Stefan Ratković ( sr-cyr, Стефан Ратковић; 1456–59) was a Serbian nobleman and the last ''veliki logotet'' ( Grand Logothete) of the

Serbian Despotate The Serbian Despotate ( sr, / ) was a medieval Serbian state in the first half of the 15th century. Although the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 is generally considered the end of medieval Serbia, the Despotate, a successor of the Serbian Empire and ...

. His court was in Draginovci, in the Lepenica region of Serbia, where he had his oldest estates. He was known to have already held the title of (standard) ''logotet'' in September 1456. He was elevated to the rank of the ''veliki logotet'' at the beginning of Despot

Lazar Branković Lazar Branković ( sr-cyr, Лазар Бранковић; c. 1421 – 20 February 1458) was a Serbian despot, prince of Rascia from 1456 to 1458. He was the third son of Đurađ Branković and his wife Eirene Kantakouzene. He was succeeded by his ...

's (December 1456-January 1458) reign. He was loyal to Despot Lazar during the succession conflict between Lazar and his brother

Stefan Branković Stefan Branković ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Бранковић; c. 1417 – 9 October 1476), also known in historiography as Stefan the Blind (Стефан Слепи), was briefly the despot (ruler) of the Serbian Despotate between 1458 and 1459, m ...

on one side, and

Grgur Branković Grgur Branković (1415 – 16 October 1459) was a 15th-century Serbian nobleman. Grgur was the eldest son of Serbian Despot Đurađ Branković and Eirene Kantakouzene. In 1439, after the Ottomans captured Smederevo, the capital of the Serbian ...

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 ...

and

Thomas Kantakouzenos }, ''Thomás Kantakouzenós'', modern pronunciation ''Thomás Kantakouzinós'', sr, Тома Кантакузин/''Toma Kantakuzin''; died 25 July 1463) was a Byzantine aristocrat, a member of the Kantakouzenos family, who became a Serbian magnat ...

on the other side. He also sided with Stefan Branković,

Helena Palaiologina Helena Palaiologina ( el, ; 3 February 1428 – 11 April 1458) was a Byzantine princess of the Palaiologos family, who became List of Cypriot royal consorts, Queen of Cyprus and Cilician Armenia, Armenia, Titular ruler, titular Queen consort of K ...

and their pro-Hungarian party during the plots of pro-Ottoman renegade

Mihailo Anđelović Mihailo ( sr-cyr, Михаило) or Mihajlo () is a Serbian masculine given name, a variant of the Hebrew name '' Michael''. Common as a given name among Serbs, it is an uncommon surname. It may refer to: * Mihailo Vojislavljević ( fl. 1050� ...

in March 1458 which led to Anđelović's downfall and imprisonment. His holdings, which had already expanded during the last years of Despot

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 ...

, were further increased with lands all over the Despotate's territory during the reign of Despot Lazar and Despot Stefan as a reward for his loyalty to them and other services. However, they were all under the system of ''

pronoia The ''pronoia'' (plural ''pronoiai''; Greek: πρόνοια, meaning "care" or "forethought," from πρό, "before," and νόος, "mind") was a system of granting dedicated streams of state income to individuals and institutions in the late Byz ...

'', in which a nobleman's ownership of his lands was conditional on providing military support to the state, as opposed to ''baština'', the other form of land ownership in medieval Serbia, which was full and unconditional. However, by 1459, Stefan Ratković, increasingly pessimistic about the greatly reduced and war-devastated Serbia's chances of repelling the ongoing Ottoman invasion, had a change of heart. Stefan Ratković assisted the plans of Helena Paleologina and King Stefan Tomaš, had a leading role in organizing Tomaš's son's marriage with late Despot Lazar's daughter

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

and the illegal seizure of power from Despot Stefan Branković that followed on 8 April 1459. He did this in exchange for a confirmation of his privileges, upgrading of his holdings to ''baština''-status, as well as a grant of 100 houses in Bosnia to be used by him, his family and servants, and an allowance to leave the kingdom with his people and mobile property if and when he desires. When Stefan Tomašević betrayed the hopes of the Serbian Despotate by surrendering

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 ...

without a fight, Ratković appears to have left for Bosnia with him.Мишић, p. 9

Notes

References

*С. Мишић, Поседи великог логотета Стефана Ратковића, Belgrade (2007) *Љ. Стојановић, Стари Српски хрисовуљи, акти, биографије, летописи, (1890) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ratkovic, Stefan 15th-century Serbian nobility People of the Serbian Despotate Kragujevac 15th-century births 15th-century deaths Medieval chancellors (government)