F0 The chronicle's title p. 231
THE HISTORY OF WALLACHIA since the settling of the Romanians.
Chronicles · The settling
How Wallachia begins
The settling as told by the Cantacuzino Chronicle — six stops from Făgăraș to Argeș, the full text in English — and the Refuge: three waves of refuge over the mountains, with relief maps.
Walk the road ↓Skip to the Refuge
A word of caution. The year 1290 and Radu Negru belong to the chronicle's tradition; today's historians do not treat them as established fact.
Source: Magazinu istoricu pentru Dacia, vol. IV, Bucharest, 1847, pp. 231–233, 311–316, 345–351 · vol. V, pp. 8–18 · scan of the pages (PDF)
The descent, in six stops
The chronicle sets its founding as a road: a rising, a coming down, two towns, the spreading of the peoples, the homage. Scroll: the map flies from stop to stop, and each stop shows its line from the chronicle.
Before 1290 The Romanians cross the Danube and settle at the Tower of Severin and along the Olt, the Mureș and the Tisza, as far as Maramureș. They set the Basarab stock over themselves as banoveț, with seats at Severin, Strehaia and Craiova. (F1–F3)
Indicative routes on ETOPO 2022 relief (NOAA) and Natural Earth rivers, via the Atlas of Romania's history.
1 Stop 1 of 6 · The rising Făgăraș · the year 6798 (1290)
“And when it was the year 6798 from Adam (1290), there being in the Hungarian Land a voivode called RADU NEGRU THE VOIVODE, great herzog over Almaș and over Făgăraș, he rose up from there with all his household and with a multitude of peoples.”
From fragment F4 · The year 6798, Radu Negru
Stop 1 of 6
2 Stop 2 of 6 · Câmpulung along the river Dâmbovița
“…coming down along the river Dâmbovița, began to make a new country. First they built the town called Câmpulung.”
From fragment F5 · Câmpulung and the church
Stop 2 of 6
3 Stop 3 of 6 · Argeș the princely throne
“From there they moved on to settle Argeș, and again they built a great town and set up their princely throne, making courts of stone and princely houses and a church, great and beautiful.”
From fragment F6 · The princely throne at Argeș
Stop 3 of 6
4 Stop 4 of 6 · The spreading Siret, Brăila, Danube, Olt
“…some spread along the mountains, reaching as far as the river Siret and as far as Brăila; others spread downwards, over the whole land, and built towns and villages as far as the bank of the Danube and as far as the Olt.”
From fragment F7 · The peoples spread
Stop 4 of 6
5 Stop 5 of 6 · The homage the Basarabs across the Olt
“…to be under his command, and he alone to be prince over all. From then on the country was called what they call Wallachia.”
From fragment F8 · The homage of the Basarabs
Stop 5 of 6
6 Stop 6 of 6 · The peace 24 years of reign
“And in this same way Radu the Voivode ordered his country in good peace, for it was not yet beset by the Turks, and he reigned until death, and they buried him in his church at Argeș. And he reigned 24 years.”
From fragment F11 · Peace and 24 years of reign
Stop 6 of 6
The chronicle, word for word
Thirteen fragments, from the title to the passing towards other princes, in English. The 1847 original sits beside the present-day Romanian on the Romanian page.
F1 The Romanians cross the Danube p. 231
But first it was taken up by the Romanians, who had set out from the Romans and come northwards. So, crossing the water of the Danube, they settled at the Tower of Severin, others in the Hungarian Land, along the river Olt and along the river Mureș and along the river Tisza, reaching even as far as Maramureș.
F2 Spreading as far as Nicopolis p. 231
And those who had settled at the Tower of Severin spread along the foot of the mountains as far as the river Olt; others went down along the Danube, and so, with the whole place filling with them, they reached as far as the edge of Nicopolis.
F3 The banoveț Basarab p. 231
Then the boyars who had been of great stock chose from among themselves, and set as banoveț a stock called the Basarabs, to be their head — that is, great bans. And they ordained: first the seat was to be at the Tower of Severin, the second seat moved down to Strehaia, the third seat moved down to Craiova.
F4 The year 6798, Radu Negru p. 231
And so it was, and much time passed, with them still ruling that part of the land. And when it was the year 6798 from Adam (1290), there being in the Hungarian Land a voivode called RADU NEGRU THE VOIVODE, great herzog over Almaș and over Făgăraș, he rose up from there with all his household and with a multitude of peoples:
F5 Câmpulung and the church p. 232
Romanians, Papists, Saxons, people of every kind, coming down along the river Dâmbovița, began to make a new country. First they built the town called Câmpulung; there they also built a church, great and beautiful and lofty.
F6 The princely throne at Argeș p. 232
From there they moved on to settle Argeș, and again they built a great town and set up their princely throne, making courts of stone and princely houses and a church, great and beautiful.
F7 The peoples spread p. 232
And the peoples who had come down with him, some spread along the mountains, reaching as far as the river Siret and as far as Brăila; others spread downwards, over the whole land, and built towns and villages as far as the bank of the Danube and as far as the Olt.
F8 The homage of the Basarabs p. 232
Then the Basarabs too, with all the boyardom that was already across the Olt, rose all together and came to Radu Vodă Negru, bowing to him: to be under his command, and he alone to be prince over all. From then on the country was called what they call Wallachia.
F9 The prince's style p. 232
And the prince's style was made as shown below: 'In Christ God, the right-believing and the honourable, and the lover of Christ, and sole victor, Io Radu Negru the Voivode, by God's mercy prince of the whole of Wallachia, and herzog of Almaș and of Făgăraș.'
F10 The style in the charters p. 232
This is the style of the princes, running from then until now, as can truly be seen written in all the country's charters.
F11 Peace and 24 years of reign p. 232
And in this same way Radu the Voivode ordered his country in good peace, for it was not yet beset by the Turks, and he reigned until death, and they buried him in his church at Argeș. And he reigned 24 years.
F12 Passing to other princes p. 233
From here begins the story of the other princes who came after Negru the Voivode, as shown below.
The source pages: the Founding
Refuge: three waves over the mountains
Three centuries after the Founding, the Wallachian boyars take refuge in Transylvania in 1629–1632, 1658–1659 and 1673–1677. The chronicle follows them step by step — the places, the days, the names. Scroll: the map flies from wave to wave, then the full story below.
Indicative routes on ETOPO 2022 relief (NOAA) and Natural Earth rivers, via the Atlas of Romania's history.
1 Wave 1 of 3 · Vulcan–Hațeg 1629–1632 · Leon Tomșa
“…all rose and fled into the Hungarian Land, crossing by the Vulcan pass to Hațeg.”
From fragment P1 · The October 7138 flight
Wave 1 of 3
2 Wave 2 of 3 · Brașov and Moldavia 1658–1659 · Mihnea III
“…they escaped into the fortress of Brașov with wives, with children, all of them.”
From fragment P4 · Pană Filipescu escapes to Brașov
Wave 2 of 3
3 Wave 3 of 3 · Sibiu and Brașov 1673–1677 · Duca Vodă
“…crossed to Brașov, where his other brothers were too.”
From fragment P6 · The Cantacuzinos cross to Brașov
Wave 3 of 3
Wave 1 — Vulcan–Hațeg 1629–1632
Under Leon Tomșa, crushing taxes scatter the counties beyond the Olt. On 17 October 7138 (1629), Matei the Aga of Brâncoveni, together with Aslan the Vornic and other boyars, cross the Vulcan pass to Hațeg, where Gheorghe Rákóczi, prince of Transylvania, receives them (P1). Leon sends four embassies to call them back; disbelieving him, the exiles return with an army in August 7139 (1631): their vanguard beats Mihul the Spathar at Ungureni, but Leon marches out with all his hosts as far as Prisiceni, falls back below the monastery of Mihai Vodă and there, at the vineyards, defeats them, and Matei shuts himself up at Tismana for ten days. But the throne is decided at Nikopol: Pasha Mehmed Abaza clothes Matei in the caftan, and on 21 July 7140 (1632) the Porte deposes Leon, after "two and a half years save 8 days" (P2). Matei takes the seat at Bucharest on 20 September 1632.
Worth knowing. The critical edition of 1960 writes "17 October 1630"; the strict count of the Byzantine year, begun on 1 September, gives October 1629. The difference does not change the sequence of events.
Wave 2 — Brașov and Moldavia 1658–1659
On 5 January 7166 (1658), Constantin Șerban learns that the Porte has deposed him and crosses the mountain into Transylvania with his whole household (P3); in his place comes Mihnea III with 30,000 Turks. On 16 August 7166 (1658), on a Tuesday morning — so the chronicle says — Mihnea's men strike without warning the house of Constantin Cantacuzino the Postelnic and of his son-in-law Pană Filipescu, from Prahova: chased two days and two nights through the mountains, the boyars escape into the fortress of Brașov, then cross wholly into Moldavia, where Șerban joins them too, fled from Mihnea's camp at Sibiu (P4).
Worth knowing. 16 August 1658 falls on a Monday in the Julian calendar of the time; the manuscripts waver — one gives the 17th, another omits "Tuesday" — a scribe's slip, not a matter of substance. An outside witness to Mihnea's rising is Evliya Çelebi, who tells the autumn of 1659 in his travel pages.
Wave 3 — Sibiu and Brașov 1673–1677
When word comes that Duca Vodă is taking the throne, in December 7182 (1673), the Băleanu, his son-in-law Hrizea and Neagoe Săcuianul flee towards Pitești, then cross the mountain to Sibiu; Duca enters the seat on 6 December (P5). Four years later, in "the fourth year" of his reign (P7) — the year of the Chyhyryn campaign, 1677 — persecution strikes the house of the Cantacuzinos: Iordache and his brother-in-law Barbu Fărcășanu cross to Brașov, Matei the Aga crosses by Teleajen into the Hungarian Land, and Mihai the Spathar escapes to Brașov too, "where his other brothers were too" (P6).
Worth knowing. One manuscript writes "the Hungarian Land" here instead of Sibiu — other words, the same flight. The houses at Mărgineni and Drăgănești, where the long night catches the Cantacuzinos, stand to this day among the manors, and Pană Filipescu's court at Filipeștii de Târg dates from 1650, eight years before his flight.
P1 The October 7138 flight IV, p. 311
And when it was October 17, in the year 7138, those boyars, seeing they could bear it no longer, all rose and fled into the Hungarian Land, crossing by the Vulcan pass to Hațeg; and the boyars by name: Matei the Aga of Brâncoveni, and Aslan the Vornic, and Gorgan the Spătar, and Barbu the Paharnic Brădescu, and Mihai the Spătar, and Dumitru the Slugiar and Filisianul, and Mitrea the Vistier, and many other boyars, and they all dwelt together, held in great honour and esteem by Gheorghe Rákóczi the King, and by the Count, and by Zolomi David, and by all the nobles.
P2 Leon deposed IV, p. 314
And when it was July 21, in the year 7140, men came from the Porte and took Leon Vodă's throne, and at once he set out and went to Tsarigrad. And he reigned (Leon Vodă) two and a half years less 8 days.
P3 Constantin Șerban crosses into Transylvania IV, p. 345
When it was January 5, in the year 7166, the emperor, Sultan Mehmed, and the grand vizier, Köprülü Mehmed Pasha, sent and deposed Constantin Vodă, and sent another prince named Mihnea, with Turkish troops too, 30,000; and Constantin Vodă, as soon as he heard of it, crossed the mountains into Transylvania, with all his household entire and with all the boyars of the land. And Constantin Vodă reigned 4 years less 3 months, in the year 7166.
P4 Pană Filipescu escapes to Brașov IV, pp. 349–350
Then, at that time, there was also Constantin Cantacuzino the Postelnic with all his household and with his son-in-law Pană Filipescu, former grand Spătar, and with his household at their mountain villages, on the river Prahova, by Mihnea's order left with his assent and with a letter signed by his hand, to sit there and rest in good peace, untroubled by anyone; he had asked only for 2 sons of Constantin the Postelnic, namely Drăghici the Logofăt and Șerban the Postelnic, to stay by him in faithful service, as indeed they did. [...] They struck them unawares, on Tuesday morning, August 16, in the year 7166. They chased them through all the Prahova mountains, two days and two nights, until God opened a way for them, and they escaped into the fortress of Brașov with wives, with children, all of them, and not one of them was caught. Seeing such madness of Mihnea Vodă unleashed upon them, these boyars reckoned they could not live out their days under him, so they crossed into Moldavia altogether, and sent word to his son Șerban too, who fled from Mihnea when the camp was at Sibiu, and entered Ghica Vodă's service.
P5 Băleanu crosses to Sibiu V, p. 13
And Băleanu with his son-in-law Hrizea, and Neagoe the Vornic of Săcuieni, and Radu the Ban Năsturel, and Staico the Paharnic Bucșanu at once seized Constantin the Slugiar and put him in the stocks [...], and then, feeling that Duca Vodă was truly coming as prince, they began to flee upward, toward Pitești, taking Constantin the Slugiar with them, carrying him as far as the monastery at Argeș, and Băleanu with his son-in-law and with Neagoe the Vornic crossed the mountains to Sibiu; while Radu Năsturel and Staico fled into the mountains. So Duca Vodă too came to the throne on Saint Nicholas's day, December 6, in the year 7182, [...]
P6 The Cantacuzinos cross to Brașov V, pp. 15–16
and his brother Iordache with his brother-in-law Barbu Fărcășanu the Vistier slipped out of their sight and crossed to Brașov. [...] Then Matei the Aga too [...] at once turned back and crossed by the Teleajen into the Hungarian Land. [...] And Mihai the Spătar, escaping, crossed to Brașov, where his other brothers were too.
P7 The fourth year: Cehrin V, p. 17
And after that, when the fourth year of Duca Vodă's reign came, Mehmed Pasha the Vizier rose with all the imperial might and went to the Cossack Land, to a fortress called Cehrin, near the water of the Dnieper, [...]
The source pages: wave 1
The source pages: wave 2
The source pages: wave 3
Grounds
Where the text above comes from, and what today's sources say about its world.
Which edition we read
The text follows the chronicle's first edition, printed by Nicolae Bălcescu in Magazinu istoricu pentru Dacia, volume IV, Bucharest, 1847, pages 231–233, from a manuscript of Ștefan Cantacuzino's time. The 1847 print is public domain, and the transcription keeps its transitional spelling, with the forms recorded exactly as set.
Bălcescu's redaction differs in places from the 1960 critical edition: the chronicle says the land was taken up by the Romanians where the critical edition reads “izvodindu-se”, and the prince's style appears in Romanian rather than Slavonic. The differences come from the distinct manuscripts behind the two editions.
Which edition the Refuge reads
The episodes come from the same Bălcescu edition: volume IV (pp. 311–316, 345–351) and volume V (pp. 8–18), after the manuscript of Ștefan Cantacuzino's time, today in Cluj, Blaj collection no. 112. The 1960 critical edition follows a different base manuscript: there Băleanu's son-in-law crosses "into the Hungarian Land", not "to Sibiu", and Grigorie II reigns "a year and eight months", not "a year and a half, two months" as in 1847. The chronicle's years are Byzantine, beginning on 1 September; the Christian reckonings on this page follow that rule.
The maps draw indicative routes, not measured roads: the points are today's places, and the lines join the places the chronicle names across the landforms. Today's borders are absent on purpose: the map shows the land, not the rule.
What today's sources say
The weakening of the Golden Horde after the death of Khan Öz Beg in 1341, and the advance of Hungary and Poland towards the steppe in the 1340s, form the verified frame of the Moldavian beginning, from Dragoș to Bogdan. For Wallachia the picture differs: in 1330, when Charles Robert moves against Basarab, the Horde is still at its height, and independence is won from Hungary, at Posada, not from the Tatars.
The kings of Hungary did use border formations beyond the mountains. Dragoș's Moldavia appears in the documents as a defensive border province, a royal military fief meant to guard the passes of the Eastern Carpathians, while south of the Carpathians the Banate of Severin was ruled by bans appointed by the kings. Wallachia itself is no Hungarian creation: it breaks from Hungarian overlordship with the victory at Posada in 1330.
Questions
Six short answers, all taken from the page above.
Why is the year 1290 not established fact?
Because it belongs to the chronicle's tradition: that is how the Cantacuzino Chronicle tells it, and today's historians do not treat it as established fact.
Which edition does the page read?
The chronicle's first edition, printed by Nicolae Bălcescu in Magazinu istoricu pentru Dacia, volume IV, Bucharest, 1847, from a manuscript of Ștefan Cantacuzino's time.
What is the Refuge?
Three waves of flight by the Wallachian boyars over the mountains, into Transylvania: in 1629–1632, 1658–1659 and 1673–1677, told by the same chronicle.
Where is the manuscript?
In Cluj, in the Blaj collection, no. 112: the manuscript after which the 1847 edition was printed.
How long did Radu Negru reign, after the chronicle?
24 years. The chronicle says they buried him in his church at Argeș.
What are the years 7138 or 7166?
Byzantine years, counted from Adam, beginning on 1 September: October 7138 means October 1629, and August 7166 means August 1658.