The former Stănești-Lunca Monastery, in the village of Lungești in Vâlcea County – today a simple parish church dedicated to the ‘Dormition of the Mother of God’ – is a historic monument of national importance 1, built on the foundations of an ancient structure dating from the 15th century by the boyars Mogoș ban, a servant of Mircea the Elder, and Mogoș spătar. Originally, it was a fortified boyar court church which was converted into a monastery, after which, in the following century, following a fire, a covered porch and two side galleries were added, and several cells 2 were built adjacent to it. The restoration of the church in 1536 is attributed to their descendants: Giura, the logothete, and his wife, Vilaia.
The monastery was passed down to their descendants through the maternal line: the Buzești brothers. Among the most famous and powerful families of Wallachian boyars, the Buzești occupied a leading position in the princely council, as reflected in the titles of ‘chief counsellors’, vlastelini, jupâni, pani, as well as by their pre-eminence in the hierarchy of the great officials3’. The three Buzești brothers served the princes Mihai Viteazul and Radu Șerban, becoming legendary for the acts of great valour they displayed in the battles to defend their ancestral lands. Preda (d. 1608), who had risen to become Grand Ban of Craiova, married Cătălina, the daughter of Andrei the Treasurer. Radu Buzescu (d. 1610), a high-ranking clucer, married first a woman named Stanca from Boldești and then Preda, the daughter of Ban Mihalcea. Stolnicul Stroe Buzescu (d. 1602), the youngest son of the family, married Sima of the Rudenilor family4
A great many people, both from the country and from abroad, come to this former monastic settlement in Vâlcea to see the tombstone in the narthex beneath which lie the remains of Boyar Stroe Buzescu, a great military commander and the pride of our knights in the 16th century. The reason for the heightened interest in this tombstone is that it bears the most beautiful chronicle text in Romanian history, recounting the acts of valour of one of Prince Mihai Viteazul’s most famous commanders, the man who saved the prince’s life at Vidin (1598) and who had been proposed by the boyars to succeed him to the throne following the assassination of ‘5’ on the Plain of Turda.
This episode, full of heroism but also of drama, was described by the steward Stroe Buzescu as follows: following the assassination of Mihai Viteazul, the Movilești family sought to install one of their own as prince of Wallachia. Radu Șerban, one of Viteazul’s close associates, fought against Simion Movilă, the Moldavian pretender who had the support of the Tatars 6.
The battles took place at Ogretin and Teișani (Prahova), on 13 and 14 September 1602; the drama of the confrontation was recorded in Voivode Radu Șerban’s charter of 29 June/8 July 1604, addressed to the brothers of Stroe Buzescu:
‘A great multitude of their troops came against us all and stormed upon us, and they shot so many of their arrows at us, that the sun could not be seen for their arrows, and from the intensity of the battle the forests and mountains resounded with the clamour of their fighting, and we could no longer make out one another’s words [...] if he [Stroe] such hardship and distress weighing upon my head, he fought all the more fiercely against my enemies for my sake, for the Christian faith and for our homeland, so as to deliver us from the hands of our enemies’7
And because the outcome of the battle could not be decided in favour of either side, during the fighting, Mârza, the brother-in-law of the Tatar khan Ghazi Ghirai II ibn Devlet Bora of Crimea, stepped out in front of the Tatar lines, challenging the leaders of the Wallachian army to single combat. Stroe Buzescu volunteered on behalf of the Wallachians. It is said that the pagan’s gigantic stature and terrifying appearance left the Romanians speechless when they saw him. Although no longer in the prime of his youth, Stroe Buzescu showed great courage and exceptional skill in his fight against the giant Tatar, who died, stabbed by his sword, after a fierce battle. Stroe Buzescu defeated the Tatar, after which he beheaded him before the horrified eyes of the khan and to the jubilation of the Romanian army.
Radu Șerban’s victory was made possible not only by this triumph but also through a combined diplomatic and military effort, in conjunction with influential political figures in the region. Although victorious, Stroe Buzescu was wounded in the cheek by the Tatar’s poisoned weapon. This wound, infected with the viper’s venom with which the Tatar’s sword had been anointed, could not be healed, despite the best efforts of the doctors in Brașov, and, after three weeks, the hero of Teișani passed away, aged 70, on 2 October 1602 8.
This sad outcome is also recorded in the country’s ancient chronicle:
‘Șărban-vodă waged yet another war at the mouth of the Teleajin River, when Simeon-vodă of Moldavia came against him with the khan himself and a host of Tatars, to drive him out of the country so that he might become ruler. And there they fought fiercely for three days. Then, in that battle, a nephew of the Khan was killed when they clashed face-to-face with Preda Buzescul. He himself was wounded in the head, and whilst travelling to Brașov to recover, he died there. At that time, the Khan, seeing that he could do Șărban-vodă no harm, one day, as dusk was falling, flew into a rage against Simeon-vodă and had him bound beneath the horse’s belly. Setting off from there in the evening, they reached the Danube by daybreak. As for Șărban-vodă, he returned to the throne and reigned very well, for he enjoyed peace on all sides’9
The great historian Nicolae Iorga refers to the significance of this confrontation:
“In the Battle of Teișani, Stroe Buzescu, by killing Mârza, the khan’s brother-in-law, demoralised the Tatars and contributed to the Wallachians’ victory. Unfortunately, having been wounded in the cheek by the blade of the Tatar’s yatagan, which was poisoned, he died shortly after returning home, even though renowned doctors were brought in from Brașov”10.
This tragic event was put into verse by the poet Dimitrie Bolintineanu, who confuses Stroe with his brother Preda 11:
‘For three days the battle has not ceased
, And the Tartar seems to have advanced.But Buzescu Preda watches with sorrow
As the Flower of Romania withers in the valley.
He rides forth on a spirited
steed That spews flames
from its eyes He cries out loudly to the crushed
troops Who turn in amazement at his proud voice.
Behold, the
khan’s grandson Rides on a wild, swift stallion.
There, across the vast valley
, He clears a path through our army.
And Buzescu Preda [Stroe], as he met him,
Stepped out to meet him and spoke thus: ‘If
you are not afraid and have faith in yourself,
O Tatar! Come and fight me!’Then they both
dismounted And engaged in battle like two young heroes.
Everyone’s eyes gazed in wonder
At Buzescu Preda [Stroe] and the mighty Tartar.
They fought in the glow of the fiery star,
its white flames dancing upon their chainmail.
The wind cooled their sweat-drenched
brows, and sweet rage intoxicated their souls.
They clashed swords – the swords shattered;
And they lock arms – they jostle, they cling.
When the Tatar draws a small
axe And strikes Preda, shattering his shield.
But he struck
him with his mace So that at once he fell and died.And after this, the Romanian
army Sets out and defeats the Tatar horde”12
His wife, Sima Stolniceasa, took his body and buried it at Stănești-Lunca Monastery in Vâlcea. On the marble slab covering the grave of this brave hero, the scene of the battle with the Tatar has been depicted in bas-relief. Judging by the technique and symbols used, it is highly likely that it was crafted in a Saxon workshop in Transylvania. The inscription, in Romanian, composed by the deceased’s wife herself in 1602, recounts the battles in which the steward took part, but particularly the one at Teiușani and the end of her beloved husband:
‘In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen! This stone marks the grave of Master Stroe Buzescul, who was steward to Mihai-Vodă, and who took part in all the wars alongside his lord, as a faithful servant to his master; and in the first war he was wounded in his left hand by the Turks. And in the war at Giurgiu, when they clashed with the Khan, he was wounded in his left eye by an arrow. He served Prince Mihai until he died in Hungary. From then on, the boyars of the country rose up and, together with the Buzești family, enthroned Radulŭ Voivode. Meanwhile, Simion Voivode raised an army with the Tatars and the Moldavians, [and] left many behind, so that they drove Prince Radul and the Buzești out of their land, to [German lands], with their armies. From there, Lord Stroe went to the German king to ask for help, and they set out for Wallachia with Prince Radu. But Simion Voivode did not wait for them; instead, he went to gather the Poles and Moldavians, as well as the Khan with 160,000 Tatars. And they set out and clashed at Gura Telejănului, at Teiușani, on the 14th day of the month of July, in the year 7110 (correctly 7111 – 1602), from Monday morning until evening]. And they launched three attacks on Tuesday morning, from all sides. But Master Stroe, seeing the Christians in such distress, stood his ground against the Tatars, so that he fought with the Khan’s brother-in-law and wounded the Tatar. And in that battle he was wounded in the face, and three weeks later he died.”
The inscription continues next to the two figures carved on the tombstone:
“On the 2nd day of October, in the year 7110 [correctly 7111 – 1602]. And it was not by the will of the Tartar dogs. May God forgive him!”13
Next to each figure is written: ‘Stroe’ and ‘The Tatar’ respectively.
Sima Stolniceasa, the author of these marvellous lines in the most beautiful Romanian language, prayed, for the forgiveness of her valiant husband’s sins and concluded with a supreme testamentary gesture, convinced that this was the greatest honour and the highest privilege:
‘I, Sima, wife of Stroe the steward, also write that, should I die, you should bury me beside him, here’14
Sima Stolniceasa Buzeasca, as recorded in the chronicles and documents, is herself a legendary figure for her fidelity to her husband; she is the one who left us this unique and marvellous masterpiece of the Old Romanian language, and whom we may call our first female chronicler; will be laid to rest, in accordance with this final wish, alongside her brave husband.
The widow’s final words, carved deep into the stone, in essence, reveals not only the gratitude but also the pride of the ‘mournful widow’, along with the privilege of having stood by a great soldier who fell for his country and his people15
About this spirited woman from Oltenia, a descendant of the powerful Rudeanu clan (she was the daughter of Gheorghe ‘the wanderer’ Rudeanu of Bogdăneștii Vâlcii 16, who was married to Manea, daughter of Mogoș the chamberlain of Stănești, and the granddaughter of the chronicler Teodosie Rudeanu), it is said that she was, in fact, the author of the Chronicle of Buzești.
The respect in which this distinguished woman was held is evident from a deed she drew up in Drăgoești, on behalf of Govora Monastery, on 15 July 1634: ‘Of the old boyars, I alone remain’ 17. After this date, Sima wrote a letter to Prince Matei Basarab:
‘I write once more, most gracious lady, to Your Highness, that Your Highness was sent to me concerning the matter of the holy monastery at Govora, regarding certain villages which Uncle Udriște bequeathed upon his death and six Gypsy settlements. You said, Your Highness, as I know with all my heart; so let Your Highness speak. But I confess with all my heart that, just as it is written in the book of Prince Mihnea, so I too know and confess with all my heart that those villages and those Gypsies were bequeathed by Uncle Udriște upon his death, but the holy monastery held them for some time, until the boyars took them away from the holy monastery. Therefore, Your Highness, you may decide as God shall guide you, for this is what I know and bear witness to with all my heart. I, Sima, stewardess, your humble servant”.
On the reverse, it further reads: ‘The steward’s record concerning Cerneț, as evidence’18
The last document by Sima that has been preserved is that of 23 October 1634, relating to the same dispute. It may be assumed that Sima, the steward’s wife, passed away after this date. She survived for over three decades following her husband’s heroic death. They left no descendants 19.
Regarding the tombstone at Stănești, Nicolae Iorga wrote:
‘In the narthex lies the inscribed stone covering the remains of Stroe Buzescu, who died after his victorious battle against the grandson of the Tatar Khan in 1602, and the marble slab, with its inscription now worn away, which covers the body of his faithful wife Sima, who lay down joyfully at the feet of her good husband. A rather skilful sculptor has carved Stroe’s battle with the Tatar onto his tombstone: the Tatar wears a felt cap, carries a noose for capturing slaves and a yatagan; his formidable moustache cuts across his cheek. His boots are fitted with spurs; two quivers of arrows have fallen beneath the horse’s hooves, as the wounded steed received a blow that brought it crashing down. Stroe, wearing a Hungarian cap, a long cloak and his legs tightly wrapped, riding a saddled horse, pierces the enemy with a Western-style sword. ‘And it was not,’ say the words carved on the stone, ‘at the behest of the Tartar dogs’20’
The historian and writer Dumitru Almaș was right, inspired by the bas-relief technique employed by Nicolae Bălcescu in The History of the Romanians under Mihai Vodă the Brave, to capture the image of the voivode’s collaboration with his three advisers and warriors:
“If Mihai Vodă was a morning star at dawn, the Buzești family stood out as those political and military luminaries of the highest order who amplified both his ascent to the heights and his splendour”21.
Also in the narthex, on the north side, are the tombs of the nun Va[…] ot[…] (second half of the 16th century) and of Jupan Preda the bedding-maker, son of Giura and Vilaia (c. 1560). On the south-western side of the porch stands the tombstone of Jupan Dumitru the Ban (1587).
Maria Băneasa and Preda the bed-maker dedicated Stănești Monastery to the Patriarchate of Alexandria on 19 May 1615 22. During the reign of Radu Vodă Mihnea, Dionisie, Bishop of Râmnic, was present at the trial between Sima, the steward’s wife, and the relatives of her husband, Stroe Buzescu, who “were in dispute over the village of Stănești, a fact recorded in the charter of Alexandru Iliaș (1616–1618) dated 2 December 1616, concerning the same case 23. Following a period of administration during which the Patriarchate leased out the monastery’s estates, Lady Sima, the steward’s wife, succeeded in transferring the monastic settlement to the administration of Segarcea Monastery. From the 19th century (following the 1864 law on the secularisation of monastic property) to the present day, the church at Stănești has been a parish church.
The story of this foundation by the valiant Buzești family is then lost in times of calamity and desolation, lamented by the Syrian traveller Paul of Aleppo, who visited it in the year 1657, in his capacity as son, archdeacon, historian and companion of Patriarch Macarius of Antioch 24.
The Buzești foundation was also visited by Alexandru Odobescu on 24 July 1860:
‘We followed the road to Olac for a short while and then turned off to the right; we passed through orchards and woods, followed a hill and, on the descent, came upon the village of Stănești, where, on one side, nestled deep in a valley, where there once stood a pond and a notable monastery, some ruins of houses, a tall, collapsed tower and then the little church; all of these abandoned and in a state of disrepair. Cattle take shelter in the cellars, in the tower and in the shade of the church. No one lives anywhere nearby. I was greatly astonished to find, inside the church, portraits on the walls and the tombs of the Buzescu family and even of the famous Stroe. Most of them are broken and the inscriptions have been erased. Most of the inscriptions have been worn away. Apart from that, the heat, the absence of people and my own poor health on that day prevented me from making copies of everything; I noted down only what I could decipher from the graves and the inscriptions, and I made a tracing of Stroe Buzescu’s grave. This monastery is a hermitage of the Zlătari, which is dedicated to the Patriarchate of Alexandria. For the third time, I have now had the opportunity to see how the Greek monks behave in this country, amongst us; they take the revenues and leave the monasteries to fall into ruin. Tutana is deserted, Beșteleiu is deserted! But never has my indignation been greater than when I saw the relics of our history, the graves of our heroes left to the ravages of decay and contempt by a bunch of shameless profiteers who are still, even now, exploiting the faith and the conquests of our forefathers. Seeing the ruins at Stănești, I swore eternal hatred upon the Greek monks and vowed to fight with all my might to free our monasteries from the shameful tribute we pay to those vile Greeks!”25
Above the tombs at Stănești, their portraits and those of the other founders are painted in fresco. Stroe is depicted bareheaded, with short-cropped chestnut hair and a short blond beard, wearing a purple cloak over his shoulder, embroidered with floral motifs in gold thread, and beneath it a brown caftan adorned with elongated golden hexagons. His hands are clasped over his chest and he is holding a headscarf (this indicates that the painting was created after his death). Sima Stolniceasa wears a white hat embroidered with gold thread on her head, whilst her wide-sleeved dress and sash are entirely woven from gold. She stands with her hands clasped over her chest in prayer 26. This valuable fresco, considered the third oldest in Oltenia – after the paintings at Cozia and the infirmary of Bistrița Monastery – has long been covered by a thick layer of soot.
The fresco at Stănești-Lunca also constitutes a veritable historical document, both through its votive images and through the ideological meanings that its founder, Giura the Logothete, imbued into the iconographic programme 27. The historic monument has not undergone any consolidation or restoration work since 1946, and the restoration of the mural requires considerable funds, given the complexity of the work and the urgent need to save this site of great national cultural heritage value.
The monastery also possessed an epitrachelion made of gold, silver and pearls, set against a purple silk background, featuring medallions of saints as well as portraits of the donors: Stroe Buzescu and Sima Stolniceasa (today it is housed at Banja Monastery in Serbia).
The historical events and the drama of that medieval confrontation in which Stroe Buzescu perished heroically are complemented by the love story symbolically embodied by Sima Stolniceasa through the flower she had the craftsmen carve next to her husband’s, as a final token of the love she had cherished for him in life. And so they lie, inseparable for centuries, in death as in life, in the narthex of the little church at Stănești-Lunca.
- 1
It is a Category B cultural heritage site – of local and regional importance – which has been included in the List of Historical Monuments in Romania since 1991 (code 39B0260) and is listed in the most recent register of the Ministry of Culture (2015), under the code: VL-II-m-A-09922.
- 2
Archive of the Vâlcea County Directorate for Culture (hereinafter DJCV), the County Office for National Cultural Heritage (OJPCN), file no. 3, containing the classification and cataloguing of movable and immovable property as at 1 April 1972, B: Stănești-Lungești Parish, Lungești commune. A brief history of the Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God, f. 266.
- 3
Ștefan Aftodor, The Nobility in Wallachia. Political and socio-economic aspects (1601–1654), from the epic era of Mihai Viteazul to the age of Matei Basarab, Istros Publishers, Braila Museum, Braila, 2014, p. 141.
- 4
Octav George Lecca, Romanian Aristocratic Families: History and Genealogy, published by Libra – Museum of Romanian Literature, Bucharest, pp. 167–169.
- 5
Florin Epure, Stănești Monastery – The tragic story of Stroe Buzescu, Mihai Viteazul’s captain, in Historia, September 2015.
- 6
A. D. Xenopol, ‘The Struggle against the Greek Element (1601–1633)’, in The History of the Romanians of Dacia Traiana, vol. VI, published by Cartea Românească, Bucharest, 1928, pp. 9–10.
- 7
Documents on the History of Romania, 17th Century. B, Wallachia. Vol. I (1601–1610), published by the Academy of the People’s Republic of Romania, Bucharest 1951, pp. 134–135.
- 8
Constantin Gane, Past Lives of Ladies and Young Ladies, vol. I, published by Universul S.A., Bucharest, 1933, pp. 156–157.
- 9
The History of Wallachia from the Time the Orthodox Christians Settled There (1290–1688). The Cantacuzino Chronicle, Critical edition by Constant Grecescu and Dan Simionescu, Published by the Academy of the Socialist Republic of Romania, Bucharest, 1960, pp. 86–87.
- 10
Nicolae Iorga, Romania – Mother of National Unity – How it was until 1918, vol. 1: ‘Muntean’ Romania, Bucharest, 1939, p. 89.
- 11
Florin Epure, op. cit.
- 12
Dimitrie Bolintineanu, Historical Legends, Bucharest, 1865, p. 13.
- 13
Constantin Bălan (ed.), Medieval and Modern Inscriptions of Romania: The Historic County of Vâlcea (14th century–1848), Published by the Romanian Academy, Bucharest, 2005, p. 910.
- 14
Ibid.
- 15
Constantin Gane, The Bitter and Joyful Lives of Young Ladies and Noblewomen: Noblewomen of Moldavia and Wallachia in the 16th–19th Centuries, Corint, 2016, Bucharest, pp. 23–24.
- 16
Nicolae Stoicescu, Dictionary of the Great Rulers of Wallachia and Moldavia (14th–17th Centuries), Romanian Encyclopaedic Publishing House, Bucharest, 1971, p. 237.
- 17
Documenta Romaniae “Historica”, B. Wallachia, vol. XXIV (1633–1634), published by the Academy, Bucharest, 1974, pp. 434–435.
- 18
Ibid., pp. 435–436.
- 19
Gheorghe Ionescu-Gion, From the History of the Basarab Family, Vol. I: Sima Stolnicesa Buzesca, I.V. Socecu Printing Workshop, Bucharest, 1903, pp. 61–62.
- 20
Nicolae Iorga, Romania as it was until 1918, Vol. I: ‘Mountainous’ Romania, Minerva, 1972, Bucharest, p. 93.
- 21
Dumitru Almaș, ‘Buzeștii’, in Magazin Istoric, no. 2 (11), February 1968, p. 5.
- 22
DIR, XVII, B, 2, pp. 392–393.
- 23
Ibid., 3, pp. 60–61.
- 24
Foreign Travellers in the Romanian Principalities, vol. VI. Part I – Paul of Aleppo, Scientific and Encyclopaedic Publishing House, Bucharest, 1976, pp. 223–224.
- 25
Alexandru Odobescu, Works, Vol. II, Writings from the 1860s–1870s. Published during his lifetime. Posthumous works. Appendices. Variants. Notes. Critical text and variants by Marta Anineanu. Notes by Virgil Cândea. Published by the Academy, 1967, Bucharest, p. 399.
- 26
Virgiliu N. Drăghiceanu, ‘The Monuments of Oltenia (report from 1921)’, in the Bulletin of the Commission for Historical Monuments (BCMI), XXIV – fasc. 69, (July–September 1931), ‘Datina Românească’ Printing House, Vălenii de Munte, 1931, pp. 118–119.
- 27
Laura Carmen Dumitrescu, Mural Painting in Wallachia in the 16th Century, Meridiane, Bucharest, 1978, p. 83.