Medieval Serbian literature or Old Serbian literature ( sr, Стара српска књижевност) refers to the literature written in
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
forms of
Serbian language
Serbian (, ) is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the official and national language of Serbia, one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina and co-official in Montenegro and Kos ...
, up to the end of the 15th century, with its traditions extending into the
early modern period.
Background
Medieval Serbia is an
heir
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...
of
Constantine the Great
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...
's
Byzantium
Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...
, the eastern part of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
. Serbian
Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language.
Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with Standard language, standardizing the lan ...
literature was created on
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
model, and at first church services and biblical texts were translated into Slavic, and soon afterward other works for Christian life values from which they attained necessary knowledge in various fields (including Latin works). Although this Christian literature educated the Slavs, it did not have an overwhelming influence on original works. Instead, a more narrow aspect, the genres, and poetics with which the cult of saints could be celebrated were used, owing to the Slavic celebration of Cyril and Methodius and their Slav disciples as saints and those responsible for Slavic literacy.
The ritual genres were hagiographies, homiletics and hymnography, known in Slavic as ''žitije'' (vita), ''pohvala'' (eulogy), ''službe'' (church services), effectively meaning prose, rhetoric, and poetry. The fact that the first Slavic works were in the canonical form of ritual literature, and that the literary language was the ritual Slavic language, defined the further development.
Codex Marianus
The ''Codex Marianus'' is an Old Church Slavonic fourfold Gospel Book written in Glagolitic script, dated to the beginning of the 11th century, which is (along with Codex Zographensis), one of the oldest manuscript witnesses to the Old Church Slav ...
represents the oldest found manuscript dating back to the 11th century, if not older, written in medieval Serbian recension of
Old Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic literary language.
Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with standardizing the language and using it in translating the Bible and other ...
. Medieval Slavic literature, especially Serbian, was modelled on this classical Slavic literature. The new themes in Serbian literature were all created within the classic ritual genres.
The oldest known work to date of Serbian secular literature is the legend of ''
Vladimir
Vladimir may refer to:
Names
* Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name
* Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name
* Volodymyr for the Ukr ...
and
Kosara
Kosara or Cossara ( Bulgarian and sr, Косара) was a Bulgarian noblewoman, related to Tsar Samuel of Bulgaria, who was married to Prince Jovan Vladimir of Duklja.
Origin and identity
The 11th-century Byzantine historian John Skylitzes c ...
'' recorded in writing in the Serbian state of Duklja in the 11th century. Surviving only in excerpts and in translation, it is both a love story and a heroic song about the righteous Prince Vladimir, executed unjustly in 1016 in consequence of a struggle for the throne. The oldest known work to date in
Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...
is an 1189 letter of
Ban Kulin
Kulin ( sh-Cyrl, Кулин; d. November 1204) was the Banate of Bosnia, Ban of Bosnia from 1180 to 1204, first as a vassal of the Byzantine Empire and then of the Kingdom of Hungary, although his state was de facto independent. He was one of B ...
written to officials at
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...
in Serbian
Cyrillic
, bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця
, fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs
, fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic
, fam3 = Phoenician
, fam4 = G ...
.
Origin
![Saint Sava, Patriarchate of Peć (2)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Saint_Sava%2C_Patriarchate_of_Pe%C4%87_%282%29.jpg)
Unlike the countries of Western Europe, Serbia traces its history, literature, artistic, religious and cultural heritage when
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
became a state religion during the time of
Constantine the Great
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...
and
New Rome
New Rome (Greek: Νέα Ῥώμη, ''Nea Rhomē''; ; Latin: ''Nova Roma''; ) was the original name given by the Roman emperor Constantine the Great in 330 CE to his new imperial capital, which was built as an expansion of the city of Byzantium o ...
. Between the 10th and 13th century, however, the foundations of independent Serbian literature was formed through its Old Serbian ''Vita''. In this period, the direction and character of literature were built with an elementary system of genres in its main guidelines, with a selected and modified literary language.
Only with the works of
Saint Sava
Saint Sava ( sr, Свети Сава, Sveti Sava, ; Old Church Slavonic: ; gr, Άγιος Σάββας; 1169 or 1174 – 14 January 1236), known as the Enlightener, was a Serbian prince and Orthodox monk, the first Archbishop of the autocephalou ...
and the development of the autocephalous Serbian church did the Serbian literature receive the content that would make it an equal and active participant in the literary life of the Orthodox Slavic world. Also, we must not ignore the role that the
Serbian Chancellery in Dubrovnik
The Serbian Chancellery ( sr, Српска канцеларија), sometimes known as the Slavic Chancellery (словенска канцеларија), was a diplomatical and economical office of several states of Serbia in the Middle Ages (suc ...
(Ragusa) played in the history of Serbian Cyrillic. Hence, the 13th century was not only the new but main stage in the constitution of Serbian medieval literature. This stage ended sometime prior to the end of the century, with the ultimate standardization of the Serbian orthography in literacy and completing the creation of the main genres of the period: the
Hagiography
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies migh ...
(''žitije'') and
Divine Service (''služba''). The main literary centers of the early Nemanjić state were finally established by the end of the 13th century:
Hilandar
The Hilandar Monastery ( sr-cyr, Манастир Хиландар, Manastir Hilandar, , el, Μονή Χιλανδαρίου) is one of the twenty Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Mount Athos in Greece and the only Serbian monastery there. It wa ...
,
Studenica,
Žiča
The Žiča Monastery ( sr, Манастир Жича, Manastir Žiča, or ) is an early 13th-century Serbian Orthodox monastery near Kraljevo, Serbia. The monastery, together with the Church of the Holy Dormition, was built by the first King of ...
,
Mileševa,
Peć
Peja (Definiteness, Indefinite Albanian language, Albanian Albanian morphology#Nouns (declension), form: ''Pejë'' ) or Peć ( sr-Cyrl, Пећ ) is the fourth largest List of cities and towns in Kosovo, city of Kosovo and seat of Peja Municipali ...
; in which the supply of Old Slavic general literature was filled with works of Serbian, domestic literary workshops.
In the course of the 13th century, Serbian literature sought to reach the height of Byzantine-Slavic literature. The motive of these activities, its main driver, is in the creation of Serbian Orthodox cults, cults of the holy dynasty (the Nemanjić) and the autocephalous church. In order to enter the world of Byzantine and European civilization of the Middle Ages, it was necessary for Serbia not only to have its independent state and independent Church but also to have its role in the general Christian culture of that time, especially participation in holiness, in a higher spiritual community, where the Serbian people was represented through "their
wnpeople". Its own literature was thus a necessary expression of social and national independence but at the same time integration in the spiritual
ecumene
The ecumene ( US spelling) or oecumene ( UK spelling; grc-gre, οἰκουμένη, oikouménē, inhabited) is an ancient Greek term for the known, the inhabited, or the habitable world. In Greek antiquity, it referred to the portions of the worl ...
of the Christian civilization through which it showed maturity and justified the political existence of the state itself on the world scale. On this basis, all of the specificnesses of the old Serbian literature developed, as well as its universal, global identity: specificities are expressed in the creation of general genres, mostly in the hagiographical literature, i.e. the so-called "ruler historiography"; far less pronounced in hymnography, in poetry, where the canons of Byzantine poetics are quite obvious. The role of founding the father of the independent Serbian literature is held by Saint Sava, the youngest son of Grand Prince
Stefan Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja (Serbian Cyrillic: , ; – 13 February 1199) was the Grand Prince ( Veliki Župan) of the Serbian Grand Principality (also known as Raška, lat. ) from 1166 to 1196. A member of the Vukanović dynasty, Nemanja founded the Nemanji ...
, founder and first Archbishop of the independent Serbian Church.
With Saint Sava and others (namely
Monk Simeon
Monk Simeon is the Serbian author of Vukan's Gospel. This service Gospel -- '' aprakos''—is the earliest manuscript illuminated in Raška between the end of the 12th-century (1196) and the beginning of the 13th-century (1202). It is believed th ...
) there came works in the next century by prominent writers of the period, such as
Domentijan
Domentijan ( sr-cyr, Доментијан; c. 1210-after 1264), also known as Domentijan the Hilandarian (Доментијан Хиландарац), was a major figure in medieval Serbian literature and philosophy.Mateja Matejić and Dragan Mili ...
and
Atanasije,
Grigorije II of Ras Grigorije II of Ras (c. 1250 – 1321), was a Serbian medieval monk-scribe whose writing flourished from 1282 to 1321. He is now venerated as a saint.
The Serbian Orthodox Church celebrates Grigorije as a saint during the holiday of the Assembly ...
,
Teodosije Teodosije ( sr-cyr, Теодосије) is a Serbian
Serbian may refer to:
* someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe
* someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people
* Serbian language
* Serbia ...
,
Elder Grigorije
Elder Grigorije ( sr, Старац Григорије; 1310–55) was a Serbian Orthodox clergyman and writer. Grigorije hailed from the Prizren region, and was a nobleman in the Serbian Empire until he took monastic vows and received the monas ...
,
Antonije Bagaš,
Lazar the Hilandarian,
Pachomius the Serb
Pachomius the Serb (russian: Пахомий Серб, sr, Пахомије Србин), also known as Pachomius Logothetes, russian: Пахомий Логофет, el, Παχώμιος Λογοθέτης) was a 15th-century Serbian hagiographer ...
,
Gabriel the Hilandarian,
Constantine of Kostenets Constantine of Kostenets ( bg, Константин Костенечки, Konstantin Kostenechki; born ca. 1380, died after 1431), also known as Constantine the Philosopher ( sr, Константин Филозоф), was a medieval Bulgarian scholar ...
,
Cyprian, Metropolitan of Kiev,
Gregory Tsamblak
Gregory Tsamblak or Grigorij Camblak ( bg, Григорий Цамблак, sr-Cyr, Григорије Цамблак; c. 1365–1420) was a Bulgarian writer and cleric. He was the pretended Metropolitan of Lithuania between 1413 and 1420. A Bulga ...
,
Isaija the Monk
Isaija the Monk ( sr, Инок Исаија or in English: Inok Isaija; ca. 1300–after 1375), also known as Elder Isaija (Elder Isaiah) () and Isaija of Serres (Elder Isaiah of Serres) (), was a 14th-century Serbian monk, one of many Serbian mo ...
,
Grigorije of Gornjak
Grigorije of Gornjak ( sr, Григорије Горњачки, Григорије из Горњака; 1375–1379), also known as Grigorije the Younger () and Grigorije the Silent (), was Serbian Orthodox monk who was canonized as saint. He stud ...
,
Rajčin Sudić Rajčin Sudić (c. 1335-after 1360) was a Serbian monk- scribe who lived and worked during the time of Lord Vojihna, the father of Jefimija.
From the inscription Rajčin Sudić left in the margin of the Chronicles written in the 14th Century, we k ...
,
Jakov of Serres
Jakov of Serres ( sr, Јаков Серски; 1300–1365) was a medieval Serbian writer, scholar, translator, and hierarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, one of the most important men of letters working in the 14th century.
Biography
Evidence ...
,
Romylos of Vidin
Romylos of Vidin also known as Romylos of Ravanica or Romylus the Athonite (''Romil Svetogorac'', ''Romil Svetogorski''); ( bg, Ромил Бдински; sr, Ромил Раванички) was a 14th-century Bulgarian cleric, a disciple of Gre ...
,
Jovan the Serb of Kratovo
Jovan the Serb of Kratovo ( sr-cyr, Јован Србин из Кратова; 1526–1583) or Protopop Jovan (Протопоп Јован) was a Serb Orthodox priest and scribe with an opus of six works, of which one is the Velika Remeta Gospel ...
,
Gabriel of Lesnovo
Venerable Gabriel of Lesnovo was a Bulgarian hermit and saint, companion of Saint John of Rila and Prohor of Pčinja. All three are venerated in Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Serbia. St. Gabriel's feast is January 15.
Biography
According to the ...
,
Nicodemus of Tismana
Nikodim Tismanski, also known as Nikodim Osvećeni, Nikodim Vratnenski, Nikodim Grčić, and in Romanian, Nikodim de la Tismana (Prilep, today in North Macedonia, then Byzantine Empire, c. 1320 – Tismana, Walachia, now Romania, 26 December 140 ...
,
Dimitar of Kratovo
Dimitar of Kratovo ( sr, Димитар Кратовски) was a 15th-century Slavic (https://pravoslavnaya.academic.ru/6167/%D0%94%D0%98%D0%9C%D0%98%D0%A2%D0%A0%D0%98%D0%99_%D0%9A%D0%A0%D0%90%D0%A2%D0%9E%D0%92%D0%95%D0%A6) writer and lexicographe ...
,
Anonymous Athonite Anonymous Athonite (also known in Serbia as Nepoznati Svetogorac; late 14th to mid-15th century) was Isaija the Monk's biographer and one of the many unidentified authors of Medieval works. It is assumed that he wrote "The Life of the Elder Isaiah" ...
,
Marko Pećki
Marko Pećki (village of Ljevoši, near Peć in Kosovo, Serbia, 1360 – Ljevoši, Kosovo, Serbia, after 1411) was a Serbian medieval writer and poet who lived at the time of Prince Lazar of Serbia and Stefan Lazarević. He is best known for the " ...
, and
Demetrius Kantakouzenos, alongside important texts by women poets and writers, including
Jefimija
Jefimija ( sr-Cyrl, Јефимија, ; 1349–1405), secular name Jelena Mrnjavčević (Serbian Cyrillic: Јелена Мрњавчевић, or ), daughter of Vojihna and widow of Jovan Uglješa Mrnjavčević, is considered the first female Serb ...
,
Maria Angelina Doukaina Palaiologina
Maria Angelina Doukaina Palaiologina or Marija Angelina Nemanjić or Anna Maria Angelina Doukaina Palaiologina ( el, Μαρία Αγγελίνα Δούκαινα Παλαιολογίνα, sr-cyr, Марија Ангелина Немањић; 134 ...
,
Princess Milica of Serbia
Princess Milica Hrebeljanović née Nemanjić ( sr, Милица Немањић Хребељановић · ca. 1335 – November 11, 1405) also known as Empress (''Tsaritsa'') Milica, was a royal consort of Serbia by marriage to Prince Lazar, ...
,
Saint Angelina of Serbia
Angelina Branković ( sr-Cyrl, Ангелина Бранковић, sq, Angjelina Arianiti,; ca. 1440–1520), née Arianiti, was the Albanian Despotess consort of Serbian Despot Stefan Branković (r. 1458–1459), and a daughter of Prince Gjergj ...
,
Mara Branković
Mara Branković ( sr-Cyrl, Мара Бранковић) or Mara Despina Hatun (c. 1416 – 14 September 1487), also known as ''Sultana Marija'' or ''Amerissa'', was the daughter of Despotate of Serbia, Serbian monarch Đurađ Branković and Eire ...
,
Olivera Despina
Mileva Olivera Lazarević ( sr-cyr, Деспина Оливера Лазаревић; 1372 – after 1444), also known as Despina Hatun, was a Serbian princess and consort of the Ottoman sultan. She was the youngest daughter of Lazar of Serbia ...
,
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 ...
,
Helen of Anjou
Helen of Anjou ( sr, Јелена Анжујска / Jelena Anžujska, ; c. 1235 – 8 February 1314) was the queen consort of the Serbian Kingdom, as the spouse of King Stefan Uroš I, who ruled from 1243 to 1276. Their sons were later Serbian ...
,
Simonida
Simonida Nemanjić ( sr-cyr, Симонида Немањић; c. 1294 – after 1336), born Simonis Palaiologina ( el, Σιμωνίς Παλαιολογίνα, sr. Симонида Палеолог, ''Simonida Paleolog''), was a Byzantine princes ...
,
Katarina Branković
Katarina Branković ( sr-Cyrl, Катарина Бранковић, gr, Καταρίνα Μπράνκοβιτς; 1418/19–1492), also known as Kantakuzina (, ''Kantakouzena'') was the Countess of Celje, through the marriage with Count of Celje U ...
and others. One of the most prominent writers of medieval Serbia was archbishop
Danilo II (d. 1337).
The 1370s mark the beginning of the separation between Serbian Cyrillic and Latin alphabets as far as the two chancelleries in
Ragusa Ragusa is the historical name of Dubrovnik. It may also refer to:
Places Croatia
* the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa
* Cavtat (historically ' in Italian), a town in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Cro ...
are concerned. With the establishment of
Manasija Monastery
The Manasija Monastery ( sr, Манастир Манасија, Manastir Manasija, ) also known as Resava (Ресава, ), is a Serbian Orthodox monastery near Despotovac, Serbia founded by '' Despot'' Stefan Lazarević between 1406 and 1418. Th ...
by
Stefan Lazarević
Stefan Lazarević ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Лазаревић, 1377 – 19 July 1427), also known as Stefan the Tall ( sr, Стефан Високи / ''Stefan Visoki''), was the ruler of Serbia as prince (1389–1402) and despot (1402–1427), ...
(d. 1427), many educated monks have gathered there. They fostered copying and literary work that by its excellence and production changed the history of the South Slavic literature and languages spreading its influence all over the Orthodox Balkans and
Imperial Russia
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...
. One of the most famous scholars of the School of Rešava was
Constantine the Philosopher, an influential writer and biographer of the founder of the school,
Stefan Lazarević
Stefan Lazarević ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Лазаревић, 1377 – 19 July 1427), also known as Stefan the Tall ( sr, Стефан Високи / ''Stefan Visoki''), was the ruler of Serbia as prince (1389–1402) and despot (1402–1427), ...
. Lazarević was by far one of the most erudite people of his time and considering his views, interests, and achievements, he was a true representative of the Serbian Renaissance.
From 1459, with the fall of the
Smederevo
Smederevo ( sr-Cyrl, Смедерево, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Podunavlje District in eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, about downstream of the Serbian capital, Belgrade.
According to ...
up until the
First Serbian Uprising
The First Serbian Uprising ( sr, Prvi srpski ustanak, italics=yes, sr-Cyrl, Први српски устанак; tr, Birinci Sırp Ayaklanması) was an uprising of Serbs in the Sanjak of Smederevo against the Ottoman Empire from 14 February 18 ...
in 1804, the Orthodox Christian monasteries were important centers that kept the Serbian
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
alive and well during difficult and turbulent three and half-century occupation. The
scriptorium
Scriptorium (), literally "a place for writing", is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European monasteries devoted to the writing, copying and illuminating of manuscripts commonly handled by monastic scribes.
However, lay scribes and ...
of each monastery was a bastion of learning where illuminated manuscripts were being produced as well as great theological and scholastic works such as the Old Serbian ''Vita'' (
hagiographies
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...
of Serbian kings and archbishops) also found in both Russian and Bulgarian literature. Throughout this time Serbs living under the
Habsburgs
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
, the
Venetians and the lands of their Vlach co-religionists (
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...
and
Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...
) were printing books, building monasteries, schools, hospitals, churches and kept the earliest of the
Arts and Crafts movements busy painting
icons
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...
and
iconostases
In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis ( gr, εἰκονοστάσιον) is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed a ...
during the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
—the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity. The testaments to this are the many Serbian Orthodox monasteries, churches and libraries (institutions) found today in Hungary (
Ráckeve
Ráckeve (Serbian language, Serbian: Српски Ковин / Srpski Kovin) is a town on Csepel Island in the county of , Hungary. Its residents are Magyars, with minority of Serbs.
The Serbian Kovin Monastery, the oldest in Hungary and one of t ...
and
Serbian Kovin Monastery), Romania (
Hodoș-Bodrog,
Bazjaš,
Sveti Đurađ, Bezdin, Zlatica, Kušić, Sveti Simeon, Šemljug, and others), Greece (
Hilandar
The Hilandar Monastery ( sr-cyr, Манастир Хиландар, Manastir Hilandar, , el, Μονή Χιλανδαρίου) is one of the twenty Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Mount Athos in Greece and the only Serbian monastery there. It wa ...
, Mount Athos and
Meteora
The Meteora (; el, Μετέωρα, ) is a rock formation in central Greece hosting one of the largest and most precipitously built complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries, second in importance only to Mount Athos.Sofianos, D.Z.: "Metéora". ...
), Italy (
Saint Spyridon
Saint Spyridon, Bishop of Trimythous also sometimes written Saint Spiridon (Greek: ; c. 270 – 348) is a saint honoured in both the Eastern and Western Christian traditions.
Life
Spyridon was born in Askeia, in Cyprus. He worked as a shepher ...
),
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
,
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
,
Northern Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...
,
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
and
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
that speak of their rich art and literature.
Several
philosophical
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
works, mainly Greek (Byzantine) have also been translated into Serbian language, or adapted during the medieval period.
The growth of the Renaissance Period occurred with the arrival of Serbian and Bulgarian hagiographers, ''literati'', and artists who had escaped from their native lands when these were either threatened or occupied by the
Ottomans
The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922).
Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
. Their creative activities in science and literature are personified in the extraordinary individuals such as
Lazar the Serb
Lazar ( sr, Лазар, russian: Лазарь), also known as Lazar the Serb or Lazar the Hilandarian (fl. 1404), was a Serbian Orthodox monk-scribe and horologist who invented and built the first known mechanical public clock in Russia in 1404. ...
, among the early
Hilandar
The Hilandar Monastery ( sr-cyr, Манастир Хиландар, Manastir Hilandar, , el, Μονή Χιλανδαρίου) is one of the twenty Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Mount Athos in Greece and the only Serbian monastery there. It wa ...
ians to arrive in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
from
Mount Athos
Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...
; the Bulgarian-born
Gregory Tsamblak
Gregory Tsamblak or Grigorij Camblak ( bg, Григорий Цамблак, sr-Cyr, Григорије Цамблак; c. 1365–1420) was a Bulgarian writer and cleric. He was the pretended Metropolitan of Lithuania between 1413 and 1420. A Bulga ...
who arrived from Serbia and eventually became the
Metropolitan of Kiev
Metropolitan of Kyiv is an episcopal title that has been created with varying suffixes at multiple times in different Christian churches, though always maintaining the name of the metropolitan city — Kiev. The title takes its name from the city ...
;
Pachomius the Serb
Pachomius the Serb (russian: Пахомий Серб, sr, Пахомије Србин), also known as Pachomius Logothetes, russian: Пахомий Логофет, el, Παχώμιος Λογοθέτης) was a 15th-century Serbian hagiographer ...
, one of the representatives of a new ornamental style known as ''pletenie slova'' (word-braiding), and others.
From the 1630s onward Kiev emerged as the leading center of East Slavic cultural life. Of great significance was the
Kyiv-Mohyla Academy at the time. Later,
Theophan Prokopovich
Feofan/Theophan Prokopovich (18 June 168119 September 1736) was a Russian Imperial Orthodox theologian, writer, poet, mathematician, and philosopher of Ukrainian origin. Rector of the Academia Mohileana in Kiev (now Kyiv, Ukraine), and Archbisho ...
would put his imprint on Russian Baroque literature that spread far and wide, particularly in Serbia. It was in the famed Kievan Academy in the latter part of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century that young Serbian artists and teachers received their western education.
Numerous authors of the
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches.
The majori ...
books who worked in the Rača monastery from the 15th- to 18th-century are named in Serbian literature – "The Račans"... Among these anonymous, monk-scribes identified by their first names, the most renown are the illuminator Hieromonk
Hristifor Račanin Hristifor Račanin ( sr-Cyrl, Христофор Рачанин; c. 1595 – 1670) was a Serbian scribe working on ornately decorated manuscripts. He is best known for ''Psaltir s posledovanjem'', written in 1645. He was the abbot of the Rača monas ...
,
Teodor Račanin Teodor Račanin ( sr-Cyrl, Теодор Рачанин; 1500 – 1560) was a writer and Serbian Orthodox monk of the Račan Scriptorium School mentioned in Ottoman sources of 16th century literature.
Biography
Monk-scribe Teodor Račanin was given ...
,
Kiprijan Račanin,
Grigorije Račanin
Grigorije Račanin (Serbian: Григорије Рачанин; Bajina Bašta, Serbia, after 1668 - Szentendre, Habsburg monarchy, after 1739) was a Serbian monk and writer. He is best remembered for his travelogue on rafting in the Balkans in 1 ...
,
Prohor Račanin,
Ćirjak Račanin,
Jerotej Račanin,
Simeon Račanin Simeon Račanin ( sr-Cyrl, Симеон Рачанин; 1676–1700) was a Serbian Orthodox monk and translator. He is mentioned in 1700 along with several other monks at the Rača monastery, all wearing the epithet '' Račanin'': Kiprijan Račani ...
,
Jefrem Janković Tetovac Jefrem Janković ( sr, Јефрем Јанковић, russian: Ефрем Янкович; Skoplje, Ottoman Empire, ca. 1640 – Suzdal, Imperial Russia, 18 March 1718), known as Jefrem Tetovac (; "of Tetovo"), was a Serbian and Russian Orthodox b ...
, and
Gavril Stefanović Venclović Gavril is a variant of the name Gabriel, may refer to:
*Gavril Atanasov, Macedonian icon painter from Berovo in the 19th century
*Gavril Bănulescu-Bodoni (1746–1821), Romanian clergyman who served as Metropolitan of Moldavia
*Gavril Balint (born ...
. These are well-known Serbian writers that are the link between literary men and women of the late medieval (Late Middle Ages) and Baroque periods in art, architecture, and literature in particular.
Poetry
Works
*''
Life of Stefan Nemanja'' (1208), hagiography on St. Simeon, by
Archbishop Sava
*''
Life of St. Sava'' (1254), hagiography on St. Sava, by
Domentijan
Domentijan ( sr-cyr, Доментијан; c. 1210-after 1264), also known as Domentijan the Hilandarian (Доментијан Хиландарац), was a major figure in medieval Serbian literature and philosophy.Mateja Matejić and Dragan Mili ...
*''
Life of St. Sava'' (1292–1300), hagiography on St. Sava, by
Teodosije Teodosije ( sr-cyr, Теодосије) is a Serbian
Serbian may refer to:
* someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe
* someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people
* Serbian language
* Serbia ...
*''
Studenica Chronicle'' (1350–1400), chronicle
*''
Karlovac Chronicle
Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. According to the 2011 Census of Croatia, 2011 census, its population was 55,705.
Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located on the Zagreb-Rijeka highway and railroad, ra ...
'' (1418–27), chronicle
*''
Life of Despot Stefan Lazarević'' (ca. 1431), biography on
Stefan Lazarević
Stefan Lazarević ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Лазаревић, 1377 – 19 July 1427), also known as Stefan the Tall ( sr, Стефан Високи / ''Stefan Visoki''), was the ruler of Serbia as prince (1389–1402) and despot (1402–1427), ...
, by
Constantine of Kostenets Constantine of Kostenets ( bg, Константин Костенечки, Konstantin Kostenechki; born ca. 1380, died after 1431), also known as Constantine the Philosopher ( sr, Константин Филозоф), was a medieval Bulgarian scholar ...
*''
Koporin
The Koporin Monastery ( sr, Манастир Копорин, Manastir Koporin) is a monastery at the outskirts of the town of Velika Plana, Serbia, just off the road to Smederevska Palanka. The monastery church, dedicated to the St. Stephen, was b ...
Chronicle'' (1453), chronicle, by deacon Damjan
*''
Dečani Chronicle'' (1450–1500), chronicle
See also
*
Serbian chronicles This is a list of Serbian chronicles, most often referring to works of the Middle Ages, until the Ottoman conquest, hence called ''Old Serbian chronicles'' ( sr, Стари српски летописи/Stari srpski letopisi). There exist approximat ...
*
Medieval Serbian law
*
Medieval Serbian charters
*
Serbian manuscripts
This is a list of Serbian manuscripts ( sr, Српски рукописи), containing important works attributed to Serbia or Serbs. The majority of works are theological, with a few biographies and constitutions. The works were written in Cyril ...
*
Serbian printing
Serbian printing refers to the history of printing among Serbs, and focusing on development of book printing in Serbian language, Serbian, with the use of the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, from the end of the 15th century up to the end of the 18th ce ...
*
Serbian literature
Serbian literature ( sr-Cyrl, Српска књижевност), refers to literature written in Serbian and/or in Serbia and all other lands where Serbs reside.
The history of Serbian literature begins with the independent works from the Nema ...
References
Sources
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External links
*{{cite web, last=Bogdanović , first=Dimitrije , edition=Internet , year=1999 , orig-year=1986 , script-title=sr:Свети Сава: Сабрани списи , location=Belgrade , publisher=Просвета, Српска књижевна задруга; Rastko , url=http://www.rastko.org.rs/knjizevnost/liturgicka/svsava-sabrana/index_c.html , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122225305/http://www.rastko.org.rs/knjizevnost/liturgicka/svsava-sabrana/index_c.html , url-status=dead , archive-date=2009-01-22 , language=sr
Cultural history of Serbia