The Medal for Bravery or Courage ( sr, medalja za hrabrost/медаља за храброст), commonly known as the Medal of Miloš Obilić, is a state decoration awarded by the

Republic of 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 Hung ...

, and before that by the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...

and the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...

, for heroic acts.

History

It was founded on 12 July 1913 by King Peter I and granted to soldiers for acts of great personal courage or for personal courage demonstrated on the battlefield. The medal was awarded in two degrees (Gold and Silver medals). The medal started being awarded during the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...

, continued during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

1914-1918, and during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, 1941-1945, to members of the Yugoslav Army and of Allied forces. On the

obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''o ...

of the coin is the ideal figure of

Miloš Obilić Miloš Obilić ( sr-cyr, Милош Обилић, ) was a legendary Serbian knight who is reputed to have been in the service of Prince Lazar during the Ottoman invasion of Serbia in the late 14th century. He is not mentioned in contemporary sou ...

, the Serbian medieval knight who sacrificed his own life at the

Battle of Kosovo The Battle of Kosovo ( tr, Kosova Savaşı; sr, Косовска битка) took place on 15 June 1389 between an army led by the Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović and an invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the command of Sultan ...

in 1389, by assassinating the Ottoman Sultan

Murad I Murad I ( ota, مراد اول; tr, I. Murad, Murad-ı Hüdavendigâr (nicknamed ''Hüdavendigâr'', from fa, خداوندگار, translit=Khodāvandgār, lit=the devotee of God – meaning "sovereign" in this context); 29 June 1326 – 15 Jun ...

. The Medal for Bravery was worn on a red bar. The author was Đorđe Jovanović. In 2009 the Republic of Serbia adopted a law regulating medals and continued to award the Medal for Bravery (2 Classes: Golden and Silver medal) and in 2010 extended its name to include "Miloš Obilić" (the Medal for Bravery "Miloš Obilić").

First version (1912)

Prior to this version, the original medal for bravery in Serbia was established on 14 November 1912. This medal had two degrees (Gold and Silver Medal, which differed in appearance). The Gold medal was worn on a red bar, and a Silver ribbon (red-blue-white mimicking the colors of the flag of Serbia). This medal was used very briefly and was soon superseded by another model. The reason for the replacement was because Serbia was represented by an allegorical female figure on the medal's obverse. According to some historians, the female figure was based on Serbian heroine

Milica Stojadinović-Srpkinja Milica Stojadinovic-Srpkinja ( sr-cyr, Милица Стојадиновић Српкиња, ) (1828–1878) was a Serbian poet, sometimes called "the greatest female Serbian poet of the 19th century". Career As her fame spread beyond the confin ...

. The female figure was considered to be an unfitting motive on the medal for bravery for the Serbian soldier. Serbian officers openly expressed dissatisfaction, after which it was decided to change the model to the one depicting Miloš Obilić.

Notable recipients

In 2012 it was posthumously awarded to

Srđan Aleksić Srđan Aleksić ( sr-cyr, Срђан Алексић; 9 May 1966 – 27 January 1993), nicknamed Srđo, was a Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian Serb amateur actor, prospective swimmer, and soldier in the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) duri ...

, a young Serb killed while defending his Bosniak friend.

References

External links

THE BRAVERY MEDAL (1913), The Official website of the Serbian Monarchy
{{Orders, decorations, and medals of Serbia Bravery Medal Orders, decorations, and medals of Yugoslavia Courage awards Awards established in 1913 1913 establishments in Serbia Orders, decorations, and medals of the Kingdom of Serbia

History

First version (1912)

Notable recipients

See also

References

External links