General Vuča ( sr, Вуча Џенерал) or General Vuka is a popular legendary hero of

Serbian epic poetry Serbian epic poetry ( sr, Српске епске народне песме, Srpske epske narodne pesme) is a form of epic poetry created by Serbs originating in today's Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia. The ...

who is depicted as an enemy of Kraljević Marko.

Song

Vuča first appeared in the poem ''Marko Kraljević and General Vuča'', which was sung by

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 i ...

Sremski Karlovci Sremski Karlovci ( sr-cyrl, Сремски Карловци, ; hu, Karlóca; tr, Karlofça) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Danu ...

and recorded by

Vuk Karadžić Vuk Stefanović Karadžić ( sr-Cyrl, Вук Стефановић Караџић, ; 6 November 1787 (26 October OS)7 February 1864) was a Serbian philologist, anthropologist and linguist. He was one of the most important reformers of the moder ...

who published it in 1845 within second volume of the 'Songs of Serbian people' ( sr, Српске народне пјесме) collection. This song is one of the songs Podrugović learned in

Srem Syrmia ( sh, Srem/Срем or sh, Srijem/Сријем, label=none) is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia and Croatia. Most of the region is flat, with the ex ...

. Vuča and his son Velimir are the most mysterious epic heroes who were enemies of Marko Kraljević. They are foreigners like other main enemies of Marko Kraljević and, as it is strongly hinted in some particular epic narratives, probably

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...

. Like other enemies of Marko (i.e.

Musa Kesedžija Musa Kesedžija, Musa Arbanas (Serbian and mk, Муса Кесеџија, bg, Муса Кеседжия), also described as Musa the Robber, Musa the Outlaw, Musa the Highwayman or Musa the Beheader, is a popular legendary villain of Serbian epi ...

or Djemo the Mountaineer) Vuča is also of exceptional strength. At the beginning of the song Vuča captures three heroes ( Miloš od Pocerja, Milan Toplica and Kosančić Ivan) who are friends of Kraljević Marko and puts them in the dungeon of

Petrovaradin Petrovaradin ( sr-cyr, Петроварадин, ) is a historic town in the Serbian province of Vojvodina, now a part of the city of Novi Sad. As of 2011, the urban area has 14,810 inhabitants. Lying on the right bank of the Danube, across from t ...

(Varadin in song). Marko Kraljević first defeats General Vuča's son and his three hundred horsemen and then General Vuča himself together with his thousand horsemen. Vuča's wife releases the three heroes from the dungeon against Marko's request, which is an example of "jailor's daughter" type of help. Besides the three heroes Marko also releases the father of Milan Toplica who was also captured by General Vuča. There is another song which presents information about capture of Toplica's father and how three heroes who attacked Petrovaradin in attempt to release him were also captured by General Vuča.

Historical background

There are different opinions what historical person Vuča is based upon. According to Andra Gavrilović the figure of General Vuča is based on Tanush Dukagjin, a member of Dukagjini noble family from Albania. There was an opinion that Vuča was based on

Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy–Carignano, (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736) better known as Prince Eugene, was a field marshal in the army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th and 18th centuries. He ...

while some other theories say that he is based on the Petar Doci also referred to as Auci in Erlangen Manuscript. Since Eugene of Savoy did not have a son according to some interpretations Velimir, who was referred in the song as Vuča's son, was probably some of Eugene's subordinated officers.

Citations

External links

Text of the poem "Marko Kraljević and General Vuča" published in 'The Ballads of Marko Kraljevic', Cambridge University Press
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vuca, General Characters in Serbian epic poetry Fictional Serbian people