Contributions to the History of the Family of Oană Headman of Suceava ( 15th - 17thcenturies )

Contributions to the history of the family of Oană Headman of Suceava(15th 17thcenturies)

«Contributions to the history of the family of Oană Headman of Suceava (15th17thcenturies)»

by Paul Daniel Nedeloiu

Source:ISTROS (ISTROS), issue: XVII / 2011, pages: 215233, on www.ceeol.com.

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CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HISTORY OF THE FAMILY OF OANĂ HEADMAN OF SUCEAVA (15TH - 17THCENTURIES)∗

PAUL DANIEL NEDELOIU (IAŞI – ROMÂNIA)

Keywords: boyars, headman, governor, counselor, genealogy, family, diptych; Abstract. This study represents an older concern of the author regarding the history of Neamţ county, in the Middle Ages, research direction which is approached due to the doctoral thesis. Previously, dealth with a number of issues related to the nobility that had land ownership in the Neamţ county in articles published in magazines such as: Opţiuni Istoriografice” or „Magister”, and in a series of dissertations held at „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University-Iaşi.

Through this study we investigated the genealogy and political development of a family of boyars in the XV-th – XVII-th centuries: family of Oană, Headman of Suceava.

Inquiring internal and external documents, of that time, we found that these boyars have enjoyed great political importance during the reign of Alexandru cel Bun (Oană’s case), Iliaş, Roman II, Alexăndrel, Petru Aron or Stephen the Great ( Lazăr’s case and Stanciul’case ).

Economically speaking, their descendants have fallen in the XVI-th – XVII-th century. The impressive number of mastered lands of Oană and his sons, but also the preoccupation manifested towards religious settlements, by foundation documents, prove the fact that this family places itself in the life of the great Moldavian boyar families, as we have remarked, had a special role in the politics of Moldavia, giving for counsellors and officials in the 15th century, and his descendants contributed, through feminine side, to the creation of families such as Şarpe-Gănescul, Prăjescu, Ciolpan, Boul or Başotă.

∗ Acknowledgements: This work has been supported by the European Social Fund in Romania, under the responsibility of the Managing Authority for the Sectorial Operational Programme for Human Resources Development 2007-2013 [Grant POSDRU/88/1.5/S/47646], to whom we thank once again ! ISTROS, XVII, 2011, Brăila, p. 215-233.

Paul Daniel Nedeloiu 216

I. The Family of Oană and the held dignities The boyar Oană1, known in the documents of the time as

“Headman Ion”2, “Headman Ioan”3, “Ioan Headman of Suceava”4, “Oană Headman of Suceava”5, “Ion from Tulova”6 or “Oană from Tulova”7, is mentioned for the first time in a document from 28th June 14018, being present on the list of the counsellors of Alexander the Good, holding the dignity of headman, a position he will have until 24th February 14249. After this date he keeps his position in the voivode’s council, without a dignity, until 12th May 142510, when he is mentioned for the last time as being alive. As long as he was only a counsellor without holding a dignity, he is remembered as “Ion from Tulova”11 or “Oană from Tulova”12, as a sign that he had withdrawn at his own residence, probably due to old age, but his faith and services were still required. He also had a court, located at the south of the current county of Neamţ, in the village Seliştea13, an area in which this great official ruled over nine villages, on the valley of Orbic rivulet. This court was going to be inherited by his sons, as one can see in a document dated 3rd June 142914.

About his family there are transmitted some different pieces of information by the documents from the 15th - 17th centuries. Thus, in the documents which present Oană as being alive, member of the Voivode’s Council, there is sometimes invoked the faith of his children, too15. Yet, their names are not mentioned. Though, in a document from the end of the rule of Alexander the Good, in 28th December 142816, after Oană is

1 DRH, A. Moldova, volume I, no. 22, p.32, no. 23, p. 34, no.24, p. 36, no. 25, p.37. 2 Ibidem, no.35, p. 50. 3 Ibidem, no.13, p. 20. 4 Ibidem, no. 33, p. 47. 5 Ibidem, no. 22, p. 32. 6 Ibidem, no. 58, p. 84. 7 Ibidem, no. 60, p. 87. 8 Ibidem, no.13, p. 20. 9 Ibidem, no. 56, p. 82. 10 Ibidem, no. 61, p. 89. 11 Ibidem, no. 56, p. 82. 12 Ibidem, no. 60, p. 87, no.61, p.89. 13 Ibidem, no. 90, p. 135. 14 Ibidem. 15 Ibidem, no. 22, p. 32, no. 23, p. 34, no. 36, p. 51, no. 52, p. 77, no. 53, p. 78, no. 54, p. 80, no. 56, p. 82, no. 58, p. 84, no. 60, p. 87, no. 61, p. 89. 16 Ibidem, no. 81, p. 120.

Contributions to the history of the family of Oană Headman of Suceava 217

no-longer mentioned in the Voivode’s Council, we find that he had three sons: Lazăr, Staciul and Costea, who are also mentioned in a document from the next year, dated 3rd June 142917, in the same exact order, which makes us believe that was the very order the sons of Oană had been born.

As it results from two documents issued by the voivode Stephen the Great, at Suceava, the first at 13th March 148918 and the second at 26th November 149019, Lazăr had two children: Ana, married to the boyar Şandru and Sima, a deputy cup-bearer. Lazăr’s wife was named Marina, as one can read in The Diptych of Bistriţa Monastery20, where their son Sima is also mentioned. Lazăr’s son-in-law, Şandru, was a equerry beetwen 14th September 148621 and 30th March 149222, a governor of Cetatea Nouă (Roman) beetwen 10th October 149223 and 15th December 150824 and counsellor without a dignity beetwen 5th March 151325 and 6th October 152026. About Şandru, the documents of the time let us understand that he was the son of boyar Neagotă and the grandson of Murgu, both without dignities27. Ana and Şandru’s children are mentioned in different documents from 15th-17th centuries: Andreica28

17 Ibidem, no. 90, p. 135. 18 Ibidem, volume III, prepared by C. Cihodaru, I. Caproşu and N. Ciocan, Bucharest, Editure of Academy, 1980, no. 50, p. 92. 19 Ibidem, no. 82, p. 163. 20 Pomelnicul Mânăstirei Bistriţa [The Diptych of Bistriţa Monastery], published by Damian P. Bogdan, Bucharest, Foundation King Carol I, 1941, p. 101. 21 DRH , A. Moldova, volume II, prepared by Leon Şimanschi in collaboration with Georgeta Ignat and Dumitru Agache, Bucharest Editure of Academy, 1976, no. 264, p. 407. 22 Ibidem, no. 112, p. 221. 23 Ibidem, no. 116, p. 227. 24 DIR, Century XVI, A. Moldova, volume I, no. 77, p. 82. 25 Ibidem, no. 80, p. 85. 26 Ibidem, no. 154, p. 173. See also Nicolae Stoicescu, Dicţionar al marilor dregători din �ara Românească şi Moldova. Sec. XIV-XVII [Dictionary of High Officials from Wallachia and Moldavia. Centuries XIV-XVII], Bucharest, Romanian Encyclopedic Editure, 1971, p.286. Further on, we shall use the abbreviation N. Stoicescu, Dicţionar … 27 DIR, Century XVI, A. Moldova, volume III, no. 386, p. 320. 28Ibidem , no. 512, p. 421-423, volume IV, no. 244, p. 185. The fact that Andreica, mead maker, former governor of Roman, was the son of Şandru governor and grandson of Neagotă, results from a document dated 16th June 1604, in which it is shown that his sons, Nechita clark and Donici were the grandsons of Neagotă. Consequently, these were the cousins of Ciolpan the Old because, as results from the document, their parents were brothers – compare the documents from 13th May 1586 (DIR, Century XVI, A. Moldova, volume III, no. 386, p. 320) and 16th June 1604 (DIR, Century XVII, A. Moldova, volume I, no. 229, p. 160-161).


mead maker29 (former governor of Roman30), Dumitru Ciolpan (Ciolpan the Blind, Ciolpan the Old)31 and possibly Ion Ciolpan32 and Trifan Ciolpan33. The latter is probably the same person who, as a messenger of the Moldavian Boyars, was sent to the sultan Soliman the Magnificent at Suceava in 1538 to make peace; this event is mentioned by Grigore Ureche in his “Chronicle”:

“Having plundered the land of Moldavia by the emperor Suleiman and having the people driven away up in the mountains, the bishops and boyars gathered in the village of Badeuţ and had a council on what they were going to do about that plague. Than they chose a council to send a messenger to the emperor with the request and imploration for forgiveness. And thus they chose Trifan Ciolpan and sent him to Suceava as a messenger, begging for peace and asking for a voivode. Getting their request, the emperor showed mercy and forgave them ...”34.

In his turn, Dumitru Ciolpan had three sons: Gheorghita Ciolpan35, clerk, Dragan Ciolpan36who was great bailiff, governor of Neamţ and then of Roman (1598-1599, 1603) and Pătraşco Ciolpan37. He also had al least two daughters: Anuşca and another one, whose name remains unknown, married to the boyar Anton Başotă. From their marriage resulted Pătraşco Başotă, clerk, about whom they say, in a document from 20th December 1621, he was the grandson of Ciolpan the Old38 (Dumitru Ciolpan). All

29 The mead maker used to be the one who produced mead, an alcoholic drink made out of fermented honey – see August Scriban, Dicţionaru limbii româneşti [Dictionary of Romanian Language], Edition I, Iaşi, Graphical Arts Institute ”Presa bună”, 1939, p.792. 30 DIR, Century XVI, A. Moldova, volume IV, no. 45, p. 40. 31 Ibidem, volume II, no. 110, p. 119. 32 DIR, Century XVII, A. Moldova, volume II, no.106, p.89-90. 33 Ibidem. 34 Grigore Ureche, Letopiseţul Ţării Moldovei [Chronicle of Moldavia], Edition Supervised by P. P. Panaitescu, historical-literary references written by Mircea Scarlat, Bucharest, Editure Minerva, 1987, p.99 35 DIR, Century XVI, A. Moldova, volume III, no. 141, p. 111, no. 398, p. 328, no. 512, p. 421, volume IV, no. 225, p. 167-168. 36 Ibidem, volume III, no.386, p. 320. On the verso of the document, kept in original at the National Archives – Iaşi County Service, Fond Spiridonie, Bodeşti, Seliştea Hârtop, V/4, there is a subsequent notice: ”The son of Ciolpan, grandson of Şandru governor, great-grandson of Neagotă and Murgu, from a donation charter got from Ilie Voivode”. See also Nicolae Stoicescu, Dicţionar ..., p. 298-299. 37 Nicolae Stoicescu, Dicţionar ..., p. 377. 38 DIR, Century XVII, A. Moldova, volume V, no.117, p. 86.


these men held, among other things, land mastery in the county of Neamţ, in villages such as: Vârtop, Bodeşti, Dănceşti, Şerbeşti, Cârligi, Dragomireşti şi Uscaţi.

We also know the name of the wife of Andreica, former governor of Roman – Gheruşca39 and the names of their children: Nechita, clerk, Donici40, who was deputy equerry41, Măriica şi Urâta42. The latest was married to Drăghici Mălinescu43, son of Mălina44 and grandson of Ivan Uscatul, a boyar who lived in the first half of the 15th century45. We do not know any of Lazăr’s descendants from his son, Sima, deputy cup-bearer, because the documents which have reached us do not offer any piece of information regarding that matter.

Therefore, the family of Lazăr had multiple branches, the families Ciolpan and Başotă having its origins in it, with significant representatives both in the central and local administration.

Like their father, the first two sons of Oană, Lazăr and Stanciul, held atributions in the Moldavian state, thus, Lazăr was a counsellor between 145346 and 144447, in 144948, then between 145249and 145350, during the voivode Alexăndrel’s rule and voivode Petru Aron’s rule, between 145551and 145652. Lazăr probably took possession of the village Tulova, part of the inheritage received from his father; some documents mention him under the name of ”Lazăr from Tulova”53.

39 Ibidem, Century XVI, A. Moldova, volume III, no. 141, p. 111-112, Century XVII, A. Moldova, volume I, no. 224, p. 157. 40 Ibidem, Century XVII, A. Moldova, volume I, no. 224, p. 157. 41 Ibidem, volume IV, no. 501, p. 392. 42 Ibidem, volume I, no. 112, p. 75, volume II, no. 32, p. 31. 43 Ibidem, volume I, no.112, p. 75. 44 Ibidem, no. 148, p. 105. 45 DRH, A. Moldova, volume I, no. 201, p. 285. 46 Ibidem, no. 107, p. 158. 47 Ibidem, no. 250, p. 354. 48 Ibidem,volume II, prepared by L. Şimanschi and the collaborators, Bucharest, Editure of Academy, 1976, no. 4, p. 6. 49 Ibidem, no. 16, p. 18. 50 Ibidem, no. 25, p. 32. 51 Ibidem, no. 47, p. 66. 52 Ibidem, no. 58, p. 86. 53 Ibidem, volume I, no. 231, p. 327.


The second child of Oană was Stanciul. He was a counsellor without a dignity between 143254 and 143655, in 144456, then between 145257-145658, 145959-146560, 147061-147962. Between 146763 and 147964 Stanciul is mentioned on the list of counsellors, right after the children of Stephen the Great, Alexandru, Petru and Bogdan and before the Stephen the Great’s uncle, Vlaicul, governor of Orhei, former chief of Hotin, and his son, Duma, governor of Cetatea Albă (White Fortress).

On the 28th July 1468 Stephen the Great called Stanciul, then governor of Cetatea Albă, ”our foremost consellor”65. This fact determines us to believe that Stanciul closely related to Stephen the Great66. Unlike his brother Lazăr, he also held dignities: he first was treasurer, in 143567, than bedchamber keeper in the period 143668 - 144369 and finally, governor of Cetatea Albă, a dignity which appears in 145370, 145671 and in the period 146672-147073.

54 Ibidem, no. 107, p. 158. 55 Ibidem, no. 150, p. 207. 56 Ibidem, no. 250, p. 354. 57 Ibidem, volume II, no. 16, p. 18. 58 Ibidem, no. 61, p. 92. 59 Ibidem, no. 85, p. 122. 60 Ibidem, no. 129, p. 186. 61 Ibidem, no. 169, p. 254. 62 Ibidem, no. 218, p. 332. 63 Ibidem, no. 147, p. 214. 64 Ibidem, no. 218, p. 332. 65 Ibidem, no. 152, p. 222. By this document there is confirmed the position of ”First Counsellor”, during the rule of Stephen the Great voivode. 66 A similar idea can be found in the doctor’s thesis of Lucian Valeriu Lefter – Boieri şi ”domenii” în ţara Moldovei înainte şi în vremea lui Ştefan cel Mare. Teza de doctorat [Boyars and ”estates” in Moldavia before and during Stephen the Great. Doctor’s thesis], Iaşi, 2009, p. 54. The thesis lies in manuscript in the library of the Faculty of History, University ”AL. I. Cuza” – Iaşi. 67 Ibidem, volume I, no. 117, p. 169. 68 Ibidem, no. 152, p. 210. 69 Ibidem, no. 231, p. 327. 70 Ibidem, volume II, no. 26, p. 35. 71 Ibidem, no. 60, p. 90. 72 Ibidem, no. 131, p. 187. 73 Ibidem, no. 168, p. 252. See also, I. C. Miclescu-Prăjescu, Boieri moldoveni din veacul al XV-lea. Stanciu pârcălab de Hotin şi Stanciu marele [moldavian boyars from the 15th century. Stanciu governor of Hotin and Stanciu the Mighty], in ”Revista istorică română” [Romanian Historical Magazine], tome VII 1937, p. 363-370; see also Mihai Costăchescu, Arderea Târgului Floci şi a Ialomiţei în 1470. Un fapt necunoscut din luptele lui Ştefan cel Mare cu muntenii. [The Burning of


His family is less known. The documents of the time mention a son of his namely Mârza, member in the Voivode’s Council during Stephen the Great’s rule, having this position between 12th September 146874 and 22nd May 147675. After the latest date, Mârza is no-longer mentioned in documents; he may have been one of the numerous boyars who died in the battle of Valea Albă (White Valley) at 26th July 1476. Yet, his father is mentioned as a member of the Voivode’s Council until 24th May 147976.

In a document dated 11th August 147977 we find that in the Voivode’s Council, Stanciul was no-longer present, his position as a first counsellor being taken over by Vlaicul, the uncle of Stephen the Great.

We are also headed towards a possible relation between Stanciul and the rulers of Moldavia by a mention in the “Chronicle of the Land of Moldavia”, where it shows that in the same year <1479 n.n.>, 8th August, on Sunday evening, there passed away the servant of God, Cneaja, daughter of the voivode Alexandru. And Stanciul the Great passed away three days after her”78. Mentioning Stanciul right after Cneaja indicates a possible relation between the two characters – they may have been husband and wife, which would confirm the relation between the former governor of Cetatea Albă and Stephen the Great. In addition, it can be noticed that the date of Stanciul’s death mentioned in the chronicle, 11thAugust 1479, corresponds to the information offered by the internal documents, where we can see that, starting with the document on11thAugust 1479, Stanciul is no-longer mentioned in the Voivode’s Council.

A late document from the 15th March 152779, mentions the other children of Stanciul, who were as it is mentioned in the document, “the grandchildren of Oană headman (Stanciul’s father): Oană, Isac, Nastasca,

Târgul Floci and Ialomiţa in 1470. An unknown fact regarding the fights between Stephen the Great and the Wallachians], Iaşi, Graphical Arts Institute ”Brawo”, 1935, p. 30-32. 74 Ibidem, volume II, no. 153, p. 224. 75 Ibidem, no. 206, p. 312-313. 76 Ibidem, no. 218, p. 332. 77 Ibidem, no. 219, p. 333. 78 Cronicile slavo-romine din sec. XV-XVI publicate de Ion Bogdan [Slavonic – Romanian Chronicles from the 15th – 16th centuries published by Ion Bogdan], edition revised and completed by P.P. Panaitescu, Bucharest, Editure of Academy, 1959, p. 19. 79 DIR, Century XVI, A. Moldova, volume I, no. 208, p. 236.


Mariica, Tudora and Magdalina.” These sold the village Barbeşti, on the river Prut, in the county of Fălciu, to the boyar Nica. It can be noticed that Mârza is missing, which indicates that the man had died, as we supposed above, in the battle of Valea Albă, in the summer of 1476.

The third son of Oană, Costea, is mentioned for the first time in a document issued by the voivode Alexander the Good on 28th December 142880, when he received along with his brothers, Lazăr and Stanciul the voivode’s confirmation for the Seliştea lui Dobrin, from Humor, where there was the monastery with the same name, their father’s foundation81. Probably, on that date the headman Oană was not alive, since it was his children who received the confirmation for the respective wasteland, not him. Costea neither held any dignity nor he was mentioned as a member of the Voivode’s Council.

Costea’s descendants were very numerous, as we can see in the documents from th end of the 15th century and from the 16th century. Thus, in a document issued by Stephen the Great at Suceava, on 13th March 148982 we find that this boyar had three children: Nastea, Ilca and Toma. About Nastea we know, from a subsequent document dated 26th

November 149083, that she was the wife of Hărman, the former governor of Cetatea Albă between 147584and 148085. Nastea and Hărman had several children86 including Draga87, the second wife of Cozma Şarpe88,the great voivode’s bedchamber keeper, her descendants related to the families Ciolpan, Boul and Prăjescu. For instance, Toader Boul,

80 DRH, A. Moldova, volume I, no. 81, p. 120. 81 N. Grigoraş, I. Caproşu, Biserici şi mănăstiri vechi din Moldova până la mijlocul secolului al XV-lea, [Old Churches and Monasteries in Moldavia until the middle of the 15th Century], Second Edition, revised, Bucharest, Editure Meridiane, 1971, p. 44. 82 DRH, A. Moldova, volume III, no .50 p. 92. 83 Ibidem, no. 82, p. 163. 84 Ibidem, volume II, no.199, p. 300. 85 Ibidem, no. 230, p. 352. He is mentioned as ”Herman governor” in a previous document from 14th October 1489, although at that date he was no-longer governor, but counsellor without a dignity, as it can be seen in the list of counsellors from the respective document, see Ibidem, voleme III, no. 54, p. 103, p. 105. 86 Nicolae Stoicescu, Dicţionar ..., p. 274: Baico, Petru clerk, Draga (Drăghina), married to Cozma Şarpe, great bedchamber keeper, Fetina married to Ioanăş, with whom she had Matiaş, chief. 87 DIR, Century XVI, A. Moldova, volume III, no. 301, p. 208. 88 DRH, A. Moldova, volume XXIII, prepared by Leon Şimanschi, Nistor Ciocan, Georgeta Ignat and Dumitru Agaghe, Bucharest, Editure of Romanian Academy, 1996, no. 354, p. 315.


Steward, as it is mentioned in a document from 25th June 159789, was the son of Nastasia and the grandson of Cozma Şarpe. He related to the family Prăjescu, by his marriage to Agafia Prăjescu90. Another Nastasia, the wife of Drăgan Ciolpan91, governor of Neamţ in 1587 and of Roman between 1598 and 159992, was the daughter of Tudosia, the granddaughter of Maria, the granddaughter of Draga (the wife of Cozma Şarpe), the great – granddaughter of Hărman, governor93.

About Toma, the same document shows that he was a deputy cup-bearer. His descendants are unknown.

Other descendants of Costea are mentioned in the document from the 15th century: the daughters of Ilca – Sorca and Marenca (Maruşca), as in the case of a document from 15th March 152794. Marenca, as we can find in a document from 1st June 158095, had six daughters: Sofronia, Tudira, Parasca, Gofa, Stanca and Oleanca; each of them, in their turns, had children who are mentioned two years later, on 23rd April 158396. The descendants of these six sisters were not officials, though, as there were going to be the descendants of Nasta, the wife of the former governor of Cetatea Albă, Hărman.

II. Land mastery As regards the land mastery of the headman Oană, the documents

of the time mention a number of 47 villages, in different counties of Moldavia, along with ponds, forests and wastelands. Near Suceava where he used to exercise the dignity of headman, he owned the villages of Tulova, the village ”where Tatomir and Pârtea lived” (Părteşti), the Seliştea lui Dobrin, Stroinţi, Zaharinţi and Litanăuţi97; in the county of Neamţ he owned 9 villages, placed in the south of this county, on the

89 DIR, Century XVI, A. Moldova, volume IV, no. 230, p. 172. 90 Nicolae Stoicescu, Dicţionar ..., P.353. See also DIR, Century XVI, A. Moldova, volume V, no. 272, p. 202. 91 DIR, Century XVI, A. Moldova, volume III, no. 369, p. 301. 92 Nicolae Stoicescu, op. cit. p. 298 - 299. 93 DIR, Century XVI, A. Moldova, volume III, no. 301, p. 248. 94 DIR, Century XVI, A. Moldova, volume I, no. 208, p. 236. 95 Catalogul documentelor moldoveneşti din Direcţia Arhivelor Centrale [Catalogue of Moldavian Documents from the Office of Central Archives], Supplement I (1403-1700), Bucharest 1975, no. 138, p. 75. 96 DIR, Century XVI, A. Moldova, volume III, no. 266, p. 213. 97 DRH, A. Moldova, volume I, no. 90, p. 135.


valley of the Orbic river: Seliştea98, Zagoreni99, the village ”where Başea lived”100, Costinţi101, Moişinţi, ”at Iucaş”102, Plopeşti103, Dumitreşti, ”down the pond”104, “at Văratec”105and to of the Seliştea of Drăghici106. In the county of Iaşi he had 9 villages: Bahmatăuţi, a village “at Cornul Lăcinului”, a village “at Derenice”, a village “at Fântâna Rece”, a village on Cihuru, a village on Suhoverh, the village “where Andriaş lives”, the village “where Ion son of Filea lives” and another one where “Stanco settled village”. In the county of Dorohoi he owned 3 villages: the village at Iaz (Stăuceni), the village where Stan was knez (Glodeni), where Minco was the head of the village (Vorniceni). He also owned other villages in the county of Fălciu (10 village places on Prut) – the village Spărietului and Şcheia, on Sărata; in the county of Hotin – a village “under Horodişte” and in the county of Roman – the village Gâdinţi, close to Cetatea Nouă.

All these are mentioned in a document from 3rd June 1429107, by which the voivode Alexander the Good confirmed to the sons of the headman Oană – Lazăr, Stanciul and Costea, “the faithful service of their father”108. Other villages are mentioned in later documents from the end of the 15th century and from the16th century where it is shown that they belonged to the headman Oană and his descendants: Calna (Suceava county), Glodeni (Dorohoi county), Alboteşti, Barbeşti, Şcheia, Răciuleşti and Drăguşani (in the Fălciu county, these probably being villages created in the “10 village places” confirmed by Alexander the Good at 3rd June 1429) and Dulceşti (probably in the Neamţ county).

98 The present village Siliştea, situated on Orbic, in Români commune, Neamţ county, see – Ibidem, Index of names, p. 494. 99 Near the present village Goşmani, Români commune, Neamţ county, see – Ibidem, p .510. 100 Near the present village Români, Români commune, see – Ibidem, p. 437. 101 A village at the springs of Orbic which has been called Prăjeşti since 17th century, today in Secuieni commune, Neamţ county, see – Ibidem, p. 449. 102 Today Hoiseşti, Mărgineni commune, Neamţ county, see – Ibidem, p. 479. 103 In the present commune Mărgineni, Neamţ county, see – Ibidem, p. 488. 104 In the present commune Mărgineni, Neamţ county, see – Ibidem, p. 457. 105 Near Goşmani, Români commune, Neamţ county, see – Ibidem, p. 445. 106 Probably near the present village Costişa, at the flow of Orbic in Bistriţa, Neamţ county, see – Ibidem, p. 456. 107 Ibidem, no. 90, p. 134-136. 108 Ibidem, p. 135.


In a previous document, issued by the same voivode, from 25th April 1420109, we find that the headman Oană had received the voivode’s confirmation for the mastery of 10 villages at the east of Prut: Corneşti, Miclăuşeni, Loznova, Săcăreni, Vorniceni, Dumeşti, Lavreşti, Ţigăneşti (all in Lăpuşna county110), Sadova and Homiceşti (in Orhei county111). Since these were no-longer mentioned in 1429, when his sons took over the inheritage, we conclude that he had sold them. A significant fact is that the villages of Oană from the county of Neamţ, but also those at the east of Prut, had common borders, representing a whole unit, a quite unusual thing in the medieval Moldavia, most of the times such villages being scattered around.

Searching the way in which the land mastery of the 10 villages in the county of Neamţ evolved during 15th – 17th, I found that only half of them continued to exist in the next period, namely Cărbuneşti, Costinţi, Plopeşti and the 2 Seliştea of Drăghici, named Seliştea Români and Seliştea Ruşii since the 16th century. The owners of Seliştea Ruşii situated on the Orbic river, claimed, at the end of the 15th century, the inheritage from a certain Nastasia, mother of Toader Dragsin, deputy chamberlain, grandmother of Todosia and Zosim deputy treasurer, grand-grandmother of Ştefana112. We know that one of Stanciu’s daughters, governor of Cetatea Albă, was named Nastasia but we do not have the certainty that it is really her because neither Stanciu nor Oană is mentioned in relation to her. If their existed an identity between the two persons it would mean that Stanciul had taken over the inheritage on one of the two Seliştea’s of Drăghici, subsequently named Seliştea Ruşii, which he handed over to his daughter Nastasia. Near that, there was Orbic village, which was mastered by a certain Ciolpan, monk, descendant of Oană’s elder son, Lazăr. This Ciolpan was the founder of the monastery on Orbic river, with the patron saint “Holy Triptych”, about which they say, in a document from the beginning of the 15th century, that was plundered by the outlaws of Dumitru Popoţea, when the troops of Mihai Viteazul arrived in Moldavia.

109 Ibidem, no. 47, p. 67-68. 110 See also the map entitled Moldavia during the rule of Stephen the Great and Saint, by Gheorghe Nicolaev and Sergiu Tabuncic, Chuşinău, Editure ”Terra Design” 2007. 111 Ibidem. 112 DIR, Century XVI, A. Moldova, volume IV, no. 184, p. 140, no. 249, p. 189-191.


For the other villages in the county of Neamţ there cannot be proved a continuity of mastery under the descendants of the headman Oană’s three sons. For instance, Costinţi village changed its name in Prăjeşti113 during the 16th century, being mastered by the three sons of the treasure Toader (Prăjescu).

As regards the evolution of the land mastery in the villages outside the county of Neamţ owned by Oană headman and his three sons, I found that from a total of 38 villages, 13 disappeared during the following period or changed their names; they are not mentioned, but on 3rd June 1429, on the occasion of dividing the fortune among his three sons. These are Dobromirna, in Fălciu county, Bahmatăuţi, Cornul Lăcrinului, Fântâna Rece, the village “where Andriaş lives”, the village “where of Filea lives”, in Iaşi county, Dumeşti, Lavreşti and Miclăuşeni, in Orhei county and Seliştealui Dobrin, in Suceava county. From the rest of 26 villages, which continued to exist in the next centuries, only 9 of them can be proved to have been in the possession of Oană headman.

It is the case of Alboteşti village, in Fălciu county, which was sold to Lupe, provost, by the children of Costea (Nastea, Toma and Ilca) and of Lazăr (Ana and Sima) grandchildren of Oană headman, on 13th March 1489114. Also, Glodeni village, in Dorohoi county, bought by Stephen the Great on 26th November 1490115 from the same Sima, deputy cup-bearer and Anuşca, grandchildren of Oană headman. On 15th March 1527116 the children of Stanciul, governor of Cetatea Albă, called “Stănilă” in the document, namely Oană, Isac, Nastasca, Mariica, Tudora and Magdalina, along with their cousin Toma, Costea’s son and with his granddaughters on his sister’s side, Sorca and Marena, Ilca’s daughters, with all the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Oană headman sold Barbeşti village, on Prut river, in Fălciu county, to a certain Nica and his grandchildren. In “Index of the place names in DIR, this village is placed

113 Ibidem, volume II, no. 100, p. 108: „I have reconfirmed their rightful inherited properties and donations, Costinţi village, which is now called Prăjeşti, at the springs of Orbic and the village were Oancea was judge, up to Moghilă, which is now called Selişte” [To the children of Toader treasurer: Ion, Toader, Maria, Anuşca, Todosia Samoileasa n.n., and another Todosia (Tăbucioaia n.n.) ]. 114 DRH, A. Moldova, volume III, no. 50, p. 92. 115 Ibidem, no. 82, p. 163. 116 DIR, Century XVI, A. Moldova, volume I, no. 208, p. 236.


identified with Stănileşti117, whose name probably originated from Stanciul governor, called “Stănilă” in the respective document. A year later, on 22nd March 1528118, the voivode Petru Rareş confirmed to Marenca and Varvara, Rusca’s daughters, the village Şcheia, on Sărata, in the same Fălciu county, bought during the rule of Stephen the Great, by their uncle Bora from Costea the son of the headman Oană.

A document issued at Suceava by Iancu Sasul on 1st June 1580119, kept as a late resume, shows that Sofronia, Oleanca, Gafa, Parasca, Tudora and Stanca, Maruşca’s daughters and Ilca’s granddaughters and Oană’s great-granddaughters sold their portions from the villages Calna and Zahareşti (probably Zaharinţi) in Suceava county, Dulceşti (in Neamţ county?) and Răciuleşti, Şcheiani (Şcheia) and Drăguşani on Prut river, in Fălciu county, to Marica and Nastasia the daughters of Ioan Hâra, headman. The children of these six sisters were going to sell, two years later, on 23rd April 1583120, their portions from Răciuleşti village to Drăghici, cereal tax collector and his relatives.

It is noticed that the headman Oană’s descendants are exclusively mentioned in selling documents for some inherited properties and not in the buying documents, which indicates that the family became poor during the 15th-17th centuries; a piece of evidence in this way is that only in 14 villages from a total 47 mastered by Oană headman there can be proved a mastery continuity of his descendants, the last one being sold at the end of the 16th century (23rd April 1583).

III. Foundations and donations The headman Oană was, as it is mentioned in the document from

13th April 1415121, the founder of Humor Monastery, with the patron saint ”the Assumption”. Nowadays, from the old church of the monastery,

117 Documente privind istoria României, A. Moldova, Veacurile XIV-XVII (1384-1625), Indicele numelor de locuri [Documents Regarding the History of Romania, A. Moldova, Centuries XIV-XVII (1384-1625), Index of place names ], prepared by Alexandru I. Gonţa, edition supervised and prefaced by I. Caproşu, Bucharest, Editure of Romanian Academy, 1990, p. 23. 118 DIR, Century XVI, A. Moldova, volume I, no. 247, p. 281-282. 119 Catalogul documentelor moldoveneşti din Direcţia Arhivelor Centrale [Catalogue of Moldavian Documents from the Office of Central Archives], Supplement I (1403 – 1700), prepared by Maria Soveja, Mihai Regleanu, Doina Tinculescu, Marcel Ciucă and Gabriela Birceanu, Bucharest, 1975, no. 138, p. 75. 120 DIR, Century XVI, A. Moldova, volume III, no. 266, p. 213-214. 121 DRH, A. Moldova, volume I, no. 40, p. 58.


founded around 1415 there has not been left anything but the ruins122. At a distance of about 300 metres from the present church as a matter a fact, there is not any religious building raised at the beginning of the 15thcentury which has survived up to now in its initial shape123. Around 1527 this church was going to be distroyed and the reasons have remaind unclear up to the present124. Judging by the ruins which can still be seen, we know this first church was made of unmanufactured stone125, with a triconc plan126, having a ”pronaos provided with to massive pillars in the western corners, probably meant to support an archivolt”127. Alexander the Good also contributed to the endowment of the monastery, confering it in 1415 ”a village at the origin of Soloneţ” and ”Seliştea lui Dianiş”128, and in 1428129, Seliştea lui Dobrin and other three villages, under Dumbrava Înaltă (the present commune Vorniceni, in Botoşani county)130, whose names we find in a document from Stephen the Second, dated 18th

February 1445131: Vorniceni, Alticleşti and Părteşti. The headman Oană also cared for the material endowment of

Bistriţa monastery, close to which he had the mastered lands in Neamţ county. Thus, on 12th July 14<15>132 he gifted Bistriţa monastery with his village <where there lived Ma >xim and Voin<ea vă>t<ămani. According to the editors of DRH, A. Moldova, volume I, it is about the present village of Bălăneşti133, in Bărgăuani commune, situated on Pârâul Negru, close to

122 N. Grigoraş, I. Caproşu, Biserici şi mănăstiri vechi din Moldova până la mijlocul secolului al XV-lea, [Old Churches and Monasteries in Moldavia until the middle of the 15th century], Second Edition, revised, Bucharest, Editure Meridiane, 1971, p. 44. 123 Paul Henry, Monumentele din Moldova de nord de la origini până la sfârşitul secolului al XVI-lea. Contribuţie la studiul civilizaţiei moldave. [Monuments in nothern Moldavia from the origins until the end of the 16th century. Contribution to the research of the Moldavian civilisation], preface to the Romanian edition by Jean Delumeau, postface and footnotes by Vasile Drăguţ, translation and indixes by Constanţa Tănăsescu, Bucharest, Editure Meridiane, 1984, p. 58. 124 Ştefan Balş, Mănăstirea Humor [Humor Monastery], Second Edition, Bucharest, Editure Meridiane, 1967, p. 6. 125 Ibidem. 126 N. Grigoraş, I. Caproşu, op. cit. p. 45. 127 Ibidem. 128 DRH, A. Moldova, volume I, no. 40, p. 58. 129 Ibidem, no. 81, p. 120. 130 Ibidem, Index of names, p. 457. 131 Ibidem, no. 251, p. 335. 132 Ibidem, no. 41, p. 60. 133 Ibidem, Index of names, p. 475.


the other possessions of Oană in the county of Neamţ, mentioned above, which were situated on Orbic rivulet, the present rivulet Români.

As a sign of appreciation for the gifts received from Oană, the monks of Bistriţa monastery mentioned him and his sons Lazăr, Stanciul and Costea, for memory eternal, in the famous Diptych of Bistriţa Monastery134, from where we get to know about other descendants of his. Thus, at the page 25 of the Diptych, there are mentioned Lazăr and his wife Marina, along with their son Sima. Then Stanciul, along with Mârza135, and finally Costea, with his wife, whose name is not mentioned, and with their daughter, Ana. The internal document confirms the fact that Lazăr had a son Sima, and Stanciul had Mârza, which strengthens the idea that the respective fragment refers to Oană’s sons. In addition, they are mentioned in the exact order as in the document from 3rd June 1429, previously presented, and above the name of Lazăr there was later written, with small letters, the name ”Ion”, who probably is their father, also referred to as headman. Besides, he is also found at page 52 of the Diptych, written with the same name Ion, and above- “headman”, but the one who later written his name above was not aware of this fact, mentioning it for memory eternal next to his children.

One of Oană’s descendants from Lazăr’s branch, Ciolpan, spear holder (also called, in some documents, Ciolpan monk) was, at the end of the 15th century, the founder of a convent at the flow of Orbic rivulet in Bistriţa river, close to his ancestor’s possessions, the headman Oană; this convent was named “Holly Triptych”136. At this he became a monk, under the name of Hariton137, gifting his portion from Orbic village the fourth part, to which there were subsequently added made by his wife Dumitra and his daughter Crâstina, the wife of Samoil, cup-bearer. At his death, he was to devote his convent to Bisericani monastery138, along with all the gifts, to his relatives’ dissatisfaction, who disputed that with the monks from Bisericani for almost a decade, between 1611139 and 1619140, the

134 Pomelnicul Mânăstirei Bistriţa [Diptych of Bistriţa Monastery], published by Damian P. Bogdan, Bucharest, Foundation King Carol I, 1941, p. 101. 135 Ibidem, p. 118. 136 DIR, Century XVI, A. Moldova, volume IV, no. 281, p. 229. 137 Ibidem, Century XVII, A. Moldova, volume IV, no. 304, p. 241. 138 Ibidem, volume III, no. 62, p. 38. 139 Ibidem. 140 Ibidem, volume IV, no. 482, p. 379.


latter always coming off victorious. Due to these donations, made both by Hariton and his wife, her daughter and husband were mentioned in the ”great diptych” of Bisericani monastery, as it results from a document dated 23rd November 1611141. This diptych did not reach us in original, but under the form of a transcription in Romanian, did in 1812, which is kept in the collection “Manuscripts” at The Iaşi County Service of National Archives.

Searching this manuscript, at page 28 verso, I found the mention of Hariton and his family142 and of the donations made to the monastery, being mentioned for memory eternal in the month of November.

The impressive number of mastered lands of Oană and his sons, but also the preoccupation manifested towards religious settlements, by foundation documents, prove the fact that this family places itself in the life of the great Moldavian boyar families, as we have remarked, had a special role in the politics of Moldavia, giving for counsellors and officials in the 15th century, and his descendants contributed, through feminine side, to the creation of families such as Şarpe-Gănescul, Prăjescu, Ciolpan, Boul sau Başotă, who were to give high-ranked officials during the 15th -17th centuries, whose constant presence in the Voivode’s Council fully proves the importance held in that time by the family of the headman Oană.

Paul Daniel Nedeloiu,

Doctor’s School, History Faculty of the University “Al. I. Cuza” Iaşi

[email protected]

141Ibidem, volume III, no.62, p. 38 142 Iaşi County Service of National Archives, Colecţia Manuscrise [Collection Manuscripts], no. 1780, leaf 28, verso.


Diptych of Bisericani Monastery, transcribed in Romanian after the Slav, in 1812 - a descendant of Oană: monk Hariton

(alias Ciolpan “spear holder” – XVII-th century)

Contributions to the History of the Family of Oană Headman of Suceava ( 15th - 17thcenturies )

Documents

Transcript of Contributions to the History of the Family of Oană Headman of Suceava ( 15th - 17thcenturies )