Once Upon a time in Moldova there was a ruler, that was more a scholar than a warrior. When he became a widower, he began to look for a deft, gracious bride, whom he found precisely in Circassia – far away, halfway across the world. She was proud of the girl of a marzac (a Tatar nobleman who led an army.). She had a perfect education and was orthodox. All the virtues, which he wanted, could be found in her. He sent a message to the ruler with rich gifts, in order to groom the girl. And they agreed, because the girl also liked the portrait of the ruler, and she had heard that he had a kind soult, he was gentle with needy peasants and full of anger with troublesome boyars.

Upon the return of the message, at the invitation of the Crimean Han, The King’s Hall stopped to rest for a few days at his palace. The Han, seeing how beautiful the girl was, wanted to hold her for his own harem, also throwing the suitors into the dungeon. In vain Circassian ate pork in front of the Han and walked with his head uncovered – the Han insisted on becoming his. And she couldn’t even tell her bride where she was.

The Han, to order to tame the princess, gave her a handmaid to help and entertain her. The old handmaid turned out to be a Chisinau woman who was stolen long ago as a child and sold into slavery. As soon as they found a common language , the handmaid gave her advise how to let the groom know where she was, without ink and paper. They both sat down at the weaving loom, and, working day and night, they weaved a beautiful carpet with secret signs like drawings of deep indentation, and red roses on which dew splashes looked like tears. The handmaid found a merchant convinced him to bring the carpet to the ruler of Moldova as a gift. The merchant understood that something was unclean with that carpet, but he accepted. In a short time the ruler had received the gift from the court of the Crimean Han, and since he had skilled people around him, they quickly deciphered the hidden message. Soon the girl was released and they made an extraordinary wedding, and the girl became the wife of the ruler of Moldova. The girl didn’t forget about the handmaid, she redeemed her from the Han and gave her freedom, which she had well deserved because of her cleverness and faithfulness …

Note:

Ecaterina Cercheza (1620-1 March 1666) was a Circassian noblewoman who became the second wife of Vasile Lupu, whom she married in 1639. Catherine was the daughter of a” mârzac ” (Prince) cerchez, had a perfect Education, spoke four languages and, apparently, knew how to read. She played a major role in the personal and political decisions of her husband and her son, Stefanita Lupu. Well known for her philanthropic activities, Mrs. Ecaterina Cercheza patronized monasteries and churches in Moldova. She acquired a solid reputation due to her diplomatic and negotiating skills in times of crisis, in the absence of her husband and son. In his writing the italian traveler Niccolò Barsi Da Lucca describes her as having “all the qualities that Aphrodite gives a woman to call her beautiful”…