The man who sacrificed his wife

A Romanian myth

Would you sacrifice the life of the person you love in order to achieve greatness? Sacrifice is a common theme in many religions, from the gruesome animal sacrifices still practiced today to several myths, such as Jesus being killed for our sins.

Well, the cathedral in the picture above was built in the early 16th century. One of the reasons it is well known in Romania is the myth of its creation, a story that is being taught in schools. Oddly enough, I learned about that myth before I even got to see the building in a picture.

The story’s main character is a man called Manole, who, alongside nine other men, was given an almost impossible task to do: build the most beautiful monastery.

At first, the work they did was in vain because the walls they built during the day crumbled at night. The Prince who gave them this complicated mission threatened to kill them since they weren’t making any progress. Manole, the master of the group, or, using modern terminology, the chief architect, had a dream that revealed to him the solution to their problem.

The price that needed to be paid, according to the dream he had, was the life of someone loved by him or his workers. All men in the group agreed to sacrifice the first wife or sister who would come to bring food to one of them.

Manole looked over the hills and saw his pregnant wife, Ana, coming. He prayed to God and God sent a storm, but Ana couldn’t be stopped, her love was greater than the hardships she was facing.

When she arrived, she was told they wanted to play a game with her, that they wanted to build walls around her as a joke, and she accepted, not suspecting anything. When she realized she was tricked, she begged her husband to let her go, but they did not free her.

After the monastery was finally finished, the Prince asked the builders if they could build one that was even more beautiful. In their arrogance, they declared they could always make a greater one and that their talent was unmatched. But that was not the answer the Prince wanted, no, he disliked the idea of them making another one for someone else. So he ordered they would be left to perish on the roof.

They attempted to escape, thinking they could use the wood found on the roof as wings, but, of course, they did not manage to fly away. They all fell on the ground, one by one, and died. It is believed that a well of water is marking the spot where Manole fell.

They sacrificed the pregnant woman so the Prince wouldn’t kill them, but, in the end, their arrogance had them killed anyway.

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