Editing Boyar (section)

==Boyars in Moldavia and Wallachia==
[[File:Gheorghe Tattarescu - Portretul Vornicului Serban Gradisteanu.jpg|thumb|[[Wallachia]]n [[vornic]] Șerban Grădișteanu wearing a [[kalpak]], an indication of his boyar rank]]
{{main|Boyars of Moldavia and Wallachia}}
In the [[Carpathian]] regions inhabited by present day Romanians, the boyar ({{lang|ro|boier}}) class emerged from the chiefs (named {{lang|ro|[[cneaz]]}} ("leader") or {{lang|ro|jude}} ("judge") in the areas north of the [[Danube]], and {{lang|ro|celnic}} south of the river) of rural communities in the [[early Middle Ages]], who made their judicial and administrative attributions hereditary and gradually expanded them upon other communities. They were ''approved'' by the [[Ottoman Empire]], which had suzerainty over the area. After the appearance of more advanced political structures in the area, their privileged status had to be confirmed by the central power, which used this prerogative to include in the boyar class individuals that distinguished themselves in the military or civilian functions they performed, by allocating them lands from the princely domains.

Historian Djuvara explained the hypotheses concerning the [[origin of the Romanians]], such as advancing the theory that the vast majority of the nobility in the medieval states that made up the territory of modern-day Romania was of [[Cumans|Cuman]] origin and not Romanian: "Romanians were called the black Cumans".<ref>(in Romanian) Eugen Istodor, "Revoluția lui Djuvara: „Românii erau numiți cumanii negri" ", interview with Neagu Djuvara in [[Cotidianul]], retrieved June 19, 2007</ref>

=== The boyar condition ===
The Romanian social hierarchy was composed of boyar, {{lang|ro|[[mazil]]}} (''turkish: mazul''), {{lang|ro|răzeș}} (''yeoman, freedman'') and {{lang|ro|rumân}} (''serf''). Being a boyar implied three things: being a land-owner, having serfs, and having a military and/or administrative function. A boyar could have a state function and/or a court function. These functions were called {{lang|ro|dregătorie}} or {{lang|ro|boierie}}. Only the prince had the power to assign a boierie. Landowners with serfs but no function were categorized as {{lang|ro|mazil}} but were still considered to be of noble origin ({{lang|ro|din os boieresc}}, literally "of boyar bone"). Small landowners who possessed a domain without distinction ({{lang|ro|devălmășie}}) were called {{lang|ro|moșneni, răzeși}}, while the serfs (indentured servants) were called {{lang|ro|rumâni}}.

=== Origin ===
Although functions could only be accorded by the prince and were not hereditary, land possession was hereditary. The prince could give land to somebody but could not take it from its possessor except for serious reasons such as treason. Therefore, there were two kinds of boyars: those whose families, as chiefs of the ancient rural communities, had held land before the formation of the feudal states, such that the prince merely confirmed their preexisting status as landowners; and those who acquired their domain from a princely donation or who had inherited it from an ancestor who acquired it through such a donation (''cf.'' the distinction between ''[[Uradel]]'' and ''[[Briefadel]]'' in the [[Holy Roman Empire]] and in its feudal successor regimes). During the [[Phanariot]] régime, there were also boyars who had no land at all, but only a function. This way, the number of boyars could be increased, by selling functions to those who could afford them.

=== Hierarchy ===
[[File:Ожидают выхода царя.jpg|thumb|Boyars with [[gorlatnaya hat]]s in a painting by [[Andrei Ryabushkin]]. The higher hats indicated higher social status.]]

The close alliance between the boyar condition and the military-administrative functions led to a confusion, aggravated by the [[Phanariots]]: these functions began to be considered as noble titles, like in the Occident. In fact, this was not at all the case. Traditionally, the boyars were organized in three states: boyars of the first, second, and third states. For example, there was a first or a grand [[postelnic]], a second postelnic, and a third postelnic, each one with his different obligations and rights.

The difference of condition was visible even in the vestimentation or physical aspect. Only the boyars of the first state had the right, for example, to grow a beard, the rest being entitled only to a mustache. Within the class of the boyars of the first state, there was the subclass of the "grand boyars". Those were great landowners who also had some very high functions, such as the function of great [[vornic]]. Above those grand boyars was only the prince.

=== The prince ===
Usually a prince was a boyar before his election or appointment as prince, but this was not an absolute condition. Initially, only princely descendants could be elected princes. During the Phanariot epoch, however, any man could be a prince if appointed by the [[sultan]], and rich enough to buy this appointment from the [[grand vizier]]. During the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] suzerainty, and especially during the [[Phanariots|Phanariot]] régime, the title of Prince became an administrative function within the imperial [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] hierarchy, and thus the ultimate form of boyardness. The title of Prince of Wallachia or Moldavia was equivalent in dignity to that of a [[Pasha]] with two horse-tails.