Considerații privitoare la alegerea, instrucțiunile și drepturile mesagerilor și solilor moldoveni în secolele XV-XVII
Considerations about selection, instructions and rights of the Moldavian messengers and emissaries during the XV-XVII centuries

Summary/Abstract: Mentioned since the ancient times in mythology and documents, the messengers formed the central component of the correspondence system. In the Principality of Moldavia of the 15th-17th century, the information was mostly passed by spoken word. A large part of merchants, travellers or priests practiced this activity, but they only could be regarded as simple transmitters. The official messengers and emissaries were mostly found in the Princely Courts and served only for the state official interests. As the Moldavian territory was situated on the border between Christian Europe and the Ottoman Empire, many of them acted as spies, too. Thus, choosing the right messengers was a pretty delicate job for the princes. Another important aspect was the instructions received by the messenger or emissary for successful accomplishing his mission. During the Medieval period, a large part of the dispatch riders or emissaries had an official job (correspondence carriers) as well as an unofficial one (spies), which made the instructions absolutely necessary in order for the delegate to safely accomplish his tasks. The last question involves the rights and privileges of the messengers in order to keep them as safe as possible. Because they often went through foreign territories, the princes made special deals in which they reciprocally permitted the messengers to cross their territories.

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