vince. This is the tradition of the foundation of Wallachia.

About the same time, we are told, there dwelt in another part of the
mountains, to the west of Fogaras, a colony of Daco-Roman descendants,
namely, that of Marmaros or Maramurish, ruled over by one Bogdan, or
Dragosch. This chief, as the story runs, was once out hunting the
aurochs with a large following, accompanied by his dog Molda, and being
arrived in a beautiful country through which flowed a pretty stream, he
determined to settle there, called the river the Moldava, built a city
which he named Roman, reduced the inhabitants and their chiefs to
submission, and became the first Voivode of Moldavia.

Of late years these traditions have been subjected to the searching
light of criticism, sharpened in some cases by national or political
tendencies, and whilst the story of Radu Negru has fallen into
discredit, that of Bogdan has undergone considerable modification. The
very names of the heroes have been canvassed, and Radu, instead of
Rudolph, has been shown to mean 'joy' (as Bogdan Dragosch was the
God-given'), so that, instead of Radu Negru, we now sometimes meet with
the name of Negru Voda, or 'the Black Prince,' who, according to the
traditions of some parts of the country, is still believed to have
descended from the Carpathians, and to have freed the land from the
Tartar hordes.

II.

Thus far tradition. Roumania possesses no historical records of the
period, but the discovery of manuscripts in Hungary, Poland, and
elsewhere, has established certain facts that are beginning to serve as
a solid foundation upon which the early history of the country is being
based.

First, it is admitted that the plains and the slopes of the Carpathians
were inhabited by communities ruled over by chieftains of varying power
and influence. Some were banates, as that of Craiova, which long
remained a semi-independent State; then there were petty voivodes or
princes, as the Princes of Zevrin or Severin, Farcas, Seneslas, &c.; and
besides these there were khanates, called in French _kinezats_, and in
German _knesenschaften_ (from the Slav. _kniaz_, a prince), some of
which were petty principalities, whilst others were merely the
governorships of villages or groups of them. These are only a few of the
small rulerships, which are every day multiplied as the State records of
the neighbouring countries are being more and more carefully
investigated.

The names of promin