Stories from the Carpathians

SEMINARUL TEOLOGIC ORTODOX “SF. IOAN GURĂ DE AUR”
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Erasmus+ KA2 Strategic Partnership
2nd LTT Activity: 4th – 8th June 2018, Târgoviște, Romania
Project No: 2017-1-IT02-KA219-036568_3

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ROMANIA – THE PLACE OF THE FAIRY TALES
PELEȘ CASTLE-The Story of a Queen
Located in Sinaia (44 km from Brasov and 122
km from Bucharest), Peles Castle is one of Romania’s
most important museums since it was the final resting
place for several Romanian monarchs including King
Carol I, who died here in 1914.
The castle was built in 1899–1902 by order of
King Carol I, as the residence for his nephew and heir, the future King Ferdinand (son of Carol's brother
Leopold von Hohenzollern) and Ferdinand's consort Queen Marie.
In 2006, it was decided that the entire complex, including Pelișor, a museum and tourist site, is
the legal property of the King Michael I of Romania.
It is a place chosen to be the location for another fairy tale, the most recent film A Christmas
Prince (2017)
Queen Elisabeth of Romania
Carmen Sylva, as she calls herself by her nom de plume, a
name compounded from her fondness for song and wood, was
by birth a princess of Wied, one of the many tiny principalities
with which Germany abounded. At the time the princess was
born namely, December 29 1843, her family, one of the oldest
among small German princelings, had by their kindliness and
culture made them beloved of their subjects.
In 1868 Prince Charles of Hohenzollern had been chosen ruler
of Roumania, and in the autumn of the next year he came to the
Rhine to remind the Princess Elizabeth of her desire to rule over
that kingdom. Even so it was a little while before she could
consent to resign her fiercely cherished independence, but she yielded, and in November of the same
year he took her to his home amid the Carpathians. Arrived in her new home, she at once threw herself

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with native ardor into all her new duties. She learned to read and write Roumanian, she made herself
acquainted with the needs and requirements of the land, and soon saw that she had not been wrong
when, years ago, she had aspired after this throne as one which would give her a noble work to do.
While keeping herself carefully aloof from the entanglements of politics, the result of her endeavors was
soon felt more beneficially than those of cannon or diplomatists. She founded schools, hospitals, soup-
kitchens, convalescent homes, cooking-schools and crèches; she encouraged popular lectures;
Her fairy tales were inspired by the local folklore, but contained motifs encountered in German tales,
thus being an interesting combination of reality and imagination.
PELIȘOR CASTLE
Pelișor was designed by the Czech
architect Karel Liman in the Art Nouveau style;
the furniture and the interior decorations were
designed mostly by the Viennese Bernhard
Ludwig. There are several chambers, working cabinets, a chapel, and "the golden room". Queen Marie
herself, an accomplished artist, made many of the artistic decisions about the design of the palace, and
participated in its decoration, including as a painter. Queen Marie considered Art Nouveau a weapon
against sterile historicism, creating a personal style combining Art-Nouveau elements with Byzantine
and Celtic elements.
The official hall, simple and bright, is decorated with oak-wood cassetons. The paintings,
drawings and water-colours feature Maria with her children. King Ferdinand’s solemn study resembles
the German Neo-Renaissance from Peles. “The Golden Bedroom” is furnished with pieces made in
1909 in the arts and crafts workshops at Sinaia, to the Queen’s plans and drawings. Maria’s study,
arranged in an interior dominated by Brancovan-style columns, has a fireplace that is specific to
Romanian interiors. The chairs and desk are decorated with Maria’s symbols: the lily and the Celtic
cross. It was the Queen’s wish to spend the last moments of her life in the Golden Chamber. Here, the
gilded walls are decorated with thistle leaves that resemble the emblem of Scotland, Maria’s native land.

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THE STORYOF A QUEEN’S HEART
Queen Marie died at Pelișor on July 18th 1938, at 5.38pm. Two days after her death, the Queen’s
body was brought to Bucharest, where it lay in state in the Cotroceni Palace’s white drawing room.
Thousands of Romanians filed past to see the body of their beloved Queen. Her body was taken and
buried at the Curtea de Arges monastery, but her heart was enshrined in a small golden casket,
emblazoned with the emblems of Romania’s provinces and laid to rest in the Stella Maris Chapel in her
palace of Balchik, as she had wished.
Queen Marie’s heart had been covered with the
Romanian flag on one side and the British flag onthe other,
symbolic for the two countries that the Queen had loved.
However, when South Dobrudja was returned to Bulgaria in
1940 during World War II, the Queen’s heart was transferred
to Bran Castle.
Her youngest daughter Princess Ileana built a chapel
there especially to house the heart, kept inside two silver boxes and then placed within a marble
sarcophagus, in its own special niche. In 1995 a plaque was erected to commemorate the fact that the
Queen’s heart had formerly been deposited here to rest. But the Communist Regime later seized Bran,
removed the Queen’s heart and had it – together with the silver boxes – put in the National Museum of
Romanian History in 1971, where it has remained for the last forty years, that is until 2015.
Now the heart of the Queen is to be laid to rest at Pelisor Castle, in keeping with the wishes of
King Michael of Romania, Queen Marie’s grandson. It is poignant to ponder the Queen’s heart returning
to a Castle that she loved, with whose design she was so deeply involved and within whose walls she
died. Whilst her body remains in the Curtea de Arges monastery, the Queen’s heart will find its final
resting place there.

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BRAN CASTLE
1211- The Teutonic Knights – “Ordo domus Mariae Sanctae Theutonicorum Hierosolimitanorum” – a
catholic religious order formed in Palestine during the late twelfth century by German crusaders,
received Țara Bârsei (“Terra Borza” or “Burzenland” – a country named after the Cuman tribe of Burci)
from King Andrew II of Hungary. The purpose of this gift was to establish the
Teutons in the area and to defend the Southeastern border of Transylvania from the
Cumans and the Pechenegs.
The Teutons erected a fortress in Bran (a Turkish name meaning “gate”), before they
were driven away from the area in 1226.
1377
On November 19, the office of the Hungarian King Louis the Great – Louis I of
Anjou – issued a document granting to the people of Brasov (“Kronstadt” – The
Crown’s City) the privilege of building a castle. Through this document, the Saxons
of Transylvania (“Sachsen” – a population of German origin that came to
Transylvania in the twelfth century), from the region encompassing Brasov, were
urged to participate in the building of Bran Castle, which was previously named
“Dietrichstein” or “Törzburg” in German, “Törcsvár” in Hungarian, and “Turciu” in Romanian.
1388
In 1388, the castle’s construction was complete. The Castle was built on a steep cliff between Măgura
and Dealul Cetăţii (“fortified town’s hill”), with an exceptional view of the nearby hills, Moeciu Valley
and Valea Bârsei. It served the role of customs – holding 3% of goods transferring in and out of
Transylvania – and the role of a fortress – the castle stood at the Eastern border of Transylvania and was
used in an attempt to stop the Ottoman Empire’s expansion. The castle was inhabited by professional
soldiers, mercenaries, and the storyteller Ioan de Târnava, wrote about “the English brigands and ballista
soldiers” of the fifteenth century. The lord of the castle was elected by the King, usually from among the
Saxons, and whose role was increasingly important in the history of Transylvania. By the end of the
fifteenth century, the castle’s commander also held the title of Vice-Voivode of Transylvania.
1407- The Castle was given as fief (“property given in return for
loyalty”) by Sigismund of Luxembourg to his ally, Prince Mircea,
the Elder of Wallachia, where he could escape to in case of an
attack by the Turks. After the death of the Romanian Prince in

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1419, due to the political instability of Wallachia, Sigismund took over the castle and entrusted it to the
Princes of Transylvania.
1441- The Turks raided Transylvania, but John Hunyadi (Iancu de Hunedoara)
defeated them in Bran. Iancu, Prince of Transylvania, who needed the support of
the Saxons at the border, reinforced the promises granted to the inhabitants of
Brasov by Mircea the Elder and by Sigismund.
1459- Vlad the Impaler (Vlad Tepes) was allied with Bran and Brasov during his first reign (1448) and
through the start of his next reign, after the Princes -of Transylvania requested
that he handle the anti-Ottoman resistance at the border. During his second reign
(1456 – 1462), however, his army passed through Bran in early 1459 to attack
Brasov, in order to settle a conflict between the Wallachia Voivode and the
Saxons, who requested higher customs taxes and supported his opponent for the
throne. Vlad the Impaler burned the city’s suburbs and murdered hundreds of
Saxons from Transylvania, provoking the Saxon community to seek revenge by
later mentioning in reports that the Voivode were a tyrant and extremely ruthless. He was the ruler of
Targoviste three times.
1886 Between 1883 and 1886, the imperial authorities agreed, at the insistence
of the Brasov inhabitants, to repair damages made to the castle during the
Revolution of 1848 and during the Russo-Turkish war of 1877. Extensive
restoration work was carried out.
1888 -The City Administration of Brasov transferred the castle to the region’s
forestry. For 30 years, the castle fell into decay – it was inhabited, up to 1918, by the foresters,
woodsmen and forest inspectors coming from Brasov.
1920 - After 1918, Transylvania became part of Greater Romania. On December 1st
1920, the citizens of Brasov, through a unanimous decision of the city’s council, led
by Mayor Karl Schnell, offered the castle to Queen Maria of Romania, who was
described in the deed as “the great queen who (…) spreads her blessing everywhere
she walked, thus wining, with an irresistible momentum, the hearts of the entire
country’s population”.
The Castle became a favorite residence of Queen Maria, who restored and arranged it to be used as a
residence of the royal family.

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1932
From 1920 until 1932, the Castle was converted into a royal summer residence,
coordinated by the Czech architect Karen Liman, who designed the castles
Peles and Pelisor.
The 57 meter deep well of the castle gave insufficient water; therefore water
was piped to the castle from natural springs situated across the valley. In 1932,
the castle added a hydroelectric power plant on the stream Turcu, to light the
castle but was also connected to the towns of Bran, Simon and Moeciu. The
grateful inhabitants thanked Queen Marie, to which she referred in her writings:
“poor villages, pure Romanian that in a near future would not have had this advantage.”
The area around the Castle was turned into an English Park with two ponds and a Tea House. An
elevator was installed into the well shaft to provide easy access between the castle and the park for the
Queen suffering from arthritis. Other buildings were erected: a guesthouse, a wooden church, staff
housing, stables and garage.
1938
When Queen Marie died, on July 18, Bran Castle was bequeathed to the
Princess Ileana, now married to Archduke Anton of Austria since 1931.
The Queen’s favourite, according to a statement from Balchik on June 29,
1933. The Archduchess continued the planning for the castle's future.
1940
After the Vienna Award, when Romania lost the South Danube territories,
Queen Marie’s heart that had been in the Stella Maris chapel of the Balchik’s
palace on the Black Sea, was brought in its sarcophagus to Bran. The
sarcophagus containing the heart was placed into a crypt chapel carved into
the rock across the valley from the Castle. Upon Queen’s death, her heart had been placed in a silver
box that was placed into a precious ornate box, which were then wrapped in the flags of Romania and of
her native England and then placed in a marble sarcophagus.
1944
The Princess Ileana built a hospital in Bran, she named it “the Hospital of the
Queen’s Heart”, which serviced the treatment for wounded soldiers from Brasov
after the Red Cross hospital was bombed by American aircrafts. After 1945, the

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hospital continued to treat people wounded and maimed in the war and the population of the region.
Princess Ileana herself cared for patients as a nurse and even operated in the hospital.
She continued the work with great efforts until January 1948.
1948- Princess Ileana and her family were forced to leave the country by the newly installed communist
regime. Ileana moved via Switzerland and Argentina to the United
States in 1950, together with her six children: Stefan (born 1932),
Maria-Ileana (born 1933), Alexandra (born 1935), Dominic (born
1937), Maria – Magdalena (born 1939) and Elisabeth (born 1942. At
the same time, Archduke Anton returned to Occupied Austria to
save what he could of his war ravaged estate. In the United States, P
rincess Ileana provided for herself, her children and their education through proceeds from lecturing on
her life, Romania and Communism.
1956 - Bran Castle was transformed by the communist authorities into a museum. The museum had
three departments: the Castle – which contained pieces of royal heritage; the medieval customs; and
Ethnography – that included traditional houses in the park near the castle.
1990 -In September 1990, Princess Ileana, who since 1961 lived in a convent
and was ordained as Mother Alexandra, visited Bran Castle and witnessed the
damaged buildings and loss of some of the inter-war construction.
She died shortly after, on January 21, 1991, and was buried in The Orthodox
Monastery of Transfiguration Elwood City, Pennsylvania, which she founded
and of which she was the abbess. In her grave was placed a small box
containing earth from the foot of Bran Castle, collected when she was exiled.
1993
The castle’s restoration works, which had started in 1987, were finished. The Castle was reopened as a
museum and was reintroduced into the tourist circuit.
2006
On May 18, after several years of legal proceedings, the castle was legally returned to the heirs of
Princess Ileana of Romania and Archduke Anton of Austria. However, the Romanian Government,
through the Ministry of Culture, provisionally administered the castle for another three years.
2009
On June 1, 2009, the Castle fully re-entered the possession of its legal heirs, Archduke Dominic,
Archduchess Maria Magdalena and Archduchess Elisabeth.

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A Young mother, who is a true artist, relating
a fairy tale, is one of the greatest joys in this
world.(Carmen Sylva)
The Lily of Life: A Fairy Tale is a children’s story written by Carmen Sylva, Queen Elisabeth of
Romania. The book that was originally published in 1913.
(https://archive.org/details/arealqueensfair00sylvgoog)
here lived a happy king and queen, in a beautiful golden castle by the
sea. The couple had two beautiful daughters, one with golden hair and
sad, brown eyes. The other had jet black hair, with bright blue eyes. The
golden-haired girl was named Corona, and the black-haired girl named
Mora. Corona was named as such because when she was born, it looked
like she had a golden crown on her head. The nurse who cared for the
girls noticed Corona’s sad eyes and wondered if the girl carried the sadness of the world within her.
Despite her sad eyes, both girls grew up very happy, and loved their parents deeply. As the girls
aged, their parents couldn’t help but think of marriage for them. The girls wouldn’t hear a word of it, as
they hated the idea of being separated from one another. Around the castle were massive forests,
through which the sisters would enjoy long rides together. Mora had an inky-black horse, and Corona a
shining golden one.

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One day, the girls rode deep into the forest, where
they came across a pool of dark water. Hot from their fast ride, they dismounted their horses and leaned
against them. They stared into the deep pool of water. When Mora looked up, she saw that a knight clad
in gold armor stood before them. The
knight rounded the pool, bared his head, and knelt before the young women. The girls discovered that
the knight’s name was Ilario. He was a prince from afar, and was lost in the forest.
One of the pages rode ahead of their group to alert the king to prepare a feast for the foreigner.
The trio rode back to the castle, flanked by Yno, Corona’s page. They were all very happy, except for
Yno, when he suddenly felt very lonely as a large eagle flying overhead looked down at them. The eagle
admired the beauty of the scene below, but felt sad with all of the world’s sorrow.
Ilario was warmly welcomed into the court by the king and queen, with feasting and a great
tournament. The two sisters who had lived alone with their parents, found a new joy in their lives (not
realizing their guest was the source of their happiness.) Ilario won the tournament with ease. The two
sisters’ hearts leapt in their chest when he gazed upon them in admiration. It was the first time the girls
harbored a secret from one another as they each fell in love with him.
Three weeks later, Yno found his mistress crying. She confided in him that Ilario and Mora
didn’t even realize when she wasn’t with them any longer. The queen began to notice the divide
between the sisters, and her heart grew heavy. It wasn’t long after that Ilario asked the king and queen
for Mora’s hand in marriage, and the king gladly acquiesced. However, the queen grew more upset with
the fact that Corona would be left behind.
At a celebration for the announcement, Corona was the first to give her sister an extravagant gift;
a small blue casket covered in diamonds that held within it a tiny book. The book was carved out of an
opal, edged with diamonds, and on its pages held says that brought good luck to those who read them.
The sisters embraced, but for what seemed to be the last time, as they knew their friendship would never
be the same again.
When the wedding drew closer, Ilario fell deathly ill. Mora sat with her beloved day and night.
When she became too exhausted, she asked Corona to sit with him for her. When she left, Ilario looked
at Corona with feverish eyes, and began proclaiming words of adoration for her. Not realizing she
wasn’t Mora because of the fever, Corona sat with him while he uttered words of love for another, and
her heart broke further.
A gypsy woman arrived at the castle one day who proclaimed to know of a wise woman in the
woods far away who would know a cure for the prince. Only a young girl, with a soul as white as snow
could make it through the dangerous bog that was between the forest and the witch’s home. When
Corona heard this, she immediately volunteered to go. Reluctantly agreeing, her parents and Mora

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watched as she rode off with Yno. As they rode, Yno couldn’t help but feel as though Corona too, had
forgotten his presence.
They found the edge of the bog. Seeing the treacherous landscape, Yno begged his mistress not
to go. Corona replied that she must go alone, and implored him to wait for her there until she returned.
In the evening light, Yno saw that upon her head shone a halo-like white light. It was then that he
remembered the gypsy’s words that only a young girl with a soul white as snow could cross the bog.
Despite her own fear, Corona pressed onward. On her way, she was accosted by horrible images of
dying and suffering people. Filled with despair, she finally came across an old boat on the shore of the
sea when she passed out.
When she awoke, she found herself in a room with an old woman who possessed the saddest
eyes in the world. The woman gave Corona something to drink, and touched her fingers to her head,
drawing out all of her weariness. The woman confessed that her heart died within her long ago, and she
no longer has tears to shed, because she had been greedy in her younger years. That greed lead her lover
to his death, is search of the largest, most beautiful pearl he could find. In her grief, the woman’s hair
turned white, and everyone called her a witch because her selfishness killed the man.
Corona told the witch her quest. She grasped an old book, and told Corona that it came from
afar, and was full of all the wisdom in the world. The book told of a forest filled with cruel beasts, and a
white marble temple made of six courts. In the innermost court lies a pool of dark water, where grows
the Lily of Life. The lily is so white and intense that the human eye cannot behold it without being
stricken with blindness. But he who plucks the flower can heal any illness.
The woman asks if it is for her lover, and Corona says that it’s for the love of her sister that she
would go to the far away land. Because the love within her was completely unselfish, the woman
instructed her on how to get to the temple. She told her that she must not utter a sound to anyone, and
that she must go alone. She gave her a magnet, a strangely shaded lamp that would light itself when she
needed help, and a round piece of yellow glass.
By boat, Corona was allowed to return to the castle and leave a note for her sister in the middle
of the night, as she was allowed to speak to no one, to let her know that there was hope in Ilario’s
healing. She kissed the ill Ilario, then fled back to the boat. As she departed, she noticed Yno following
her. Fearing he may drown, she drew him into the boat with her. He questioned her, but she could give
him no answer as to where she was going.
In the morning, they reached the shore. She wrote in the sand that she must go alone, and he
must wait for her. With a breaking heart, he watched her go. With the magnet to guide her way, Corona
traveled long and far. Her feet were bleeding from crossing the great burning plain, and she was plagued

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with fatigue. A little brown bird alighted on her shoulder, and sang a song so beautiful that she felt
completely rejuvenated to reach the mountains.
She walked more, and the air grew thinner and colder. She grew so cold by the time she reached
an immense frozen lake, surrounded by treacherous black rock walls. The shadow of a terrible figure fell
upon her. Unable to move forward over the frozen lake, she was forced to face it. An old man, covered
in icicles looking as frozen as the lake, asked who had entered his domain. With her muteness, she
couldn’t answer. Which turned out to be a blessing, for the man couldn’t tolerate the sound of a human
voice and would therefore not turn her into stone. Before he let her go, he demanded payment, which
she appeased by giving him her long golden hair.
Free from the man’s terrible grasps, she started to cross the lake. Suddenly, a flock of swans
appeared and ferried her across the ice to a treacherous stairway cut into the side of the black rock wall.
She fearfully climbed until she reached the top, pulled along by the magnet. Exhausted, she collapsed,
yet the little brown bird appeared again to rejuvenate her.
She traveled until she reached a small cabin, where an old man and his son lived. Seeing her
state, they helped her and allowed her to rest in their home. The man kept asking her questions, but she
was unable to answer any of them. She slept until the magnet roused her in the middle of the night. She
wrote a message, thanking them for their kindness, leaving behind her jeweled belt, and left.
The magnet led her deep into a thick, beautiful forest. Flowers and strange animals inhabited its
depths, and Corona was overwhelmed with its beauty. Suddenly, a white stag with massive golden horns
appeared before her. His eyes were blue just like Mora’s. He bent a knee and allowed her to sit astride
his back. He took her as deep into the forest as he could, until his horns became too big to pass through
the undergrowth. She slid from his back, and thanked him, not wanting to go on alone.
As she continued, large panthers with gleaming green eyes, and other ferocious creatures
blocked her path. It was then that she remembered the little lantern the witch had given her. She pulled it
out, and its bright light made the creatures backed away, allowing her to pass in safety. The animals of
prey fell back when she reached a broad road, strewn with glowing ashes. Having no other way to
traverse the landscape, she pushed forward, willing her mind to rule her body. Suddenly, she felt light,
and the ground dropped away from her. She realized she was in the grip of a great bird. They landed on
a soft green patch of moss covered in flowers. The great bird was an eagle and he took pity on her. His
wings caressed the girl’s scorched feet and took all the pain away as if with magic. He leapt up and left
her.
The magnet pulled her towards a mass of flowers, which covered a massive white marble wall.
Elated, she searched for a door to the temple. She found it, but didn’t know how to open it. Next to the
door grew a plant with red flowers that looked drops of blood.

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They emitted the sweetest of scents (a combination of all the beautiful scents she had smelled
throughout her entire life). She went back to the door, held up the flower, and the door opened before
her into the temple.
She passed through five inner courts by holding the flower to the door, each room having its own
beautiful architecture and flowers more beautiful than the last. Each was guarded by a pair of ferocious
beasts, but her little lantern allowed her to pass unharmed. She reached the final door, flanked by two
angels, which opened the door for her. A blinding light emanated from the center of the room. A pool of
dark water sat at the center, with a glowing object too bright to look at. With the yellow glass the witch
had gifted her, she confirmed it was the lily.
She knelt down at the water’s edge and wept. She wept tears of pain and grief, relieving her
overburdened heart. When her tears hit the floor, they turned into pearls, and rolled into the dark water.
When she wept all of her tears, she unclasped her blue cloak and put it on the floor. She descended into
the pool, and retrieved the lily. The moment the stem snapped, the air around them filled with music,
and light shown over everything. It was as if the heavens had opened into the room. When she looked
back, a new lily stood in the place of the old one, waiting for the next weary wanderer to seek out its
healing powers.
She lifted the lily to her face and instantly felt infinite gladness. Even more, her golden hair grew
thickly past her waist, and her soiled dress changed into a garment of the most spotless white. Lifted by
swans, she was flown back to the place where she had left Yno. Her tongue now loosened, she asked the
swans to stop and allow her to thank the man and his son for their kindness to her. Reaching the shore,
Yno was awed by her presence, Something in her face seemed otherworldly, and the white dress seemed
to pure to touch. In her hands sat the lily of life. When she saw that he had waited for her, she praised
him, and told him how God had mercifully led her on her journey. The two took the boat back to the
castle.
Arriving, Corona discovered that she was just in time. Ilario barely held onto life, but was still
alive. Her mother too, had realized the change that Yno had seen. Corona’s beauty seemed unbearably
pure. When Corona saw Ilario lying on his sick bed, she instantly was struck by his beauty. She felt a
great love rise within her, but was reminded by Mora that she was his betrothed. With the lily, she
touched his brow. Instantly, his health improved, and life returned to him. Ilario jumped up and kissed
Mora.
Soon, the castle was filled with joy at the news of Ilario’s miraculous recovery. The marriage
was the next day. The king was proud of his two beautiful daughters, but the queen saw deeper, and
understood the grief to come for Corona, who acted like nothing was amiss. After the proceedings, she
went out to the stable and wept into the neck of her beloved horse, mourning.

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After the ball, the bride and groom prepared to leave on a boat, back to the land of Ilario. Mora
begged her sister to come visit, but Corona felt that she was bidding farewell. Ilario came to her, and he
suddenly realized everything she had sacrificed. He kissed her, and then departed with Mora. Corona
remained on the beach long into the night. Yno found Corona on the beach. Her skin was deathly white,
her parted lips smiling, and her hands clasped over her broken heart.
In the morning, the king and queen sent out a search party for their missing daughter. On the
beach two figures were found–Yno with with his head on his maiden’s feet, and a brown bird singing
upon the beautiful girl. On a distant shore, the witch saw white wings rising towards Heaven, and heard
the name “Corona” on the wind

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ROMANIAN LEGENDS
The Legend of Master Manole- Prince Negru Vodă (Radu Negru) wanted to build the most
beautiful monastery in the country, so he hired Master Manole, the best mason of those times, along
with his 9 men. During construction, because the walls of the monastery would continuously crumble,
the Prince threatened to kill Manole and his workers.
Desperate about the way construction went, one night Manole had a dream in which he was told
that, for the monastery to be built, he had to incorporate into its walls some person very loved by him or
his masons. He told his masons about his dream, and they agreed that the first wife who would come
there with lunch for her husband the following day should be the one to be built into the walls of the
monastery so that their art would last.
The next day, Manole looked over the hills and sadly saw his wife, Ana (who was pregnant),
coming from afar. He prayed to God to start rain and storm in order for her to stop her trip or go back
home. But her love was stronger than the storm, and she kept going. He prayed again, but nothing could
stop her. When she arrived, Manole and the builders told her that they wanted to play a little game,
which involved building walls around her body. She accepted happily, but she soon realized that this
was no game and implored Manole to let her go. But he had to keep his promise. And that was how the
beautiful monastery was built.
When the monastery was completed, the Prince asked the builders if they could ever make a similarly
splendid building. Manole and his masons told the Prince that they surely could always build an even
greater building. Hearing that and fearing they'll build a bigger and more beautiful building for someone
else, the Prince had them all stranded on the roof so that they would perish and never build something to
match it. They fashioned wooden wings and tried to fly off the roof. But, one by one, they all fell to the
ground. A well of clear water, named after Manole, is believed to mark the spot where Manole himself
fell. (the real location the Curtea de Argeș Monastery)
The Legend of Baba Dochia - Baba Dochia had a son, called
Dragomir, who was married. Dochia ill-treats her daughter-in-law by
sending her to pick up berries in the forest at the end of February. God
appears to the girl as an old man and helps her in her task. When Dochia

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sees the berries, she thinks that spring has come back and
leaves for the mountains with her son and her goats. She is dressed with twelve lambskins, but it rains
on the mountain and the skins get soaked and heavy. Dochia has to get rid of the skins and when frost
comes she perishes from the cold with her goats.
Babele Myth -A folk myth associates the 9 days from March 1 to March 9 with the 9 coats she's
shedding. Her spirit is haunting every year around that time, bringing snowstorms and cold weather
before the spring sets in. Women use to pick a day out of these 9 beforehand, and if the day turns out to
be fair, they'll be fair in their old days, and if the day turns out to be cold, they'll turn bitter when older.
In Romanian language 'babele' is the plural of 'baba', the hag or the old woman. Dochia is sometimes
depicted as a proud woman who teases the month of March, who in return gets its revenge by taking
some days from February.
The Romanian Giants known as Jidovi, are probably one of the most beloved folklore
creatures. Jidovii are described in Romanian legends as kind and patient, walking with huge steps from
one hill to another. Their presence in Romania is well maintained by the multitude of places that were
named after them: the Jidovi table, the Jidovi cave, the hill or the tombs of Jidovi, and also, there is
jidovina, a measuring unit consisting of several meters, the equivalent of a giant’s step. Wherever you
go, their memory is well preserved and you must not be surprised to hear that there are still many people
who believe in their past existence.
In the Carpathians, Jidovii are often named Blajini, which means the Kind Ones, or Novaci, which
means the Powerful Ones as they could snatch a tree without any effort. They lived in caves and thick
woods, enjoyed talking and respected the little humans, which they considered their successors, the next
owners of all the rivers and mountains. At the beginning of 1900, there were still some people who
claimed to have heard real stories about Jidovi from their grandparents who saw them in person.
According to their stories, there were few giants left but lived in good communion with humans. When
great floods came, Jidovii took care of people and their animals
without asking for any reward.
Also, there is a story which repeats regardless of region, when
giants seeing people plowing the land, took them in their hands as
little toys, smiled at them and then put them back carefully. But the
best legend ever is that of the famous agreement between the great
Dacian king Burebista and all the Jidovi from the mountains. They were left to live in the mountains
only if they promised to guard with their life the great Dacian gold treasures. So, it is believed, that in
the deepest caves of the Carpathians Mountains may still live some Jidovi, protecting the treasures for
generations to come.

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SOURCES
A Real Queen’s Fair- The Lily of Life- A Fairy Tale -
(https://archive.org/details/arealqueensfair00sylvgoog)
Burying a Queen’s Heart
http://royalcentral.co.uk/blogs/burying-a-queens-heart-queen-marie-of-romania-52050
Historical Timeline - http://www.bran-castle.com/history.html
Folklore of Romania-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folklore_of_Romania#Romanian_myths_part_of_international_culture
Created by the Romanian Erasmus+ Team Project –
Seminarul Teologic Ortodox „Sf Ioan Gură de Aur”, Târgoviște, Romania
June 2018

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