arnic, chief butler and cup-bearer (this
was a title of Hungarian origin). 9. The Great Stolnik, chief cook. 10.
The Great Comis, Master of the Horse. 11. The Aga, Chief of Police. 12.
Great Pitar, Inspector of Commissariat. 13. Serdar, general of infantry
of three districts (3,000 men). In Moldavia the Spathar was called the
Hettman; in both principalities there were minor offices, and in
Stephen's time the first six only formed the Council of Ministers.[139]

Although, as we have said, the peasantry were chiefly serfs, there were
differences in their condition. The chief body were called Scutelnici,
and the peasantry generally were divided into two classes, those who
possessed land of their own, and those who worked on the estates of the
prince, the boyards, or the monasteries. Part of the latter were free to
move about in search of employment, and the rest were absolutely serfs
attached to the soil; the term of service in every case was fixed at
forty-eight days in the year. The towns were growing in importance, the
capital being Tirgovistea, but Bucarest (to which place Constantine
Brancovano transferred his capital about a century later) was already an
important place, owing chiefly to its situation. Another town or large
village was Curtea d'Ardges. But the Wallachian Voivodes shifted their
'capital' as it suited their pleasure, and the removal in those days was
probably not a very onerous undertaking. It appears that Vlad Dracul
(the Devil) preferred Tirgovistea, whilst another Voivode, Michna,
favoured Ardges.[140] Other towns of note Craiova, Ploiesti, Buzeu, and
two or three ports on the Danube. In Moldavia, Iasi, Suceava, and Roman
were the chief towns. The government of the towns was carried on by a
burgomaster, or mayor, a prefect, and a council of twelve citizens.

The army was very heterogeneous both as regarded its nationalities and
its armament. It was then, or perhaps at a somewhat later period,
divided into three sections, the regular army,[141] the militia, and the
landsturm, the last-named being without pay and only called out in times
of great danger, and it consisted mainly of the servants and slaves of
the boyards. The arms of the regular soldiers were originally, as in
this country, bows and arrows and lances, but in Michael's time there
were already musketeers and primitive artillery. Besides the native
soldiery there were mercenaries, namely, Hungarians, Szeklers, Poles,
Cossacks, Servians, Bu