The Monastery of Putna is one of the
best-known monasteries founded by Voivode Stephen
the Great. It is a renowned artistic and scholarly
center for the Romanian Middle Ages and one of the
most important monasteries in the country. It was
built between 1466 and 1469 as a fortified monastery.
It was re-built in 1498, following a fire. At the
middle of the 17th century, in the sad predicament
of the country at the end of the reign of Vasile Lupu,
who reigned between 1634 and 1653, the plundering
bands of the Cossacks led by Timus Milenitki penetrated
into the monastery, took the lead roof which they
melted for bullets, burnt the paintings in order to
get the gold with which they were polished, and they
even pulled down the walls to look for the treasures
of Stephen the Great, which presumably were buried
there. The successors of Vasile Lupu, the Princes
Gheorghe Stefan and Istratie Dabija, managed to re-build
Stephen the Great's monastery on about the same foundations,
but with a lot of alterations, in the architectural
style of the epoch. Thus the church became slightly
wider, a porch was added to it, and the outer surfaces
were adorned with stone-carved decorations, characteristic
of the 17th century: torsades and rows of zigzagging
bricks. The inscription above the doorway to the narthex
tells about the reconstruction of the church from
the foundations. Cossacks and Poles again plundered
it at the end of the 17th century; it then collapsed
during a strong earthquake in 1730 and between 1757
and 1760 it was restored thanks to bishop Iacov Putneanul.
In the latter half of the 19th century the old cells
of the monastery, now completely in ruin, were replaced
by other buildings, and on the eastern side of the
enclosure, a new belfry-tower was erected. Recent
restoration works undertaken scientifically on the
basis of the documents offered by archeological research
meant to render the monument an appearance as closely
related to its appearance at the middle of the 15th
century as well as to emphasize the various vestiges
surrounding the church. On the northern side were
marked the plans of the old cells in the 15th century,
and on the southern side the old princely residence,
which was built by Stephen the Great within the enclosure,
was restored. The former princely residence was entirely
re-built by Vasile Lupu in the 17th century, but it
fell into ruin in the next century, and then it was
completely covered by the monastery buildings that
were erected in the latter half of the 19th century.
The grandiose walls of Putna give it the aspect of
a fortress. The enclosure was enlarged in the 17th
century. From the old enclosure only the Treasure
Tower, situated on the western side, was preserved.
16 m high, with walls of over 1 m thick, it has a
square base, and it is octagonal. Above the entrance
doorway there is an inscription placed by Stephen
the Great, from which we learn that this tower, as
well as the initial wall surrounding the monastery
was finished on May 1, 1481. The tower has an access
ladder, which could be raised at all times, with narrow
windows, and it was an excellent hiding place for
the treasures of the monastery. The tower above the
entrance to the monastery reminds of the grandiose
celebration that took place at Putna between August
17 - 27, 1871. It was initiated by the society Young
Romania of the Romanian students in Vienna, on the
occasion of the celebration of 400 years from the
foundation of the monastery. Organized by a committee
which was made up, among others, of Mihai Eminescu,
Ion Slavici, Mihail Kogalniceanu, Vasile Alecsandri,
the celebrations attracted thousands of Romanians
from all the Romanian provinces, some of which were
still under foreign domination. Those present then
paid their homage to the memory of Stephen the Great,
the symbol of the unity of the Romanians everywhere,
expressing their decision to militate for the unity
and independence of the country. The urn containing
earth from all the Romanian provinces, the banners
dedicated to Stephen the Great, which can be found
in the museum of the monastery, remind us, even today,
with emotion, of the great celebration of all Romania.
The church of the monastery, a monumental and harmonious
structure of the 17th century, was erected on the
foundations of the construction of Stephen the Great.
Its walls are 1.5 m thick. The church is 37 m long,
11 m wide, and its height from the foundations to
the tower of 33 m. 12 massive buttresses also surround
it. It is of trefoil plan, with the following divisions:
a closed porch, the narthex, the crypt, the nave with
lateral apses and the altar. The vaults and the monumental
decoration of the church as it stands today are in
the Moldavian baroque style of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Between the porch and the narthex as well as between
the narthex and the crypt are separating walls, the
access being made through axial doorways, adorned
by framings in Gothic style. Between the crypt and
the nave are only three octagonal pillars, which support
three arcades, specific to 17th century architecture.
In the crypt, on the left, under a beautiful canopy,
is a white Carrara marble tombstone, which covers
the grave of the prince who watched over the destiny
of Moldavia for half a century. It is a masterpiece
of the genre, of unique sumptuousness in Romanian
medieval art. This funeral stone of Stephen the Great
is placed on a pedestal just as sumptuous, decorated
with vegetal stylizations, amplified by a marble canopy
built in 1934 from the fragments of a much older one,
as an inscription in the monastery mentions. Sculpted
motifs on the pedestal are thin stems undulated under
the shape of hearts making up a succession of four
interconnected medallions, in the interiors of which
open large palmettos with gentian flowers and bunches
of grapes. The stone proper is decorated in the middle,
which is a large rectangular shape, with two creeping
stems that are intertwined harmoniously, embracing
three quasi-ellipsoidal medallions within which the
traditional palmettos and gentian flowers alternate
with acorns and oak leaves, symbols of the vigorous
life, of fecundation and perennity. The framing of
the margin is also adorned with oak leaves. Within
the central decorative part and the marginal framings
as well as on the edge of the funeral stone is the
Slavonic inscription carved in monumental capital
letters: "The just and righteous prince, Io Stephen,
made prince of the Country of Moldavia by the good
will of God, the son of Bogdan Voivode, the founder
of this holy place, lies herein and moved to eternal
dwellings in the year 7000 the month … and reigned
for ….". Near Stephen the Great's grave is the tombstone
of his last wife, Princess Maria Voichita, who died
in 1513, the daughter of Radu cel Frumos, the Voivode
of Wallachia. On the left side of the crypt under
another canopy is the grave of the prince's second
wife, Maria of Mangop, who died in 1457, and who was
a descendant of the great family of Byzantine emperors.
Next to it are the graves of Stephen the Great's two
sons, Bogdan and Petru, who died in 1479 and 1480
respectively. Other princely graves are in the narthex:
those of Bogdan Voda (1504 - 1517), and Maria, deceased
in 1518, the children of Stephen and Maria Voichita,
Stefanita Voda (1517 - 1527), and Princess Maria,
Petru Rares's first wife, deceased in1529. The narthex
also contains the tombs of two great bishops of Moldavia:
Teoctist I, who died in 1478, who crowned Stephen
the Great prince, and Iacov Putneanul, deceased in
1778. The Monastery of Putna was also an outstanding
cultural center. Here worked a lot of remarkable scholars,
here were settled various schools and here were created
artistic works of an inestimable value, many of which
can be seen in the museum of the monastery, one of
the richest in the country. The ground floor of the
museum has objects that were found during the archeological
diggings and restoration works, as well as valuable
manuscripts and authentic medieval documents. On the
upper floor are exhibited objects representative for
the Moldavian sumptuous arts of the 15th and 16th
centuries.
Of all this, two objects draw the attention:
The Book of the Four Gospels of Humor (1473) and the
Funeral Veil of Maria of Mangop, the oldest embroidered
portrait in Moldavian art.
The Funeral Veil of Maria of Mangop
- Monumental and somber, sumptuous and refined, the
famous funeral portrait of Maria of Mangop, embroidered
as gisant, on the famous veil from Putna, is considered
as one of the most perfect creations of this kind
in the world. Against a background of Red Indian satin,
under a three-lobed arcade, supported by two rows
of three short columns, Princess Maria, the second
wife of Stephen the Great, daughter of Ion Olobei
of Mangop, and of Maria Asan Paleologue, descendents
of the great emperors of Byzantium, sleeps her eternal
sleep. Her hands are folded on her chest and on her
oval face with eyes closed, arched eyebrows and very
delicate features, floats a deep peace - the deep
peace of death. A grand crown, with high-sculpted
leaves and flowers, set with precious gems, suggested
in the embroidery of red, green and blue silk, covers
her head. From its margins, four rows of beads flow
down, two on either cheek. The big earrings, with
pendants, similar to those discovered during the archeological
diggings, adorn her ears. The tunic of silver brocade
in blue and gold hues, is embroidered in vegetal stylistic
motifs, representing flowers, leaves, and pomegranates.
The whole image is surrounded by a rectangular marginal
framing, along which is embroidered the commemorative
inscription in Slavonic, with the following text:
"This is the funeral veil of God's slave, the faithful
and Christ-loving princess of Stephen Voivode, the
prince of the Country of Moldavia, Maria, who passed
away to the eternal dwelling place in the year 6985
(1477), in the month of December, 19, at five o'clock
in the morning."
The Vestry Chest - Unique
in our cultural patrimony, the chest made of cypress
wood, is carved in the champleve and cut techniques.
It is remarkable by its artistic features, its composition,
and the plastic rendering of the sculpted scenes in
bas-relief on the outside of the lid, and cut on the
inner surface of the lid. These qualities undoubtedly
show the influence of the great art of 15th century
Italian Renaissance, be it Florentine, Venetian, or
Genovese. The surface edge of the lid is also decorated
by an oak stem, which anticipated the one on the edge
of Stephen the Great's tombstone. Seen as a whole,
the entire decoration of the vestry chest from Putna
is made in the warm hues of the brown which is characteristic
to carved cypress wood, shadowed with great sensitivity
and on which the inevitable patina of time can be
seen. Some historians consider that this was the chest
in which were brought to Suceava the relics of St.
John the New from Cetatea Alba during the reign of
Alexander the Good. At Putna the object is considered
as a chest for the keeping of important documents
around 1764, when, according to an account by Vartolomeu
Mazareanu, all the archives of the monastery could
be found.
