This book is a piece of a solid historical research on the origins of the towns in the Romanian principalities. It is a translation of Laurenţiu Rǎdvan's Romanian study. The author is a historian from the University of Iaşi, a specialist in the history of the Romanian towns in the late medieval and early modern periods. He sets out to present "the emergence and evolution of medieval towns in the Romanian Principalities, from the 13th century and up to the final days of the 15th century" (1). In fact, he studies the towns which appeared in sources in the 16th century as well, and extends his narrative to the early 17th century.
Rǎdvan divides his work into three parts, preceded by the Introduction (1-23), in which he analyzes general questions related to the towns. First, he reflects on the definition of a town from the point of view of the economy, law, and topography, as well as considering the pre-urban settlement ("a settlement that was not a town, but had some of its features" [5]) for which I personally would prefer the term "early town centre" (ośrodek wczesnomiejski) proposed in the Polish literature by Andrzej Wędzki. Then, he presents a summary outline of the historical context for the Romanian principalities: the existence of the two states in the 14th century (6-7); the sources, with an extensive description of the editions and an explanation of relevant terminology (7-13); and the role of archaeological research (13-14). Finally, he reviews the Romanian historiography on the origins of towns: there, debate has centered on whether the towns were the result of foreign colonization or a development from within these societies (15-23).
Each of the three parts of the book is devoted to one major geographical and political unit. In the first, the author expands upon the introduction by supplying a broader context for his study. He describes the medieval towns in central and eastern Europe, that is, in Poland (27-51), Hungary (53-85) and the Balkan regions of Dalmatia, Bosnia, Serbia, and Bulgaria (87-111). In the second and third sections, he analyzes the towns in Wallachia (113-307) and Moldavia (309-549) respectively. The author applied the same research template to both areas, presenting urbanization; institutional, social, ethnic, and economic structures; and case studies. His discussion of the towns of neighboring regions in the first part followed the same pattern, but was much briefer.
In analyzing the process of urbanization, the author first describes the emergence of both Romanian polities (115-33, 311-22). I doubt if one could speak of the Romanians in that period; it might be better to refer to the Vlachs--as they were called in sources from several countries--and explain that the contemporary names for the people ("the Romanians") and language ("Romanian”) serve as technical terms. Nevertheless, it is a good analysis of the emergence of both Romanian states seen from the point of view of these states and their neighbours, particularly Hungary and Poland. Rǎdvan proceeds to describe the emergence of towns themselves (133-42, 323-71). He contends that proximity to the ruler's seat and the existence of a market were main factors in Wallachia. His discussion of Moldavia is more extensive, with detailed description of the settlement of different ethnic groups and their role in the emergence of towns. Next, he considers the terminology used in the sources to name the towns (143-70, 371-81). For the west-European historian, it is interesting to note that the Romanian documents were issued mainly in Old-Church-Slavonic, but some contained the terms in vernacular Romanian. Such terms as grad, tǎrg, trǎg (=market), and Polish miasto (only in Moldavia) are understandable for the Slavic reader, while the term varoş (mainly in Wallachia) is familiar to the Hungarian speaker. These terms show the direction of the cultural contacts of the Romanian towns. Finally, the author offers a brief analysis of the places of the principal residences (170-71, 381-83) and the question of the tǎrgs (171-82, 383-91), that is, little towns, which received no privileges, but had a population engaged in commerce and crafts. In one of the sources, Șerbanca in Moldavia was named miasteczko (=townlet), a term that defines its size and role quite well.
The second section of each part opens with an examination of administration and law, and the towns' relations with the ruler (183-202, 393-418). The rulers played the main role in creating towns and granting them privileges. Only a few towns got full privileges along the lines of central European towns. The majority had no fiscal or juridical exemptions; nor did they possess the town's domain which belonged to the ruler, and not to the town community, as the author explains (202-06, 418-21). Private towns, belonging to the boyars, were emerging as well, but their status was much worse than those founded on the ruler's domain. They hardly grew beyond a market. Town authorities were modeled on the example of the Transylvanian or Polish towns. The ruler's main representative--an office later purchased by the citizens--was called judeţ in Wallachia, or şoltuz or voit in Moldavia. The council of twelve pǎrgari was the town's governing body. There were vornics in both states, and staroste in Moldavia who represented a ruler. German Saxons, Hungarians, Romanians, Armenians, Jews, Gypsies, and (from the 16th century) Greeks lived in the towns of both states, and the author discusses the towns' ethnic and social structures (206-23, 421-31). The inhabitants consisted of the patriciate (the so-called "good people," including merchants and rich craftsmen); the poorer inhabitants known as siromahi in Wallachia, or pauperes, ubogi, or sǎraci in Moldavia; and the serfs, slaves, and beggars on the margins of society. The economy of towns (223-41, 431-49) was dominated by commerce with Transylvania, the Levant, Poland, Rus', and the Mongol (Tartar) domains, and some towns had the staple law. Crafts were the second main source of income. Their products, however, were typically of low quality and not destined for international trade. Agriculture, mainly viticulture, also played an important role in the economy of these towns.
The third chapters of each part are devoted to case studies on individual cities. These are good essays on the Wallachian and Moldovian towns, presenting their names and origins, history, privileges, authorities, economy, social topography and--sadly in most cases--their decline in modern times. The Wallachian towns (243-307) include Argeş, Brǎila, Bucharest, Buzǎu, Câmpulung, Craiova, Floci, Ghergiţa, Ocna Mare, Piteşti, Râmnic, Râmnicul Sǎrat, Slatina, Târgovişte, Târgşor, and Târgul Jiului; the Moldavian towns (451-549) include Adjud, Bacǎu, Baia, Bârlad, Botoşani, Cernǎuţi (Chernivci), Cetatea Albǎ (Akerman, Belgorod), Cotnari, Dorohoi, Fǎlciu, Galaţi (Gaƚacz), Hârlǎu, Huşi, Iaşi, Kilia, Lǎpuşna, Milcovia and Putna, Neamţ, Orhei, Piatra lui Crǎciun, Roman, Siret, Soroca, Suceava, Târgul Frumos, Tecuci, Tighina, Trotuş, and Vaslui.
The opening section of the book, devoted to the towns in central and eastern Europe, was organized like the chapters on the Wallachian and Moldavian towns, but presented in a more summary fashion. For Poland and Hungary, Rǎdvan reviews the emergence and organization of the towns; their population, society and economy; their topography; and the toponymy of the Hungarian towns. There are case studies as well for the Polish towns of Wrocƚaw and Kraków, and the Hungarian towns of Buda, Pest, Esztergom, Székesfehérvár, Sopron, Győr, Pécs, Seged, and Timişoara/Temesvár. The author separates the case studies of towns in Croatia (75-77), Slovakia (77-81) and Transylvania (81-84), concluding with a note (85) on the decline of the towns under the Ottoman occupation of Hungary in the 16th and 17th centuries. These territories, though, were integral parts of the medieval Hungarian kingdom, and there is no reason to describe them separately. Moreover, the author should devote more attention to the Transylvanian cities which his own studies identify as playing the main role in the emergence of the towns in the Romanian principalities. In this context, it would be useful to compare the Transylvanian and Slovakian towns, especially those in the Spiš region. Saxon communities emerged in both and gained autonomy by the second half of the 13th century. Comparative studies of these two regions of the medieval Hungarian kingdom--beyond the strictly urban aspect--would be highly desirable. Finally, the chapter on the towns south of the Danube is--uniquely--organized geographically, dealing with the towns in Bosnia, Serbia, and Dalmatia (87-103), and Bulgaria (104-11).
The book furnishes readers with an extensive apparatus to facilitate its use, even by readers who are unfamiliar with the material. This includes the list of the rulers of Wallachia and Moldavia until ca. 1550 (xv-xvi); an illustration of a seal of Baia (xix and on the cover); and nine maps, including a political map of central and eastern Europe at the end of the 14th century, maps of Wallachia and Moldavia and six plans of towns discussed in the text. Unfortunately, the case studies do not refer directly to these town plans, so the reader must take care to use them. Finally, there is a short glossary of terms (557-58) and a very ample bibliography of primary and secondary sources (559-94), based mainly on the literature in Romanian and west European languages. The index of medieval persons, authors, and geographical names closes the book (595-613).
Such an extensive study naturally raises questions and suggests some comments for a critical review. Some concern the omission of the original language of cited or translated sources. We are told, for example, that the seal of Botoşani had a legend with the Polish word miasto (469). Does this mean that the whole legend was in Polish, or was it in Old-Church-Slavonic or Romanian? There is no answer in the text, and the same issue arises with the seal of Bârlad (467). More broadly, the author often quotes sources only in English translation, although the necessary bibliography is provided. Only Latin seal legends tend to be quoted in extenso. I understand that the English translations are meant to make the sources more accessible to readers, particularly from other fields. The original text, however, should be included as well, particularly for specialists who would like to evaluate and interpret the evidence directly during their reading. For instance, I would like very much to know the name of the grad in Piatra lui Crǎciun according to the Kiev list published in the First Chronicle of Novgorod. Was a Romanian name noted there? There are editions, of course, but it would be easier to have the text at hand.
A number of specific points may be raised concerning the names and identification of towns, and several of these are related to one of the author's sources, the Metrica of the Jagiellonian University (422). The author knows only the older edition by Bolesƚaw Ulanowski from 1887, which he cites erroneously as a secondary source. In fact, a new edition was published in 2004 (Metryka Uniwersytetu Krakowskiego z lat 1400-1508. Biblioteka Jagiellońska rkp. 258/Metrica Universitatis Jagellonica. Bibliotheca Jagellonica cod. 258. Eds. A. Gąsiorowski, T. Jurek, I. Skierska with the cooperation of R. Grzesik, vol. 1-2. Kraków: Societas Vistulana, 2004) with a discussion of earlier editions (vol. 1, pp. XXXVIII, L). In it, I have located the persons presented by Rǎdvan (Metryka, vol. 2, p. 316 s. v. Moƚdawia), and there is also a student from Suceava (Metryka, vol. 2, p. 476). For the names of towns, particularly the Moldavian ones, I am grateful to the author for providing the names from Latin sources which made it possible to verify some identifications. There was, for example, an enigmatic name (Bachkowya), noted in 1409 (Metryka, vol. 2, p. 16), which was hypothetically identified with one of the Hungarian settlements called Bakonya. However, Moldavian Bacǎu can now be added to the list of possible identifications because Rǎdvan gave the names Bako, Bakova, and Bakovia (456). This town had a custom office in 1408, was probably a seat of a Roman-Catholic bishop from the end of the 14th century, and had communities of Roman Catholic monks (first Hospitallers, and later Mendicants) at that time. Hârlau is another possibility, since it was named Civitas Bachlovia (492-93) and mentioned in 1398 for the first time. Delegates of its citizens took part in the Council of Constance in 1415, underlining its importance. Another question, impossible to solve, is whether inscriptions referring to Moldavia may not be connected to the town of Baia which was alternatively named Moldavia on the map of Nicolaus Cusanus from 1491 (465). It was one of the most important towns of the state and the first seat of a ruler in the 14th century, having strong connections with Transylvania as well. Neamţ is a third example of a problematic identification. It was noted as Nempch in a document of Sigismund of Luxemburg from 1395, and as Nimcz in the legend on its seal (518). There were two students from Nymptsch or Nymcz enrolled in 1502 (Metryka, vol. 2, p. 332). They were identified as from Niemcza (German Nimptsch in Lower Silesia), but Rǎdvan's information makes it likely that they could be from a Moldavian town. Piatra lui Crǎciun is another town from which a student could have studied in Cracow. In 1488 a student from Karaczcud studied there (Metryka, vol. 2, p. 204), and this was identified with a Hungarian Karácsond. Rǎdvan, however, mentioned that Piatra lui Crǎciun emerged in the 14th century close to the former Hungarian fortress of Bâtca Doamnei and it is cited as villa Karachonkw (522). Though a town of a secondary importance, it had one of the most important ruler's residences (523-24). Unfortunately, names like Novum Forum--as Wallachian Târgşor was named (303)--are impossible to identify because of their popularity in the region.
Were the Romanian principalities at the borders of Europe, as the title declares? They were only if we identify Europe with Latin civilization. They were at Europe's border with the Mongol domain, but they lay at the centre of a very interesting region where two forms of European Christianity met: Western and Eastern Christianity. The Vlachs are an unusual case of a Romance-speaking people who accepted Orthodox Christianity in its Slavonic version. But the regions of Slavia Orthodoxa built the European civilization, as well. Romania lies on the internal border dividing Europe into the Latin and Greek (or later Orthodox-Slavonic) cultures. Its place on the cultural map of the continent is therefore similar to that of Galician Rus' from the Orthodox side or of the Latin countries of central Europe from the Latin side. It is a meeting-place for several cultural models, chosen during the acceptance of Christianity in the Early Middle Ages. Laurenţiu Rǎdvan's book shows these cultures merging in this region. His final conclusion (551-56), logically finishing his rich study, shows that the urban processes in Romanian principalities were similar to those in central Europe. Despite earlier views, the Byzantine Empire played no role in the emergence of the towns there. They were instituted thanks to the Hungarian and Polish (and, ethnically, mainly German Saxon) colonists, who transferred the institutions, which they knew from Transylvania or Poland. So, "to better understand the urbanization of the Principalities, we must look west" (551).