Urbanizarea medievală românească extracarpatică – gest oficial major sau pură întâmplare?
Medieval Romanian Urbanisation in Moldavia and Walachia – a Major Political Undertaking or a Random Occurrence?

Summary/Abstract: The paper considers the relation between the urban organisations of medieval Romanian towns of Moldavia and Walachia and the state intervention (the intervention of the ruling princes), a problem being the subject of a controversy in different publications. One opinion (considering architectural and urban arguments, and having been adopted also by some historians and archaeologists) is that as early as the 14th and 15th century coherent central public spaces (urban squares) existed. The other (considering historical and archaeological arguments) places the appearance of these squares only later, beginning with the 16th century. This work using information from of the varied fields, supports the first theory, reviewing the genesis and early development of the towns having been studies in relation with the role of the ruling princes. The study is organized observing the following pattern: - the appearance and development of a network of medieval towns in Moldavia and Walachia, - the role and status of the colonists and their relation to the state, - the genesis and perfection of the urban structures, - the genesis and perfection of the organization of central squares. Case studies for Suceava, Roman, Iaşi, Câmpulung and Piteşti follow. Finally, the two formerly stated opinions are compeered in graphic format. Some older studies of the author concerning the urban structure of some Romanian medieval towns complete the work.

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