Serbian epic poetry () is a form of

epic poetry In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. With regard t ...

created by

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

originating in today's

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 ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

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 ...

and

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

. The main cycles were composed by unknown Serb authors between the 14th and 19th centuries. They are largely concerned with historical events and personages. The instrument accompanying the epic poetry is the ''

gusle The gusle () or lahuta (; related to English ''lute'') is a bowed single- stringed musical instrument (and musical style) traditionally used in the Dinarides region of Southeastern Europe (in the Balkans). The instrument is always accompanie ...

''. Serbian epic poetry helped in developing the Serbian national consciousness. The cycles of

Prince Marko Marko Mrnjavčević ( sr-Cyrl, Марко Мрњавчевић, ; – 17 May 1395) was the ''de jure'' Serbia in the Middle Ages, Serbian king from 1371 to 1395, while he was the ''de facto'' ruler of territory in western Macedonia (region) ...

, the

Hajduks A hajduk (, plural of ) is a type of Irregular military, irregular infantry found in Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries, especially from Hajdú–Bihar Count ...

and

Uskoks The Uskoks (, , singular: ; notes on naming) were irregular soldiers in Habsburg Croatia that inhabited areas on the eastern Adriatic coast and surrounding territories during the Ottoman wars in Europe. Bands of Uskoks fought a guerrilla wa ...

inspired the Serbs to restore freedom and their heroic past. The Hajduks in particular, are seen as an integral part of national identity; in stories, the hajduks were heroes: they had played the role of the Serbian elite during Ottoman rule, they had defended the Serbs against Ottoman oppression, and prepared for the national liberation and contributed to it in the

Serbian Revolution The Serbian Revolution ( / ') was a national uprising and constitutional change in Serbia that took place between 1804 and 1835, during which this territory evolved from an Sanjak of Smederevo, Ottoman province into a Revolutionary Serbia, reb ...

History

The earliest surviving record of an epic poem related to Serbian epic poetry is a ten verse fragment of a

bugarštica Bugarštica ( or ), originally known as Bugaršćica, is a form of epic and ballad oral poetry, which was popular among South Slavs mainly in Dalmatia and Bay of Kotor from 15th until the 18th century, sung in long verses of mostly fifteen and six ...

song from 1497 in Southern Italy about the imprisonment of Sibinjanin Janko (John Hunyadi) by

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 ...

, however the regional origin and ethnic identity of its Slavic performers remains a matter of scholarly dispute. From at least the Ottoman period up until the present day, Serbian epic poetry was sung accompanied by the ''

'' and there are historical references to Serb performers playing the gusle at the Polish–Lithuanian royal courts in the 16th and 17th centuries, and later on in Ukraine and Hungary. Hungarian historian Sebestyén Tinódi wrote in 1554 that "there are many gusle players here in Hungary, but none is better at the Serbian style than Dimitrije Karaman", and described Karaman's performance to Turkish lord Uluman in 1551 in Lipova: the guslar would hold the gusle between his knees and go into a highly emotional artistic performance with a sad and dedicated expression on his face. Chronicler and poet

Maciej Stryjkowski Maciej Stryjkowski (also referred to as Strykowski and Strycovius;Nowa encyklopedia powszechna PWN. t. 6, 1997 – ) was a Polish historian, writer and a poet, known as the author of ''Chronicle of Poland, Lithuania, Samogitia and all of Rutheni ...

(1547–1582) included a verse mentions the Serbs singing heroic songs about ancestors fighting the Turks in his 1582 chronicle.

Józef Bartłomiej Zimorowic Józef Bartłomiej Zimorowic (August 20, 1597 – October 14, 1677) was a Polish poet and historian of the Baroque era, most famous for his pastoral poems ''Sielanki nowe ruskie'' (''New Ruthenian Pastorals''), first published in Kraków in 1663 ...

used the phrase "to sing to the Serbian gusle" in his 1663

idyll An idyll (, ; ; occasionally spelled ''idyl'' in American English) is a short poem, descriptive of rustic life, written in the style of Theocritus's short pastoral poems, the ''Idylls'' (Εἰδύλλια). Unlike Homer, Theocritus did not engag ...

''Śpiewacy'' (Singers). In 1824,

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 ...

sent a copy of his folksong collection to

Jacob Grimm Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (4 January 1785 – 20 September 1863), also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He formulated Grimm's law of linguistics, and was the co-author of the ''Deutsch ...

, who was particularly enthralled by ''

The Building of Skadar ''The Building of Skadar'' or ''The Walling of the Skadar'' or ''The Founding of Skadar'' () is a poem of the pre-Kosovo cycle of Serbian epic poetry. It is based on the motif of human sacrifice. Time and place The events described in the poe ...

''. Grimm translated it into

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, and described it as "one of the most touching poems of all nations and all times". Many of the epics are about the era of the Ottoman

occupation of Serbia Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

and the struggle for the liberation. With the efforts of ethnographer Vuk Karadžić, many of these epics and folk tales were collected and published in books in the first half of the 19th century. Up until that time, these poems and songs had been almost exclusively an oral tradition, transmitted by bards and singers. Among the books Karadžić published were: *A Small Simple-Folk Slavonic-Serbian Songbook, 1814; Serbian Folk Song-Book (Vols, I-IV, Leipzig edition, 1823-8133; Vols. I-IV, Vienna edition, 1841-1862) *Serbian Folk Tales (1821, with 166 riddles; and 1853) *Serbian Folk Proverbs and Other Common Expressions, 1834. *"Women's Songs" from Herzegovina (1866) - which was collected by Karadžić's collaborator and assistant

Vuk Vrčević Vuk Vrčević ( sr-Cyrl, Вук Врчевић; Risan, 26 February 1811 – Dubrovnik, 13 August 1882) was a collector of lyric poetry and companion of Vuk Karadžić, the famed linguist and reformer of the Serbian language. He also translated int ...

These editions appeared in Europe when

romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

was in full bloom and there was much interest in Serbian folk poetry, including from

Johann Gottfried Herder Johann Gottfried von Herder ( ; ; 25 August 174418 December 1803) was a Prussian philosopher, theologian, pastor, poet, and literary critic. Herder is associated with the Age of Enlightenment, ''Sturm und Drang'', and Weimar Classicism. He wa ...

Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

and

Jernej Kopitar Jernej Kopitar, also known as Bartholomeus Kopitar (21 August 1780 – 11 August 1844), was a Slovene linguist and philologist working in Vienna. He also worked as the Imperial censor for Slovene literature in Vienna. He is perhaps best known ...

Gusle

The ''

'' () instrumentally accompanies heroic songs (epic poetry) in the Balkans. The instrument is held vertically between the knees, with the left hand fingers on the neck. The strings are never pressed to the neck, giving a harmonic and unique sound. There is no consensus about the origin of the instrument, while some researchers believe it was brought with the Slavs to the Balkans, based on a 6th-century Byzantine source.

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) wrote that

Stefan Nemanjić Stefan Nemanjić ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Немањић, ), known as Stefan the First-Crowned (, ; – 24 September 1228), was the Grand Prince of Serbia from 1196 and the King of Serbia from 1217 until his death in 1228. He was the first Se ...

(r. 1196–1228) often entertained the

Serbian nobility Serbian nobility () refers to the historical privileged order or class (aristocracy) of Serbia, that is, the medieval Serbian states, and after the Ottoman conquests of Serbian lands in the 15th and 16th centuries, Serbian noble families of the Kin ...

with musicians with drums and "gusle". Reliable written records about the ''gusle'' appear only in the 15th century. 16th-century travel memoirs mention the instrument in

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

and

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 ...

. It is known that Serbs sang to the ''gusle'' during the Ottoman period. Notable Serbian performers played at the Polish royal courts in the 16th- and 17th centuries, and later on in Ukraine and in Hungary. There is an old mention in Serbo-Croatian literature that a Serbian guslar was present at the court of

Władysław II Jagiełło Jogaila (; 1 June 1434), later Władysław II Jagiełło (),Other names include (; ) (see also Names and titles of Władysław II Jagiełło) was Grand Duke of Lithuania beginning in 1377 and starting in 1386, becoming King of Poland as well. ...

in 1415. In a poem published in 1612, Kasper Miaskowski wrote that "the Serbian gusle and

gaida Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, Nor ...

s will overwhelm

Shrove Tuesday Shrove Tuesday (also known as Pancake Tuesday or Pancake Day) is the final day of Shrovetide, which marks the end of the pre-Lenten season. Lent begins the following day with Ash Wednesday. Shrove Tuesday is observed in many Christian state, Ch ...

used the phrase "to sing to the Serbian gusle" in his 1663

''Śpiewacy'' ("Singers").

Corpus

The corpus of Serbian epic poetry is divided into cycles: *Non-historic cycle (Неисторијски циклус/Neistorijski ciklus) - poems about

Slavic mythology Slavic paganism, Slavic mythology, or Slavic religion refer to the Religion, religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation of the Slavs, Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and ...

, characteristically about

dragons A dragon is a magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in Western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depict ...

and

nymphs A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

*Pre-Kosovo cycle (Преткосовски циклус/Pretkosovski ciklus) - poems about events that predate the

Battle of Kosovo The Battle of Kosovo took place on 15 June 1389 between an army led by the Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović and an invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the command of Sultan Murad I. It was one of the largest battles of the Late Middl ...

(1389) *Kosovo cycle (Косовски циклус/Kosovski ciklus) - poems about events that happened just before and after the

*Post-Kosovo cycle (Покосовски циклус/Pokosovski ciklus) - poems about post-Battle events *Cycle of Kraljević Marko (Циклус Краљевића Марка/Ciklus Kraljevića Marka) *Cycle of

hajduk A hajduk (, plural of ) is a type of Irregular military, irregular infantry found in Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries, especially from Hajdú–Bihar Count ...

s and

uskoks The Uskoks (, , singular: ; notes on naming) were irregular soldiers in Habsburg Croatia that inhabited areas on the eastern Adriatic coast and surrounding territories during the Ottoman wars in Europe. Bands of Uskoks fought a guerrilla wa ...

(Хајдучки и ускочки циклус, Хајдучке и ускочке песме) – poems about brigands and rebels *Poems about the liberation of Serbia and Montenegro (циклус ослобођења Србије, Песме о ослобођењу Србије и Црне Горе) - poems about the 19th-century battles against the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

*Unsorted (Неразврстане/Nerazvrstane) – poems that do not belong to any of the cycles mentioned above Poems depict historical events with varying degrees of accuracy.

Notable people

Benedikt Kuripečič Benedikt Kuripečič or Benedikt Kuripešić (, 1491–1531) was a 16th-century Slovene diplomat who recorded epic songs about Miloš Obilić. Kuripečič was born in Gornji Grad, Gornji Grad, Gornji Grad, then part of the Habsburg monarchy, Hab ...

(16th century), diplomat who traveled through

Ottoman Bosnia The Ottoman Empire era of rule in Bosnia (first as a ''sanjak'', then as an ''eyalet'') and Herzegovina (also as a ''sanjak'', then ''eyalet'') lasted from 1463/1482 to 1908. Ottoman conquest The Ottoman conquest of Bosnia and Herzegovina ...

and

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 1530 and recorded that epic songs about

Miloš Obilić Miloš Obilić ( sr-Cyrl, Милош Обилић, ) is a Legend, legendary Serbian knight traditionally said to have served Prince Lazar during the Ottoman Serbia, Ottoman invasion of Serbia in the late 14th century. Although absent from conte ...

are popular not only among

in Kosovo but also in Bosnia and Croatia. He also recorded some legends about the

. * Dimitrije Karaman ( 1551), oldest known Serbian gusle player *

Avram Miletić Avram Miletić () (1755 – after 1826) was a merchant and writer of epic folk songs who is best known for writing the earliest collection of urban lyric poetry in Serbian between 1778 and 1781. Family Miletić was born in Kać, Military Fro ...

(1755–after 1826), merchant and

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

best known for writing the earliest collection of urban

lyric poetry Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person. The term for both modern lyric poetry and modern song lyrics derives from a form of Ancient Greek literature, t ...

in Serbian. *

Old Rashko Old Rashko or Old man Raško () was a Serbian storyteller and gusle player (''guslar'') known as one of the most important sources of the epic poetry recorded by Vuk Karadžić. Biography Rashko was born in the region of Old Herzegovina, like ...

, one of the most important sources of epic poetry recorded by

. *

Filip Višnjić Filip Višnjić ( sr-Cyrl, Филип Вишњић, ; 1767–1834) was a Serbian epic poet and '' guslar''. His repertoire included 13 original epic poems chronicling the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire and four reinterpret ...

(1767–1834), Serbian guslar dubbed the "Serbian Homer" both for his blindness and poetic gift. *

Tešan Podrugović Tešan Podrugović () ( Kazanci, Gacko, Herzegovina, Ottoman Empire 1775 — Sremski Karlovci, Austrian Empire 1815) was a Serbian merchant, hayduk, storyteller and gusle player () who participated in the First Serbian Uprising and Second Serbi ...

(1783–1815), Serb

, storyteller and guslar who participated in the

First Serbian Uprising The First Serbian Uprising (; sr-Cyrl, Први српски устанак; ) was an uprising of Serbs in Orašac (Aranđelovac), Orašac against the Ottoman Empire from 14 February 1804 to 7 October 1813. The uprising began as a local revolt ...

and was one of the most important sources for Serbian epic poetry. *

Živana Antonijević Živana Antonijević or Blind Živana (died in Zemun in 1828) was a Serbs, Serbian Oral storytelling, storyteller, gusle player () and one of the most important sources for Serbian epic poetry recorded by Vuk Karadžić. Živana was one of favori ...

(d. 1822), known as "Blind Živana", one of the favorite female singers of Vuk Karadžić. *

(1787—1864) was a

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

and

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

who was the major reformer of the

Serbian language Serbian (, ) is the standard language, standardized Variety (linguistics)#Standard varieties, variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the official and national language of Serbia, one of the three official languages of ...

. He deserves, perhaps, for his collections of songs, fairy tales, and riddles to be called the father of the study of

Serbian folklore Serbian folklore is the folk traditions among ethnic Serbs. The earliest examples of Serbian folklore are seen in the pre-Christian Slavic customs transformed into Christianity. Roots and characteristics Folklore The Apostles of the Slavs, Cyr ...

. *

(1811-1882), collector of lyric poetry *

Petar Perunović Petar Perunović (Serbian Cyrillic: Петар Перуновић) (1880 – 10 June 1952), nicknamed Perun, was a famous Serbian gusle player from Montenegro.name="Vukman" He was also a highly decorated World War I Serbian officer. Perunović was ...

(1880–1952), known as "Perun", famous guslar who performed for

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla (;"Tesla"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 10 July 1856 – 7 ...

and the first to record Serbian epic poetry in a studio. * Đuro Milutinović the Blind (1774–1844), guslar at Serbian court.

Characters

;Medieval era *

Tsar Dušan Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Europ ...

, Emperor *

Prince Lazar Lazar Hrebeljanović ( sr-Cyrl, Лазар Хребељановић; – 15 June 1389) was a medieval List of Serbian monarchs, Serbian ruler who created the largest and most powerful state on the territory of the disintegrated Serbian Empir ...

, Prince and legendary Emperor *

Pavle Orlović Pavle Orlović ( sr-cyr, Павле Орловић) is a semi-mythological hero of the Kosovo cycle of Serbian epic poetry; he was a Serbian knight, one of the military commanders under Prince Lazar that fell at the Battle of Kosovo (1389) ag ...

, knight *

Milan Toplica Toplica Milan ( sr-Cyrl, Топлица Милан) or Milan Toplica ( sr-Cyrl, link=no, Милан Топлица), also known as Milan from Toplica (), was a legendary Serbian knight who was allied to Prince Lazar and died during the historical ...

, knight *

Ivan Kosančić Ivan Kosančić ( sr-cyr, Иван Косанчић) was a Serbian knight who died during the historical Battle of Kosovo in 1389. Biography He was born in the upper Toplica region (south Serbia)- mountain Radan, near the town of Kuršumlija ...

, knight *

Jugović brothers The Jugovic brothers ( / ''Braća Jugovići''), or Nine Jugović ( / ''Devet Jugovića''), commonly known as the ''Jugovići'' ( sr-Cyrl, Југовићи), the nine sons of Jug Bogdan (Vratko Nemanjić), are popular mythological characters of Se ...

, including Boško Jugović * Beg Kostadin *

Miloš Vojinović Miloš Vojinović (; 1332) was a Serbian nobleman who served Emperor Stefan Dušan (r. 1331–55) as ''stavilac'', the son of general Vojin and brother of Vojislav and Altoman. He is a hero of the pre-Kosovo cycle in Serbian epic poetry. Milo ...

* Voivode Prijezda *

Mali Radojica Mali Radojica (, ) is a Serbian hajduk and Serb epic poem of the same name. The poem follows his life surviving torture by the Turks in an Ottoman prison, later successfully escaping with the help of a Turkish girl who is in love with him and ge ...

, hajduk * Deli Radivoje * " Zmaj Ognjeni Vuk" (Vuk the Fiery Dragon), based on

Vuk Grgurević Vuk Grgurević Branković ( sr-cyrl, Вук Гргуревић Бранковић; c. 1439 – 16 April 1485) was a Serbian nobleman who was the titular despot of Serbia from 1471 until his death in 1485. He inherited the title of '' despot'' (a ...

, the Serbian Despot (r. 1471–85) *

Ailing Dojčin Ailing Dojčin ( or , Bulgarian: Болен Дойчин, ''Bolen Doychin'', Macedonian: Болен Дојчин, ''Bolen Dojčin'') is a hero of South Slavic epic poetry, atypical for being depicted as an ill person.Delić 2011, pp. 116–19 ...

, possibly based on despots John VII Palaiologos and Andronikos Palaiologos *

Relja the Winged Hrelja also known as Protosebastos Hrelja (; ), also known as Stefan Dragovol (Стефан Драговол) or Hrelja Ohmućević () was a 14th-century semi-independent feudal lord in the region of northeastern Macedonia and the Rila mountains ...

* Pop Milo Jovović *

Bajo Pivljanin Bajo Pivljanin ( sr-cyr, Бајо Пивљанин – 7 May 1685), born Dragojlo Nikolić ( sr-cyr, Драгојло Николић), was a Serbian ''hajduk'' commander mostly active in the Ottoman territories of Herzegovina and southern Dalma ...

* Stari Vujadin * Alil-Aga * Sibinjanin Janko *

Jug Bogdan A jug is a type of container commonly used to hold and serve liquids, but not normally to drink from directly. It has an opening, sometimes narrow, from which to pour or drink, and has a handle, and usually a pouring lip. Jugs throughout histor ...

* Janko od Kotara *

Starina Novak Starina Novak ( sr-Cyrl, Старинa Новак; ; , meaning "Old Novak") was a Serb ''hajduk'' (brigand and rebel) who distinguished himself in many battles against the Ottoman Empire. He is considered a national hero by both the Serbs and th ...

(partly) * Musa Kesedžija, enemy of Kraljević Marko, he is the result of merging several historical people including

Musa Çelebi Musa Çelebi ( 1402 – 5 July 1413) was an Ottoman dynasty, Ottoman prince and a co-ruler of the Ottoman Empire, empire for three years during the Ottoman Interregnum. Background Musa was one of the sons of Bayezid I, the fourth Ottoman su ...

son of

Bayezid I Bayezid I (; ), also known as Bayezid the Thunderbolt (; ; – 8 March 1403), was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1389 to 1402. He adopted the title of ''Sultan-i Rûm'', ''Rûm'' being the Arabic name for the Eastern Roman Empire. In 139 ...

and Musa from the

Muzaka The Muzaka family was an noble Albanian family that ruled over the region of Myzeqe (southern Albania) in the Late Middle Ages. The Muzaka are also referred to by some authors as a tribe or a clan. The earliest historical document that mentions ...

Albanian noble family while

Jovan Tomić Jovan Tomić (9 May 1869 in Nova Varoš – 22 July 1932 in Belgrade) was a Serbian historian, academic and the former director of the National Library of Serbia from 1903 to 1927. Biography Tomić was born in Nova Varoš in the Zlatibor Distric ...

believes he is based on the supporter of Jegen Osman Pasha *

Djemo the Mountaineer Djemo the Mountaineer ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Ђемо Брђанин, Đemo Brđanin) is a popular legendary hero of Serbian epic poetry who is depicted as enemy of Prince Marko, Kraljević Marko and brother of Musa Kesedžija. His figure might be based on ...

, enemy of Kraljević Marko, a member of Muzaka noble family ( Gjin Muzaka) or maybe Ottoman military person Jegen Osman Pasha *

General Vuča General Vuča () or General Vuka is a popular legendary hero of Serbian epic poetry who is depicted as an enemy of Prince Marko, Kraljević Marko. Song Vuča first appeared in the poem ''Marko Kraljević and General Vuča'', which was sung by Te ...

, enemy of Kraljević Marko, Tanush Dukagjin, a member of Dukagjini noble family or

Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736), better known as Prince Eugene, was a distinguished Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty durin ...

or Peter Doci * Philip the Magyar, enemy of Kraljević Marko,

Pipo of Ozora {{Infobox noble , name = Pippo Spano , title = , image = Andrea del Castagno - Pippo Spano, Niccolò Acciaiuoli, Francesco Petrarca - Google Art Project.jpg , caption = Fresco by Andrea del Castag ...

, an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

condottiero Condottieri (; singular: ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian military leaders active during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The term originally referred specifically to commanders of mercenary companies, derived from the ...

, general, strategist and confidant of King

Sigismund of Hungary Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in 1437. He was elected King of Germany (King of the Romans) in 1410, and was also King of Bohemia from 1419, as well as prince-elect ...

. *

Arnaut Osman Arnaut Osman () is a hero of Serbian epic poetry, Serbian, Albanian epic poetry, Albanian, and Bosniak epic poetry. The Serbo-Croatian language poems about Arnaut Osman include "Young Marjan and Arnaut Osman", "Sekula and Arnaut Osman" and "Mujo Hrn ...

Hajduk cycle * Ognjen Hadzovic, hajduk, main character in ''Ženidba Hadzovic Ognjena''. * Srbin Tukelija, hajduk, main character in ''Boj Arađana s Komadincima''. Many other heroes of Serbian epic poetry are also based upon historical persons: *

Strahinja Banović Strahinja Banović or Strahinjić Ban ( sr-cyr, Страхиња Бановић; died 15 June 1389 according to tradition) is the name of the nobleman and knight depicted in the Serbs, Serbian epic poem of the same title. It is unsure whether or ...

—

Đurađ II Stracimirović Balšić Đurađ ( sr-Cyrl, Ђурађ, ; ) is a Serbian masculine given name, derived from the Greek ''Georgios''. It is also transliterated as Djuradj. It is, along with the variant ''Đorđe'', the equivalent of the English ''George''. It was widespread ...

—

Vratko Nemanjić Vratko Nemanjić ( sr-Cyrl, Вратко Немањић; fl. 1325–1355) was a Serbian nobleman, father of Prince Lazar's spouse Princess Milica of Serbia. Serbian epic poetry identifies him with Jug Bogdan (, "South Bogdan") or Ljutica Bogdan ( ...

* Beg Kostadin —

Constantine Dragaš Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I * Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine g ...

* Sibinjanin Janko —

John Hunyadi John Hunyadi (; ; ; ; ; – 11 August 1456) was a leading Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian military and political figure during the 15th century, who served as Regent of Hungary, regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (1301–1526), Kingdom of Hungary ...

* Petar Dojčin —

Petar Doci Petar (, sr-Cyrl, Петар) is a South Slavic masculine given name, their variant of the Biblical name Petros cognate to Peter. Derivative forms include Pero, Pejo, Pera, Perica, Petrica, Periša. Feminine equivalent is Petra. People monon ...

* Maksim Crnojević — Staniša Skenderbeg Crnojević *

- Bajo Nikolić *

Mihajlo Svilojević Mihajlo Svilojević (), sometimes crni ban Mihail, is a hero of Serbian epic poetry based on the historical figure of Michael Szilágyi. Background In 1459, the Ottomans conquered the Serbian Despotate and appeared on the border of the Kingdo ...

—

Michael Szilágyi Michael Szilágyi de Horogszeg (; c. 1400 – 1460) was a Hungarian general who was Regent of Hungary, Count of Beszterce and Head of Szilágyi–Hunyadi Liga. Family He was born in the early 15th century as vice-ispán of Bács County, ...

* Janko od Kotara -

Janko Mitrović Janko Mitrović ( sr-cyr, Јанко Митровић; 1613–1659) was a ''harambaša'' (Ottoman for "bandit leader"), and the commander of the '' Morlach army'', in the service of the Republic of Venice, from 1648 until his death in 1659. He par ...

* Manojlo Grčić -

Manuel I Komnenos Manuel I Komnenos (; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Latinized as Comnenus, also called Porphyrogenitus (; " born in the purple"), was a Byzantine emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history o ...

Hrelja Hrelja may refer to: * Hrelja (protosebastos), 14th-century feudal lord from northeastern Macedonia and the Rila mountains * Silvano Hrelja (born 1958), Croatian politician * Adnan Hrelja (born 1993), Bosnian-Herzegovinian footballer See also * ...

Grujica Žeravica Grujica Žeravica ( sr-cyr, Грујица Жеравица; 1665–69) was a Serb ''hajduk'' commander active in the Ottoman territories of Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia during the Venetian–Ottoman war (1645–69). The hajduks, Ottoman subj ...

Some heroes are paired with their horses, such as

—Šarac, Vojvoda Momčilo—Jabučilo (a winged horse),

—Ždralin, Damjan Jugović—Zelenko,

Banović Strahinja Banović is a Serbian,Croatian and in rare cases Montenegrin surname. * Boris Banović, Croatian fashion designer * Igor Banović (born 1987), Croatian footballer * Ivan Banović (born 1984), Croatian footballer * Ivica Banović (born 1980), Cr ...

—Đogin,

Hajduk-Veljko Veljko Petrović ( sr-cyr, Вељко Петровић, ; Wiktionary:circa, c. 1780 – 1813), known simply as Hajduk Veljko (Хајдук Вељко, ǎjduːk v̞ɛ̌ːʎkɔ, was one of the ''vojvodas'' (military commanders) of the Serbian ...

—Kušlja,

Jovan Kursula Jovan Petrović ( sr-cyr, Јован Петровић, 1768–16 August 1813), known as Jovan Kursula (Јован Курсула), was a Serbian ''vojvoda'' (commander) that participated in the Serbian Revolution. Biography Petrović was born ...

—Strina, Srđa Zlopogleđa—Vranac.

Excerpts

* Slavic antithesis: *( Kraljević Marko speaks: ) Modern example of Serbian epics as recorded in 1992 by film director

Paweł Pawlikowski Paweł Aleksander Pawlikowski (; born 15 September 1957) is a Polish filmmaker. He garnered early praise for a string of documentaries in the 1990s and for his award-winning feature films of the 2000s, '' Last Resort'' (2000) and '' My Summer of ...

in a documentary for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

''Serbian epics''; an anonymous ''gusle'' singer compares Radovan Karadžić, as he prepares to depart for

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

for peace talk, to

Karađorđe Đorđe Petrović (; ; – ), known by the sobriquet Karađorđe (; ), was a Serbian revolutionary leader who led a struggle against the Ottoman Empire during the First Serbian Uprising. He held the title of Grand Vožd of Serbia from 14 ...

, who had led the

against the Turks in 1804:

Quotes

Charles Simic Dušan Simić ( sr-cyr, Душан Симић, ; May 9, 1938 – January 9, 2023), known as Charles Simic, was a Serbian American poet and poetry co-editor of ''The Paris Review''. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1990 for '' The W ...

Modern Serbian epic poetry

Epic poetry is recorded still today. Some modern songs are published in books or recorded, and under

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

, but some are in

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

, and modified by subsequent authors just like old ones. There are new songs that mimic old epic poetry, but are humorous and not epic in nature; these are also circulating around with no known author. In the latter half of the 19th century, a certain MP would exit the Serbian parliament each day, and tell of the debate over the monetary reform bill in the style of epic poetry. Modern epic heroes include: Slobodan Milošević, Radovan Karadžić, Milan Martić, Ratko Mladić and Vojislav Šešelj. Topics include:

Yugoslav wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place from 1991 to 2001 in what had been the Socialist Federal Republic of ...

NATO bombing of Yugoslavia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Serbia and Montenegro, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombing ...

, and the Hague Tribunal. Popular modern Serbian epic performers, ''guslari'' (Guslars) include: Milomir "Miljan" Miljanić, Đoko Koprivica, Boško Vujačić, Vlastimir Barać, Sava Stanišić, Miloš Šegrt, Saša Laketić and Milan Mrdović.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * *

External links

*
The Battle of Kosovo - Serbian Epic Poems
Preface by

''Swallow Press/Ohio University Press,'' Athens 1987 ;Audio
Lesson in rhymePoem for KaradjordjeFate of vizier Mahmud-pasha in the village of KrusaPit of KorichPart 2Part 3
{{DEFAULTSORT:Serbian Epic Poetry Culture of Serbia Serbian folklore National symbols of Serbia Works set in Serbia

History

Gusle

Corpus

Notable people

Characters

Excerpts

Quotes

Modern Serbian epic poetry

See also

References

Sources

Further reading

External links