Miron Costin (March 30, 1633 – 1691) was a Moldavian ( Romanian) political figure and chronicler. His main work, Letopiseţul Ţărâi Moldovei [de la Aron Vodă încoace] (The Chronicles of the land of Moldavia [from the rule of Aron Vodă) was meant to extend Grigore Ureche's narrative, ^[1] covering events from 1594 to 1660. The Chronicles were first published in 1675.

He also wrote Istoria în versuri polone despre Ţara Moldovei şi Munteniei ( Polish verse history of Moldavia and Wallachia), also known under the title Poema polonă (The Polish poem).

Life

Miron Costin was born as the son of a rich Moldavian boyar (Ion or Iancu). He spent his earliest years in Poland, where his family had taken refuge from Ottoman violence in Moldavia. His father had become a Polish magnate, which gave Miron the right to study at the Jesuit College in Bar, then at Kamienec Podolski.

He returned to Moldavia in 1653, and became a trainee of the country's treasury. Valued by the administration, he rose quickly, becoming Vornic in 1669 (i.e.: overseer of the Court, with several political responsibilities both inside the state and abroad).

In 1691 his relation with Prince Constantin Cantemir deteriorated. He and his brother ( Hatman Velicico) were believed to have tried to usurp the throne in Iaşi: both were executed in Roman.

Works

• Viiaţa lumii 1672
• The translation of Origines et occasus Transsylvanorum ( Lyon, 1667) by Laurențiu Toppeltin of Mediaș
• Letopiseţul Ţărâi Moldovei de la Aron Vodă încoace 1675 German translation
• Chronika ziem Moldawskich y Multanskich ( Cronica țărilor Moldovei și Munteniei) (in Polish)
• Istoria în versuri polone despre Ţara Moldovei şi Munteniei (Poema polonă) 1684
• De neamul moldovenilor approx. 1687

External links

• Miron Costin: Grausame Zeiten in der Moldau, Styria 1980 Graz&Vienna&Cologne Link

Romanian Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Miron Costin (original works in Romanian)

References