Incipient States in Moldavia in Medieval Documents
The first possible reference to a Romanian incipient state after the Mongol invasion was recorded by John of Plano Carpini who, on his way back from the Great Khan of the Mongols in 1247, met a duke named Olaha, who was on his way to the court of Batu Khan, the founder of the Golden Horde. The name of the duke is strikingly similar to the ethnic name for the Romanians in Hungarian (oláh), but his name may also be a distorted transcription of the Russian name Oleg. The Franciscan William of Rubruck reports that in 1253 he met messengers of the Romanians (Blaci, Blati) and other peoples who carried their gifts to Batu Khan.
According to Thomas Tuscus’ chronicle, the Romanians (Blaci) were at war with the Ruthenians in 1276–1277, and thus prevented the latter’s arrival in support of their ally, King Ottakar II of Bohemia (1253–1278). This information suggests that the Blaci formed a political entity somewhere in northern Moldavia and they had a military force strong enough to worry the Kingdom of Halych. Brief mention of Romanians of the sub-Carpathian areas is also made in two papal acts issued in 1279 and 1288 in connection with the papal attempts to reactivate Catholic missionary activities in Eastern Europe. The pope knew that bishops "suitable to that Romanian nation" were needed for the success of the Catholic action in Moldavia.
The Polish chronicler, Jan Długosz narrates that contingents of Vlachs (Walachi) took part in the expedition organized in 1326 by King Władysław I of Poland (1306–1333) against Brandenburg.
The richness of the stores of weapons and harness pieces, from the 13th–14th centuries, found at Vatra Moldoviţei, Coşna and Cozăneşti suggests the existence of well-organized military bodies in the region. The correspondence of the popes from the 1330s also contain references to the “powerful men of those parts” (potentes illorum partium). However, before the middle of the 14th century there had been no fortified settlements to the east of the Carpathian Mountains, probably as a consequence of the Golden Horde’s power.
Read more about this topic: Foundation Of Moldavia
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