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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 Hu ...
, 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 me ...
'' achieving
Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...
'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 Bog ...
in 1368. After
Louis I of Hungary Louis I, also Louis the Great ( hu, Nagy Lajos; hr, Ludovik Veliki; sk, Ľudovít Veľký) or Louis the Hungarian ( pl, Ludwik Węgierski; 5 March 132610 September 1382), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370 ...
inherited Poland from his uncle,
Casimir III of Poland Casimir III the Great ( pl, Kazimierz III Wielki; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, and fought to retain the title in the Galicia-Volhynia Wars. He w ...
, in 1370, he could put Lațcu under pressure from both the east and the north. The contemporaneous
John of Küküllő John of Küküllő ( 13201393) was a Hungarian clergyman, royal official and historian. Family Born as John Apród of Tótsolymos, John was the son of Miklós Apród, a nobleman who received Tótsolymos (now Šarišské Sokolovce in Slovakia) ...
said that the voivodes of Moldavia accepted the suzerainty of
Louis I of Hungary Louis I, also Louis the Great ( hu, Nagy Lajos; hr, Ludovik Veliki; sk, Ľudovít Veľký) or Louis the Hungarian ( pl, Ludwik Węgierski; 5 March 132610 September 1382), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370 ...
, 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
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. 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 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 of his decision to convert from
Orthodoxy Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Church ...
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 associ ...
at his seat in Siret. 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,
Przecław of Pogorzela Przecław of Pogorzela ( pl, Przecław z Pogorzeli; 5 March 1310 – 6 April 1376 in Otmuchów) was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Bishop of Wrocław and Duke of Nysa from 1342–1376.Bishop of Wrocław Bishops of the (Breslau )Wrocław Bishopric, Prince-Bishopric (1290–1918), and Archdiocese (since 1930; see Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wrocław for details). Bishops * 1000–? – John (Johannes) * 1051–1062 – Hieronymus * 1063–1072 ...
, and
Florian Mokrski Florian Mokrski (Jelita Coat of arms) was born around 1305 and died on February 6, 1380 in Kraków) and the son of Peter Mokrski. Florian was a Polish Roman Catholic priest who served as the Archbishop of Kraków between 1367-1380. Archbishop M ...
, Bishop of Cracow) to examine the state of affairs in the principality. Their report was received by his successor, Pope Gregory XI who authorized Florian of Mokrsko to consecrate the Polish
Andrzej Jastrzębiec Andrzej Jastrzębiec (died 1398), also known as Andrzej Wasilko or Andrzej Polak, was a Polish Catholic priest and diplomat, a first bishop of Seret and of Vilnius. Little is known of his youth and he might have been born to a peasant family. H ...
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 Charles IV ( cs, Karel IV.; german: Karl IV.; la, Carolus IV; 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378''Karl IV''. In: (1960): ''Geschichte in Gestalten'' (''History in figures''), vol. 2: ''F–K''. 38, Frankfurt 1963, p. 294), also known as Charle ...
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, r ...
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 Charles IV ( cs, Karel IV.; german: Karl IV.; la, Carolus IV; 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378''Karl IV''. In: (1960): ''Geschichte in Gestalten'' (''History in figures''), vol. 2: ''F–K''. 38, Frankfurt 1963, p. 294), also known as Charle ...
. 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
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
n 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 t ...
, 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. This hypothesis was widely criticized as were not based on sources. In fact, Anastasia married Roman I of Moldavia, and had a son together, Alexander I of Moldavia.https://ro.wikisource.org/wiki/Din_trecutul_nostru/%C3%8En_Moldova,_Alexandru_cel_Bun


Footnotes


References

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Further reading

* M. Bărbulescu, D. Deletant, K. Hitchins, Ș. Papacostea, P. Teodor, ''Istoria României'', Ed. Corint, 2004, '' {{DEFAULTSORT:Latcu Of Moldavia Rulers of Moldavia Moldovan Roman Catholics Converts to Roman Catholicism from Eastern Orthodoxy Former Moldovan Orthodox Christians House of Bogdan-Mușat Burials at Bogdana Monastery