Malonšići (in older forms: Malončići and Malonjšiki,

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

: Малоншићи) was a historical

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

(''pleme'') of Albanian origin and area in the Brda region of

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

. Malonšići were located between modern

Danilovgrad Danilovgrad (Cyrillic: Даниловград) is a town in central Montenegro. It has a population of 6,852, according to the 2011 census. It is situated in the Danilovgrad Municipality which lies along the main route between Montenegro's two la ...

and

Podgorica Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

. By the late 15th century they were

slavicized Slavicisation American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), or Slavicization, is the acculturation of something non-Slavic into a Slavs, Slavic culture, cuisine, region, or nation. The process can either be v ...

and later assimilated into

Bjelopavlići Bjelopavlići ( cyrl, Бјелопавлићи, ; ) is a historical tribe (pleme) of Albanians, Albanian origin and a valley in the region of the Brda (Montenegro), Brda, in Montenegro, around the city of Danilovgrad. Geography The ''Bjelopavl ...

Etymology

The Malonšići were of Albanian origin. Their name is related to the Albanian word ''mal'' (mountain), a toponym and anthroponym which is very frequent among Albanian communities in modern Montenegro. The locality of ''Malenza'' in their home territory has been connected by P. Šobajić to their name and has been interpreted as a compound ''mal'' and ''zi'' (black). Expanding on this, Ivan Božić considered this to be an indication that the tribe originated in the region of Mali i Zi, northern Albania.

Geography

The tribe encompassed parts of what was later Zagarač, Komani and Bjelopavlići. The area of the Malonšići is located in southern

Danilovgrad Municipality The Danilovgrad Municipality is one of the municipalities of Montenegro. Its administrative center is the town of Danilovgrad and it is located in the central part of Montenegro, in the valley of the Zeta (river), Zeta river, also called the Bjelop ...

and northern

municipality. The tribe lived in the basin of the

Zeta Zeta (, ; uppercase Ζ, lowercase ζ; , , classical or ''zē̂ta''; ''zíta'') is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 7. It was derived from the Phoenician alphabet, Phoenician letter zay ...

, Sušica and

Mareza The Mareza ( Montenegrin Cyrillic: Мареза) is a river in Montenegro. It is also a name of suburb of Podgorica, in which the river originates. The river The River Mareza is a small river that originates at the Mareza Springs, some 3 km ...

rivers.

History

The first reference to the Malonšići comes from a letter issued by the

Serbian Chancellery in Dubrovnik The Serbian Chancellery (), sometimes known as the Slavic Chancellery (словенска канцеларија), was a diplomatical and economical office of several states of Serbia in the Middle Ages (such as Kingdom of Serbia, Kingdom of Bosn ...

in 1411. The document, a complaint from Ragusan people addressed to Jelena Balšić, is about the looting committed by the Malonšići, together with the

Ozrinići Ozrinići ( Cyrl, Озринићи) is a village in the municipality of Nikšić, Montenegro. History The village was founded by five families of the Ozrinići tribe in 1597. Apart from the Ozrinići descendants, from the 18th century onwards ...

and Maznice, on Ragusan merchants on their way through

while they were returning from

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. In 1452 they were one of the tribes which supported

Stefan Crnojević Stefan Crnojević ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Црнојевић), known as Stefanica (; 1426–1465) was the Zeta under the Crnojevići, Lord of Zeta between 1451 and 1465. Until 1441, as a knyaz he was one of many governors in Upper Zeta, whic ...

against

Đurađ Branković Đurađ Vuković Branković ( sr-Cyrl, Ђурађ Вуковић Бранковић, ; 1377 – 24 December 1456) served as the Serbian Despot from 1427 to 1456, making him one of the final rulers of medieval Serbia. In 1429, Branković was form ...

and in 1455 along with Crnojević they swore fealty to Venice in the Vranjina Monastery. Some of them after the conquest of the region by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

fled their homeland and settled in Venetian territories,

Kotor Kotor (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian language, Italian: ), is a town in Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has ...

in particular. The tribe appears as part of the communities who paid taxes to

Đurađ Crnojević Đurađ Crnojević ( sr-cyr, Ђурађ Црноjeвић, ; d. 1514) was the last Serbian medieval Zeta under the Crnojevići, Lord of ZetaSlijepčević 1974, p. 43: "Према Карлу Хопфу и Балшићи и Црнојевићи »п ...

who was an Ottoman vassal. In the defters of the

Sanjak of Montenegro The Sanjak of Montenegro ( Montenegrin and sr-cyr, Санџак Црне Горе, Sandžak Crne Gore; , literally Sanjak of the Black Mountain) was a province (sanjak) of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkan Peninsula roughly corresponding to moder ...

from 1521 to 1582/3 under Skender Bey Crnojević, they are listed as a distinct

nahiya A nāḥiyah ( , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiyeh, nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level divisi ...

. In the 1521 defter, their settlements were Vranići, Kosići, Bjeločani, Spuž, Bogišići, Radonjići, Grlov Kuk, Pavlovići, Vladovići, Lješevići, Jednoši, Lužnica Zur, Kalođurđevići and Zagreda and had a total of 150 households. In the 1523 defter Malonšići was one of seven nahiye of the sanjak of Montenegro. In the 1570 defter of the Montenegro Vilayet they were still a distinct community as a nahiya and had a total of 175 households and 12 ''baština'' which paid a 5,610 ''akçe'' in taxes. Over time they were slavicized. After 1582-83 they were no more a distinct community and became part of

. Šobajić considered the Malonšići to have been related to, or a branch of, the Španje (Shpani) and notes that they inhabited Zagarač and Kosovi Lug in Bjelopavlić.

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Malonsici Tribes of Montenegro