The Cetățuia Hermitage, the site at the northern outskirts of Râmnic where, according to legend, Prince Radu of Afumați was killed, together with his son1; it is, in all likelihood, a Bessarabian foundation dating from the 15th–16th centuries 2, built within the boundaries of an ancient prehistoric settlement. The antiquity of this settlement was confirmed following a series of chance discoveries. During the relocation of drinking water reservoirs in 1978, at a site known as ‘Cetățuia’, several archaeological artefacts were discovered, belonging to the Sălcuța IV, Coțofeni III, Glina III, Verbicioara, Hallstatt and Geto-Dacian (3) cultures.
In 1994, a section was surveyed on the crest of the hill, near the church dedicated to ‘Saints Michael and Gabriel the Archangels’ and the local cemetery; only one medieval cultural layer and one Geto-Dacian layer were identified stratigraphically.
Late medieval pottery is very rare here; the transition period from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age is much better represented. Among the materials dating from the La Tène period, mention should be made of hand-made pottery fragments, including the profiles of jar-shaped vessels and pots decorated with alveolate bands 4.
In the Geto-Dacian cultural layer, the remains of two dwellings containing a great deal of burnt mudbrick and three pits were discovered; the inventory consisted of a varied range of hand-made and wheel-thrown pottery shards, an iron knife blade and a pin from a bronze fibula. The pottery is richly decorated. The predominant decorative motifs include the alveolar band situated immediately below the rim of the vessel or on the body, the notched or plain band, pill-shaped or alveolar knobs, as well as incised and polished decoration (on wheel-thrown pottery fragments), in particular, consisting of simple lines, waves and bands. The archaeological remains at Cetățuia bear similarities to the archaeological material discovered at Ocnița and can be dated to the 2nd–1st centuries BC. The presence of the Geto-Dacians in the settlements at Cetățuia and Capela is linked to the surveillance of the major natural route along the course of the River Olt; they form part of the large settlement complex that endured in the area until the Roman conquest 5.
The medieval fortified settlement at Cetățuia in Râmnic corresponds in time to another fortress, situated on the opposite bank of the River Olt. The legend recorded by Grigore Tocilescu from a certain Uța Logofeteasa brings to our attention the area of what is now the Goranu neighbourhood, at Malul Alb – where there once stood a heavily fortified fortress, the destruction of which historians date to the 13th–14th centuries, during the Mongol invasion.
Folklore, therefore, tells of a local chieftain who had his residence in the vicinity of Râmnic. He was in constant conflict with the ‘settler’ and founder of the country, Voivode Basarab: ‘Olea makes pots / Basarab smashes them / Olea makes more pots / Basarab will smash them’6).
There is also mention of a tunnel connecting Cetățuia and the monastery at Fedeleșoiu, running beneath the bed of the River Olt (n.n. The Great Geographical Dictionary). It is true that the two settlements formed a genuine defence system for the Olt, which must be linked to the ancient market town of Râmnic. 7
Even today, on the northern side of the church at Cetățuia, one can still see the entrance to an underground tunnel, which is said to have connected to the fortified settlement at Goranu, running beneath the River Olt. It is said that the 16th-century writer Schwantz descended into this tunnel and walked a considerable distance through it. Investigations carried out by archaeologists have only managed to uncover a spot, 5 metres deep, where the monks kept their supplies (as had also been discovered following the survey carried out in 1895). At Goranu, the tradition of a fortification’s existence has been corroborated by archaeological research. In 1980, during terracing works, two gold diadems were unearthed; these are now housed at the National Museum of Romanian History 8.
Dating from the second half of the 16th century are the eight Turkish dirhams (aspri) discovered in 1968 during modernisation works on the access road to the church in the north of Râmnicu Vâlcea 9.
The building in the north of the town, which has always been known as the Cetățuia Hermitage, would also have served as a fortification. Neither the documents nor the archaeological finds help us to understand the development of the hermitage and monastic life here during the 15th and 16th centuries. It is possible that the place of worship had fallen into such a state of disrepair by the 15th century that Prince Radu of Afumați was forced to rebuild it from the ground up during his second reign (1524–1529). The valiant prince, who waged no fewer than twenty wars and defeated the Turks on several occasions, was ultimately assassinated as a result of a boyar conspiracy on 2 January 1529.
The Old Chronicle of Wallachia states that: ‘The Vornic Neagu and the Postelnic Drăgan rose up against him and secretly marched with their troops against Radu the Voivode. The Prince got wind of it, but did not have time to gather his troops and fled with his son Vlad-voivode to go to Banii de Craiova. But when he reached Râmnic, the boyarscaught up with him, seized him, bound him, and beheaded him and his son Vlad-voivode, and put them to death together at Râmnic, in the year 7037[1529] of the world”10
Those who had hatched the plot were relatives by marriage to Radu of Afumați, having married two of his first cousins on his father’s side: Neagoe of Periș, who had initially served Radu 11 in 1522 with “righteous and faithful service”, and whom Radu considered to be of “his own household”, keeping him in all his councils as Grand Chamberlain, Treasurer and, ultimately, Chief Steward, and Drăgan of Merișani-Bucșani, Grand Chamberlain from 1523 to 1525. We do not know what the causes were behind the assassination of the first Romanian prince by the boyars. Ever since those times and right up to the present day, all manner of theories have been put forward, ranging from the intrigues of the Sublime Porte and even of Mehmed-bey himself (who is said to have wanted his own son to be prince), due to Radu’s sympathies towards the Ottomans, and right up to the hatred of the boyars east of the Olt towards the prince, allegedly for favouring the Craiovești family 12.
The bodies of the two men were buried at Curtea de Argeș Monastery. According to a report from January 1529 by the judge of Sibiu, sent to Buda, Radu of Afumați’s head is said to have been sent to Istanbul to Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent 13. The prince who would succeed him to the throne was Moise-vodă, the son of Vladislav. He would suppress Radu of Afumați’s murderers and other opponents, right in the midst of his sister’s wedding to the Grand Ban of Craiova, Barbu II Craiovescu, which took place on 13 February 1530.
As we have seen, the Cantacuzino Chronicle identifies Râmnic as the place where Radu of Afumați and his son were assassinated, without providing any further details. Nor do the documents issued during the 16th and 17th centuries provide any clarification, merely stating in a formulaic manner: ‘Radu Voivode, who perished at Râmnic’. This has given rise to several theories put forward over time, although the Cetățuia theory, which has been particularly well-known since the mid-19th century, is the most widely accepted of all.
In 1858, following a visit to Râmnic, Alexandru Pelimon included a few lines about Cetățuia in his travel notes: ‘Near Râmnic, to the north-west of the town, there is a very interesting hill with a small church at its summit; there used to be a fortress here, and it still bears this name to this day! It was within its walls that Radu de la Afumați was slain, and on the very spot where he died, traces of his blood are still preserved to this day, remaining as a stain and a curse calling for vengeance upon the traitors!”14
A year later, the French traveller Théodore Margot recalls the tragedy at Cetățuie in his notes, in the same romantic vein: “To the north of the town, on a hill, one can make out a beautiful little church, Cetățuia. A wide path winds its way up to the summit, where the church stands. Once upon a time, there was a fortress on this hill, similar to another situated on the banks of the Olt. It was in this old church that Radu Vodă of Afumați was murdered in 1528 [correctly 1529] by the boyars Neagoe the steward and Drăgan the bed-maker, envious and treacherous men, who, catching up with him as he fled, beheaded both him and his son, Vlad Vodă, right inside the church where they had taken refuge”15.
Nicolae Iorga noted, in 1902, that “on a hill ahead one can see the small chapel of Cetățuia, where the swords of the rebellious boyars are said to have caused the blood of Radu Vodă of Afumați and his son to spurt onto the icons of the saints”. As we can see, the scholar was not entirely convinced, at that time, of the accuracy of the information regarding the location of the assassination. Somewhat later, in 1936, he stated: “Prince Radu of Afumați was killed there, together with his son, by the rebellious boyars, in this chapel in Cetățuia, situated on a large hill above the River Olt”16
The assassination of Radu of Afumați is recognised by history and confirmed by documents as having taken place at Râmnic 17. Since the written sources do not indicate that the voivode and his son were beheaded in the chapel of the hermitage on Cetățuia Hill 18, as claimed in most Romanian historiographical works to date 19, but rather somewhere in Râmnicul de Sus, we shall list all the hypotheses that have been put forward so far.
His Grace Athanasie Mironescu, Bishop of Râmnic, was firmly convinced that the site of the assassination in 1529 was the little church at Olteni (Bujoreni): “This old church, of which remnants of the walls can still be seen today when the River Olt is low, must have been the old church built by Antim, traditionally known as ‘Vlădica Eftimie’, to serve as the church of the seat of the old Metropolis of Severin, which he had moved from Severin to Olteni. The church may also have served the new episcopal see of ‘Râmnic-Noul Severin’, re-established by Radu Vodă the Great in 1496, until 1529, when it was left to oblivion and neglect, remaining not only as a ‘metoh’ of the diocese, but also because it was there that Radu Vodă of Afumați and his son Vladu were assassinated by Neagu Vornicul and Drăgan Postelnicul, the assassins hired by Vladislav Vodă.” The assassination, the hierarch adds, “must undoubtedly have taken place in this old little church, and not at Cetățuia in the town of R.-Vâlcea or in any other church of the diocese here; for it cannot be proven that there was a church on the hill at Cetățuie at that time, nor that the diocese had its seat in the town. On the other hand, the legend preserved among the Oltenians even indicates the very spot where the fugitive prince crossed the River Olt here, coming from Argeș’20
The Geographical Dictionary of Vâlcea County, published in 1893, presents C. Alessandrescu’s version, previously expressed by St. Ionescu-Cheianu, that the assassination took place in the little church at Olteni (in the village of Bujoreni)21, a metropolitan foundation dating from 1576; however, this hypothesis is also based on oral tradition rather than a documentary source.
The version put forward by Grigore Musceleanu in Monumentele străbunilor (1873) suggests Cozia Monastery as the site of the 1529 tragedy, citing the historical novella Radu al VII-lea from 1846.
In 1973, Ion Almariei published another perspective in the newspaper Orizont, according to which the unfortunate event is said to have taken place at the Fedeleșoiu Hermitage (!), where a “small fortress”22 is said to have once stood.
The view of the historian Constantin Rezachevici is that, from Târgoviște (the last surviving document dates from 10 November 1528)23, Radu of Afumați did not head for Craiova, perhaps to avoid Slatina, where the boyars had gathered at the end of December 1528, but rather towards Râmnicu Vâlcea, whilst most likely aiming for Gorj County. C. Rezachevici points out that this hypothesis fails to take into account that such an act would have constituted an unthinkable and pointless sacrilege at that time, citing the oldest surviving version of the internal chronicle, which states that the two were captured at Râmnicu de Sus, where they had stopped to rest, bound and then executed, possibly in the courtyard of the Diocese of Râmnic 24.
The historian cites another chronicle as evidence, from which an interesting detail emerges: ‘After deposing Vladislav Vodă, the Turks reinstated Radu Vodă as prince; some time into his reign, however, a number of boyars—unbeknownst to Radu Vodă—marched against him. As he was unprepared, he fled to the ban at Craiova. His enemies pursued him relentlessly and caught up with him at Râmnicul de Sus; seizing him and his son Vlad Vodă, they beheaded them both. And so they met their end, having reigned for seven years in total25 The logic behind this hypothesis lies in the fact that Cetățuia could not, at that time, have been included within the area known as Râmnicul de Sus.
Like the historian Rezachevici, the researcher Doru Moțoc starts from the same line of reasoning and proposes the theory that the assassination took place at ‘Râmnicul de Sus’ on the site where the ‘Saint Paraschiva’ in Râmnicu Vâlcea and where, previously, there had stood another wooden church belonging to the Diocese of Râmnic.
The present-day “Saint Paraschiva” Church was begun by Prince Pătrașcu the Good between 1554 and 1557 and was not completed until 1587 by his son, Mihai Viteazul. The place of worship was therefore completed more than half a century after the tragic event. Had the assassination taken place here, the old wooden church would have been abandoned and left to fall into ruin for that very reason.
The mystery surrounding the site of the 1529 tragedy persists to this day, just as the history of the hermitage is shrouded in legend. In his work, the priest Ion Popescu-Cilieni states that, following the murder of Prince Radu of Afumați, the church at Cetățuia was burnt down and that a new stone church was built by Prince Matei Basarab26; but this fact is not recorded in any historical source.
On Sunday, 28 June 1657, 128 years after the tragic assassination, the Syrian traveller Paul of Aleppo passed by this hill, on his way to Cozia Monastery, but made no mention of the Cetățuia Hermitage 27 in his journal. It seems almost impossible that Paul of Aleppo would not have been interested in this religious site unless nothing remained of the old foundation there.
The oldest surviving document is found in the catalogue of monasteries and hermitages in Cisalutana Wallachia (Oltenia), compiled in 1731 during the Austrian rule. In this deed, Radu Mihnea28 donated a vineyard on Bujorenilor Hill to the hermitage in the year 7122 since the creation of the world (1613 or 1614).
The charter of Prince Șerban Cantacuzino, dated 12 February 1679, confirms to the Cetățuia Hermitage an estate in Râmnic, comprising arable land on the plain, orchards, woodland and valleys, the entire estate of Lady Stanca Coțofeanca, daughter of the mattress-maker Pârvu.
The estate also included a mill site on the River Râmnic, a house with a cellar in the town, a garden plot and whatever else might be found there. The estate had been purchased by Pârvu, who had bequeathed it to his daughter, Stanca Coțofeanca. Later, she would donate to the hermitage her entire share of the estate which she had inherited from her father. 29
If we were to accept the legend which states that Prince Radu of Afumați was killed right inside the sanctuary of Cetățuia, under the horrified gaze of the priest, the church would certainly have been abandoned, which allows us to discuss a new foundation, on 19 August 1680, by Metropolitan Teodosie, whose endowment he would continue to oversee, together with his relatives from Râmnic. The monastic settlement owned estates, vineyards and two mills on the River Râmnic 30.
The inscription, carved on a stone set into the outer north wall beneath the window of the narthex 31 at Cetățuia, commemorates Metropolitan Theodosius’s re-consecration: ‘By the will of the Father and with the help of the Son and through the work of the Holy Spirit. This church] and its cells were built in honour and praise of the Great Voivodes Miha[il and Gavril] and [of] other incorporeal powers, through the full expense and diligence of the most holy father, Archbishop and Metropolitan Theodosie of all Wallachia, during the reign of the most enlightened Orthodox Christian lord, Io Șerban Voivode Cantacuzino, on 19 August, in the year 7188 [1680]”32.
As can be seen, the inscription from 1680 makes no mention of the previously built church or its original founders. This omission is repeated in the inscription placed in 1853 by Metropolitan Nifon, who added a porch with brick pillars and a spire to the church and also rebuilt the hermitage’s buildings: ‘For the glory of the one-being, indivisible Trinity, and in honour and praise of the holy great Voivodes Michael and Gabriel and of all the bodiless powers,this holy and divine church was built from the ground up in the year of the Incarnation of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, 1680, 19 August, entirely at the expense of His Eminence Archbishop and Metropolitan of all Wallachia, Kir Theodosie, during the reign of the orthodox Lord Șerban Cantacuzino, Voivode; and in the year 1850, following the election by the General Divan of the Country, upon his accession to the archpastoral See of the Holy Metropolis of Ungro-Wallachia, His Eminence the Archbishop and Metropolitan of all Ungro-Wallachia, D.D. Nifon; and as the church of this Holy Hermitage, known as Cetățuia—a dependency of the Holy Metropolis of the Country—was in a state of disrepair, His Holiness completely restored the church and all its furnishings, andembellished with houses and walls around it, as may be seen, during the reign of His Highness, the most faithful Lord Ruler of the Country, Barbu Dimitrie Știrbei Voivode, with Archimandrite Misail Berislăvescu and Pitar Anastasie Leculescu being entrusted with the care of this restoration; in the year 1853’33”.
Another legend is linked to this period of Cetățuia’s restoration. His Eminence Teodosie, having been deposed from his see and exiled to Cozia Monastery on several occasions, would always pass by the ruined church of Cetățuia. He vowed to rebuild it if God would help him return to the metropolitan see, and he kept his word. In 1680, during the reign of Șerban Cantacuzino (1678–1688), he rebuilt the church, endowing it with relics and estates, and declared it a dependency of the Metropolitan See of 34.
In his document, dated 12 May 1700, the Metropolitan records: ‘I set about building, on our estate at Râmnic, a hermitage on the Citadel, as can be seen, in honour of the Holy Great Voivodes Michael and Gabriel, whose joint feast day is the patronal feast of this Holy Church on the Citadel. And in its construction, as well as in all other matters, Father Iosif [Cetățeanul], our disciple, was the steward and caretaker from start to finish’35
The church was adorned with frescoes by the painter “Constandin”, who inscribed his name in the nave, on the north-west corner 36.
From a register of the Metropolis of Ungro-Wallachia, we learn that, in the year 1786, the Cetățuia Hermitage in Râmnicu Vâlcea had a church and houses with shingle roofs 37.
In 1838, the priests serving at Cetățuia were Ioan, the confessor of St George, Staicu and Dumitru. The inventory drawn up that year mentions that the church possessed sacred pewter vessels, five silver candlesticks, three sets of vestments, a brass censer, a silver cross, a tin chandelier and some houses that were ‘dilapidated and deserted’38.
Metropolitan Teodosie’s original structure has been preserved in broad terms to this day. The historic monument was rebuilt between 1850 and 1853, when Metropolitan Nifon added the porch with brick pillars and a spire, the brick enclosure wall with stone slabs, and two houses, as described in the inscription. The high-ranking clergyman endowed the hermitage with estates, ‘mill streams, salt pans and serfs’39).
The famous artist Gheorghe Tattarescu began painting the church at Cetățuia in November 1854. It appears that he executed this fresco painting after those at Măgurele and Zlătari and before the works at Bistrița Monastery and the Episcopal Cathedral in Râmnic. ‘The work carried out in this little church is of the utmost significance for understanding the evolution of the great painter’s style’40 The votive paintings, which greet you at the entrance, depict the venerable founder “Father Teodosie Veștemeanu, Metropolitan of Wallachia”, alongside “Saint John the Baptist”. Between them is depicted the scene of “The Dormition of the Mother of God” and the text “Peace be with you”. On the north side are painted ‘The Nativity’, ‘The Baptism’ (top), ‘The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem – Palm Sunday’ and ‘The Resurrection of Jesus’ (bottom). On the south side, at the top, are painted ‘The Raising of Lazarus’ and ‘The Transfiguration’, whilst on the lower row is depicted the scene of ‘The Raising of Jairus’s Daughter’. This work was a real success for the young painter’s career. The following year, he would adorn the walls of the new episcopal cathedral in Râmnic, founded by Saint Calinic of Râmnic, with his paintings.
On 18 November 1856, the poet Alexandru Lăzărescu wrote a long poem about the paintings at the Cetățuia Hermitage, which he presented to Tattarescu in manuscript form and which was published in the Romanian Literary Album, Bucharest (December 1856 – May 1857). The final stanza of the poem reads as follows:
“And Gheorghe Tattarescu, in lines of light
, Creating
the sacred images in the temple, The Romanian Michelangelo, through his divine
art, Restores Cetățuia’s former renown.”
Finally, Lăzărescu wrote a dedication to the painter: “To Gheorghe Tattarescu, as a token of esteem for his beautiful art, as a tribute to his great talent, and as a lasting memento of his friendship, this is sent by his sincere friend A. Lăzărescu”.
The 1858 inventory shows that the church had “in front of it a newly built pulpit, with a bell tower above it, clad in white tin. The abbot’s quarters comprised four rooms, and the furnishings, vestments and the hermitage’s estate were also in good condition’41
Following the secularisation of monastic property in 1864, the Cetățuia hermitage in the north of the town remained in the care of the local people.
In 1882, the writer Ion Slavici drew up a report, submitted to the Commission for Historical Monuments, concerning the fate of the Cetățuia site, which “is situated on the outskirts of Râmnicul-Vâlcii, perched on the crest of a hill to the right of the River Olt”, to which only “minor repairs [...] need be made between the houses where the caretaker lives and, in particular, the former archpriest’s manor house”, which “is in a very poor state, and if it is not repaired soon, it will fall into complete ruin”. The hermitage was dissolved in 1894 and functioned as a parish church, with Emanoil Duhovnicul serving as its priest 42.
Another phase of repairs to the church at Cetățuia took place in 1895 43. Further work was carried out in 1941, 1956, 1972 (when the wooden spire and the galvanised sheet metal roof were painted) and 1984. The church was reinforced in 1987, and the frescoes were restored in 2000.
In his work, published in 1908, Father Meletie Răuțu states that the Cetățuia branch church is ‘built on a high outcrop of white, soft, calcareous stone, in the northern part of the town[…] This church is so small that it cannot accommodate more than 100 Christians, and the Holy Table and the proskomidia are set into the wall and the eastern window of the sanctuary. The church is surrounded on all sides by walls and, according to all accounts, was built by a Voivode of the Basarab family44”.
Also in this volume we find a list of the properties owned by the branch church: “It owns a vineyard in Bujoreni, other lands across the River Râmnicul, with rights to: tithes, oerit, vinărit, ten tax-exempt men and 75 droburi of salt”45.
The Church of the “Holy Archangels (Cetățuiea)” in Râmnicu Vâlcea appears in the 1909 “Yearbook”, listed under Category A – “Urban parishes” of the Diocese of Râmnicu Nou-Severin. Priest Anastasie Marinescu, who had served at Cetățuia, was transferred to the Church of the Annunciation in Râmnic in 1907 46.
The former Cetățuia Hermitage is a valuable national cultural heritage site, listed on the Register of Historic Monuments since 1955 47. Two founders’ memorial registers for this hermitage have been preserved, one dating from 1780 and the other from 1826 48.
In 1929, repairs were carried out on the church and, in the same year, the parish house was built, comprising two rooms and a rustic veranda supported by wooden pillars. This is situated to the left of the entrance, on the north-eastern side, on the site of the former abbot’s cells.
The 1972 inventory of the County Office for National Cultural Heritage lists several religious books (‘Octoih’ – 1674, ‘Triod’ – 1682, 10 books from the 18th century, 23 books from the 19th century), 31 19th-century icons, liturgical objects, two houses, the land within the church grounds – 1,033 square metres, 3 hectares of orchard with fruit trees and 1.5 hectares of pastureland 49.
Situated on a high, rocky hill to the north of Râmnicu Vâlcea, from where a beautiful panoramic view of the town can be seen, the former Cetățuia Hermitage dominates the landscape with its slender silhouette, enclosed by a weather-beaten stone wall. Originally built as a medieval fortified complex, capable of providing the local chieftain and, later, the monks with a stronghold for armed resistance against invaders, it is a place where Romanian endurance is evident.
Religious culture has a tradition stretching back over seven centuries in our county, with landmark achievements, becoming a ‘hallmark’ of Vâlcea; which is why we believe it is necessary to restore this ancient monastic centre to its rightful place so that it may regain the purpose for which it was originally founded.
- 1
Florin Epure, ‘Legend and History at the Cetățuia Hermitage in Râmnicu Vâlcea’ in History and Civilisation, Vol. IV, No. 36, September 2012, pp. 76–79.
- 2
Vasile Drăguț, Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Romanian Medieval Art, Ed. Științifică și Enciclopedică, Bucharest, 1976, p. 261.
- 3
Gheorghe Petre-Govora, A Prehistory of North-Eastern Oltenia, Petras Publishers, Râmnicu Vâlcea, 1995, pp. 14–15.
- 4
Mariana Iosifaru, ‘Geto-Dacian archaeological discoveries within the municipality of Râmnicu Vâlcea’, in Buridava, vol. IV, Râmnicu Vâlcea, 1982, p. 28.
- 5
Mariana Iosifaru, ‘Archaeological Research at Râmnicu Vâlcea’, in Chronicle of Archaeological Research in Romania, http://www.cimec.ro.
- 6
Nicolae Bănică-Ologu, The Golden Age of Râmnic, Oscar Print, Bucharest, 2000, p. 25.
- 7
Ioan George Lahovari, The Great Geographical Dictionary of Romania, Vol. II, J.V. Socecŭ Printing Works, Bucharest, 1899, p. 350.
- 8
Luminița Dumitru, ‘Diadems and Principalities. The Goranu Treasure (Le trésor de Goranu)’, in Magazin Istoric, Vol. XXXIV, No. 8 (413), August 2001, pp. 72–73.
- 9
Elena Isăcescu, ‘The coin hoard from the second half of the 16th century, discovered at Râmnicu Vâlcea’, in the Bulletin of the Romanian Society, LXX–LXXIV (1976–1980), nos. 124–128, Bucharest, 1981, p. 331.
- 10
Virgil Cândea, ‘The Chronicle of Wallachia (1292–1664) in Macarie Zaim’s Arabic version’, in Studii, XXIII, no. 4, Bucharest, 1970, p. 685.
- 11
Documenta Romaniae Historica (D.R.H.), B, II, Wallachia (1501–1525), published by the Academy of the Socialist Republic of Romania, Bucharest, 1972, p. 410.
- 12
Constantin Rezachevici, A Critical Chronology of the Rulers of Wallachia and Moldavia, Ed. Enciclopedică, Bucharest, 2001, p. 172.
- 13
Nicolae Stoicescu, Radu of Afumați (1522–1529), Ed. Militară, Bucharest, 1993, p. 141.
- 14
Alexandru Pelimon, Travel Impressions in Romania, Iosif Romanov et Comp’s National Printing House, 1858, p. 128.
- 15
Ibid., pp. 82–83.
- 16
Nicolae Iorga, Historical Guide to Romania: selected extracts by Victor Brǎtulescu, Lupta Printing House – N. Stroilă, Bucharest, 1936, p. 12.
- 17
Register of the Diocese of Râmnic, fol. 162, doc. 12.
- 18
Gheorghe Toma Bulat, ‘A hermitage near Râmnicul Vâlcea dedicated to the Metropolis of Bucharest: Cetățuia’, in Mitropolia Olteniei, XXIII (1971), no. 3–4, pp. 221–230.
- 19
Ion Donat, ‘The Religious Foundations of Oltenia’, in Arhivele Olteniei, XV (1936), nos. 86–88, p. 282. Other historians who identify the old church on Cetățuia Hill in Râmnic as the site of the assassination are: N. Iorga, C.C. Giurescu, A. Sacerdoțeanu, P.P. Panaitescu, Șt. Ștefănescu, N. Stoicescu and Dinu C. Giurescu.
- 20
Athanasie Mironescu, The History of the Diocese of Râmnic, Gutenberg Press, Bucharest, 1906, p. 329.
- 21
Constantin Alessandrescu, Geographical Dictionary of Vâlcea County, Thoma Basilescu Printing House and Type Foundry, Bucharest, 1893, p. 300.
- 22
The newspaper Orizont, 5 July 1973, Volume VII, No. 1478.
- 23
D.R.H., B, III, pp. 113–114.
- 24
Rezachevici, op. cit., p. 173.
- 25
Vornic Radu Popescu, The Histories of the Princes of Wallachia, critical ed. by Constantin Grecescu, published by the Academy of the People’s Republic of Romania, Bucharest, 1963, p. 43.
- 26
Ion Popescu-Cilieni, Churches, Fairs and Villages in Vâlcea County, Ramuri Publishers, Craiova, 1941, p. 61.
- 27
Foreign Travellers in the Romanian Principalities, vol. VI. Part I – Paul of Aleppo, Scientific and Encyclopaedic Publishing House, Bucharest, 1976, p. 181.
- 28
Nicolae Dobrescu, The History of the Romanian Church in Oltenia during the Austrian Occupation (1716–1739), Bucharest, 1906, p. 274.
- 29
Medieval Vâlcea Collection. Catalogue of documents from the State Archives in Râmnicu Vâlcea (1388–1715), vol. I, ‘Institutul Poligrafic 13 Decembrie 1918’, Bucharest, 1983, pp. 253–254.
- 30
Corneliu Tamaș, ‘The Cetățuia Hermitage and its estates in the 17th century’, in The Diocese of Râmnic – 500 years since its foundation (1503–2003). Published by Adrianso, Râmnicu Vâlcea, 2005, pp. 297–313.
- 31
Archive of the Vâlcea County Directorate for Culture (D.J.C.V.), collection of the County Office for National Cultural Heritage (O.J.P.C.N.), file I, folio 395.
- 32
Medieval and Modern Inscriptions from Romania. The Historic County of Vâlcea (14th century–1848), edited by Constantin Bălan, Published by the Romanian Academy, Bucharest, 2005, p. 802.
- 33
Virgiliu N. Drăghiceanu, ‘Historical Monuments in Oltenia’, in the Bulletin of the Commission for Historical Monuments (B.C.M.I.), Vol. XXIV, issue 69, July–September 1931, p. 126.
- 34
Meletie Răuțu, An Ecclesiastical Monograph of Vâlcea County Concerning Religious Monuments and the Moral and Religious Life of the People, The Printing House of Vâlcea County and the Municipality of R.-Vâlcea, Râmnicu Vâlcea, 1908, pp. 89–91.
- 35
National Archives of Bucharest, Metropolitan See of Bucharest, file CLXVI, doc. 53, ms. 136, f. 285–286.
- 36
Bălan, op. cit., p. 803.
- 37
Register of the Holy Metropolis for all the hermitages of the Metropolis, both here in Bucharest and those elsewhere, Romanian Academy, Register of 1786, 16 February, f. 221.
- 38
Archive of the Archdiocese of Râmnic, file no. 44/1838, fol. 137.
- 39
Ibid., f. 142.
- 40
Angelescu, op. cit., p. 196.
- 41
Bulat, op. cit., pp. 229–230.
- 42
Constantin Grigore, Râmnicul-Vâlcii. A Place of Memories and Recreation. A Monograph and Guide, published by Râmnicul-Vâlcea Town Council, 1944, p. 31.
- 43
Dumitru Sandu, The Diocese of Râmnic and Argeș: A Monograph, published by the Diocese of Râmnic and Argeș, Râmnicu Vâlcea, 1976, vol. II, p. 962.
- 44
Meletie Răuțu, op. cit., p. 89.
- 45
Ibid., p. 116.
- 46
The Yearbook for 1909, p. 152.
- 47
List of Historic Monuments – Order No. 2828/2015, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, No. 113 bis, 15 February 2016 - Vâlcea County: LMI code VL-II-m-B-09611.
- 48
Dumitru Bălașa, ‘Two Memorial Lists of the Cetățuia Hermitage in Rîmnicu-Vâlcii’, in Mitropolia Olteniei, 1967, no. 3–4, pp. 261–268.
- 49
Archive of the Vâlcea County Directorate for Culture (D.J.C.V.), collection of the County Office for National Cultural Heritage (O.J.P.C.N.), file 3 (II, 395).