Danilo II, Serbian Archbishop
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Danilo II ( sr-cyr, Данило II) was the Archbishop of Serbs 1324 to 1337, under the rule of Kings Stephen Uroš III (1321–1331) and
Dušan the Mighty Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Душан) is a Slavic given name primarily used in the former Yugoslavia and the former Czechoslovakia. The name is derived from the Slavic noun ''duša'' "soul". Occurrence In Serbia, it was the 29th most popular name fo ...
(1331–1355, crowned Emperor in 1345). As a Serbian monk, he was also a
chronicler A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events, ...
, active in court and Church politics, holding the office during the zenith of the
Nemanjić dynasty The House of Nemanjić ( sr-Cyrl, Немањић, Немањићи; Nemanjić, Nemanjići, ) was the most prominent Serbian dynasty of Serbia in the Middle Ages. This princely, royal and imperial house produced List of Serbian monarchs, twelv ...
-era; he wrote many biographies which are considered part of the most notable
medieval Serbian literature Medieval Serbian literature or Old Serbian literature () refers to the literature written in medieval forms of Serbian language, up to the end of the 15th century, with its traditions extending into the early modern period. During the Middle Age ...
. He was proclaimed
Saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
Danilo II (Свети Данило II) of the
Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodox Church#Constit ...
, and is celebrated on the same day as Saint
Ignatius of Antioch Ignatius of Antioch (; ; died 108/140), also known as Ignatius Theophorus (), was an early Christian writer and Patriarch of Antioch. While en route to Rome, where he met his Christian martyrs, martyrdom, Ignatius wrote a series of letters. This ...
on .


Life and work

Born around 1270 in the
župa A župa, or zhupa, is a historical type of administrative division in Southeast Europe and Central Europe, that originated in medieval South Slavs, South Slavic culture, commonly translated as "county" or "parish". It was mentioned for the first t ...
of Pilot (present-day Pult, in northern
Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
), his given name has not been recorded, only that he belonged to a Serbian noble family. He was endowed with a fine intellect and a noble disposition; he had received an excellent education at the hands of the most learned men in
Medieval Serbia The medieval period in the history of Serbia began in the 6th century with the Slavic migrations to Southeastern Europe, and lasted until the Ottoman Serbia, Ottoman conquest of Serbian lands in the second half of the 15th century. The period i ...
and in
Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion () was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' continued to be used as a n ...
. After his education, he joined the court of the Serbian 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 ...
, which he left around 1300 to join the monastery of Končul on the Ibar river. After his novitiate, he went to
Peć Peja or Peć, ), is the fifth most populous city in Kosovo and serves as the seat of the Peja Municipality and the District of Peja. It is located in the Rugova (region), Rugova region on the eastern section of the Accursed Mountains along the ...
at the request of the Serbian archbishop Jevstatije, where he was made a presbyter priest. After that, he progressed quickly in the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church: first as abbot of
Hilandar The Hilandar Monastery (, , , ) is one of the twenty Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Mount Athos in Greece and the only Serbian Orthodox monastery there. It was founded in 1198 by two Serbs from the Grand Principality of Serbia, Stefan Neman ...
(), then as bishop of Banjska (1312–1315), and finally as archbishop from 1324 until his death in 1337. He died on 19 December 1337 and was buried in one of the churches he had built in the monastery of Peć, Our Lady Hodegetria. Danilo wrote biographies of Serbian medieval kings and archbishops, including the biography of Jelena, the wife of King
Stephen Uroš I of Serbia Stephen or Steven is an English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is widely regarded as the firs ...
(1243–1276). His monumental work is referred to in the poetry of Serbian folklore as ''knjige starostavne'' (the ancient books) and ''knjige carostavne'' (the royal books). As a result of his work, many historical details concerning both the rulers of medieval Serbia and the members of the Nemanjić dynasty have been preserved.


Legacy

He is included in
The 100 most prominent Serbs ''The 100 most prominent Serbs'' () is a book containing the biographies of the hundred most important Serbs as compiled by a committee of academicians at the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. The committee members were Sava Vuković (bishop) ...
.


See also

*
Jefimija Jefimija ( sr-Cyrl, Јефимија, ; 1349–1405), secular name Jelena Mrnjavčević ( sr-Cyrl, Јелена Мрњавчевић, link=no, or ), was a Serbian noblewoman, wife of Jovan Uglješa Mrnjavčević, considered to be the first femal ...
*
Princess Milica of Serbia Princess Milica Hrebeljanović née Nemanjić ( · ca. 1335 – November 11, 1405) also known as Empress (''Tsaritsa'') Milica, was a List of Serbian consorts, royal consort of Serbia by marriage to Prince Lazar, who fell in the Battle of Kosovo ...
*
Stefan Lazarević Stefan Lazarević ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Лазаревић, 1377 – 19 July 1427), also known as Stefan the Tall (), was a Serbian ruler as prince (1389–1402) and Despot (court title), despot (1402–1427). He was also a diplomat, legislat ...
*
Teodosije Teodosije ( sr-cyr, Теодосије) is a Serbian variant of the Greek name ''Theodosius'', and may refer to: * Teodosije Hilandarac (1246-1328), cleric and writer * Teodosije, Metropolitan of Zeta (before 1446) * Teodosije, Bishop of Vršac ...
* Domentijan *
Stefan Dušan Stephen (honorific), Stefan Uroš IV Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош IV Душан), also known as Dušan the Mighty ( sr-Cyrl, Душан Силни; – 20 December 1355), was the King of Serbia from 8 September 1331 and Emperor of th ...
*
Teodosije the Hilandarian Teodosije the Hilandarian or Theodosije of Hilandar (; 1246–1328) was a Serbian Orthodox clergyman and one of the most important Serbian writers in the Middle Ages; the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts named him one of the 100 most prominent ...
(1246–1328), one of the most important Serbian writers in the Middle Ages *
Miroslav Gospel Miroslav Gospel (, ) is a 362-page Serbian illuminated manuscript Gospel Book on parchment with very rich decorations. It is one of the oldest surviving documents written in the Serbian recension of Church Slavonic. The gospel is considered a ...
*
Gabriel the Hilandarian Gabriel the Hilandarian ( 1359–d. after 1412) was a Serbian monk-scribe. There is very little information available about Gabriel the Hilandarian, like most modest monks who lived in the 14th and early 15th century. It is known that he translated ...
* Danilo's anonymous pupil


References

* Translated and adapted from Serbian: https://www.rastko.rs/kosovo/pecarsija/ljudi/vl_sava-danilo_II_l.html


Sources

* * * * *


Further reading

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Danilo II Serbian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox Christians from Serbia Year of birth missing Year of death missing 14th-century Christian saints 14th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops 14th-century Serbian people Archbishops of Serbs Burials at the Patriarchate of Peć (monastery)