- Dragoş
Dragoş ("Drágfi of Béltek") was a Maramureş
Voivode ruling over the lands of what was to becomeMoldavia (between 1351 and 1353). He left Maramureş by orders from the Hungarian King Louis I, in order to establish a defense line against theGolden Horde . He was succeeded by his son, Sas ("Szász" or "Sas of Béltek") (ruled 1354-1358). Sas was then succeeded by his own son, Balc in 1359, but managed to rule the country for only one year before being deposed by another voivode from Maramureş, Bogdan. The direct bloodline of Dragoş in the Moldavian rulership ended there.Legends
A
Moldavia nlegend recounts Dragoş' founding of Moldavia as the result of anaurochs (orwisent ) hunt, during which Molda, a female hound of his, was mortally wounded. In its remembrance, Dragoş named the river Moldova - the name was to be extended to the country itself at a latter date. This version is present in the works ofWallachia nchronicler Radu Popescu and the Moldavian PrinceDimitrie Cantemir (namely, his "Descriptio Moldaviae "). The Moldavian coat of arms, which depicts anaurochs , relates to this legend.Other records of the legend hold certain differences: while some indicate that Dragoş hunted alone,
Grigore Ureche 's account (which is also the most detailed) says that "Dragoş ofCuhea " (in Maramureş), a man "of royal origins" was accompanied by 300 men who would later be the founders of the village ofBoureni (from "bour", meaning "aurochs"), the first village in the Principality.The accuracy of the founding ("descălecat" - literally, "dismounting") story has been disputed ever since the early 1700s (Cantemir). In the late 1800s,
Dimitrie Onciul argued that the "descălecat" was a myth attempting to explain the origin of aurochs depicted in the Moldavian coat-of-arms (as present today inRomania n andMoldova nheraldry ).Legacy
* Legend has Dragoş as the founder of the city of
Vatra Dornei , named in memory of a beautiful shepherdess whom he would have met there.
* A wooden church at Volovăţ (5 km away fromRădăuţi ) was raised by Dragoş in 1346; it was restored and moved toPutna in 1468 byStephen the Great .ee also
*
Etymology of Moldova
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