''Čelnik'' ( sr-Cyrl, челник) was a high court title in the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynast ...

Serbian Empire The Serbian Empire ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српско царство, Srpsko carstvo, separator=" / ", ) was a medieval Serbian state that emerged from the Kingdom of Serbia. It was established in 1346 by Dušan the Mighty, who significantly expande ...

and Serbian Despotate. In its early form, the holder was entrusted with the security of property belonging to the Orthodox Church from the aristocrats (compare Catholic

Vidame Vidame () was a feudal title in France, a term descended from mediaeval Latin . Like the ''avoué'' or ''advocatus#In France, advocatus'', the ''vidame'' was originally a secular official chosen by the bishop of the diocese—with the consent ...

), so the holder appeared in the role of a judge or executor of the ruler's decisions, in disputes between the church and the nobility. At the beginning of the 15th century, during the Serbian Despotate, the title of ''veliki čelnik'' (велики челник, "grand čelnik") was the equivalent of

count palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an or ...

and was the highest court title, with the title-holders holding great provinces, property and honours.

History

During the reign of King

Stefan Milutin Stefan Uroš II Milutin ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош II Милутин, Stefan Uroš II Milutin; 1253 – 29 October 1321), known as Saint King, was the King of Serbia between 1282–1321, a member of the Nemanjić dynasty. He was one ...

(r. 1282–1321), the title holder was entrusted with the security of property belonging to the Church from the aristocrats, so the holder appeared in the role of a judge or executor of the ruler's decisions, in disputes between the church and the nobility. At that time the title of ''čelnik'' was of a higher rank than ''

stavilac Stavilac ( sr-Cyrl, ставилац, literally meaning "placer") was a court title in Medieval Bosnia and Medieval Serbia in the Middle Ages. It was similar to the Byzantine court offices of ''domestikos'' and cup-bearer (''pinkernes'', known in Se ...

'', but lower than ''

kaznac Kaznac ( sr-cyr, казнац) was a court title of the state employee in medieval Bosnia and Serbia who was in charge for the treasury in the territory under his jurisdiction — ''kaznačina'' (казначина). The name of the title is derive ...

'' and '' tepčija'', with '' vojvoda'' being the supreme title. It is unclear if there was one or several with that title at the court at that time. During King Stefan Dečanski's reign there were two or three title holders at the same time. During Stefan Dušan's reign, the title of ''veliki čelnik'' is first mentioned. The ''veliki čelnik'' supervised over several čelniks, each ''čelnik'' being a commander of military fortifications (and presumably its troops) or a senior (''starešina'') of a larger number of villages. After Jovan Oliver and Dimitrije, it seems that the title was not given at the court of Stefan Dušan. During the service of Branilo (fl. 1347) and Đurica (fl. 1350), there is also a mention of Andronik, a čelnik in Polog, though he likely was not of the same category as the former two.

List of known čelniks

* Gradislav Vojšić (fl. 1284–1327), served Stefan Milutin (fl. 1284). * Branko (fl. 1306–19), served Stefan Milutin (fl. 1305–06). * Đuraš Ilijić (fl. 1326–1362), served Stefan Dečanski (fl. 1326). * Gradislav Vojšić (fl. 1284–1327), served Stefan Dečanski (fl. 1327). * Vukdrag (d. 1327), served Stefan Dečanski. * Branilo, served Stefan Dušan (fl. 1347). * Đurica, served Stefan Dušan (fl. 1350). * Andronik, served Stefan Dušan (fl. 1350). * Stanislav, served the Dejanović (fl. 1377). * Musa, served Uroš V * Vuk, čelnik, served Stefan Lazarević (fl. 1402) * Đurađ Golemović (fl. 1453), čelnik, served Đurađ Branković. * Miloš, * Miloš Pović (fl. 1370) * Smil

Veliki čelnik

At the beginning of the 15th century, during the Serbian Despotate, the title of ''veliki čelnik'' was the equivalent of

and was the highest court title, with the title-holders holding great provinces, property and honours. Of these, Radič ( 1413–41) was the most notable.

List of known veliki čelniks

* Jovan Oliver, veliki čelnik, served Stefan Dušan (before 1340) * Dimitrije, veliki čelnik, served Stefan Dušan (before 1349), then Uroš V (fl. 1359) * Hrebeljan, veliki čelnik, served Stefan Lazarević (fl. 1405) * Radoslav, * Radič, veliki? čelnik, served Stefan Lazarević. * Radič, served Đurađ Branković (fl. 1429) * Mihailo Anđelović (fl. 1458), served Đurađ and Lazar Branković.

References

Sources