Arhivele Olteniei (En)
ILEANA CIOAREC
Cercetător ştiinţific III, dr., Institutul de Cercetări Socio-Umane „C. S. Nicolăescu-Plopşor”, Craiova, al Academiei Române;
E-mail: ileanacioarec@yahoo.com
Abstract
Born in the locality of Paia, from which the family took the name, Păianu boyars were first attested in the 16th century, when the documents mention a certain Bodin from Paia, a bailiff on a field, in 1593.
The landlords of a wide landed property, Păianu boyars belong to a list with old boyar families, with an ancient ascending line, which goes probably way before the constituting of Wallachia feudal state. The existence of the estate is proven by both numerous testaments and decisional documents, which have been preserved along the time.
This boyar family had lost of properties in almost all the counties of Oltenia: Dolj, Gorj and Mehedinţi. In Dolj County, they owned the estates and the villages of: Paia, Hunia, Maglavit, Booveni, Cetate, Amzuleştii de Jos and Apele Vii. Another county where they had estates was Mehedinţi. These estates were either bought (Iablaniţa) or obtained after some of the representatives married women that belonged to other boyar families (Gârla Mare).
The socmen from the estates of Păianu boyars had numerous obligations on addressing their masters. The relations between the owners of the estates and the people dwelling on them are evidenced by the legal regulations from the end of the 18th century and the 19th century. They needed to work the corvee and to sharecrop, as there had been stipulated in the Law of Caragea and the Organic Regulation. These farming services could be different from one area to another, from one locality to another, or one estate to another.
The numerous estates from the property of Păianu boyars, and the great number of socmen that worked on them, demonstrate the important economic role that he played in the Romanian society.
Keywords
the exploitation, the socmen, Păianu boyars, the landlords, boyar family