Radu Negru
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Negru Vodă ("[The] Black Voivode" or "[The] Black Prince"), also known as Radu Negru ("Radu [the] Black"), was, according to the legend, the founder and the first Voievode of Wallachia.
Name
[edit]Radu is a name derived from the Slavic word for "joy". In 2009, Radu was the 43rd most popular name among Romanian boys in the modern state of Romania[1] and Moldova.[citation needed].
Traditions
[edit]According to Romanian traditions, Negru Vodă would have been the founder and ruler of Wallachia 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 and Curtea de Argeș, successive capitals of Wallachia. This is probably a confusion with Radu I of Wallachia, who reigned 1377–1383. Legends surrounding Meșterul Manole also mention Negru Vodă as the commissioner of the church and blend his image with that of Neagoe Basarab, 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, father of Basarab I
- Basarab I (c. 1270–1351/52), Great Voivode of Wallachia
- Nicolae Alexandru, Voivode of Wallachia (c. 1352 – 1364)
- Radu I, Voivode of Wallachia (c. 1377 – c. 1383)
- Neagoe Basarab, Voivode of Wallachia (1512-1521)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Campbell, Mike. "Popularity for the name Radu (masculine) - Behind the Name". www.behindthename.com. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- 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, ISBN 978-9735017873
External links
[edit]- Basarabii: Radu Negru (Black) (in Romanian)
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