Stephen the Great: Leadership and Patronage on the Fifteenth-Century Ottoman Frontier

Introduction Much has been written regarding nature of charity in early modern Europe through examinations of that phenomenon in Spain, France, Germany, England, and Spanish colonial possessions in New World. This study has very little to contribute that would elucidate history of charity in those regions, but will attempt to add to our collective understanding of charity in modern Europe through a comparative study of royal patronage on Ottoman frontier of Eastern Europe. historical problem this study attempts to address is how patronage in eastern Europe, specifically that found in Ottoman frontier province of Moldavia, compares to that of western Europe, for example vis-a-vis that found in Spain of Isabela Catholic that are revealed in such surviving documents as El Libro del Limosnero de Isabel la Catholica. Charity, as practiced by 15th century Moldavian Voevodes, was highly influenced by political events of time, if not entirely motivated by them. In this respect one could perhaps draw a parallel to charitable actions of Isabella of Spain, manifested through her agent Pedro, Bishop of Toledo, at Malaga in last quarter of fifteenth century. Stephen Great of Moldavia Descriptions of how Ottoman Empire expanded into Europe during fourteenth and fifteenth centuries raise question as to how those medieval and early modern Europeans offered a viable defense against their comparatively better-organized, trained, supplied, disciplined, and led Ottoman forces. Standard histories refer to a Moldavian warlord, or named Stephen Great (1451-1504, ruler of Moldavia 1457-1504), who built a sizable state, took Danubian port of Kilia, and was intervening in Wallachian politics as a first step toward conquering Black Sea coast and Crimea (Shaw, 64). What were characteristics of that Voevode who could not only survive as ruler of a small state on Ottoman frontier for forty-seven years, but who also had elan to carry out successful offensive military operations against what was arguably most powerful state in Eastern Europe and Middle East at time? A figure such as Stephen Great would be characterized by an uncommon combination of courage, statesmanship, military acumen, and ruthlessness needed to carry out his program, which are attributes that would probably transfer to other warlords who survived on Ottoman frontier of sixteenth century. Although no work in English deals specifically with Stephen Great, he is mentioned in dozens of other volumes, and it is through these sources one may piece together a profile of Moldavian warlord. This research supports work of historian R. W. Seton-Watson, who wrote that the career of Stephen Great is certainly least known among all episodes of European defense: and yet he stands beside Hunyadi, Sobieski, and Eugene as one of great champions of Christendom against Turk (Baerlein, 1945:19). Stephen Great makes an interesting subject for a comparative study, as he was roughly contemporaneous with well-known Isabella and Ferdinand of Castile, and he was faced with a foreign invader, as were Catholic Monarchs of Spain. Would their respective approaches to charity in face of warfare with Muslim polities be of a similar model? Background: Moldavia to Fifteenth Century Moldavia is one of two states which together with its southern neighbor Wallachia was located east of Carpathian Mountains and west of Black Sea and, when taken together, were known as The in fifteenth century. Bordered on north by Poland and south by Danube River and Bulgaria, Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia were for most part ethnically and linguistically Romanian, which set them apart from all of their neighbors, with exception of Transylvania, which also shared a Romanian ethnic and linguistic majority due to fact that together with Principalities these three states once made up Roman province of Dacia, which was founded by Emperor Trajan in third century A. …

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