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

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Prin ...

Serbian Empire The Serbian Empire ( sr, / , ) was a medieval Serbian state that emerged from the Kingdom of Serbia. It was established in 1346 by Dušan the Mighty, who significantly expanded the state. Under Dušan's rule, Serbia was the major power in the ...

and

Serbian Despotate The Serbian Despotate ( sr, / ) was a medieval Serbian state in the first half of the 15th century. Although the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 is generally considered the end of medieval Serbia, the Despotate, a successor of the Serbian Empire ...

. 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'', the ''vidame'' was originally a secular official chosen by the bishop of the diocese—with the consent of the count—to ...

), 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 o ...

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-cyr, Стефан Урош II Милутин, Stefan Uroš II Milutin; 1253 – 29 October 1321), known as Stefan Milutin ( sr-cyr, Стефан Милутин, Stefan Milutin), was the King of Serbia between 1282&nd ...

(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-cyr, 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 Ser ...

'', but lower than '' kaznac'' and ''

tepčija Tepčija ( sr-cyr, тепчија) was a court title of Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia in the Middle Ages. The functions and position in the court is unclear. It was first mentioned in Croatia in the second half of the 11th century, and later in Serbia ...

'', 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 Jovan Oliver Grčinić ( sr, Јован Оливер Грчинић; ca. 1310-1356) was a magnate of the Serbian Emperor Dušan the Mighty (r. 1331-1355), holding the titles of ''sebastokrator'' and ''despotes'', and the rank of "great voivode", sh ...

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 Gradislav Vojšić ( sr, Градислав Војшић; 1284–1327) was a Serbian nobleman who served the Serbian Kings Stefan Uroš II Milutin (r. 1282–1321) and Stefan Uroš III (r. 1322–1331). He was the first known ''čelnik'' of the ...

(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). *

(fl. 1284–1327), served Stefan Dečanski (fl. 1327). *

Vukdrag Vukdrag ( sr-cyr, Вукдраг; d. 1327) was a Serbian nobleman who served King Stefan Dečanski (r. 1321–31) as ''čelnik''. He was a magnate in the Rudnik mountain area, who founded (as the ''ktetor'') the Raška style church in Dići (near ...

(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

, 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

, 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 Radoslav () is a common Slavic masculine given name, derived from ''rad-'' ("happy, eager, to care") and ''slava'' ("glory, fame"), both very common in Slavic dithematic names. It roughly means "eager glory". It is known since the Middle Ages. T ...

, * Radič, veliki? čelnik, served Stefan Lazarević. * Radič, served Đurađ Branković (fl. 1429) *

Mihailo Anđelović Mihailo ( sr-cyr, Михаило) or Mihajlo () is a Serbian masculine given name, a variant of the Hebrew name '' Michael''. Common as a given name among Serbs, it is an uncommon surname. It may refer to: * Mihailo Vojislavljević (fl. ''Fl ...

(fl. 1458), served Đurađ and Lazar Branković.

References

Sources