Apr 00 - 'The ladder of virtue', exterior fresco (1601) on the Church of the Resurrection, Sucevița monastery (1585), Sucevița, Moldavia
This church at Sucevița (Soo-che-veetsa) is renowned for this 'Ladder of Virtue', as well as for its 'Tree of Jesse'. It was built in 1585 by Ieremia Movilă (voivode of Moldavia, r 1595-May 1600, and Sept. 1600-1606), Gheorghe Movilă and Simion Movilă (prince of Wallachia r Nov. 1600-June 1601 and Oct. 1601-July 1602; and prince of Moldavia r July 1606 until his death in Sept. 1607). The church contains both Byzantine and Gothic elements, and some elements typical to other painted churches of northern Moldavia. Both interior and exterior walls were painted with murals in @ 1601 (wikipedia) in "brilliant reds and blues with an undercoat of emerald green." (RG)
- In this 'Ladder of Virtue' "flights of angels assist the righteous to paradise, while sinners fall through the rungs into the arms of a grinning demon. The message is reiterated in the 'Last Judgement' in the porch (reputedly left unfinished b/c the artist fell to his death from the scaffolding), where angels sound the trumpet and smite heathens with swords. Turks and Jews can be seen lamenting, and the devil gloats at the bottom-right." The Beast of the Apocalypse has 2 heads, and "angels pour rivers of fire and tread the grapes of wrath." (RG)
- "The 'Tree of Jesse' is a lush composition on a dark blue background. ... 'The Veil' represents Mary as a Byzantine empress beneath a red veil held by angels, while the 'Hymn to the Virgin' is illustrated with Italianate bldg.s and people in oriental dress. In a mural with ancient philosophers clad in Byzantine cloaks, Plato bears a coffin and a pile of bones on his head, in tribute to his meditations on life and death." In the narthex, "the lives of the saints end in burning, boiling, spit-roasting, dismemberment or decapitation - a gory catalogue relieved somewhat by images of rams, suns and other zodiacal symbols." (RG)
- Ieremia and Simion lie in marble tombs carved with floral motifs.
- There's a votive image of Doamna Elisabeta Movilă in the nave, princess consort of Moldavia by marriage to Ieremia and regent from 1607 to 1611 on behalf of her son Constantin I, and her son Alexandru from 1615 to 1616. Described as proud, ambitious and beautiful, she supported her husband against his brother Simion, and after his death her sons against their rivals, often with Polish military help. Political instability caused by the Moldavian succession crisis resulted in Ottoman attack in 1616. She and her sons led an army against the Turks, but were captured in battle and taken to Constantinople. Her sons were forced to convert, while she was held and later died in the sultan's harem, "by God's will" according to the chronicles. (Wikipedia) See her at the 1.25:00 min. pt. and see the frescoes in the opening credits in Neamul Șoimăreștilor, 'The Family of the Falcons' (1965) in this link. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLSy4hzncK0 www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev61f8wclag
- The interior court of the ensemble (100 x 104 m.s2) is surrounded by 6 m. high, 3 m. thick white-washed walls with a tower at each corner. Sucevița had been a princely residence as well as a fortified monastery, and was a centre for the production of manuscripts, and then for printing. I climbed a hill behind the monastery to get a view of the compound from above.
- There's a museum today in what was once the council chamber, which displays tapestries, the tomb covers of Ieremia and Simion Movilă, illuminated manuscripts, etc. (I would've toured it, unless it wasn't open in 2000, I don't recall).
- I met western tourists rarely in my travels in Romania, even here at these world-famous, albeit remote, monasteries. I was here in April and May, not high season. But I recall an American couple that I met here at this church, the result of one of those May-Dec 31st romances. twitter.com/beberexha/status/1454569430243938309 She was a lovely, gracious young blonde, quietly confident in how beautiful she was, but very religious. Her husband, a portly, much older man, was a preacher, Pentecostal or Baptist I think, who wore a very concerned or disapproving expression throughout the duration of my fairly brief discussion with his young wife (who wasn't being flirtatious in any way). He must have worn that expression often.
- From Sucevița I hitched or walked less than 10 clicks further up the 17A to the 2E and then north to the historic Putna (Poot-nah) monastery. Soon after I arrived and while touring @, I met and befriended a young monk (Putna's a home for monks, not nuns) whose English was quite good, and who showed me @ some. At one point, after supper, he and I and his friend, another monk with a long black beard in a black robe (all the monks are robed), briefly left the enclosed monastic complex just after dark to walk into the town of Putna to see the famous, ancient wooden church of Dragoș Vodă, aka 'Dragoș the Founder', said to be the oldest church in Moldavia (1346). Built by its namesake, the founder of Moldovia, it was relocated to Putna by Ștefan cel Mare out of harm's way in 1468, as the Turks were on the rampage at that time. www.flickr.com/photos/tudorseulean/2763165162 Again, it was late and I don't recall if it was open. The 2nd monk, my friend's friend, was stooping some as we were walking and was looking @ and back over his shoulder a fair bit. He said he hadn't seen that church before as he wasn't supposed to leave the compound where he'd been living as an initiate for at least a few years, and was a bit concerned that he might get caught. ! (But he and his friend were laughing too.) That moment was the first time he'd left the compound in @ 3 years! (See what a trippy trip I was having in Romania?)
- I slept at the monastery that night (again, as a 'pilgrim'), and the next morning before I left, my new, very kind and generous friend gave me a little bottle of Myrrh from Jerusalem to take with me, and which I still have and value today.
- "Putna Monastery lacks the external murals of the painted monasteries, but as the first of the great religious monuments of southern Bukovina and the burial place of Ștefan cel Mare (Stephen III, 'the Great'), it's rich in historical associations and is as important to Romanian patriots as to the Orthodox faithful. Following his conquest of the Kilia citadel, Stephen chose the site of the monastery by firing an arrow from the steep hill which now bears a white cross. Construction of the church began on July 10, 1466; it was completed w/in 3 yr.s, consecrated w/in 4 on Sept. 3, 1470, burnt down and rebuilt in 1484, 1536, [destroyed in 1653 by the Cossack army of Timuş Hmelniţchi, son-in-law of Prince Vasile Lupu, rebuilt again /b/ 1653 and 1662 by Vasile Lupu and co. {wikipedia}] and in 1691, ravaged by war 3 x in the 17th cent., repaired in the 18th, damaged by an earthquake and restored again in 1902 and from 1955 to 1988. The Treasury tower is the only bldg. surviving intact from Stephen's time. "The first superior was Archimandrite Ioasaf from Neamt, the first important monastic centre in Moldavia, who arrived accompanied by calligraphers, the first teachers of the new monastic school which followed the example of that in Neamţ", but which soon became one of the most significant cultural centres in the country. There's a bust of Romania's national poet Eminescu inside the entrance [which I don't recall]. He gave a speech here in Aug. 1871, "on the occasion of the monastery's quadricentennial.: "Let us make Putna the Jerusalem of the Romanian people, and let us also make Stephen's grave the altar of our national conscience." (RG)
- The church "is plain and strong, its facade defined by cable mouldings, [intricately carved stone tracery], blind arcades and trefoil windows." (RG) It "houses the tombs of Stephen the Great [which I'm sure I saw but don't recall] and of several of his family members, and is today a place of pilgrimage. The icon veils and tombstones are held as fine examples of Moldavian art in Stephen's time." (wikipedia)
- "Outside the church stand 3 bells, the largest of which, cast in 1484, was only used to herald events such as royal deaths, and was last rung in 1918, when it was heard as far away as Suceava [37 km.s away?]. Hidden from the communists for almost 50 yr.s, it only reappeared after the revolution of 1989." (RG)
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGjrXB2-mII
- The monastery has a museum which I would've toured but don't recall, which displays "one of the world's most impt. collections of 'Byzantine embroidery'" (RG), many icons, illuminated manuscripts, etc.
- This region's a great one for anyone who loves horses.: www.youtube.com/watch?v=px7YTLtuwI4
- From Putna monastery I walked or hitched up to the 2E and then hitched @ 40 clicks SE to the city of Suceava.
Apr 00 - 'The ladder of virtue', exterior fresco (1601) on the Church of the Resurrection, Sucevița monastery (1585), Sucevița, Moldavia
This church at Sucevița (Soo-che-veetsa) is renowned for this 'Ladder of Virtue', as well as for its 'Tree of Jesse'. It was built in 1585 by Ieremia Movilă (voivode of Moldavia, r 1595-May 1600, and Sept. 1600-1606), Gheorghe Movilă and Simion Movilă (prince of Wallachia r Nov. 1600-June 1601 and Oct. 1601-July 1602; and prince of Moldavia r July 1606 until his death in Sept. 1607). The church contains both Byzantine and Gothic elements, and some elements typical to other painted churches of northern Moldavia. Both interior and exterior walls were painted with murals in @ 1601 (wikipedia) in "brilliant reds and blues with an undercoat of emerald green." (RG)
- In this 'Ladder of Virtue' "flights of angels assist the righteous to paradise, while sinners fall through the rungs into the arms of a grinning demon. The message is reiterated in the 'Last Judgement' in the porch (reputedly left unfinished b/c the artist fell to his death from the scaffolding), where angels sound the trumpet and smite heathens with swords. Turks and Jews can be seen lamenting, and the devil gloats at the bottom-right." The Beast of the Apocalypse has 2 heads, and "angels pour rivers of fire and tread the grapes of wrath." (RG)
- "The 'Tree of Jesse' is a lush composition on a dark blue background. ... 'The Veil' represents Mary as a Byzantine empress beneath a red veil held by angels, while the 'Hymn to the Virgin' is illustrated with Italianate bldg.s and people in oriental dress. In a mural with ancient philosophers clad in Byzantine cloaks, Plato bears a coffin and a pile of bones on his head, in tribute to his meditations on life and death." In the narthex, "the lives of the saints end in burning, boiling, spit-roasting, dismemberment or decapitation - a gory catalogue relieved somewhat by images of rams, suns and other zodiacal symbols." (RG)
- Ieremia and Simion lie in marble tombs carved with floral motifs.
- There's a votive image of Doamna Elisabeta Movilă in the nave, princess consort of Moldavia by marriage to Ieremia and regent from 1607 to 1611 on behalf of her son Constantin I, and her son Alexandru from 1615 to 1616. Described as proud, ambitious and beautiful, she supported her husband against his brother Simion, and after his death her sons against their rivals, often with Polish military help. Political instability caused by the Moldavian succession crisis resulted in Ottoman attack in 1616. She and her sons led an army against the Turks, but were captured in battle and taken to Constantinople. Her sons were forced to convert, while she was held and later died in the sultan's harem, "by God's will" according to the chronicles. (Wikipedia) See her at the 1.25:00 min. pt. and see the frescoes in the opening credits in Neamul Șoimăreștilor, 'The Family of the Falcons' (1965) in this link. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLSy4hzncK0 www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev61f8wclag
- The interior court of the ensemble (100 x 104 m.s2) is surrounded by 6 m. high, 3 m. thick white-washed walls with a tower at each corner. Sucevița had been a princely residence as well as a fortified monastery, and was a centre for the production of manuscripts, and then for printing. I climbed a hill behind the monastery to get a view of the compound from above.
- There's a museum today in what was once the council chamber, which displays tapestries, the tomb covers of Ieremia and Simion Movilă, illuminated manuscripts, etc. (I would've toured it, unless it wasn't open in 2000, I don't recall).
- I met western tourists rarely in my travels in Romania, even here at these world-famous, albeit remote, monasteries. I was here in April and May, not high season. But I recall an American couple that I met here at this church, the result of one of those May-Dec 31st romances. twitter.com/beberexha/status/1454569430243938309 She was a lovely, gracious young blonde, quietly confident in how beautiful she was, but very religious. Her husband, a portly, much older man, was a preacher, Pentecostal or Baptist I think, who wore a very concerned or disapproving expression throughout the duration of my fairly brief discussion with his young wife (who wasn't being flirtatious in any way). He must have worn that expression often.
- From Sucevița I hitched or walked less than 10 clicks further up the 17A to the 2E and then north to the historic Putna (Poot-nah) monastery. Soon after I arrived and while touring @, I met and befriended a young monk (Putna's a home for monks, not nuns) whose English was quite good, and who showed me @ some. At one point, after supper, he and I and his friend, another monk with a long black beard in a black robe (all the monks are robed), briefly left the enclosed monastic complex just after dark to walk into the town of Putna to see the famous, ancient wooden church of Dragoș Vodă, aka 'Dragoș the Founder', said to be the oldest church in Moldavia (1346). Built by its namesake, the founder of Moldovia, it was relocated to Putna by Ștefan cel Mare out of harm's way in 1468, as the Turks were on the rampage at that time. www.flickr.com/photos/tudorseulean/2763165162 Again, it was late and I don't recall if it was open. The 2nd monk, my friend's friend, was stooping some as we were walking and was looking @ and back over his shoulder a fair bit. He said he hadn't seen that church before as he wasn't supposed to leave the compound where he'd been living as an initiate for at least a few years, and was a bit concerned that he might get caught. ! (But he and his friend were laughing too.) That moment was the first time he'd left the compound in @ 3 years! (See what a trippy trip I was having in Romania?)
- I slept at the monastery that night (again, as a 'pilgrim'), and the next morning before I left, my new, very kind and generous friend gave me a little bottle of Myrrh from Jerusalem to take with me, and which I still have and value today.
- "Putna Monastery lacks the external murals of the painted monasteries, but as the first of the great religious monuments of southern Bukovina and the burial place of Ștefan cel Mare (Stephen III, 'the Great'), it's rich in historical associations and is as important to Romanian patriots as to the Orthodox faithful. Following his conquest of the Kilia citadel, Stephen chose the site of the monastery by firing an arrow from the steep hill which now bears a white cross. Construction of the church began on July 10, 1466; it was completed w/in 3 yr.s, consecrated w/in 4 on Sept. 3, 1470, burnt down and rebuilt in 1484, 1536, [destroyed in 1653 by the Cossack army of Timuş Hmelniţchi, son-in-law of Prince Vasile Lupu, rebuilt again /b/ 1653 and 1662 by Vasile Lupu and co. {wikipedia}] and in 1691, ravaged by war 3 x in the 17th cent., repaired in the 18th, damaged by an earthquake and restored again in 1902 and from 1955 to 1988. The Treasury tower is the only bldg. surviving intact from Stephen's time. "The first superior was Archimandrite Ioasaf from Neamt, the first important monastic centre in Moldavia, who arrived accompanied by calligraphers, the first teachers of the new monastic school which followed the example of that in Neamţ", but which soon became one of the most significant cultural centres in the country. There's a bust of Romania's national poet Eminescu inside the entrance [which I don't recall]. He gave a speech here in Aug. 1871, "on the occasion of the monastery's quadricentennial.: "Let us make Putna the Jerusalem of the Romanian people, and let us also make Stephen's grave the altar of our national conscience." (RG)
- The church "is plain and strong, its facade defined by cable mouldings, [intricately carved stone tracery], blind arcades and trefoil windows." (RG) It "houses the tombs of Stephen the Great [which I'm sure I saw but don't recall] and of several of his family members, and is today a place of pilgrimage. The icon veils and tombstones are held as fine examples of Moldavian art in Stephen's time." (wikipedia)
- "Outside the church stand 3 bells, the largest of which, cast in 1484, was only used to herald events such as royal deaths, and was last rung in 1918, when it was heard as far away as Suceava [37 km.s away?]. Hidden from the communists for almost 50 yr.s, it only reappeared after the revolution of 1989." (RG)
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGjrXB2-mII
- The monastery has a museum which I would've toured but don't recall, which displays "one of the world's most impt. collections of 'Byzantine embroidery'" (RG), many icons, illuminated manuscripts, etc.
- This region's a great one for anyone who loves horses.: www.youtube.com/watch?v=px7YTLtuwI4
- From Putna monastery I walked or hitched up to the 2E and then hitched @ 40 clicks SE to the city of Suceava.