Lațcu was

Voivode of Moldavia This is a list of rulers of Moldavia, from the first mention of the medieval polity east of the Carpathians and until its disestablishment in 1862, when it united with Wallachia, the other Danubian Principality, to form the modern-day state of Ro ...

from c. 1367 to c. 1375. He converted to the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

faith and attempted to strengthen his realm's autonomy by establishing a Roman Catholic diocese directly subordinated to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

. However, he seems to have accepted the suzerainty of King Louis I of Hungary and Poland in his last years.

Life

Lațcu was the son of

Bogdan I of Moldavia Bogdan I, or Bogdan the Founder ( ro, Bogdan Întemeietorul), was the first independent ruler, or voivode, of Moldavia in the 1360s. He had initially been the voivode, or head, of the Vlachs in the Voivodeship of Maramureș in the Kingdom of Hun ...

, the ''

voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the ...

'' achieving

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and for ...

's independence of Louis I. He succeeded his father around 1367. Other sources mention that he deposed his nephew

Petru I of Moldavia Petru I may have been a Voivode (prince) of Moldavia from the end of 1367 to after July 1368. Several historians, including Constantin Rezachevici and Ioan Aurel Pop, believe him to have been the son of prince Ştefan, oldest son of voivode Bogd ...

in 1368. After Louis I of Hungary inherited Poland from his uncle, Casimir III of Poland, in 1370, he could put Lațcu under pressure from both the east and the north. The contemporaneous John of Küküllő said that the voivodes of Moldavia accepted the suzerainty of Louis I of Hungary, suggesting that Lațcu (or already his father) had been forced to yield to the king. However, John of Küküllő did not determine the date of the submission, for which historiand Dennis Delatant says that " ere is nothing to suggest Hungarian suzerainty was restored". In 1369 he converted to the

faith. Lațcu sent two

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

friars of

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

origin to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in early 1370 in order to inform

Pope Urban V Pope Urban V ( la, Urbanus V; 1310 – 19 December 1370), born Guillaume de Grimoard, was the head of the Catholic Church from 28 September 1362 until his death in December 1370 and was also a member of the Order of Saint Benedict. He was the ...

of his decision to convert from Orthodoxy to the Roman Catholic faith. He also asked the Pope to establish a Roman Catholic

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

at his seat in

Siret Siret (; german: Sereth; hu, Szeretvásár; uk, Серет, Seret; yi, סערעט, Seret) is a town, municipality and former Latin bishopric in Suceava County, northeastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Bukovina. Siret is ...

. Historian Deletant says that Lațcu must have decided to convert Catholicism primarily for political reasons, because he approached the Holy See directly, without the mediation of Hungarian prelates. The

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

soon appointed three prelates (

Jan Očko of Vlašim Jan Očko of Vlašim ( cs, Jan Očko z Vlašimi; Jan VIII as the Bishop of Olomouc) (? – died 1380), from the family of the House of Vlašim, was the second Archbishop of Prague (1364–1378). He was the uncle to his successor Jan of Jenštej ...

Archbishop of Prague The following is a list of bishops and archbishops of Prague. The bishopric of Prague was established in 973, and elevated to an archbishopric on 30 April 1344. The current Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Prague is the continual successor of the bi ...

, Przecław of Pogorzela, Bishop of Wrocław, and

Florian Mokrski Florian Mokrski Jelita coat of arms, (Jelita Coat of arms) was born around 1305 and died on February 6, 1380 in Kraków) and the son of Piotr Mokrski, Peter Mokrski. Florian was a Polish Roman Catholic priest who served as the Archbishop of Krakó ...

Bishop of Cracow A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

) to examine the state of affairs in the principality. Their report was received by his successor,

Pope Gregory XI Pope Gregory XI ( la, Gregorius, born Pierre Roger de Beaufort; c. 1329 – 27 March 1378) was head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1370 to his death in March 1378. He was the seventh and last Avignon pope and the most recent French pop ...

who authorized Florian of Mokrsko to consecrate the Polish Andrzej Jastrzębiec bishop with his see in Siret in 1371. The new diocese was directly subordinated to the Holy See. The pope bestowed on him the title "duke of the Moldavian parts or of the people of Wallachia" ''(dux Moldaviensis partium seu nationis Wlachie)''. Lațcu's wife, Ana, and his daughter, Anastasia, did not convert to Catholicism. Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor signed a deed in

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

on 14 March 1372, declaring that he acknowledged the rights of Louis I of Hungary in Hungary, Poland and other countries, including Moldavia. The exact reasons of Charles's act are unknown;. Historian J. Sýkora theorizes that Lațcu had sought an alliance against the Hungarian monarch with Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor. The Romanian historian Victor Spinei argues that Lațcu took advantage of his peaceful relations with Louis I by expanding his authority towards the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

coasts in the 1370s. In contrast with him, Ioan-Aurel Pop suggests that Louis I prepared an expedition against Lațcu in 1374. The exact date of his death is unknown. He died either around 1374 or in 1375. Lațcu was interred in the Orthodox monastery at

Rădăuți Rădăuți (; german: Radautz; hu, Radóc; pl, Radowce; uk, Радівці, ''Radivtsi''; yi, ראַדעװיץ ''Radevits''; tr, Radoviçe) is a town in Suceava County, north-eastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Buko ...

alongside his father. Little information is known of the events that directly followed his death. According to the 15th-century ''Lithuanian-Ruthenian Chronicle'', the Vlachs elected a Lithuanian prince,

George Koriatovich George Koriatovich, also known as George Korjatowicz or Jurg Korjat ( pl, Jerzy Koriatowicz) (after 13301375-1377), was a Lithuanian-Ruthenian prince, a member of the Gediminid dynasty. He was prince of Podolia (now in Ukraine) together with his tw ...

, voivode, according to some historians at an unspecified date. Other stated that George became ruled a part of Moldovia in 1374. According to historian A. Boldur Lațcu's daughter Anastasia married to George Koriatovich and their children were Iuga Ologul and Anna, wife of

Alexander I of Moldavia Alexander the Good ( ro, Alexandru cel Bun or ''Alexandru I Mușat''; c. 1375 – 1 January 1432) was a Voivode ( Lord) of Moldavia, reigning between 1400 and 1432, son of Roman I Mușat. He succeeded Iuga to the throne, and, as a ruler, i ...

. This hypothesis was widely criticized as were not based on sources. In fact, Anastasia married

Roman I of Moldavia Roman I (? – March 1394) was Voivode of Moldavia from December 1391 to March 1394. He was the second son of Costea and Margareta Muşata (= "the beautiful" in Old Romanian) the daughter of the first ruler of Moldavia, Bogdan I and the founder ...

, and had a son together,

.https://ro.wikisource.org/wiki/Din_trecutul_nostru/%C3%8En_Moldova,_Alexandru_cel_Bun

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Life

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Further reading