31 and in
the cemetery of which several Buhuşeşti members had been buried, (step brother of
lady Anastasia): the grand logofăt Nicolae Buhuş (maybe with his wife Aniţa, daughter
of Mihai Furtună), daughter of Ileana căminăreasa and her children; then Miron
Bucioc with his wife Tudosca and their children, Ursu Buhuş and a sister of theirs,
Irina vorniceasa, wife of Vasile Ceauru 32. Their remains would have been transferred
after 1683 by lady Anastasia to the new church.

CANTACUZINO

Ecaterina – wife of the grand logofăt Iordache Cantacuzino Deleanu and step
sister of Prince Mihai Racoviţă33 – who died before 15 June 1749. Her burial in the
Metropolis is mentioned in the testament written by the grand logofăt, on 15 June
1749, where the grand boyar mentions having donated to the Metropolis three
villages: Movilău, Odăile Grozii, and Prieneşti at Bacău, the income of the millstones
at Deleni, six pogoane of vine at Ţifeşt, and a Gypsy along with his children, “for my
soul and my remembrance, for my wife Ecaterina, who is buried there” 34. In the
same grave, by 1749, Iordache had put “two of our children”, most likely his
daughters Maria and Pulheria, who had died around the year 1725 as children, as
well as “eight grandchildren, the sons of my daughters” 35, children unknown to the
genealogy of the Cantacuzinos, of his daughters Bălaşa, wife of Arhistarh
Hrisoscoleu, and Safta, wife of Constantin Cantacuzino Măgureanu36. Other details
provided by the logofăt in his will are equally important: first of all, “upon deciding
that I should also be buried in the Metropolis, where I had my grave and my

XLVII; Ioan-Augustin Guriţă, Gavril Callimachi, mitropolit al Moldovei (1760-1786),

Iaşi, 2017, p. 204-205.
29
Documente Iaşi, vol. III, p. 75-78, nr. 97.
30
Maria Magdalena Székely, Portret de doamnă cu ibovnic. Anastasia Duca, in Violeta
Barbu, Maria Magdalena Székely, Kinga S. Tüdős, Angela Jianu, Grădina Rozelor.
Femei din Moldova, Ţara Românească şi Transilvania (sec. XVII-XIX), Bucureşti, 2015,
p. 56.
31
Ioan-Augustin Guriţă, Gavril Callimachi, p. 204-205.
32
Maria Magdalena Székely, Portret de doamnă, p. 56.
33
Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu, Din lumea cronicarului, p. 225.
34
Documente Iaşi, vol. V, p. 376-382, nr. 603.
35
Ibidem.
36
Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu, Din lumea cronicarului, p. 225-226.

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 The Moldavian Metropolis – Necropolis of the Grand Boyars in the 18th Century

tombstone already set up”, but also the arrangements made with the Metropolitan to
have them remembered during the masses and written in the list for the proscomidie
ritual, to pray for them on a certain day, and to have the Metropolitan himself
officiate a remembrance mass for them 37. A couple of years after writing his will,
Iordache Cantacuzino became a monk and took on the name Gheorghie at the
hermitage that he had founded, called Codrul Delenilor, where he died in the year
1758 and where he was laid to rest underneath a probably less pompous tombstone38.

COSTACHE

The grand logofăt Constantin Costache Negel, who died at the Monastery
of Suceviţa on Sunday, 29 February 1736 39. From the monastery, “his servants
took him to Iaşi and the prince along with all the grand boyars welcomed them and
they had him buried in the Metropolis, outside, near the entrance, pursuant to his
desire: he did not want to be buried inside the church. And they buried him with
great honours […]. His wife even ordered a beautiful stone tomb, for him to be
remembered eternally” 40. Along with her son Vasile, she donated to the Metropolis
the village of Turbăteşti with two ponds and an apiary 41. Negel’s wife was called
Ecaterina and she was one of the daughters of the grand vornic Iordache Ruset 42.
Towards the end of her life, she became a nun and she took on the name Elisabeta;
in 1745, she was laid to rest next to her husband in the Metropolis grave 43.
This was also the burial place for the grand spătar Toader Costache,
nicknamed Venin, Negel’s brother, who died little before 8 June 1740. Next to
him, underneath another beautiful stone, his wife Maria – daughter of Pătraşcu
Catargiu – must have also been buried 44. Nothing has been preserved from these
graves, either, but the remains of the Costăcheşti had a better fate: they were
collected in the year 1808 in a common grave within the new Metropolitan seat, on
top of which the Metropolitan Veniamin Costache – Negel’s grand-grandson –
placed a new stone, still visible today45.

37
Documente Iaşi, vol. V, p. 376-382, nr. 603.
38
Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu, Din lumea cronicarului, p. 229.
39
Ibidem, p. 309.
40
Ion Neculce, Letopiseţul, p. 757-758.
41
ANI, Mitropolia Moldovei, Ms. 541, nr. 50, f. 62v-63v.
42
Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu, Din lumea cronicarului, p. 306.
43
N. Iorga, Inscripţii, vol. II, p. 175.
44
Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu, Din lumea cronicarului, p. 314-316.
45
N. Iorga, Inscripţii, vol. II, p. 175.

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 Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu

RAZU

The grand vornic Costache Razu, who died in the spring of 1754. Cronica
Ghiculeştilor mentioned the one seen as a “pillar of the country” that during the
Ester fast, “he became bed-ridden due to a serious apoplexy attack and to dysuria,
as well as to his age he died and he was buried with honours in the Metropolis, in
the presence of the distinguished prince” 46. As per tradition, his wife Ecaterina –
daughter of the grand logofăt Ilie Catargiu – must have been buried next to him 47.

BALŞ

The grand vornic Constantin Balş, who died before 26 January 1761 48. His
burial in the Metropolis is mentioned in the document through which his son-in-
law Ion Palade – along with his wife Catrina – donated to the Metropolis the estate
of Iugani, “because my father-in-law died and he was buried in the holy monastery
of the Metropolis and for the remembrance of his soul in this holy monastery, I
discussed with all the brothers of my father-in-law […], and we donated to the holy
monastery of the Metropolis the estate of Iugani, within the region of Tutova, on
the Pereschiv stream, for the remembrance of his soul” 49.
The Metropolis was also the burial place for Zamfira vistierniceasa, who
died on 17 April 1688. Her husband – the grand vistiernic Gheorghe – seems to
have been the famous Iordache Ruset, while Zamfira appears to have been his
second wife 50. Her tombstone – subsequently moved to the new Metropolis – is
intact to this day 51.
The documents of the time also mention a certain Ştefan Radomeschi
buried in the Metropolis before 28 May 1757 52. We do not know who this character
was, but the documents explaining how his wife distributed the inherited wealth

46
Cronica Ghiculeştilor, p. 693.
47
Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu, Din lumea cronicarului, p. 253.
48
Ibidem, p. 133-138.
49
Gh. Ghibănescu, Surete şi izvoade, vol. XXII, Documente slavo-române între 1412-1722,
Iaşi, 1929, p. 118.
50
R. Rosetti, Familia Rosetti, vol. I, Coborâtorii moldoveni ai lui Lascaris Rousaitos,
Bucureşti, 1938, p. 35, 39, nota 6.
51
N. Iorga, Inscripţii, vol. II, p. 173.
52
Documente Iaşi, vol. VI, Acte interne (1756-1770), edited by Ioan Caproşu, Iaşi, 2004,
p. 78-81, nr. 92.

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 The Moldavian Metropolis – Necropolis of the Grand Boyars in the 18th Century

show that he had been rather rich and that he had been consistent donations to the
Metropolis for the remembrance of his soul 53.
This succinct inventory of burial within the Metropolis is entirely
supported by information provided in sources. The proscomisarion of the
Moldavian Metropolis – written in 1754 – on the initiative of Iacov Putneanul 54
confirms almost all information featured above: the editor wrote page after page
with the families of the persons buried here: Iordache Cantacuzino (who had not
died yet, but who had his tomb set up) 55; Constantin Costache 56 or Costache
Razu 57, stating their donations and the obligations concerning the masses and the
remembrances. However, the number of tombs must have been significantly
higher, and the proscomisarion featured above provides some more grand boyar
family names, but for them we must look for information from other sources, too.
Some of these graves may have belonged to hetman Dimitrie Racoviţă and to his
wife Ilinca 58, to Ana – wife of the grand vornic Mitrea Apostol 59 or to Safta – the
nun Elisaveta, daughter of the grand stolnic Manolache Hrisoverghi 60.
As far as it seems, reliable information about burials of laic people in the
Metropolis is available until up to 1760, more precisely for as long as the
foundation of Anastasia Duca served as metropolitan seat and which – from 1766 –
had become a chapel of the new Princely Academy where they officiated masses
for teachers and students exclusively 61. Around the same time, metropolitan Gavril
Calimachi had begun from 1761 to build another place of worship in order to take
over the symbolical capital of the metropolitan institution. Given that the building
works took almost two decades 62; burials were also halted for a while, at least until
around the year 1780, when the funerary stone was set up for Panaitachi Moruzi 63,
probably an uncle of Prince Constantin Moruzi. In the same place, in the 18th

53
Ibidem, p. 78-81, nr. 92; p. 170-171, nr. 197; p. 172-173, nr. 199.
54
BAR, ms. rom. [Romanian manuscript] 1567, 67 pages. Constantin Erbiceanu, Istoria
Mitropoliei Moldoviei, p. L-LIX: Gabriel Ştrempel, Catalogul manuscriselor româneşti.
B.A.R., 1-1600, vol. I, Bucureşti, 1978, p. 371, nr. 1567.
55
BAR, ms. rom. [Romanian manuscript] 1567, f. 24r-24v.
56
Ibidem, f. 20r.
57
Ibidem, f. 28r.
58
Ibidem, f. 32v.
59
Ibidem.
60
Ibidem, f. 22r.
61
Ioan-Augustin Guriţă, Gavril Callimachi, p. 209.
62
Ibidem, p. 208-212.
63
N. Iorga, Inscripţii, vol. II, p. 174.

235
 Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu

century, Teodosia – wife of grand logofăt Constantin Balş – was buried. After
1800, he was laid to rest in the same grave 64.
The inventory of the grave in the Metropolitan church drafted up drawing
on reliable sources shows beyond doubt that all the persons setting up a grave here
were among the richest and most influential actors on the political and social scene
of the time. Their burial there was not out of necessity, given that all these persons
had other ecclesiastical foundations – theirs or pertaining to their families, in the
country, even in Iaşi, where graves of their predecessors were : Buhuş at Criveşti 65
or at Târgul Ocna 66; Cantacuzino at Paşcani, at Deleni, at Bisericani or at the
Monastery of Barnovschi in Iaşi 67; Costache at the Monastery of Floreşti 68 or the
Hermitage of Bursuci 69; Razu at the little monastery of Odobeşti 70; Balş at the
family necropolis at Sf. Dumitru in Iaşi 71. Their burial there was not random, give
that records show this was their express desire, regardless of whether they had had

64
D. Hriţcu, Schitul Sucmezeu şi hrisovul domnesc al lui Scarlat Grigore Ghica voievod –
1758, in MMS, XXX, 1967, nr. 5-6, p. 401.
65
The village was an old possession of the Buhuş family in the region of Cârligătura; this
was definitely the burial place for the grand vistiernic Dumitraşcu Buhuş in the year 1647
and, in 1846, for one of his grand-grand-grand-grandsons (Melchisedec, Episcopul
Romanului, Notiţe istorice şi arheologice adunate de pe la 48 monastiri şi biserici antice
din Moldova, Bucureşti, 1885, p. 129-130. Ştefan Meteş, Contribuţii nouă privitoare la
familia boierească Buhuş din Moldova, in ARMSI, s. III, tom. VII, 1927, p. 310, 337).
The fact that only their funerary stones were preserved does not mean that in this interval
no other members of the family were buried (Ştefan S. Gorovei, Puterea. Ctitorii şi
genealogii, p. 81-82).
66
An important foundation of the Buhuş family in the 17th century was the Monastery of
Tg. Ocna dedicated to the Annunciation; late, it was restored by the grand logofăt Radu
Racoviţă; he gave it the name under which it is currently known – the Monastery of
Răducanu (Nicolae Stoicescu, Repertoriul, p. 863).
67
The church of Sf. Mihail and Gavril at Paşcani – built by the grand vistiernic Iordache
Cantacuzino in the year 1664 – includes no graves of the founders (Mihai-Bogdan
Atanasiu, Din lumea cronicarului, p. 207). At Deleni, the first founder was Toderaşcu
Cantacuzino, and the place of worship was managed in the 18th century by his grandson,
the grand logofăt Iordache (ibidem, p. 213-214, 230-231), who set up his grave in the
Metropolis. The monasteries of Bisericani and Barnovschi were in mid-18th century
necropolises of the Cantacuzino family (see, supra, not 22).
68
Nicolae Stoicescu, Repertoriul, p. 297-298.
69
Ibidem, p. 138. This is the place where Gavriliţă Costache along with his parents, his
wife Vasilca, and their son Toader were buried (Elena Monu, Familia Costache. Istorie şi
genealogie, Bârlad, 2011, p. 36-39).
70
The hermitage called “Monastery” was dedicated to the Birth of the Mother of God and it
represented Costache’s foundation Razu (Nicolae Stoicescu, Repertoriul, p. 613; Mihai
Mîrza, Constantin Cehan Racoviţă, p. 240-241 and note 163).
71
See, supra, note 20.

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 The Moldavian Metropolis – Necropolis of the Grand Boyars in the 18th Century

the time to set up their grave during the lifetime. As for Constantin Costache “his
servants brought him to Iaşi […] and had hm buried in the Metropolis […]
pursuant to his wish” 72, while Iordache Deleanu states unequivocally in his will
that “upon deciding that I should also be buried in the Metropolis, where I had my
grave and my tombstone already set up” 73. Therefore, in the light of such
information, it is obvious the burial in the best-known church of the country
was characteristic to the grand boyars as another gesture for legitimising their
power and for asserting their social pre-eminence.
Beyond doubt, burial in the Metropolitan cathedral had to meet the
requirements of the foundation right. The genealogic argument is important, but
not that relevant, considering that all the aforementioned persons were closer or
farther relatives of the great founders or of the ruling families. It is worth noting
though, the aspect of gaining foundation rights – and burial rights, implicitly –
through consistent donations that sometimes included entire villages, as shown
above.
Therefore, by all appearances, after moving the bishop seat in Iaşi, and
mostly after the building of Biserica Albă, the country’s Metropolis had become
the most coveted space for eternal rest. There are multiple justifications in this
respect, related to both spiritual matters and family prestige: the Metropolis was the
main place of worship in the country. This was where the Metropolitan served and
where he officiated – as per previous arrangements – masses and remembrance
prayers for them. This was also the place where princes were anointed, where
representatives of foreign delegations would read their names on the funerary
stones during visits. This was also – just like the princely court – the epicentre of
public life in Moldavia. There is another argument – of a practical nature – related
to the people of those times: the Metropolis was eternal and this meant their names
would be remembered forever, while their personal foundations may be forgotten
in the future due to a multitude of factors, especially to “the dissolution of
relationships between the founder’s descendants and the land they owned” 74.
The ranking of eternal rest places was obvious within a place of worship.
The essential differences were as follows: “the dead with the dead”, namely in the
cemetery next to the church (some of them as close to the altar as possible, though)
and “the dead with the living”, namely inside the church (featuring the same
essential differences of the burial place: in the naos, as close to the imperial doors

72
Ion Neculce, Letopiseţul, p. 757-758.
73
Documente Iaşi, vol. V, p. 376-382, nr. 603.
74
Ştefan S. Gorovei, Ansambluri pierdute, p. 24.

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 Mihai-Bogdan Atanasiu

as possible, in the burial vault, in the pronaos, or in the portico) 75. The persons
discussed here definitely had graves inside the church, a fact highlighted by the
chronicler in relation to the burial of Constantin Costache: out of humility, “they
had him buried in the Metropolis, outside, near the entrance, pursuant to his desire:
he did not want to be buried inside the church” 76. Whereas no additional
information is available, the practice of burial in the in the churchyard must have
been the same as in Wallachia, where Samuil – the ecclesiarch of the Bucharest
Metropolis – had the idea of transcribing in 1776 “the names of the first people
buried here, both inside and outside the church”. He also provided a methodical
description, suggesting that the church’s floor was covered by funerary stones, four
of five rows of them, one of top of the other 77.
Therefore, at the end of this paper, taking into account all the aspects
featured above, it may be stated beyond doubt that the church of the country’s
Metropolis was – from late 17th century to most of the subsequent century – a
genuine necropolis for the Moldavian political elite, with the apparent purpose of
asserting social pre-eminence and of legitimising power among the grand boyars.

Abstract: The power and authority of families in the Romanian Middle Age drew mainly
on economic criteria, family relations, and solidarities – all of them conferred upon certain
members the capacity of running or influencing the course of politics. The boyars favoured
by the prince subsequently focused on their image, wishing to confirm or to legitimate their
status, (through gestures such as the foundation of places of worship, significant donations
to churches and monasteries in the country or at the Holy Places, display of heraldic
symbols specific to the family, and many others). In my paper– which I decided to write
given my interest to study from a prosopographical perspective the grand Moldavian boyars
of the 17th-18th centuries – I prove using concrete examples of the Balş, Buhuş,
Cantacuzino, Costache, or Razu families, that the burials within the Metropolitan church in
Iaşi were not random, but that they represented a way to emphasise on social pre-eminence
and to legitimise the power of the country’s political elites.

Keywords: Moldavian Metropolis in Iaşi; social pre-eminence; political elites; foundations;

necropolises; prosopography; Moldavia.

75
Ibidem, p. 14.
76
Ion Neculce, Letopiseţul, p. 757-758.
77
Ştefan S. Gorovei, Ansambluri pierdute, p. 31-32, n. 68.

238
 ABBREVIATIONS

AARMSI = Analele Academiei Române, Memoriile Secţiunii Istorice, Bucureşti

AICSUS = Anuarul Institutului de Cercetări Socio-Umane Sibiu
AIIAI = Anuarul Institutului de Istorie şi Arheologie “A. D. Xenopol”, Iaşi
AIIX = Anuarul Institutului de Istorie “A. D. Xenopol”, Iaşi
ANI = Arhivele Naţionale, Iaşi
ANIC = Arhivele Naţionale Istorice Centrale
ANR = Arhivele Naţionale ale României
ANV = Arhivele Naţionale, Vaslui
ANSMB = Arhivele Naţionale. Serviciul Municipiului Bucureşti
ANV = Arhivele Naţionale, Vaslui
AP = Analele Putnei
ArhGen = Arhiva Genealogică, Iaşi
“Arhiva” = “Arhiva”. Organul Societăţii Ştiinţifice şi Literare, Iaşi
ARMSI = Academia Română, Memoriile Secţiunii Istorice, Bucureşti
AŞUI = Analele Ştiinţifice ale Universităţii “Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, Iaşi
AUB = Analele Universităţii “Bucureşti”
BAR = Biblioteca Academiei Române
BCIR = Buletinul Comisiei Istorice a României
BOR = Biserica Ortodoxă Română
CDM = Catalogul documentelor moldoveneşti din Arhivele Centrale de Stat, Bucureşti
CDŢR = Catalogul documentelor Ţării Româneşti din Arhivele Statului, Bucureşti
CI = Cercetări istorice, Iaşi (both series)
CL = Cercetări literare
DIR = Documente privind istoria României (all series)
DRH = Documenta Romaniae Historica (all series)
IN = “Ioan Neculce”. Buletinul Muzeului Municipal Iaşi (1921-1932)
IN, (s.n.) = “Ioan Neculce”. Buletinul Muzeului de Istorie a Moldovei (new series after 1995)
MEF = Moldova în epoca feudalismului, Chişinău
MI = Magazin istoric, Bucureşti
MMS = Mitropolia Moldovei şi Sucevei
MOf = Monitorul Oficial al României, Bucureşti
NEH = Nouvelles études d’histoire
RESEE = Revue des études Sud-Est européennes
RI = Revista istorică (both series)
RIM = Revista de Istorie a Moldovei, Chişinău
RIS = Revista de istorie socială, Iași
RRH = Revue roumaine d’histoire
SAI = Studii şi Articole de Istorie
SMIM = Studii şi materiale de istorie medie, Bucureşti
SRdI = Studii. Revista de Istorie, Bucureşti
ST = Studii Teologice, Bucureşti