Manojlo Grčić ( sr, Манојло Грчић) is a legendary hero in
Serbian epic poetry. He was of
Greek origin, which is also emphasized by the etymology of his surname which is diminutive of "Greek" in Serbian. A poem about Manojlo Grčić was also found in the
Erlangen Manuscript Erlangen Manuscript ( sr, Ерлангенски рукопис) is a Serbian Cyrillic manuscript dated between 1716 and 1733 that contains one of the earliest written collections (217 songs) of epic poetry written in the Serbian language. The unnam ...
.
Historical person
Early folkloristic sources emphasized that Grčić Manojlo was not based on any historical figure.
Early historical sources, starting with Konstantin Nikolajević and
Ilarion Ruvarac
Ilarion (Jovan) Ruvarac ( sr, Иларион Руварац; September 1, 1832 — August 8, 1905) was a Serbian historian and Orthodox priest, a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (first Serbian Learned Society and Serbian Roya ...
,
connected the figure of Grčić Manojlo with a cousin of
Serbian Despotess Irene Kantakouzene (son of
Thomas Kantakouzenos).
V. Ćorović
''V.'' is the debut novel of Thomas Pynchon, published in 1963. It describes the exploits of a discharged U.S. Navy sailor named Benny Profane, his reconnection in New York with a group of pseudo-bohemian artists and hangers-on known as the Whol ...
believed that the historical person was unpopular among the people of Serbia which attributed him some very bad characteristics, including his willingness to replace babies during baptism in exchange for money.
[Ćorović, Vladimir. Istorija Jugoslavije. Belgrade: Narodno delo, 1933]
According to some later sources, it was actually the historical figure of
Manuel I Komnenos
Manuel I Komnenos ( el, Μανουήλ Κομνηνός, translit=Manouíl Komnenos, translit-std=ISO; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Romanization of Greek, Latinized Comnenus, also called Porphyrogennetos (; "born in the purple"), w ...
that served as an inspiration for the figure of Grčić Manojlo.
According to some scholars, Manojlo Grčić and Majstor Manojlo, another character of Serbian epic poetry, are the same person.
Poems
The epic poems about Manojlo Grčić include:
* ''Manojlo Grčić and the Arab'' ( sr, Манојло Грчић и Арапин)
* ''Ćirjak i Grčić Manojlo'' ( sr, Ћирјак и Грчић Манојло)
* ''Godfathering of Grčić Manojlo'' ( sr, Кумовање Грчића Манојла), recorded in Montenegro
* ''Prayer is heard'' ( sr, Услишена молитва)
* ''Marriage of Grujica Novaković'' ( sr, Женидба Грујице Новаковића)
* ''Sister of Pletikosa Pavle and Grčić Manojlo'' ( sr, Сестра Плетикосе Павла и Грчић Манојло)
One of the songs about Grčić and
Starina Novak
Starina Novak ( sr-Cyrl, Старинa Новак; ro, Baba Novac; bg, Баба Новак, meaning "Old Novak") was a Serb ''hajduk'' (brigand and rebel) who distinguished himself in many battles against the Ottoman Empire. He is considered a n ...
was based on the ''Story of India'' which was translated in the 15th century from Latin to the
Slavonic-Serbian language
Slavonic-Serbian (славяносербскій, ''slavjanoserbskij''), Slavo-Serbian, or Slaveno-Serbian (славено-сербскiй, ''slaveno-serbskij''; sr, славеносрпски''/slavenosrpski'') was a literary language used by ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grcic, Manojlo
Characters in Serbian epic poetry