Radu I of Wallachia
Radu I was a ruler of the principality of Wallachia, (c.
1377 – c. 1383). His year of birth is unattested in any pri-
mary source. He was the son of Nicolae Alexandru and
half-brother and successor to Vladislav I . He is identi-
fied by many historians as the legendary Radu Negru, a
mythical voievode of the early medieval state Wallachia,
founder of the state’s institutions and ruler.
1 Beginning of reign
He may have started his reign as sole ruler after 9 July
1374 when the last documentary mention of his brother
as being alive is dated. Unfortunately, there aren't any in-
ternal documents that could attest his reign. There are a
few external mentions of him, primarily documents of the
Kingdom of Hungary and a contemporary Italian chron-
icle and also a late pisanie, an inscription on the walls of
Curtea de Argeș Cathedral and an important quantity of
coins (ducati, dinari and bani) which were emitted by the
voievod .
2 Conflicts with the Kingdom of
Hungary
The relations with the Hungarian kingship during his
reign remained tense, resulting in armed conflicts. The
details of these fights remain unclear. An Italian chroni-
cle “Cronaca Carrarese” tells about an expedition of the
Hungarian king Louis the Great between 5 July - 14 Au-
gust 1377 with the intention of subduing a one “Radano
principe di Bulgaria infedele” (Italian), identified with
Radu I. These tense relations which preceded the fight
are confirmed by the registers of the Venetian Republic
where, in the same year, a large order of full-equip armors
made by the Wallachian voievod appears. These armors
were to be worn by those “armadura da cavali”, 10.000
at number (a slightly exaggerated number) who were de-
feated in battle against the Hungarian king as pointed out
by the Italian chronicle.
It is hard to tell whether the troops of the Wallachian
voievod were truly defeated, as from the internal doc-
uments of the Kingdom of Hungary which were pub-
lished in the next period, it appears that the Hungarian
king still had the intention of subduing the unfaithful
voievod. Thus on 19 November of the same year, the king
promised the Saxon traders of Transylvania from Brasov
1
that if Wallachia becomes his possession he reduces the
dues. On the contrary, in an order given to the landlord of
Orsova in 1382 through which he was obliged to forbid
any foreign trader to enter Wallachia with merchandise
and to keep guard of the border “day and night” report-
ing everything that happened, there is no mention of an
Hungarian ban of Severin and Orsova appears as border
point thus suggesting that the Eastern part of Banat was
annexed by the Wallachian voievod Radu I.
Maybe linked to this fact is the strange name given to
the voievod in the biography of Sigismund of Luxem-
bourg in which, speaking of Vlad Dracul, it is said that he
was the son of “Merzeweydan” (Mircea) and grandson of
“Pankraz dem Weisen” (Pankraz the Wise). The name
Pankraz (Pancratius) is explained from the deterioration
of the name Radu Ban (ban of Severin, title taken af-
ter the conquest of the territory). Nevertheless, the Wal-
lachian voievod, in another Hungarian document which
is contemporary with the events of 1377, bears the name
“Godon” as well strange and unclear.
3 Other accomplishments
An important event linked to the reign of Radu I is the
move of the remains of Saint Filofteia from Tarnovo to
Arges, event which happened app. in 1384 when the
scene is painted on the walls of the Curtea de Arges
Cathedral that became the guardian of the Saint and
whose ctitor was the voievod with his brother and fa-
ther. His activity as ctitor of religious establishments
makes him one of the most active rulers of Wallachia,
building a large number of churches with Tismana, Cozia
and Cotmeana being the most important. Also, during
his reign the two Catholic cathedrals from Severin (a.
1380)and Arges (9 mai 1381) are built and following the
tradition, a Catholic monastery in Targoviste.
Another important and controversial moment of his reign
is represented by the ruling of the Tsardom of Vidin. At
the basis of this theory stands an illegible inscription on
the walls of Curtea de Arges Cathedral in which, some
researchers, identified the title „domn singur stăpânitor al
Ungrovlahiei, al Vidinului și al oblastiei Vidinului“ (“sole
ruler of Ungrovlahia, Vidin and the Oblast of Vidin”). It
is true that the relations between the Wallachian rulers
Vladimir I and Radu I and the Bulgarian Tsars from
Tarnovo and Vidin, Shishman and Ivan Sratsimir were
very tensed, the latter being themselves in conflicts for
the succession of the paternal throne. Once, Vladislav I
2 5 REFERENCES

managed to annex Vidin, but he later gave it to the right-

ful ruler. It is possible that the same thing was done by
Radu I, although the proofs supporting this theory are in-
sufficient.

4 Death and tomb

The exact date of his death, as well as his tomb, re-
main unknown. As a result to the archaeological diggings
made in 1920 in the voievodal necropolis situated on the
grounds of the Curtea de Arges Cathedral, a rich tomb
was found dating from the end of the 14th century, pre-
sumed to be that of Radu I. The clothes of the defunct, his
accessories and jewelry shows him as a powerful feudal
ruler, with whatsoever no distinction from the contempo-
rary kings of Western Europe or the Byzantine emperors,
the pomp of the Wallachian court being a reality well sup-
ported by evidence.

Radu I and Lady Ana in a mural representation on the walls of

Curtea de Arges Cathedral

5 References
 3

6 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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