Din nou despre „Canesii”. Contribuții la explicarea primei mărturii directe despre societatea românească medievală
Again about „Canesii”. Contributions to Explaining the First Direct Testimony about the Medieval Romanian Society

Summary/Abstract: The Mongol invasion of 1241 gave rise to the writing of the well known “Sorrowful Lament” of the Italian monk Rogerius, surprised by the invasion while in Hungary, functioning as an archdeacon of the bishopric of Oradea. In a passage long discussed in historiography, Rogerius recalls a group of headmen of the locals, installed by the conquerors Tatars, whom he calls with the enigmatic term “canesi”. Over time, these were considered Vlach kneses, lesser Mongol chieftains, something in between the two, or even Slavic kneses. After a critical review of the main ideas recorded on the subject, the author of the presentation capitalizes on two relatively recent sources of historiography, both from outside Romania, in the light of which the identification of “canesi” as Vlach kneses may become the main working hypothesis. Therefore, Rogerius’ written testimony could contain the first description of how medieval Romanian society worked. The author also makes considerations about the location of Rogerius’ story of the kneses.

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