Malonšići (in older forms: Malončići and Malonjšiki, Cyrillic: Малоншићи) was a historical

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...

(''pleme'') and area in the

Brda region Brda ( Montenegrin and Serbian Cyrillic: Брда, "Highlands" or "Hills"), is a historical and ethnographical region in Montenegro. The historical tribes of Brda: Vasojevići, Bjelopavlići, Piperi, Kuči, Bratonožići, Morača and Rovčani co ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

. Malonšići were located between modern

Danilovgrad Danilovgrad ( cnr, Даниловград) is a town in central Montenegro. It has a population of 6,852 (2011 census). It is situated in the Danilovgrad Municipality which lies along the main route between Montenegro's two largest cities, Podgori ...

and

Podgorica Podgorica (Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; lit. 'under the hill') is the capital and largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd (Cyrillic: Титоград, ) between 1946 and 1992—in the period that Montenegro form ...

. By the late 15th century they were

slavicized Slavicisation or Slavicization, is the acculturation of something Slavic into a non-Slavic culture, cuisine, region, or nation. To a lesser degree, it also means acculturation or adoption of something non-Slavic into Slavic culture or terms. Th ...

and later assimilated into

Bjelopavlići Bjelopavlići ( cyrl, Бјелопавлићи; sq, Palabardhi), ) is a historical tribe (pleme) of Albanian origin and a valley in the Brda region of Montenegro, around the city of Danilovgrad. Geography The ''Bjelopavlići'' valley (also kn ...

Etymology

The Malonšići were of Albanian origin. Their name is related to the Albanian word ''mal'' (mountain), a toponym and anthroponym which is very frequent among Albanian communities in modern Montenegro. The locality of ''Malenza'' in their home territory has been connected by P. Šobajić to their name and has been interpreted as a compound ''mal'' and ''zi'' (black).

Geography

The tribe encompassed parts of what was later Zagarač, Komani and Bjelopavlići. The area of the Malonšići is located in southern

Danilovgrad Municipality Danilovgrad Municipality is one of the municipalities of Montenegro. The administrative center is town of Danilovgrad. The municipality is located in the central region of Montenegro in the valley of Zeta river, sometimes called also the Bjelopavli ...

and northern

municipality. The tribe lived in the basin of the

Zeta Zeta (, ; uppercase Ζ, lowercase ζ; grc, ζῆτα, el, ζήτα, label= Demotic Greek, classical or ''zē̂ta''; ''zíta'') is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 7. It was derived f ...

, Sušica and

Mareza The Mareza (Serbian Cyrillic: Мареза) is a river in Montenegro. It is also a name of suburb of Podgorica, in which the river originates. The river The River Mareza is a small river that originates at the Mareza Springs, some 3 km north ...

rivers.

History

The first reference to the Malonšići comes from a letter issued by the Serbian Chancellery in Dubrovnik in 1411. The document, a complaint from Ragusan people addressed to

Jelena Balšić Jelena, also written Yelena and Elena, is a Slavic given name. It is a Slavicized form of the Greek name Helen, which is of uncertain origin. Diminutives of the name include Jelica, Jelka, Jele, Jela, Lena, Lenotschka, Jeca, Lenka, and Alena. Not ...

, is about the looting committed by the Malonšići, together with the

, Ozrinići and Maznice, on Ragusan merchants on their way through

while they were returning from

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

. In 1452 they were one of the tribes which supported

Stefan Crnojević Stefan Crnojević ( sr-cyr, Стефан Црнојевић), known as Stefanica (Стефаница; 1426–1465) was the Lord of Zeta between 1451 and 1465. Until 1441, as a knyaz he was one of many governors in Upper Zeta, which at that t ...

against

Đurađ Branković Đurađ Branković (; sr-cyr, Ђурађ Бранковић; hu, Brankovics György; 1377 – 24 December 1456) was the Serbian Despot from 1427 to 1456. He was one of the last Serbian medieval rulers. He was a participant in the battle of Anka ...

and in 1455 along with Crnojević they swore fealty to Venice in the

Vranjina Monastery The Vranjina Monastery ( sr, Манастир Врањина, Manastir Vranjina), also known as the Vranina Monastery or St. Nicholas' Monastery, is a Serbian Orthodox monastery on the south-east part of Vranjina island on Skadar Lake in Monteneg ...

. Some of them after the conquest of the region by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

fled their homeland and settled in Venetian territories,

Kotor Kotor ( Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative ...

in particular. The tribe appears as part of the communities who paid taxes to

Đurađ Crnojević Đurađ Crnojević ( sr-cyr, Ђурађ Црноjeвић, cu, Гюргь Цьрноевыкь; d. 1514) was the last Serbian medieval Lord of Zeta between 1490 and 1496, from the Crnojevic dynasty. The son of Ivan Crnojević and Goisava Ariani ...

who was an Ottoman vassal. In the defters of the

Sanjak of Montenegro The Sanjak of Montenegro ( Montenegrin and sr-cyr, Санџак Црне Горе/''Sandžak Crne Gore''; tr, Karadağ Sancağı, literally Sanjak of the Black Mountain) was a province (sanjak) of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkan Peninsula roug ...

from 1521 to 1582/3 under Skender Bey Crnojević, they are listed as a distinct

nahiya A nāḥiyah ( ar, , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level division w ...

. In the 1521 defter, their settlements were Vranići, Kosići, Bjeločani,

Spuž Spuž ( cnr, Спуж) is a small town seated near Zeta river, within the municipality of Danilovgrad in the central Montenegrin region. Overview It is located halfway between Podgorica and Danilovgrad, in the Bjelopavlići valley. It was part o ...

, Bogišići, Radonjići, Grlov Kuk, Pavlovići, Vladovići, Lješevići, Jednoši, Lužnica Zur, Kalođurđevići and Zagreda and had a total of 150 households. In the 1523 defter Malonšići was one of seven nahiye of the sanjak of Montenegro. In the 1570 defter of the Montenegro Vilayet they were still a distinct community as a nahiya and had a total of 175 households and 12 ''baština'' which paid a 5,610 ''akçe'' in taxes. Over time they were slavicized. After 1582-83 they were no more a distinct community and became part of

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Malonsici Tribes of Montenegro Albanian communities in Montenegro