Brâncoveni. Un drum spre trecut, o cale către viitor

Abstract

…a road to the past, a path toward the future

The idea for this book emerged from the restoration of a practically unknown mural ensemble—the one located in the infirmary chapel of Brâncoveni Monastery in Olt County. Yet, as often happens, once a newly revealed reality comes to light, it inevitably leads to others, and research uncovers that the starting point is in fact a link in a chain of secular and religious monuments whose history stretches back at least to the 15th century and continues to the present day.

These two entities are rarely found together within the same locality, only a few hundred meters apart. And so it was from the beginning. Medieval society kept them strictly separated. The Court belonged to the worldly sphere—first to the boyars, then to the rulers—while the Monastery belonged to God, inhabited by those devoted to Him. The Court disappeared, yet the Monastery endured, even though time did not spare it and people did not always care for it as they should have.

Both had a glorious past, distinguished founders, owners who rose to lead the country, and worthy abbots.

Yet the few hundred meters separating them on the map of the village of Brâncoveni signify far more within the physical, spiritual, and cultural reality of Wallachia.

Although only a fragment of the enclosure wall and a church engulfed by the surrounding cemetery remain from the Court, the Monastery survived and is now experiencing a new life.

Monuments of the past are not only History, but also Future. This very history becomes an argument for publishing such a book. Much has been lost, yet the experience of today’s restorers proves that it is still possible to recover and bring back into value a substantial part of what once existed. Preserving these testimonies in their authentic and unique spirit, deciphering their message for both present and future generations, may become—beyond duty itself—a form of fulfillment for us all.

Prof. Univ. Dr. Tereza Sinigalia, art historian