Abstract
The article provides information based on the unpublished royal accounts of John Albert preserved in the Central Archives of Historical Records in Warsaw and concerning the diplomatic relations between the Polish ruler and Stephen, the Voivode (hospodar) of Moldavia, until 1495. After John Albert ascended the throne in 1492, the Polish court was visited by envoys from Moldavia. We know on the basis of the accounts that, for example, an envoy sent by the Voivode visited the king during a session of the Sejm in Piotrków in 1493. Next, from May to November 1493, a brother (frater) of the Voivode of Moldavia was a guest at the royal court during his stay in Poznań. The entries in the accounts also confirm the presence of two envoys from Moldavia during the King’s stay in Cracow at the beginning of 1494. Another envoy from the Voivode of Moldavia arrived in Cracow after the King’s return from the congress in Levoča in the second half of May 1494. At that time, John Albert sent one of his servants on a mission to Voivode Stephen. Towards the end of 1494, an envoy from Moldavia arrived at the royal court during John Albert’s visit to Elbląg. It is also known that the Voivode sent gifts – the King’s brother, i.e. Sigismund Jagiellonian, received “bridles made in Turkey” from him. The royal accounts do not provide any information about diplomatic relations between John Albert and Voivode Stephen after 1495. Therefore, we do not know what these were like in the period preceding the invasion of Moldavia in 1497. These sources were not used in the existing studies analysing King John Albert’s policy towards Moldavia, including those prepared in recent years.
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