Negru Vodă (" heBlack Voivode" or " heBlack Prince"), also known as Radu Negru ("Radu heBlack"), was, according to the legend, the founder and the first Voievode of

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

Traditions

According to Romanian traditions, Negru Vodă would have been the founder and ruler of

at a date around 1290. The legend was first mentioned in the 17th-century '' Cantacuzino Annals'', which also state that the prince built large churches in

Câmpulung Câmpulung (also spelled ''Cîmpulung'', , , Old Romanian ''Dlăgopole'', ''Длъгополе'' (from Middle Bulgarian), or ''Câmpulung Muscel'') is a municipiu, city in Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania. It is attested on the Fra Mauro map fro ...

and

Curtea de Argeș Curtea de Argeș () is a municipiu, city in Romania on the left bank of the river Argeș (river), Argeș, where it flows through a valley of the Southern Carpathians (the Făgăraș Mountains), on the railway from Pitești to the Turnu Roșu Pass ...

, successive capitals of Wallachia. This is probably a confusion with Radu I of Wallachia, who reigned 1377–1383. Legends surrounding

Meșterul Manole In Romanian mythology, Meșterul Manole (roughly: ''The master builder Manole'') was the chief architect of the Curtea de Argeș Cathedral, Curtea de Argeș Monastery in Wallachia. The myth of the cathedral's construction is expressed in the fol ...

also mention Negru Vodă as the commissioner of the church and blend his image with that of

Neagoe Basarab Neagoe Basarab (; – 15 September 1521) was the Voivode (Prince) of Wallachia between 1512 and 1521. Born into the boyar family of the Craiovești (his reign marks the climax of the family's political influence) as the son of Pârvu Craioves ...

, who ruled at a much later date than Radu I. In various folk traditions and legends, Negru Vodă's image blends with that of the following rulers: *

Thocomerius Thocomerius, also Tihomir, was the father of Basarab, who would become the first independent ''voivode'' of Wallachia. Many Romanian historians, such as Vlad Georgescu and Marcel Popa, believe that Thocomerius was a ''voivode'' in Wallachia who ...

, father of Basarab I *

Basarab I Basarab I (), also known as Basarab the Founder (; – 1351/1352), was a ''voivode'' and later the first independent ruler of Wallachia who lived in the first half of the . Many details of his life are uncertain. According to two popular theo ...

(c. 1270–1351/52), Great Voivode of Wallachia * Nicolae Alexandru, Voivode of Wallachia (c. 1352 – 1364) *

Radu I Radu I (died 1383 or 1385) was a Voivode of Wallachia ( 1377 – 1383/1385). His year of birth is unattested in primary sources. He was the son of Nicolae Alexandru and half-brother and successor to Vladislav I of Wallachia, Vladislav I. He is i ...

, Voivode of Wallachia (c. 1377 – c. 1383) *

, Voivode of Wallachia (1512-1521)

References

* Neagu Djuvara: Thocomerius-Negru Vodă, un voivod de origine cumană la începuturile Țării Românești: cum a purces întemeierea primului stat medieval românesc dinainte de "descălecătoare" și până la așezarea Mitropoliei Ungrovlahiei la Argeș: noi interpretări/Thocomerius - Negru Vodă: a voivode of Cumanian origin at the beginning of Wallachia: how the foundation of the first medieval Romanian state began before "dismounting" and until the settlement of the Metropolitanate of Ungrovlahia in Argeș: new interpretations, Editura Humanitas, București, 2007,

External links

Basarabii: Radu Negru (Black)
(in Romanian) Legendary monarchs Legendary Romanian people Medieval legends {{romania-bio-stub

Traditions

See also

References

External links