Serbian epic poetry ( sr, Српске епске народне песме, Srpske epske narodne pesme) is a form of
epic poetry
An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants.
...
created by
Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of ...
originating in today's
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 Hu ...
,
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 ...
,
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 =
, capi ...
,
Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = ...
and
North 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 Socialist Feder ...
. The main cycles were composed by unknown Serb authors between the 14th and 19th centuries. They are largely concerned with historical events and personages. The instrument accompanying the epic poetry is the ''
gusle
The gusle ( sr-cyrl, гусле) or lahuta ( sq, lahutë) is a single- stringed musical instrument (and musical style) traditionally used in the Dinarides region of Southeastern Europe (in the Balkans). The instrument is always accompanied by ...
''.
Serbian epic poetry helped in developing the
Serbian national consciousness. The cycles of
Prince Marko, the
Hajduks
A hajduk ( hu, hajdúk, plural of ) is a type of irregular infantry found in Central and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries. They have reputations ranging from bandits to freedom fighters depending on time, ...
and
Uskoks
The Uskoks ( hr, Uskoci, , singular: ; notes on naming) were irregular soldiers in Habsburg Croatia that inhabited areas on the eastern Adriatic coast and surrounding territories during the Ottoman wars in Europe. Bands of Uskoks fought a g ...
inspired the Serbs to restore freedom and their heroic past. The Hajduks in particular, are seen as an integral part of national identity; in stories, the hajduks were heroes: they had played the role of the Serbian elite during Ottoman rule, they had defended the Serbs against Ottoman oppression, and prepared for the national liberation and contributed to it in the
Serbian Revolution.
History
The earliest surviving record of an epic poem related to Serbian epic poetry is a ten verse fragment of a
bugarštica song from 1497 in Southern Italy about the imprisonment of
Sibinjanin Janko (John Hunyadi) by
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 Ank ...
,
however the regional origin and ethnic identity of its Slavic performers remains a matter of scholarly dispute. From at least the Ottoman period up until the present day, Serbian epic poetry was sung accompanied by the ''
gusle
The gusle ( sr-cyrl, гусле) or lahuta ( sq, lahutë) is a single- stringed musical instrument (and musical style) traditionally used in the Dinarides region of Southeastern Europe (in the Balkans). The instrument is always accompanied by ...
'' and there are historical references to Serb performers playing the gusle at the
Polish–Lithuanian royal courts in the 16th and 17th centuries, and later on in Ukraine and Hungary. Hungarian historian
Sebestyén Tinódi wrote in 1554 that "there are many gusle players here in Hungary, but none is better at the Serbian style than
Dimitrije Karaman Dimitrije Karaman ( Lipova, Arad, c. 1500-Lipova, Arad, after 1555) was an early Serbian poet and bard.
The earliest known Serbian Guslar is referred to in 1551 by Hungarian historian Sebestyen Tinodi Lantos, who wrote in his Chronicles:
In addi ...
", and described Karaman's performance to Turkish lord Uluman in 1551 in
Lipova: the guslar would hold the gusle between his knees and go into a highly emotional artistic performance with a sad and dedicated expression on his face. Chronicler and poet
Maciej Stryjkowski
Maciej Stryjkowski (also referred to as Strykowski and Strycovius;Nowa encyklopedia powszechna PWN. t. 6, 1997 – ) was a Polish historian, writer and a poet, known as the author of ''Chronicle of Poland, Lithuania, Samogitia and all of Rutheni ...
(1547–1582) included a verse mentions the Serbs singing heroic songs about ancestors fighting the Turks in his 1582 chronicle.
Józef Bartłomiej Zimorowic used the phrase "to sing to the Serbian gusle" in his 1663
idyll
An idyll (, ; from Greek , ''eidullion'', "short poem"; occasionally spelt ''idyl'' in American English) is a short poem, descriptive of rustic life, written in the style of Theocritus' short pastoral poems, the ''Idylls'' (Εἰδύλλια).
...
''Śpiewacy'' (Singers).
In 1824,
Vuk Karadžić sent a copy of his folksong collection to
Jacob Grimm
Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (4 January 1785 – 20 September 1863), also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He is known as the discoverer of Grimm's law of linguistics, the co-author of t ...
, who was particularly enthralled by ''
The Building of Skadar
''The Building of Skadar'' or ''The Walling of the Skadar'' or ''The Founding of Skadar'' ( sr, Зидање Скадра) is a poem of the pre-Kosovo cycle of Serbian epic poetry. It is based on the motif of human sacrifice.
Time and place
T ...
''. Grimm translated it into
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
, and described it as "one of the most touching poems of all nations and all times".
Many of the epics are about the era of the
Ottoman occupation of Serbia and the struggle for the liberation. With the efforts of ethnographer Vuk Karadžić, many of these epics and folk tales were collected and published in books in the first half of the 19th century. Up until that time, these poems and songs had been almost exclusively an oral tradition, transmitted by bards and singers. Among the books Karadžić published were:
*A Small Simple-Folk Slavonic-Serbian Songbook, 1814; Serbian Folk Song-Book (Vols, I-IV, Leipzig edition, 1823-8133; Vols. I-IV, Vienna edition, 1841-1862)
*Serbian Folk Tales (1821, with 166 riddles; and 1853)
*Serbian Folk Proverbs and Other Common Expressions, 1834.
*"Women's Songs" from Herzegovina (1866) - which was collected by Karadžić's collaborator and assistant
Vuk Vrčević
Vuk Vrčević ( sr-cyr, Вук Врчевић; Risan, 26 February 1811 – Dubrovnik, 13 August 1882) was a Montenegrin serb collector of lyric poetry and companion of Vuk Karadžić, the famed linguist and reformer of the Serbian language. He ...
These editions appeared in Europe when
romanticism
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
was in full bloom and there was much interest in Serbian folk poetry, including from
Johann Gottfried Herder
Johann Gottfried von Herder ( , ; 25 August 174418 December 1803) was a German philosopher, theologian, poet, and literary critic. He is associated with the Enlightenment, '' Sturm und Drang'', and Weimar Classicism.
Biography
Born in Mohr ...
,
Jacob Grimm
Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (4 January 1785 – 20 September 1863), also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He is known as the discoverer of Grimm's law of linguistics, the co-author of t ...
,
Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...
and
Jernej Kopitar
Jernej Kopitar, also known as Bartholomeus Kopitar (21 August 1780 – 11 August 1844), was a Slovene linguist and philologist working in Vienna. He also worked as the Imperial censor for Slovene literature in Vienna. He is perhaps best known ...
.
Gusle
The ''
gusle
The gusle ( sr-cyrl, гусле) or lahuta ( sq, lahutë) is a single- stringed musical instrument (and musical style) traditionally used in the Dinarides region of Southeastern Europe (in the Balkans). The instrument is always accompanied by ...
'' () instrumentally accompanies heroic songs (epic poetry) in the Balkans. The instrument is held vertically between the knees, with the left hand fingers on the neck. The strings are never pressed to the neck, giving a harmonic and unique sound. There is no consensus about the origin of the instrument, while some researchers believe it was brought with the Slavs to the Balkans, based on a 6th-century Byzantine source.
Teodosije the Hilandarian (1246–1328) wrote that
Stefan Nemanjić (r. 1196–1228) often entertained the
Serbian nobility with musicians with drums and "gusle". Reliable written records about the ''gusle'' appear only in the 15th century. 16th-century travel memoirs mention the instrument in
Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...
and
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 Hu ...
.
It is known that Serbs sang to the ''gusle'' during the Ottoman period. Notable Serbian performers played at the Polish royal courts in the 16th- and 17th centuries, and later on in Ukraine and in Hungary. There is an old mention in Serbo-Croatian literature that a Serbian guslar was present at the court of
Władysław II Jagiełło
Jogaila (; 1 June 1434), later Władysław II Jagiełło ()He is known under a number of names: lt, Jogaila Algirdaitis; pl, Władysław II Jagiełło; be, Jahajła (Ягайла). See also: Names and titles of Władysław II Jagiełło. ...
in 1415. In a poem published in 1612, Kasper Miaskowski wrote that "the Serbian gusle and
gaidas will overwhelm
Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent), observed in many Christian countries through participating in confession and absolution, the ritual burning of the previous year's Holy Week palms, finalizing one's Lenten ...
".
Józef Bartłomiej Zimorowic used the phrase "to sing to the Serbian gusle" in his 1663
idyll
An idyll (, ; from Greek , ''eidullion'', "short poem"; occasionally spelt ''idyl'' in American English) is a short poem, descriptive of rustic life, written in the style of Theocritus' short pastoral poems, the ''Idylls'' (Εἰδύλλια).
...
''Śpiewacy'' ("Singers").
Corpus
The corpus of Serbian epic poetry is divided into cycles:
*Non-historic cycle (Неисторијски циклус/Neistorijski ciklus) - poems about
Slavic mythology
Slavic mythology or Slavic religion is the religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and the 13th century. The South Slavs, who likely settled in the Bal ...
, characteristically about
dragons
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
and
nymphs
A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ...
*Cycle of Nemanjić (циклус Немањића)
*Pre-Kosovo cycle (Преткосовски циклус/Pretkosovski ciklus) - poems about events that predate 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 ...
(1389)
*Kosovo cycle (Косовски циклус/Kosovski ciklus) - poems about events that happened just before and after 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 ...
*Post-Kosovo cycle (Покосовски циклус/Pokosovski ciklus) - poems about post-Battle events
*Cycle of
Kraljević Marko (циклус Краљевића Марка/ciklus Kraljevića Marka)
*Cycle of Branković (циклус Бранковића)
*Cycle of Crnojević (циклус Црнојевића)
*Cycle of
hajduks and
uskoks
The Uskoks ( hr, Uskoci, , singular: ; notes on naming) were irregular soldiers in Habsburg Croatia that inhabited areas on the eastern Adriatic coast and surrounding territories during the Ottoman wars in Europe. Bands of Uskoks fought a g ...
(хајдучки и ускочки циклус, Хајдучке и ускочке песме) – poems about brigands and rebels
*Poems about the liberation of Serbia and Montenegro (циклус ослобођења Србије, Песме о ослобођењу Србије и Црне Горе) - poems about the 19th-century battles against 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, ...
Poems depict historical events with varying degrees of accuracy.
Notable people
*
Benedikt Kuripečič
Benedikt Kuripečič or Benedikt Kuripešić (german: Benedict Curipeschitz von Obernburg, 1491–1531) was a 16th-century Slovene diplomat who recorded epic songs about Miloš Obilić.
Kuripečič was born in Gornji Grad, then part of the Habs ...
(16th century), diplomat who traveled through
Ottoman Bosnia
The Ottoman Empire era of rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina (first as a ''sanjak'', then as an ''eyalet'') and Herzegovina (also as a ''sanjak'', then ''eyalet'') lasted from 1463/1482 to 1878 ''de facto'', and until 1908 ''de jure''.
Ottoman ...
and
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 Hu ...
in 1530 and recorded that epic songs about
Miloš Obilić are popular not only among
Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of ...
in Kosovo but also in Bosnia and Croatia. He also recorded some legends about 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 ...
.
*
Dimitrije Karaman Dimitrije Karaman ( Lipova, Arad, c. 1500-Lipova, Arad, after 1555) was an early Serbian poet and bard.
The earliest known Serbian Guslar is referred to in 1551 by Hungarian historian Sebestyen Tinodi Lantos, who wrote in his Chronicles:
In addi ...
( 1551), oldest known Serbian gusle player
*
Avram Miletić
Avram Miletić ( sr, Аврам Милетић) (1755 – after 1826) was a merchant and writer of epic folk songs who is best known for writing the earliest collection of urban lyric poetry in Serbian between 1778 and 1781.
Family
Miletić wa ...
(1755–after 1826), merchant and
songwriter
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...
best known for writing the earliest collection of urban
lyric poetry
Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person.
It is not equivalent to song lyrics, though song lyrics are often in the lyric mode, and it is also ''not'' equi ...
in Serbian.
*
Old Rashko
Old Rashko or Old man Raško ( sr, Старац Рашко; Старац Рашко Колашинац) was a Serbian storyteller and gusle player (''guslar'') known as one of the most important sources of the epic poetry recorded by Vuk Karadži ...
, one of the most important sources of epic poetry recorded by
Vuk Karadžić.
*
Filip Višnjić
Filip Višnjić ( sr-cyr, Филип Вишњић, ; 1767–1834) was a Serbian epic poet and '' guslar''. His repertoire included 13 original epic poems chronicling the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire and four reinterpreted ...
(1767–1834), Serbian guslar dubbed the "Serbian Homer" both for his blindness and poetic gift.
*
Tešan Podrugović
Tešan Podrugović ( sr, Тешан Подруговић) (Kazanci, Gacko, Herzegovina, Ottoman Empire 1775 — Sremski Karlovci, Austrian Empire 1815) was Serbian merchant, hayduk, storyteller and gusle player ( sr, guslar) who participated in t ...
(1783–1815), Serb
hajduk,
storyteller and guslar who participated in 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 1 ...
and was one of the most important sources for Serbian epic poetry.
*
Živana Antonijević
Živana Antonijević or Blind Živana (died in Zemun in 1828) was Serbian storyteller, gusle player ( sr, guslar) and one of the most important sources for Serbian epic poetry
Serbian epic poetry ( sr, Српске епске народне п� ...
(d. 1822), known as "Blind Živana", one of the favorite female singers of Vuk Karadžić.
*
Vuk Karadžić (1787—1864) was 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
* Serbian names
See also
*
*
* Old Serbian (disambiguation ...
philologist
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined ...
and
linguist
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Lingu ...
who was the major reformer of the
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 ...
. He deserves, perhaps, for his collections of songs, fairy tales, and riddles to be called the father of the study of
Serbian folklore.
*
Vuk Vrčević
Vuk Vrčević ( sr-cyr, Вук Врчевић; Risan, 26 February 1811 – Dubrovnik, 13 August 1882) was a Montenegrin serb collector of lyric poetry and companion of Vuk Karadžić, the famed linguist and reformer of the Serbian language. He ...
(1811-1882), collector of lyric poetry
*
Petar Perunović
Petar Perunović (Serbian Cyrillic: Петар Перуновић) (1880 – 10 June 1952), nicknamed Perun, was a famous Serbian gusle player from Montenegro.
Perunović was born in 1880 at Drenovštica in Pješivci, Princedom of Montenegro, and ...
(1880–1952), known as "Perun", famous guslar who performed for
Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla ( ; ,["Tesla"](_blank)
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 1856 – 7 January 1943 ...
and the first to record Serbian epic poetry in a studio.
*
Djuro Milutinović the Blind
Djordje (Djuro) Milutinović (also known as the "Montenegrin"; 1774–1844) was a blind ''guslar'', at the time of the First Serbian Uprising. He was known as a trusted messenger of military plans and diplomatic secrets during the preparation and ...
(1774–1844), guslar at Serbian court.
Characters
;Medieval era
*
Tsar Dušan
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...
, Emperor
*
Prince Lazar
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, ...
, Prince and legendary Emperor
*
Pavle Orlović, knight
*
Milan Toplica
In Serbian epic poetry, Toplica Milan ( sr-Cyrl, Топлица Милан; or Milan Toplica, sr-Cyrl, link=no, Милан Топлица), also known as Milan from Toplica ( sr, / ), was a Serbian knight who died during the historical Battle of ...
, knight
*
Ivan Kosančić
Ivan Kosančić ( sr-cyr, Иван Косанчић) was a Serbian knight who died during the historical Battle of Kosovo in 1389.
Biography
He was born in the upper Toplica region (south Serbia)- mountain Radan, near the town of Kuršumlij ...
, knight
*
Jugović brothers, including
Boško Jugović
*
Beg Kostadin
*
Miloš Vojinović
Miloš Vojinović ( sr, Милош Војиновић; 1332) was a Serbian nobleman who served Emperor Stefan Dušan (r. 1331–55) as ''stavilac'', the son of general Vojin and brother of Vojislav and Altoman. He is a hero of the pre-Kosovo c ...
* Voivode Prijezda
*
Mali Radojica
Mali Radojica ( sr, Мали Радојица, en, Little Radojica) is a Serbian hajduk and Serb epic poem of the same name. The poem follows his life surviving torture by the Turks in an Ottoman prison, later successfully escaping with the h ...
, hajduk
*
Deli Radivoje
* "
Zmaj Ognjeni Vuk
A Slavic dragon is any dragon in Slavic mythology, including the Russian '' zmei'' (or ''zmey''; ), Ukrainian ''zmiy'' (), and its counterparts in other Slavic cultures: the Bulgarian ''zmey'' (), the Slovak ''drak'' and ''šarkan'', Czech '' ...
" (Vuk the Fiery Dragon), based on
Vuk Grgurević
Vuk Grgurević Branković ( sr-cyrl, Вук Гргуревић Бранковић; ca. 1439 – April 16, 1485) was a Serbian nobleman who was the titular despot of Serbia from 1471 until his death in 1485. He inherited the title of '' despot'' ( ...
, the Serbian Despot (r. 1471–85)
*
Ailing Dojčin, possibly based on despots John VII Palaiologos and Andronikos Palaiologos
*
Relja the Winged
*
Pop Milo Jovović
*
Bajo Pivljanin
Bajo Pivljanin ( sr-cyr, Бајо Пивљанин – 7 May 1685), born Dragojlo Nikolić, was a Montenegrin and Serbian '' hajduk'' commander mostly active in the Ottoman territories of Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia. Born in Piva, at the ...
*
Stari Vujadin Stari ( sla, Stari, "Old One") could have multiple meanings:
* Stari, a List of rural localities in Vologda Oblast#Babushkinsky District, rural locality in Babushkinsky District of Vologda Oblast of Russia.
* Stari, a nickname of Đuro Pucar.
* Sta ...
*
Alil-Aga
*
Sibinjanin Janko
*
Jug Bogdan
A jug is a type of container commonly used to hold liquids. It has an opening, sometimes narrow, from which to pour or drink, and has a handle, and often a pouring lip. Jugs throughout history have been made of metal, and ceramic, or glass, and ...
*
Janko od Kotara
*
Starina Novak (partly)
*
Musa Kesedžija, enemy of Kraljević Marko, he is the result of merging several historical people including
Musa Çelebi son of
Bayezid I
Bayezid I ( ota, بايزيد اول, tr, I. Bayezid), also known as Bayezid the Thunderbolt ( ota, link=no, یلدیرم بايزيد, tr, Yıldırım Bayezid, link=no; – 8 March 1403) was the Ottoman Sultan from 1389 to 1402. He adopted ...
and Musa from the
Muzaka
The Muzaka were an Albanian noble family that ruled over the region of Myzeqe (southern Albania) in the Late Middle Ages. The Muzaka are also referred to by some authors as a tribe or a clan. The earliest historical document that mention Muzaka ...
Albanian noble family while
Jovan Tomić believes he is based on the supporter of Jegen Osman Pasha
*
Djemo the Mountaineer Djemo the Mountaineer ( sr, Ђемо Брђанин) is a popular legendary hero of Serbian epic poetry who is depicted as enemy of Kraljević Marko and brother of Musa Kesedžija. His figure might be based on an actual historical person. There are ...
, enemy of Kraljević Marko, a member of
Muzaka noble family (
Gjin Muzaka) or maybe
Ottoman military person Jegen Osman Pasha
*
General Vuča General Vuča ( sr, Вуча Џенерал) or General Vuka is a popular legendary hero of Serbian epic poetry who is depicted as an enemy of Kraljević Marko.
Song
Vuča first appeared in the poem ''Marko Kraljević and General Vuča'', which ...
, enemy of Kraljević Marko, Tanush Dukagjin, a member of
Dukagjini noble family or
Prince Eugene of Savoy
Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy–Carignano, (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736) better known as Prince Eugene, was a Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th a ...
or
Peter Doci
*
Philip the Magyar, enemy of Kraljević Marko,
Pipo of Ozora, an
Italian condottiero
''Condottieri'' (; singular ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other Euro ...
, general, strategist and confidant of King
Sigismund of Hungary.
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Arnaut Osman Arnaut Osman is a hero of Serbian, Albanian, and Bosniak epic poetry. The Serbo-Croatian language songs about Arnaut Osman include ''Young Marjan and Arnaut Osman'', ''Sekula and Arnaut Osman'' and ''Mujo Hrnjica kills Simun Brehulja''. Albanian l ...
Hajduk cycle
* Ognjen Hadzovic, hajduk, main character in ''Ženidba Hadzovic Ognjena''.
* Srbin Tukelija, hajduk, main character in ''Boj Arađana s Komadincima''.
Many other heroes of Serbian epic poetry are also based upon historical persons:
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Strahinja Banović — Đurađ II Stracimirović Balšić
* Jug Bogdan — Vratko Nemanjić
* Beg Kostadin — Constantine Dragaš
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Sibinjanin Janko — John Hunyadi
* Petar Dojčin — Petar Doci
* Maksim Crnojević — Skenderbeg Crnojević, Staniša Skenderbeg Crnojević
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Bajo Pivljanin
Bajo Pivljanin ( sr-cyr, Бајо Пивљанин – 7 May 1685), born Dragojlo Nikolić, was a Montenegrin and Serbian '' hajduk'' commander mostly active in the Ottoman territories of Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia. Born in Piva, at the ...
- Bajo Nikolić
* Mihajlo Svilojević — Michael Szilágyi
* Janko od Kotara - Janko Mitrović
* Manojlo Grčić - Manuel I Komnenos
* Relja the Winged - Hrelja
* Grujica Žeravica
Some heroes are paired with their horses, such as
Prince Marko—Šarac, Momchil, Vojvoda Momčilo—Jabučilo (a winged horse),
Miloš Obilić—Ždralin, Damjan Jugović—Zelenko, Banović Strahinja—Đogin, Hajduk-Veljko—Kušlja, Jovan Kursula—Strina, Srđa Zlopogleđa—Vranac.
Excerpts
*Slavic antithesis:
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Kraljević Marko speaks: )
Modern example of Serbian epics as recorded in 1992 by film director Paweł Pawlikowski in a documentary for the BBC ''Serbian epics''; an anonymous ''gusle'' singer compares Radovan Karadžić, as he prepares to depart for Geneva for peace talk, to Karađorđe, who had led 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 1 ...
against the Turks in 1804:
Quotes
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Jacob Grimm
Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (4 January 1785 – 20 September 1863), also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He is known as the discoverer of Grimm's law of linguistics, the co-author of t ...
* Charles Simic
Modern Serbian epic poetry
Epic poetry is recorded still today. Some modern songs are published in books or recorded, and under copyright, but some are in public domain, and modified by subsequent authors just like old ones. There are new songs that mimic old epic poetry, but are humorous and not epic in nature; these are also circulating around with no known author. In the latter half of the 19th century, a certain MP would exit the Serbian parliament each day, and tell of the debate over the monetary reform bill in the style of epic poetry. Modern epic heroes include: Radovan Karadžić, Ratko Mladić and Vojislav Šešelj. Topics include: Yugoslav wars, NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Hague Tribunal.
Popular modern Serbian epic performers, ''guslari'' (Guslars) include: Milomir Miljanić, Milomir "Miljan" Miljanić, Đoko Koprivica, Boško Vujačić, Vlastimir Barać, Sava Stanišić, Miloš Šegrt, Saša Laketić and Milan Mrdović.
See also
* Gusle
* Bugarštica
* Erlangen Manuscript
* List of national poetries
*
The Building of Skadar
''The Building of Skadar'' or ''The Walling of the Skadar'' or ''The Founding of Skadar'' ( sr, Зидање Скадра) is a poem of the pre-Kosovo cycle of Serbian epic poetry. It is based on the motif of human sacrifice.
Time and place
T ...
* Serbian literature
References
Sources
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Further reading
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External links
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The Battle of Kosovo - Serbian Epic PoemsPreface by Charles Simic ''Swallow Press/Ohio University Press,'' Athens 1987
;Audio
Lesson in rhymePoem for KaradjordjeFate of vizier Mahmud-pasha in the village of KrusaPit of KorichPart 2Part 3
{{DEFAULTSORT:Serbian Epic Poetry
Serbian epic poetry,
Serbian culture
Serbian folklore
National symbols of Serbia