Chapter 60 Chapter Fifty-Nine

Zechariah's Chronicle by Zoglaf ​​Atanas Angelov - Anton Stoichev Introduction The Zechariah's Chronicle as a historical document is well known, although it includes St. The Chronicle of Zechariah, including the Tale of Van, is extremely incomplete, but it is an important source of information, it establishes the pilgrimage routes of Christianity in the Balkans in the fifteenth century, and provides information about Vlad in Wallachia. Relevant information on the whereabouts of the body of the third "Tepis".It has long been believed that he was buried in a monastery at Lake Snagov.It provides invaluable records of the new martyrs of Wallachia (although we cannot be sure of the nationality of the monks from Snagov, except for Stefan, the subject of the Chronicle).Only seven other Wallachian martyrs are recorded, none of whom were martyred in Bulgaria.

What is now called the Untitled Chronicle was written in Slavic by a monk named Zacharias in 1479 or 148 at the Bulgarian monastery on Mount Athos in Zograf.Known as the "Monastery of the Printers", Zograf is located near the center of the Athos Peninsula. It was first built in the tenth century and was occupied by the Bulgarian Church in the 1320s.It is the same as the Hiranda Monastery in Serbia, the Pantalemon Monastery in Russia, in addition to the sponsoring countries, there are people from other countries living there.For this reason, and because of the lack of other information about Zechariah, we cannot confirm his nationality: he could be Bulgarian, Serbian, Russian or Greek, although he wrote in Slavic, which makes him more likely It's the Slavs. The Chronicle only tells us that he was born sometime in the fifteenth century, and that his talents were appreciated by the abbot of Zograf, who appointed him to listen to vagabonds for official and perhaps religiously important purposes. author Stefan's confession, and make a record.

The travel routes mentioned by Stefan in his stories coincide with several famous pilgrimage routes.Constantinople was the final destination of pilgrimage for Wallachia and for all Eastern Christians.Wallachia, especially Snagov Monastery, is also a route.The route was not obscure to pilgrims who made Snagov and Athos their final destination.If the monks go through Haskovo to the Bachkovo area, it means that they are likely to start from Constantinople, choose the overland route through Odin (that is, today's Turkey), and enter southeastern Bulgaria; if they choose The usual port along the Black Sea is too far to the north, making it inconvenient to stop at Haskovo.

The traditional pilgrimage route mentioned in Zechariah's Chronicle raises the question of whether Stefan's story is a document of pilgrimage.However, the two purposes of Stefan's wanderings—leaving fallen Constantinople and transporting relics after 1453, and searching for some kind of "treasure" in Bulgaria after 1476—show that his Stories are at least another typical pilgrimage record.Also, Stefan was a young monk when he left Constantinople, which means that his primary purpose seems to have been to go overseas in search of holy relics. In addition, the "Chronicle" helps to understand the last days of the life of Vlad III of Wallachia (1428-1476).He is often referred to as Vlad Terbis - The Impaler - or Dracula.While several historians of his time have recounted his wars with the Turks and his seizure and efforts to keep the Wallachian throne, no one has detailed the circumstances of his death and burial.The story of Stefan affirms the generosity of Vlad III in funding the Snagov Monastery to rebuild its church.It is possible that he requested to be buried there, in keeping with the practice throughout the Orthodox world that founders and major benefactors of institutions are buried locally.

Stefan in the Chronicle claims that Vlad visited the monastery in 1476, the last year of his life and perhaps a few months before his death.In 1476, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II seriously threatened the throne of Vlad III.For about 146 years, the two sides have been fighting intermittently.At the same time, some nobles were also threatening his position. Once Muhammad planned to invade Wallachia again, they were ready to instigate rebellion. If the "Chronicle" is accurate, Vlad III visited Snagov, but did not leave a record, because it may have been quite dangerous for him. The Chronicle mentions that Vlad came to the monastery with the treasure, and that he did so at great risk, showing how important his relationship with Snagov was to him.He must have been fully aware of the Turks and Bassarab, his chief rival in Wallachia at the time?Raota often threatened his life.After Vlad's death, Laota briefly ruled in Wallachia.Since going to Snagov was of little political interest to Vlad III, he must have been there for spiritual or personal reasons, perhaps as he intended it to be his permanent resting place.In conclusion, Zechariah's Chronicle confirms his particular concern for Snagov towards the end of his life.

The circumstances of Vlad III's death are unclear.Conflicting folklore and shoddy research make it even more confusing.He was probably ambushed by Turkish troops in Wallachia in late December 1476 or early January 1477, and was killed in the ensuing battle.Another tradition says that he climbed a hill to get a better view of the ongoing battle, and that his men mistook him for a Turkish officer and killed him.Another similar theory is that some of his subordinates have been looking for opportunities to assassinate him as punishment for his notorious cruelty.Most sources discussing his death agree that Vlad was beheaded after his death and that his head was brought to Constantinople to be presented to Sultan Mehmed as proof of the killing of a rival.

According to Stefan's story, no matter which of the above two circumstances Vlad died, he must still have some people still loyal to him, because they took the risk of transporting his body to Snagov.It has long been believed that the headless body was buried just in front of the chancel of the Snagov church. If the story of Stefan the Wanderer is to be believed, the body of Vlad III was secretly transported from Snagov to Constantinople, and from there to a Bulgarian palace called Sveti Georgi. monastery.The purpose of this wandering and the monks' search for the "treasure" first in Constantinople and then in Bulgaria is not clear.Stefan's story declares that this treasure will enable "the early deliverance of the king's soul".This shows that the abbot believed that doing so was based on religious necessity.Perhaps they were looking for something holy in Constantinople that had gone unnoticed by the Roman Catholics and the Turkish occupiers.If it happened that the body was mutilated in Snagov, or people mutilated the body to prevent the appearance of vampires, or the local villagers took the body away, then the abbot may not want to be responsible for it.Given Vlad's status, and the fact that Orthodox clergy were not allowed to take part in the mutilation of the body, the reluctance of the abbot was understandable.

Unfortunately, no possible burial site for Vlad III has been found in Bulgaria, not even the similar Bulgarian Paloria Monastery of Sveti Georgi, which was probably destroyed during the Turks. abandoned or destroyed, and the Chronicle notes that they traveled only a short distance—“not very far”—from the monastery to Bachkovo, about Thirty-five kilometers away, and Sveti Georgi is somewhere in south-central Bulgaria.This region, including much of the Rhodope Mountains, was the last of the Bulgarian lands to be conquered by the Turks, and some particularly rugged areas remained unoccupied by the Turks.If Sveti Georgi was located in this area, it would partly explain its choice as the place where Vlad's remains were placed because it was relatively safe.

Although the Chronicle mentions that it became a place of pilgrimage after the Snagov monks settled in Sveti Georgi, other important documents of the time and later materials do not mention it.This suggests that it disappeared or was abandoned shortly after Stefan left the site.However, we find a single surviving document in the library of the Bachkovo Monastery, from which we learn something about the establishment of Sveti Georgi.According to this document, Sveti Georgi was founded in 1111 by Georgios Corninus, a distant relative of the Byzantine emperor Alexius I Corninus .Zechariah's Chronicle says that when Snagov's band of monks arrived, the monks there were "few in number and old in age."These remaining monks may have maintained the management system described in the literature.Later, Wallachian monks lived with them.

It is worth mentioning that the Chronicle emphasizes the journey of these Wallachians through Bulgaria in two different ways: first, it details the martyrdom of two of them at the hands of Turkish officials; Itinerary across the country.The Bulgarian Turks, who were generally tolerant of Christian religious practice, saw these Wallachian monks as a threat for some reason.Stefan recounts, through Zacharias, that his friend was "interrogated" in Haskovo, then tortured and killed.This implies that the Ottoman authorities believed they knew some kind of sensitive political information.Haskovo is located in southeastern Bulgaria, and until the fifteenth century the region was firmly under the control of the Turks.Curiously, the martyred monks were punished according to the Turkish tradition for stealing (cutting off the hands) and for running away (cutting off the feet).Most of the new martyrs who perished at the hands of the Turks were tortured and killed in other ways.Stefan's account of the punishment of the monks in his story and the search of the monks' carriages indicate that Haskovo officials accused them of theft, although they obviously could not prove this.

Stefan recounts how much attention they received from the Bulgarian people along the way, which may have been why the Turks were curious.However, only eight years earlier, in 1469, the remains of the hermit St. Ivan Rilski, founder of the Rila Monastery, were transported from Velico Tronovo to a small chapel in Rila.Vladislav Gramati witnessed the event and described it in his Chronicle of the Transport of the Remains of St. Ivan.For Bulgarian Christians, the trip has become a symbolic event, a moment of unity.It is possible that both Zechariah and Stefan knew about this famous trip to the remains of Ivan Rilsky.Until 1479, relevant records can also be found in Zograf's "Zechariah's Chronicle". This earlier—and more recent—religious journey through Bulgaria reminded the Turks that the journeys of the Wallachian monks had special significance.The search of their carriage—probably carried out by a local pasha's guards—suggests that Turkish officials in Bulgaria may have known the purpose of their trip.Of course, the Ottoman authorities would not have been willing to store the remains of one of their greatest political enemies in Bulgaria, or tolerate paying homage to it.Even more puzzling, though, is the fact that a search of the carriage must have turned up nothing, since Stefan's story later mentions that the remains were buried at Sveti Georgi.If they did carry a body, we can only speculate how they hid the entire (albeit headless) body. Finally, and of interest to historians and anthropologists alike, the Chronicle mentions that the Snagov monks believed they had witnessed apparitions in their churches. Accounts differ as to what happened to Vlad III's body during their vigil.They propose several traditional ways of turning a corpse into a zombie—a vampire—as a basis.They both believed that Vlad knew that a dangerous outcome was possible.Some believed they saw a wild animal jump on top of the corpse.Others say that the supernatural force turned into mist or wind and floated into the church, so that the corpse sat upright.In the folklore of the Balkans, the theory that vampires originated from beasts is widely circulated, and many people also believe that vampires can be transformed into mist or smoke clouds.It is probable that these monks knew of Vlad III's famous bloodlust, and of his conversion to Catholicism at the residence of King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, for the former was a household name in Wallachia, and the later The latter must have been of concern to the local Orthodox Christians (especially in the monastery Vlad funded, where the abbot was probably his confessor). manuscript The Chronicle of Zechariah is known from two manuscripts, Athos 148 and R·VII·132; the latter is also known as the "bishop's version". "Athos 148" is a quarto, all in semi-Uncial script. It was discovered in 1923 in the library of the Rila Monastery in Bulgaria. It is the earlier of the two editions of "Chronicle" One, almost certainly written by Zechariah himself in Zograf, probably based on notes left by Stefan before his death.Although Zechariah claims he "took down every word," he must have done quite a bit of re-creation.The elegance of writing cannot be done on the spot, and there is only one correction.It is likely that this manuscript remained in the Zograf library until at least 1814, since Zograph has a catalog of fifteenth and sixteenth century manuscripts made in 1814 which mentions it.It resurfaced in Bulgaria in 1923, when the Bulgarian historian Atanas Angelov discovered it in the library of the Rila Monastery in an eighteenth-century folio treatise on About the life of St. George.Angelov confirmed in 1924 that there are no extant copies of this manuscript in Zograf.Exactly when and how it traveled from Athos to Lira remains unclear.But pirate raids on Athos in the 18th and 19th centuries may have been one of the reasons it (along with countless other valuable documents and objects) left the holy mountain. The second and other only known copy or edition of Zechariah's Chronicle - R. VII. 132 or "Bishop's Edition" - is in the Cosmopolitan Monastery of Constantinople. In the library of the church, the history of ancient documents can be traced back to the middle and late sixteenth century.It is likely a later facsimile of a document sent to the bishop by the abbot of Zograf in Zechariah's time, and the original manuscript may have been presented with the abbot's letter.In his letter, the abbot warned the bishop of the possibility of heresy in the Bulgarian Sveti Georgi Monastery.The letter no longer exists, but probably for reasons of efficiency and prudence, the abbot of Zograf ordered Zechariah to recopy his Chronicle, send the copy to Constantinople, and send the original Left in Zograf's library.Fifty to a hundred years into the acceptance of the Chronicle, it was still considered important enough to be preserved by reproduction in a bishop's library. Not only is the "bishop's version" likely a late copy of a letter from Zograf, but it differs from Athos 148 in another important way: it omits the vigil in the Snagov church. The stories of visions claimed by the monks in the world range from "a monk saw a wild beast" to "the headless body of the king moved and tried to sit up".This passage was deleted in later manuscripts, probably to keep readers of the Episcopal Library from the heresy described by Stefan, and possibly to minimize their exposure to superstitious ideas about zombies.For this superstitious thought, the church management is generally opposed to it. The exact date of the "bishop's edition" is difficult to ascertain, but it is almost certain that from 165 onwards the codex was included in the catalog of the bishop's library. There is one final similarity between the two surviving versions of the Chronicle—a striking but puzzling one.The stories are all ripped off in about the same places. "Athos 148" ends with "I understand," while the "bishop version" goes on to say "It was not a common plague, but," the two versions are neatly spaced after a full sentence , possibly by omitting the visions or other evil phenomena that may have occurred in the monastery of Sveti Georgi attested to in Stefan's story. When did the tearing occur?A possible clue is provided by the library catalog mentioned above, which lists the Episcopal Version as "incomplete".We can therefore infer that the tearing of the pages of this edition took place 165 years ago.We have no way of knowing, however, whether the two tearings occurred at the same time, or whether a much later reader was inspired to act similarly; nor how similar the two endings of the document are.With the exception of the Vigil passage mentioned above, the "bishop's version" is faithful to the Zograf manuscript, which suggests that both versions end the story the same, or at least very close.Moreover, the fact that the "Bishop's Version" was torn out even though passages related to the supernatural events that took place in Snagov Church had been deleted helps to explain that it still recounts what happened in Svey at the end. Heresy or evil imagination of Emperor George.In medieval manuscripts from the Balkans, this is the only example of such deliberate vandalism of two different versions of the same document separated by thousands of miles. Zachariah's Chronicle, edited and translated by Zograf, was published twice before.The first edition was a Greek translation, with limited annotations given to Sintus Konstantinos' History of the Byzantine Church (1849).In 1931, the Episcopal Church published an original pamphlet in Slavic.Atanas Angelov discovered the Zograf edition in 1923, intending to publish it with detailed annotations, but was unable to complete the project after his death in 1924.Some of his notes were published in Balkan Historical Studies in 1927. The Chronicles of Zechariah by Zograf This story is the Christian brother of me, Zechariah the Penitent, from Tsarigrad, the old name for Istanbul (Constantinople) in the Slavic languages ​​of Bulgaria, Russia, etc., during the Ottoman Empire , which means "imperial city".Stefan the Wanderer dictated mine.He came to our Zograf Monastery in 6987 (1479).Here he tells the anecdote of his experience.Stefan the Wanderer was fifty-three years old when he arrived, pious, wise, and well-informed.Thank Our Lady for guiding him from Bulgaria to us.He traveled with a band of Wallachian monks, suffered at the hands of the pagan Turks, and witnessed the martyrdom of two friends at Haskovo.He and his brothers were known throughout the country for carrying some powerful holy relic through pagan lands and with it deep into the heart of Bulgaria.Wherever they passed, Christian men and women watched along the road, bowed to them or kissed the rim of the cart.In this way, the holy relic was brought to a monastery called Sveti Georgi, and treasured.Although small and remote, the monastery has since been visited by many pilgrims from the monasteries in Rila and Bachkovo, or from the holy Athos.But as far as we know, Stefan the Wanderer was the first person to have been to Sveti Georgi. He lived with us for several months.He never commented on the monastery of Sveti Georgi, but only told us about the many heaven-sent places he had been to, and with his pious nature, he made us who never went abroad understand the truth of Christ. Miracles performed by the Church in a foreign land.He once said that there is an island chapel in Maria Bay on the sea of ​​Venice.The island was very small, and the waves beat against the walls of the chapel.There is also an island monastery called Sveti?Stefan.Stefan had walked south of it along the coast for two days.It was there that he dropped his original name for the name of its patron.He told us a lot about this and other things, including seeing and writing about the terrible monsters on the Marble Sea. He speaks most of the churches and monasteries in the city of Constantinople before they were defiled by the pagan armies of the Sultan.He describes to us with reverence the priceless icons that work miracles, such as the Madonna in Hagia Sophia, and the Veiled Madonna in the sanctuary of Bračene.He met St. John?Crisosto Saint John?Chrysostom (about 347-407), early church father, interpreter, archbishop of Constantinople.and the emperor's tomb, see the head of the holy St. Basil in the church of Panakratos, and the remains of other saints.He left Constantinople at a young age to travel far and wide.The terrible Muhammad built a vicious fortress near the city to attack the city, and soon destroyed the high wall, slaughtered and enslaved the noble people in the city.How lucky he was far away when all this happened, and how lucky we are to hear his story. Weep over the martyred city. His horses brought to our monastery rare books from which he received divine revelation, for he himself knew Greek, Latin, and Slavic, and probably others.He told us all this, and sent his book to our library to perpetuate its glory.While most of us are monolingual, and some are illiterate, these books are a badge of honor.He sent these presents, saying that his wanderings were over, and that he remained in Zograf forever, like his books. Only me and another church member discovered that Stefan never talked about Wallachia, only that he was a new believer in Wallachia.He didn't say much about the Bulgarian monastery called Sveti Georgi until the time of his death.When he came he was sick, and the fever in his extremities was severe.In less than a year, he told us that if God, who forgives all true penitents, had spared him enough sins, he would soon report to the throne of the Redeemer.As he was dying, he begged to confess to our Abbot, because he could not die with the evil he had witnessed.The abbot was so shocked by his confession that he asked me to ask him to repeat it, and to take note of all his words, because the abbot wanted to send a letter on the matter to Constantinople.I sat by Stefan's bed and listened with horror to his patient story, and I did it without delay or error.Afterwards he took communion, died in his sleep, and was buried in our monastery. The Story of Stefan by Snagov, Faithful Translator: Zechariah the Sinner I, Stefan, after many years of wandering, after the loss of the city of my beloved and holy mother, seek north of the great river The boundary between Bulgaria and Bactria (Romania's old name, Dacia——Editor's Note).I went deep into the plains and mountains, and finally found the way to the monastery.It is located on the island of Snagov Lake, which is extremely beautiful and easy to defend but difficult to attack.The good dean welcomes me.I sat at the table with the monks, who prayed with humility and concentration, like all the monks I met along the way.They call me brother and share their food freely with me.For a long time I have felt the greatest peace in their reverent silence.I obey every instruction of the dean and work diligently.Soon, he agreed to let me stay.The church is not big, but it is extremely beautiful, and the famous bells rippling on the lake. The church-cum-monastery was acquired by the local ruler Vlad?Delacour's son Vlad heavily patronized, strong defense.Vlad Dracula was twice ousted from the throne by the Sultan and other enemies.He was also the Hungarian King Matthias?Corvinus was imprisoned for a long time.King Dracula was very brave. In merciless battles, he plundered or recaptured many lands taken by heretics, and the spoils he obtained were given to this monastery.He often wanted us to pray for him, his family and their safety, and we did.Some of the monks whispered behind his back that he was cruel and sinful, and that he had converted to Roman Catholicism while imprisoned by the King of Hungary, but the abbot would not allow anyone to speak ill of him.More than once, the abbot hid him and his men in the church sanctuary while other nobles pursued him. Dracula came to the monastery in the last year of his life, and he came more in the early years.I didn't see him at the time, and the abbot sent me and another monk to another church on errands.After I came back, I heard that Master Dracula came and left another treasure.One of the parishioners in charge of doing business with local farmers using our items had heard many stories in the country and whispered that Dracula might have displayed a bag full of human ears and noses as treasure, but the Dean knew that After speaking, he severely punished this person.So I never saw Vlad Dracula alive, though I did see him dead.I'll get to that shortly. About four months later word came that he had been besieged in a battle, and that with that mighty sword he had killed more than forty enemies before he was caught and killed by pagan soldiers.After his death, the Sultan's soldiers cut off his head and brought it to his master. King Dracula's barracks got the news.While many went into hiding after his death, some of them took the news and his body to the monastery in Snagov before fleeing too.The abbot wept as he saw the body lifted from the ship, and prayed aloud for the soul of Lord Dracula, and for him the protection of God, as the heathen Crescent Guard approached.He placed his body solemnly in the church. It was one of the scariest scenes I've ever seen.The headless corpse was wrapped in bright red and purple, and countless flickering candles surrounded it.We sat in the church and watched over.The vigil lasted three days and three nights.I was in the first class, and the whole church was very quiet, except for the shockingly mutilated body.The second class was also calm as usual——that's what the church members at the vigil said.But on the third night, when some of the congregation were too tired to doze off, something happened and the people panicked.What happened in the end, everyone insists on different opinions. A monk saw a beast leap from the shadows of the chaplain onto the coffin, but was not sure what the beast looked like.Others felt a sudden gust of wind, or saw a thick fog drift into the church, flickering the candles.They swear, especially by the angels Michael and Gabriel, that the king's headless body quivered in the dark and tried to sit up. There was a chorus of screams from the churchgoers, louder than louder with fear, and the whole church was shaken.The monks ran out the door, arguing desperately about what they had seen. The Abbot came with a torch in his hand.In the firelight, his complexion was very pale, and he was horrified when he heard what they told about what happened, and made the sign of the cross again and again.He reminded all of us present that the soul of this noble man is in our hands and that we must act appropriately.He led us into the church, relighted the candles, and we saw the body in the coffin motionless, as calm as before.The abbot ordered a search of the church, but there were no beasts or ghosts anywhere.He asked us to calm down and go back to our rooms.We went to our first worship on time as usual, and everything was peaceful. The next night, though, he summoned eight monks, and I was lucky enough to be included.He said, we pretend that the king's body is still buried in the church, but what we have to do is to remove it from here immediately.He said he only told one of us where to move and why.Because as long as we don't know, we're safer.He picked out a monk who had followed him for many years, and gave him an explanation, telling us to act according to the word and not to ask questions. And so, thinking I would be no longer a wanderer, I became a traveler once more, and traveled long distances with my companions to my mother city, which was then in the kingdom of the heathen.I found that times have changed there.Hagia Sophia turned into a mosque, we can't go inside.Many churches were destroyed or collapsed into ruins.Others became places of worship for the Turks, not even Panakratos.It was there that I learned that we were looking for a treasure that would bring the king's soul to his rescue.Two holy and brave monks from the monastery of the Holy Redeemer had acquired this treasure at great risk, and secretly carried it out of the city.However, the Sultan's Janissaries have become suspicious, and we are thus in danger of being forced to look for it again.This time, we entered the ancient kingdom of the Bulgarians. As we passed through the country, some Bulgarians seemed to already know our mission.Along the way, more and more people came out, silently bowing to us, some following for a long time, touching our carriage or kissing the sides. During this trip, something even more terrifying happened. As we passed Haskovo, some guards rode up and stopped us with force and foul language.They searched our car and said they would find out whatever we were carrying.They found two packages and rushed to open them, only to find food.The infidels became enraged, and they threw things on the ground and arrested two of our men.These good monks protested that they knew nothing, which angered the pagans.They were cut off with hands and feet, and salt was rubbed into the wounds before they died.They let the rest of us live, but cursed and whipped us before letting go.Later, we had the opportunity to gather up the bodies and limbs of our close friends and reassemble them for a Christian funeral in the monastery in Bachkovo.The monks there prayed many days and nights for their faithful souls. After this incident, we were very sad and very frightened, but we went on and arrived at the Sveti Georgy Monastery in a short distance, mostly safely. The number of monks there is small and old.They welcomed us, saying that the treasure we were looking for had been brought here by two pilgrims months before and that it was all right. After so many dangers, we did not dare to think of returning to Bactria, so we stayed. The relics we brought were kept in secret at Sveti Georgi, but their reputation spread widely in the Christian world, many people came to pay their respects, and the visitors were silent on the matter. For a while we lived peacefully here, and our labors expanded the monastery quite a bit.Before long, however, a plague broke out in our neighboring village, which at first did not reach the monastery.I learned that [this is no ordinary plague, but—] [manuscripts are cut or torn here]