Câteva lămuriri cu privire la înrudirile primilor domni ai Moldovei cu dinastia lituaniană
Some remarks on the dynastic marriages of the first Moldavian voivodes with Lithuanian Princesses

Summary/Abstract: The surviving documents record the existence of quite a lot of marriages between the first Moldavian Voivodes and Lithuanian princesses, but without revealing essential information, such as names and dates, making difficult the task of genealogists. Because of that, they used circumstantial evidence, one of the most important being the reason invoked to justify the divorce of Voivode Alexandru cel Bun of Moldavia and Zingailé-Ryngałła, the sister of the Grand Duke Vytautas-Witold of Lithuania. Recorded in a papal act as an impediment due to tercio affinitatis gradu relationship, it was used by historians and genealogists without a proper understanding of its meaning. A survey of the Canon Law provisions regarding affinity reveals that the relationship between the Moldavian Voivode and the Lithuanian princess could arise only from blood relations between Alexandru cel Bun and the former husband of Zingailé-Ryngałła or from blood relations between the Lithuanian princess and one of the former wives of the Moldavian Voivode, giving no clues about previous marriages of their ancestors. An analysis of all the cases further restricts the possibilities to a probably blood relationship between Ana-Neacşa, the previous wife of Alexandru cel Bun, and Zingailé-Ryngałła, both having a common great grandparent.

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