Chapter 3 - Ideologies and Patronage

Summary

Having established the chronological development of Moldavia and the diplomatic and military encounters that shaped the principality in the second half of the fifteenth century, I now wish to shift attention to how ideologies and patronage both shaped and reflected Stephen III's reign and the circumstances of the second half of the fifteenth century.

Within Stephen's long reign, the 1460s and 1470s presented a crucial moment of transformation and renewal for the Moldavian prince, who, in his self-fashioning, was redefining his role and aspirations as an Orthodox Christian leader and defender. Stephen's princely ideology, moulded in part by his own ambitions, was also shaped by Moldavia's often-troubled relations with its Christian neighbours and with the Ottoman Empire in the second half of the fifteenth century—in the wake of which he was aspiring to be a notable Christian leader and protector of the Christian faith. As early as 1466 Stephen began to take an interest in the patronage of the monastic communities on Mount Athos, and also initiated construction on his princely mausoleum at Putna Monastery. In 1472, he married Maria of Mangup on the feast day of the Holy Cross, September 14—a marriage that incited an array of cultural, artistic, and ideological transformations for Moldavia and its ruler. The following year, Stephen put an end to the payment of tribute toward the Ottoman Porte, began referring to himself as tsar, and waged war against Wallachia in an effort to expand Moldavia's territory and create a Christian buffer zone along the eastern and southern slopes of the Carpathian Mountains against the advancing Ottoman armies. A little over a decade later, the peace treaty with the Ottomans in 1486 marked the end of a phase in which Stephen fervently fought for the protection of his domain while redefining his princely aspirations. Once Moldavia entered a period of political and military stability in 1486–1487, Stephen directed his attention toward the building of churches throughout his domain, beginning with the churches at Bădeuţi (Milişăuţi) and Pătrăuţi dedicated to St. Procopius and the Holy Cross, respectively.

Stephen's secular and ecclesiastical patronage during his long and prosperous reign—spanning almost half a century— was a direct reflection of his princely ambitions. His initial projects—secular in character and taking the form of fortresses and royal courts—reveal his concerns during the first decades of his reign with the much-needed protection of his domain.