Meșterul Manole

In Romanian mythology, Meșterul Manole (roughly: The master builder Manole) was the chief architect of the Curtea de Argeș Monastery in Wallachia. The myth of the cathedral's construction is expressed in the folk poem Monastirea Argeșului ("The Monastery on the Argeș River").

In the poem, Manole finds it impossible to build the monastery without a human sacrifice and, despite his efforts, is forced to sacrifice his own pregnant wife by encasing her in the walls of the building. Written in the style of a folk ballad, the poem is often seen as an example of an "aesthetic myth" in folkloric literature, having at its core the belief that nothing durable and unique can be built without the creator's self-sacrifice.

George Călinescu considered Meșterul Manole, along with Miorița, Zburătorul and Dochia and Trajan, as being part of the four fundamental myths of Romanian folk literature.