RULERS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE BOYARS’ LANDED ESTATES IN WALLACHIA DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE 16TH CENTURY
RULERS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE BOYARS’ LANDED ESTATES IN WALLACHIA DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE 16TH CENTURY

Summary/Abstract: This study aims to understand the modalities within which the boyars of Wallachia managed to extend their landed estates in the second half of the sixteenth-century. The selection of this period is determined by the internal and external changes that took place in Wallachian politics and society. Wallachia experienced growing political instability, reflected in short-lived reigns. At the same time, a large landed estate meant prestige for a boyar, a status that could be displayed for example in the churches he founded. The extension or the limitation of the boyars’ landed estates was influenced by their relations with the ruler. Therefore the following questions are worth asking: How did the boyars manage to acquire villages? What were the uses these properties were put to? During which periods of time did the boyars receive villages from the rulers or on the contrary lose them?

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