Laţcu of Moldavia

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Laţcu was the Voivode of Moldavia between circa 1365 and 1373. He was the son of Bogdan I. His name is a diminutive form of Vladislav (or Ladislau), often used in that period in Hungary.

During his reign, Roman Catholicism was introduced in Moldavia. On March 9, 1371, the Archbishop of Kraków appointed a man called Andrei as Bishop of Siret. On September 3, 1371, Pope Gregory XI appointed a second Bishop over Milcov.

Laţcu became a Catholic in 1370 in order to gain equal religious status with the rival Polish and Hungarian Kings. He has been recognized by the Holy See as a duke of Moldavia, which is mentioned as inhabited by the Vlach nation (dux Moldavie partium seu nationis Wlachie).

He also hoped that the Pope would allow him to divorce his wife, who could not bear him a son, but, in a letter from January 25, 1372, the Pontiff declined his request. He had a daughter from his wife Ana, named Anastasia, who married Roman I, the son of Costea Muşat, the voivode that succeeded him, and the first ruler of the Muşat family.

When Laţcu died, he was interred in the Rădăuţi church alongside his father Bogdan I.

[edit] References

• M. Bărbulescu, D. Deletant, K. Hitchins, Ş. Papacostea, P. Teodor, Istoria României, Ed. Corint, 2004, ISBN 973-653-514-2

Preceded by Bogdan I

Prince/Voivode of Moldavia 1365 - 1373

Succeeded by Costea