Korun Aramija or Korun Haramija or Korun Kesedžija is a popular legendary hero of

Serbian epic poetry Serbian epic poetry ( sr, Српске епске народне песме, Srpske epske narodne pesme) is a form of epic poetry created by Serbs originating in today's Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia. The ...

and

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

and Macedonian folklore. He is known as a rival of either

Prince Marko Marko Mrnjavčević ( sr-cyr, Марко Мрњавчевић, ; – 17 May 1395) was the ''de jure'' Serbian king from 1371 to 1395, while he was the ''de facto'' ruler of territory in western Macedonia centered on the town of Prilep. He ...

or Nenad Jugović, other heroes of South Slavic folklore. The epic hero Korun Aramija is based on actual historical person,

Theodor Corona Musachi Theodor Musachi ( sq, Theodhor Koronë Muzaka) or Teodor III Muzaka, was an Albanian nobility, Albanian nobleman who led the 1437–38 revolt against the Ottoman Empire, Ottomans and was one of the founders of the League of Lezhë in 1444. Famil ...

from

Muzaka family The Muzaka were an Albanian noble family that ruled over the region of Myzeqe (southern Albania) in the Late Middle Ages. The Muzaka are also referred to by some authors as a tribe or a clan. The earliest historical document that mention Muzaka ...

that was in conflict with Prince Marko over the town of

Kastoria Kastoria ( el, Καστοριά, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria (regional unit), Kastoria regional unit, in the Geographic regions of Gree ...

Historical background

The Muzaka family was in conflict with

before his death in 1396 which is probably why Theodor Corona Musachi is commemorated in Serbian and south Slavic epic poetry as Korun, Marko's enemy. The term Aramija is derived from Turkish word for bandit ( tr, haram).

Epic poems

Songs about Korun and Nenad Jugović (three different versions) were collected by

Vuk Karadžić Vuk Stefanović Karadžić ( sr-Cyrl, Вук Стефановић Караџић, ; 6 November 1787 (26 October OS)7 February 1864) was a Serbian philologist, anthropologist and linguist. He was one of the most important reformers of the mode ...

and published posthumously in 1899 in chapter titled "The earliest songs about heroes" ( sr, Најстарије пјесме јуначке). Narratives involving Korun as an adversary of Nenad explore the popular theme of

blood vengeance A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one par ...

in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. The story usually opens with Korun massacring whole of Nenad's family, or all of his siblings and almost mortally wounding his parents, out of his sheer vanity over some dubiously grave insult he experienced at the hands of Nenad's loved ones. Nenad survives the massacre for being placed in a convent as a youngest of the children and comes out to seek his revenge on a perpetrator. In epic poetry from Macedonia Korun Aramija is also described as attacking nuptial, making love to widows etc. and always being killed at the end by Sekula, Kostadin or Popović Ivan. Song about fight between Prince Marko and Korun Aramija (''Marko and the Highland Fighter Korun'') was first recorded by Ivan Stepanovič Jastrebov in Macedonian region of

Debar Debar ( mk, Дебaр ; Albanian: ''Dibër''/''Dibra'' or ''Dibra e Madhe;'' ) is a city in the western part of North Macedonia, near the border with Albania, off the road from Struga to Gostivar. It is the seat of Debar Municipality. Debar has an ...

. This song has similar motif as song about Prince Marko and

Musa Kesedžija Musa Kesedžija, Musa Arbanas (Serbian and mk, Муса Кесеџија, bg, Муса Кеседжия), also described as Musa the Robber, Musa the Outlaw, Musa the Highwayman or Musa the Beheader, is a popular legendary villain of Serbian epi ...

because Marko was again fighting against better hero who also is depicted as having more than one heart. In a song recorded in the region of

Prilep Prilep ( mk, Прилеп ) is the fourth-largest city in North Macedonia. It has a population of 66,246 and is known as "the city under Marko's Towers" because of its proximity to the towers of Prince Marko. Name The name of Prilep appear ...

, Korun is referred to as

hajduk A hajduk ( hu, hajdúk, plural of ) is a type of irregular infantry found in Central and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries. They have reputations ranging from bandits to freedom fighters depending on time, p ...

who can not die because of many sins he committed. Some of the poems about Korun are: * Nenad Jugović i Koruna vojvoda * Nejaki Nenad i vojvoda Korun * Kraljević Marko i Korun razbojnik * Kraljević Marko i Korun aramlija * Popović Jovan i Korun razbojnik * Nikolić Nenad i Korun kapetan * Sekula detenca i Korun Aramija * Se razbole Korun aramija * More Korun Aramijo * Korun Aramija što greovi imal * Ballad of Michael the Dragon and Korun the Kessedija, from the Sofia Province

References

{{Reflist

External links

Корун капетан и Ненад Југовић

Ненад Југовић и Коруна војвода

Нејаки Ненад и војвода Корун

Ненад и Коруна војвода
Characters in Serbian epic poetry North Macedonia folklore

Historical background

Epic poems

See also

References

External links