![Povelja kralj Dabisa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Povelja_kralj_Dabisa.JPG)
The name
Stephen
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...
( sh,
Stefan'' / Стефан'', ''
Stjepan Stjepan is a Croatian masculine given name, variant of Stephen, used by ijekavian speakers.
In Croatia, the name Stjepan was among the top ten most common masculine given names in the decades up to 1969.
Notable people with the name include:
* S ...
/ Стјепан'', ''Stipan / Стипан'', and
others), long popular among
South Slavic monarchs, was used as an
honorific
An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an honorary academic title. It ...
or as a royal title by various rulers of Serbia and claimants to the Serbian throne, most notably the
Nemanjić kings of Serbia and the
Kotromanić kings of Bosnia
This is a list of rulers of Bosnia, containing bans and kings of Medieval Bosnia.
Duke (1082–1136)
Bans (1136–1377)
Kings and queen (1377–1463)
All Bosnian kings added the honorific Stephen to their baptismal name upon accession.
, ...
.
Onomastics
The name
Stephen
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...
is derived from
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
''Stephanos'' (Στέφανος,
tr. ''Stéphanos''), meaning "crown".
Early Slavs
The early Slavs were a diverse group of tribal societies who lived during the Migration Period and the Early Middle Ages (approximately the 5th to the 10th centuries AD) in Central and Eastern Europe and established the foundations for the S ...
did not use the voice /f/, so the Greek ''Stephanos'' was adapted into ''Stjepan'' (Стјепан) and ''Stipan'' (Стипан) in modern-day Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, ''Šćepan'' (Шћепан) in modern-day Montenegro, and ''Stevan'' (Стеван) and ''Stepan'' (Степан) in modern-day Serbia. The name has had hundreds of variants in
Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and ...
, most of which are
hypocoristic
A hypocorism ( or ; from Ancient Greek: (), from (), 'to call by pet names', sometimes also ''hypocoristic'') or pet name is a name used to show affection for a person. It may be a diminutive form of a person's name, such as '' Izzy'' for ...
s that can now only be deduced from surnames. 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 ...
, however, retained the original pronunciation (minus the
suffix ''-os'') in its liturgy, leading to the form ''Stefan'' () being used to refer to the (mostly
canonized
Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...
) Serbian kings. The Swiss Slavist Robert Zett noted that the usage of ''Stefan'' indicated
social hierarchy
Social stratification refers to a society's categorization of its people into groups based on socioeconomic factors like wealth, income, race, education, ethnicity, gender, occupation, social status, or derived power (social and political). As ...
, being an
honorific
An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an honorary academic title. It ...
rather than a
regnal name
A regnal name, or regnant name or reign name, is the name used by monarchs and popes during their reigns and, subsequently, historically. Since ancient times, some monarchs have chosen to use a different name from their original name when they ...
: while
Uroš I ( 1243–76) used ''Stefan'', his son was christened ''Stepan''.
Uroš IV Dušan __NOTOC__
Uroš ( sr-Cyrl, Урош) is a South Slavic given or last name primarily spread amongst Serbs, and Slovenians (mostly of Serbian descent). This noun has been interpreted as "lords", because it usually appears in conjunction with ''velmõ ...
(r. 1331–55) signed as ''Stefan'' but humbly used ''Stepan'' in a prayer book. Some Serbian kings minted coins with St. Stephen called ''Stefan'' 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, ...
and themselves called ''Stepan'' on the
reverse
Reverse or reversing may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Reverse'' (Eldritch album), 2001
* ''Reverse'' (2009 film), a Polish comedy-drama film
* ''Reverse'' (2019 film), an Iranian crime-drama film
* ''Reverse'' (Morandi album), 2005
* ''Reverse'' ...
.
History
![Seal of Stefan Serbian Grand Zhupan Nemanja, 1198](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Seal_of_Stefan_Serbian_Grand_Zhupan_Nemanja%2C_1198.png)
The name Stephen enjoyed great popularity among medieval
South Slavic rulers. With the Christianization of South Slavs, Christian names begin to appear in rulers; in the generation after Serbian ruler
Mutimir
Mutimir ( sr, Мутимир, el, Μουντιμῆρος) was prince of Serbia from ca. 850 until 891. He defeated the Bulgar army, allied himself with the Byzantine emperor and ruled the first Serbian Principality when the Christianization of ...
(r. 850–891), Stephen and Peter are found. Several members of the
Trpimirović kings of Croatia
This is a complete list of rulers of Croatia under domestic ethnic and elected dynasties during the Croatian Kingdom (925–1918). This article follows the monarch's title number according to Hungarian succession for convenience. For example, the ...
had the name, such as
Stephen Držislav (r. 969–997),
Stephen I (r. 1030–58) and
Stephen II (r. 1089–91). It was also adopted as a second name upon accession, a Christian name in addition to the Slavic ("folk") name, as was the case with Stephen Držislav, and several Serbian rulers,
Stefan Vojislav
Stefan Vojislav ( sr-cyr, Стефан Војислав; gr, Στέφανος Βοϊσθλάβος; 1034–d. 1043) was the Prince of Duklja from 1040 to 1043. Beginning in the year 1018, he served as a Byzantine governor, until 1034 when he l ...
(r. 1018–43), and the brothers
Miroslav,
Stracimir and
Nemanja. Several
bans of Bosnia
This is a list of rulers of Bosnia, containing bans and kings of Medieval Bosnia.
Duke (1082–1136)
Bans (1136–1377)
Kings and queen (1377–1463)
All Bosnian kings added the honorific Stephen to their baptismal name upon accession.
, ...
also held it:
Stephen Vojislavljević (),
Stephen Kulinić (r. 1204–32) and the
Kotromanić bans
Stephen I (r. 1287–99) and
Stephen II (r. 1322–53).
The royal tradition of using the name ''Stefan'' as an honorific added to the original Slavic name began with the Serbian grand prince
Nemanja (r. 1166–96). His son
Stephen
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...
(r. 1196–1228) had himself crowned king, and all the subsequent
Nemanjić kings of Serbia took the honorific Stephen in addition to their Slavic name upon their accession. The popularity of the name in medieval Serbia stems from the influence of
Byzantine culture
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 ...
and the status of
Stephen the Protomartyr as both
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
of Serbia and symbol of the
Byzantine Empire
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 ...
.
The veneration of Saint Stephen was so important that he was depicted on the reverse of the royal seals of the early Nemanjić rulers and on their basic coins. Historians such as
Dušan J. Popović[ and John Van Antwerp Fine, Jr. maintain that to Serbian rulers, Stephen was more than "a mere name" and "came close to being part of a ]title
A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...
". According to Sima Ćirković
Sima Ćirković (Serbian Cyrillic: Сима Ћирковић; 29 January 1929 – 14 November 2009) was a Serbian historian. Ćirković was a member of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts and the subsequent Serbian, Bosnian, Montenegrin a ...
, it had a special symbolical meaning to the Serbian state.[
]
When the Nemanjić line went extinct with the death of Stephen Uroš V (r. 1355–71) in 1371, Serbia's throne became vacant and the country disintegrated. The Bosnian ban Tvrtko I
Stephen Tvrtko I ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Stjepan/Stefan Tvrtko, Стјепан/Стефан Твртко; 1338 – 10 March 1391) was the first king of Bosnia. A member of the House of Kotromanić, he succeeded his uncle Stephen II ...
(r. 1353–91), a cognatic great-grandson of Stephen Dragutin (r. 1276–1316), started advancing his own claim on the defunct kingdom and had himself crowned King of Serbia and Bosnia in 1377. In an effort to emulate the Nemanjić, Tvrtko added the name Stephen to his own and at times even omitted his real name, using only the royal honorific. Even though the Kotromanić claim to Serbia lost all practical significance already during Stephen Tvrtko I's reign, the subsequent kings of Bosnia followed his suit and adopted the name Stephen upon accession. The last of them, Stephen Tomašević (r. 1461–63), having been christened with the name, even called himself ''Stefan Štipan'' (Стефан Штипан) or ''Štefan Stipan'' (Штефан Стипан) after his accession (effectively being "Stephen Stephen").
The kings of Bosnia were not the only to claim the title Stephen. They were never accepted as suzerains by the lords of petty states that developed following the disintegration of the Serbian Empire
The Serbian Empire ( sr, / , ) was a medieval Serbian state that emerged from the Kingdom of Serbia. It was established in 1346 by Dušan the Mighty, who significantly expanded the state.
Under Dušan's rule, Serbia was the major power in the ...
. Lazar Hrebeljanović
Lazar Hrebeljanović ( sr-cyr, Лазар Хребељановић; ca. 1329 – 15 June 1389) was a medieval Serbian ruler who created the largest and most powerful state on the territory of the disintegrated Serbian Empire. Lazar's state, ...
(r. 1373–89) and his son-in-law Vuk Branković
Vuk Branković ( sr-cyr, Вук Бранковић, , 1345 – 6 October 1397) was a Serbian medieval nobleman who, during the Fall of the Serbian Empire, inherited a province that extended over present-day southern and southwestern Serbia, enti ...
(r. 1378–89), who ruled two of these states, at times called themselves ''Stefan'' although they never claimed the kingship.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephen
Honorifics
Kotromanić dynasty
Nemanjić dynasty
Bans of Bosnia
Bosnian monarchs
Serbian monarchs
Serbian royal titles
Bosnian royal titles