Logofeţia Ţării Moldovei în cea de-a treia domnie a lui Gheorghe Duca (1678-1683)
The Chancellery of Moldavia in the third reign of Gheorghe Duca (1678-1683)

Summary/Abstract: In this study we follow the activity carried out by the country’s chancellery during the third reign of Gheorghe Duca in Moldavia (1678-1683). I focused my attention on the two great logothetes who led this institution in these years, namely Nicolae Racoviţă and Miron Costin, but I also considered the second and third logothete, such as Vasile Gheuca, Gavril Neaniul or Neculai Murgulet. For each of these, we followed the “career” prior to Duca’s return to Moldova, why the old logothetes were replaced by new ones, what were the relations between the prince and the boyars and so on. I was also interested in whether these boyars or their families enjoyed the benefits of the office, and the jobs they held during this time. It is known that the relations between the prince and the country’s elite were not the best, with the boyars pursuing the overthrow of the Duca, attempting a resumption of the revolt from the second reign. Even if they failed to implement the plan, they did not give up the idea, some fled to Poland, when the prince was out of the country (Neculai Murgulet), others ended up beheaded (like Vasile Gheuca), and others waited until 1683, when they left the prince and joined the Polish troops (Neculai Racoviţă), thus succeeding in removing Gheorghe Duca from the Moldavian throne. Only Miron Costin proved loyal to the prince until the end.

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