Annales d’Université “ Valahia” Târgoviste, Serie d’Archéologie et d’Histoire, tome II-III, 2000/ 2001
* Universitatea “ Valahia” Târgoviste, Facultatea de StiinŃe Umaniste, str. Lt. Stancu Ion nr. 35, 0200, Târgoviste, Romania.
153 -in Wallachia, on the 1st of May 1831 headquartered in Bucharest ; -in Moldavia, on the 14th of March 1832 headquartered in Jassy ; -in Bucovina, on the 22nd of August 1924 headquartered in Cernăutzi ; -in 1925, in Bessarabia, with its center in Chisinău. After the Union of the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, in 1859, the two archives of Jassy and Bucharest were also unified forming, in 1862, the Central Board of State Archives. In 1972, the concept of State Archival Files was replaced by the National Archival Files. (cf. Marcel Dumitru Ciucă, From State Archives to National Archives, Buc., 1996, p. 3) ;
* refer to Doc. no. 1 ;
* * refer to Doc. no. 2 ;
2 Idem, Arhivele existente în depozitele Arhivelor Statului si alŃi deŃinători, în “ Revista Arhivelor”, an LV, vol. XL, Buc., 1978, nr. 4, p. 429 ;
3 Ibidem, p. 434 ;
4 Îndrumător în Arhivele Centrale, vol. I, partea I-a, întocmit de Maria Soveja, Iulia Gheorghian, M. D. Ciucă, Buc., 1971, p. 3 ;
The ecclesiastical Documents of the Bucharest National Archives
NADIA MANEA*
The national archives, which represent the collective memory of the people, the proof of the peoples’rights and those of each individual, for they serve different purposes of the States and citizens. The Bucharest National Archives1 have a rich archival material, starting with a document from 1374, according to which Wladislaw, Prince of Wallachia, donates villages and the income from taxes to his foundation, Vodita Monastery. * The oldest document from Moldavia dates back to 30th March 1392 according to which Roman I, Prince of Moldavia donated villages on the Siret River to Jonash the Brave. * * Documentary information attests to the existence of some documents drawn up by the Wallachian prince Nicholas Alexander (1352-1364), but they have not been preserved. The Archives from the Romanian Principalities suffered much destruction because of foreign invasions, natural disasters and people’s negligence and carelessness. However, in the stacks of the National Archives have been gathered collections of valuable documents both in the National and the Local Archives. In the National Archives, the documents are organized in files and collections, according to their origin. The Archives of Central institutions can be found in the National Archives. The Archives of Local Institutions or the Archives of some Governmental institutions can be found in the Local Archives. 2
The ecclesiastical archives as well as the town and familial files are the richest in old documents. Ecclesiastical institutions – the monasteries – made their own archives from the documents received, which they preserved as a proof of their rights over the land. In this way, the archives to the beneficiary appeared. 3
To the existing documents were added those received from different people in order to be preserved. The metropolitan churches and the monasteries were considered to be the safest places for preservation, not only for the documents, but also for other valuables. The importance of ecclesiastical files is also illustrated by the fact that the documents written in the Chancelleries of Moldavia and Wallachia, which proved the possession of land, exchange of estates and various privileges, were kept in the monasteries. 4
1 The State Archives, as a modern institution, were founded in the Romanian Principalities as follows:
