Radu I of Wallachia

Radu I was a ruler of the principality of Wallachia, (c.

1377 c. 1383). His year of birth is unattested in any primary source. He was the son of Nicolae Alexandru and
half-brother and successor to Vladislav I . He is identied by many historians as the legendary Radu Negru, a
mythical voievode of the early medieval state Wallachia,
founder of the states institutions and ruler.

that if Wallachia becomes his possession he reduces the

dues. On the contrary, in an order given to the landlord of
Orsova in 1382 through which he was obliged to forbid
any foreign trader to enter Wallachia with merchandise
and to keep guard of the border day and night reporting everything that happened, there is no mention of an
Hungarian ban of Severin and Orsova appears as border
point thus suggesting that the Eastern part of Banat was
annexed by the Wallachian voievod Radu I.

Maybe linked to this fact is the strange name given to

the voievod in the biography of Sigismund of Luxembourg in which, speaking of Vlad Dracul, it is said that he
was the son of Merzeweydan (Mircea) and grandson of
Pankraz dem Weisen (Pankraz the Wise). The name
Pankraz (Pancratius) is explained from the deterioration
of the name Radu Ban (ban of Severin, title taken after the conquest of the territory). Nevertheless, the Wallachian voievod, in another Hungarian document which
is contemporary with the events of 1377, bears the name
Godon as well strange and unclear.

Beginning of reign

He may have started his reign as sole ruler after 9 July

1374 when the last documentary mention of his brother
as being alive is dated. Unfortunately, there aren't any internal documents that could attest his reign. There are a
few external mentions of him, primarily documents of the
Kingdom of Hungary and a contemporary Italian chronicle and also a late pisanie, an inscription on the walls of
Curtea de Arge Cathedral and an important quantity of
coins (ducati, dinari and bani) which were emitted by the
voievod .

3 Other accomplishments
2

Conicts with the Kingdom of

Hungary

An important event linked to the reign of Radu I is the

move of the remains of Saint Filofteia from Tarnovo to
Arges, event which happened app. in 1384 when the
scene is painted on the walls of the Curtea de Arges
Cathedral that became the guardian of the Saint and
whose ctitor was the voievod with his brother and father. His activity as ctitor of religious establishments
makes him one of the most active rulers of Wallachia,
building a large number of churches with Tismana, Cozia
and Cotmeana being the most important. Also, during
his reign the two Catholic cathedrals from Severin (a.
1380)and Arges (9 mai 1381) are built and following the
tradition, a Catholic monastery in Targoviste.

The relations with the Hungarian kingship during his

reign remained tense, resulting in armed conicts. The
details of these ghts remain unclear. An Italian chronicle Cronaca Carrarese tells about an expedition of the
Hungarian king Louis the Great between 5 July - 14 August 1377 with the intention of subduing a one Radano
principe di Bulgaria infedele (Italian), identied with
Radu I. These tense relations which preceded the ght
are conrmed by the registers of the Venetian Republic
where, in the same year, a large order of full-equip armors
made by the Wallachian voievod appears. These armors
were to be worn by those armadura da cavali, 10.000
at number (a slightly exaggerated number) who were defeated in battle against the Hungarian king as pointed out
by the Italian chronicle.

Another important and controversial moment of his reign

is represented by the ruling of the Tsardom of Vidin. At
the basis of this theory stands an illegible inscription on
the walls of Curtea de Arges Cathedral in which, some
researchers, identied the title domn singur stpnitor al
Ungrovlahiei, al Vidinului i al oblastiei Vidinului (sole
ruler of Ungrovlahia, Vidin and the Oblast of Vidin). It
is true that the relations between the Wallachian rulers
Vladimir I and Radu I and the Bulgarian Tsars from
Tarnovo and Vidin, Shishman and Ivan Sratsimir were
very tensed, the latter being themselves in conicts for
the succession of the paternal throne. Once, Vladislav I

It is hard to tell whether the troops of the Wallachian

voievod were truly defeated, as from the internal documents of the Kingdom of Hungary which were published in the next period, it appears that the Hungarian
king still had the intention of subduing the unfaithful
voievod. Thus on 19 November of the same year, the king
promised the Saxon traders of Transylvania from Brasov
1

managed to annex Vidin, but he later gave it to the rightful ruler. It is possible that the same thing was done by
Radu I, although the proofs supporting this theory are insucient.

Death and tomb

The exact date of his death, as well as his tomb, remain unknown. As a result to the archaeological diggings
made in 1920 in the voievodal necropolis situated on the
grounds of the Curtea de Arges Cathedral, a rich tomb
was found dating from the end of the 14th century, presumed to be that of Radu I. The clothes of the defunct, his
accessories and jewelry shows him as a powerful feudal
ruler, with whatsoever no distinction from the contemporary kings of Western Europe or the Byzantine emperors,
the pomp of the Wallachian court being a reality well supported by evidence.

Radu I and Lady Ana in a mural representation on the walls of

Curtea de Arges Cathedral

References

REFERENCES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

6.1

Text

Radu I of Wallachia Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radu_I_of_Wallachia?oldid=666539991 Contributors: Bogdangiusca,

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6.2

Images

File:BasarabIArges.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/BasarabIArges.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Original church Original artist: not credited
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6.3

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