Prince Marko
Marko Mrnjavčević Марко Мрњавчевић | |
---|---|
King of Serbia | |
Vukašin Mrnjavčević | |
Mother | Alena |
Marko Mrnjavčević (
On 26 September 1371, Vukašin was killed and his forces defeated in the Battle of Maritsa. About two months later, Tsar Uroš died. This formally made Marko the king of the Serbian land; however, Serbian noblemen, who had become effectively independent from the central authority, did not even consider to recognise him as their supreme ruler. Sometime after 1371, he became an Ottoman vassal; by 1377, significant portions of the territory he inherited from Vukašin were seized by other noblemen. King Marko, in reality, came to be a regional lord who ruled over a relatively small territory in western Macedonia. He funded the construction of the Monastery of Saint Demetrius near Skopje (better known as Marko's Monastery), which was completed in 1376. Later, Marko became an Ottoman vassal and died on 17 May 1395, fighting against the Wallachians in the Battle of Rovine.
Although a ruler of modest historical significance, Marko became a major character in South Slavic oral tradition. He is venerated as a national hero by the Serbs, Macedonians and Bulgarians, remembered in Balkan folklore as a fearless and powerful protector of the weak, who fought against injustice and confronted the Turks during the Ottoman occupation.
Life
Until 1371
Marko was born about 1335 as the first son of
Dušan was succeeded by his 19-year-old son
Dušan's death was followed by the stirring of separatist activity in the Serbian Empire. The south-western territories, including
Vukašin Mrnjavčević was a skilful politician, and gradually assumed the main role in the empire.[15] In August or September 1365 Uroš crowned him king, making him his co-ruler. By 1370, Marko's potential patrimony increased as Vukašin expanded his personal holdings from Prilep further into Macedonia, Kosovo and Metohija, acquiring Prizren, Pristina, Novo Brdo, Skopje and Ohrid.[4] In a charter he issued on 5 April 1370, Vukašin mentioned his wife (Queen Alena) and sons (Marko and Andrijaš), signing himself as "Lord of the Serb and Greek Lands, and of the Western Provinces" (господинь зємли срьбьскои и грькѡмь и западнимь странамь).[16] In late 1370 or early 1371, Vukašin crowned Marko "Young King",[17][18] a title given to heirs presumptive of Serbian kings to secure their position as successors to the throne. Since Uroš was childless, Marko could thus become his successor, beginning a new—Vukašin—dynasty of Serbian sovereigns,[4] and ending the two-century Nemanjić dynasty. Most Serbian lords were unhappy with the situation, which strengthened their desire for independence from the central authority.[18]
Vukašin sought a well-connected spouse for Marko. A princess from the
During the spring of 1371, Marko participated in the preparations for a campaign against
After 1371
When his father died, "young king" Marko became king and co-ruler with Emperor Uroš. The Nemanjić dynasty ended soon afterwards, when Uroš died on 2 (or 4) December 1371 and Marko became the formal sovereign of Serbia.
At some point, Marko separated from Jelena and lived with Todora, the wife of a man named Grgur, and Jelena returned to her father in Veria. Marko later sought to reconcile with Jelena but he had to send Todora to his father-in-law. Since Marko's land was bordered on the south by Hlapen's, the reconciliation may have been political.[23] Scribe Dobre, a subject of Marko's, transcribed a liturgical book for the church in the village of Kaluđerec,n.b.2 and when he finished, he composed an inscription which begins as follows:[32]
Слава сьвршитєлю богѹ вь вѣкы, аминь, а҃мнь, а҃м. Пыса сє сиꙗ книга ѹ Порѣчи, ѹ сєлѣ зовомь Калѹгєрєць, вь дьны благовѣрнаго кралꙗ Марка, ѥгда ѿдадє Ѳодору Грьгѹровѹ жєнѹ Хлапєнѹ, а ѹзє жєнѹ свою прьвовѣнчанѹ Ѥлєнѹ, Хлапєновѹ дьщєрє. |
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Marko's fortress was on a hill north of present-day Prilep; its partially preserved remains are known as Markovi Kuli ("Marko's towers"). Beneath the fortress is the village of Varoš, site of the medieval Prilep. The village contains the Monastery of Archangel Michael, renovated by Marko and Vukašin, whose portraits are on the walls of the monastery's church.[23] Marko was ktetor of the Church of Saint Sunday in Prizren, which was finished in 1371, shortly before the Battle of Maritsa. In the inscription above the church's entrance, he is called "young king".[33]
The Monastery of St. Demetrius, popularly known as Marko's Monastery, is in the village of Markova Sušica (near Skopje) and was built from c. 1345 to 1376 (or 1377). Kings Marko and Vukašin, its ktetors, are depicted over the south entrance of the monastery church.[2] Marko is an austere-looking man in purple clothes, wearing a crown decorated with pearls. With his left hand he holds a scroll, whose text begins: "I, in the Christ God the pious King Marko, built and inscribed this divine temple ..." In his right hand, he holds a horn symbolizing the horn of oil with which the Old Testament kings were anointed at their coronation (as described in 1 Samuel 16:13). Marko is said to be shown here as the king chosen by God to lead his people through the crisis following the Battle of Maritsa.[27]
Marko
By 1379, Prince
On 15 June 1389, Serbian forces led by Prince Lazar, Vuk Branković, and Tvrtko's nobleman Vlatko Vuković of Zachlumia, confronted the Ottoman army led by Sultan Murad I at the Battle of Kosovo, the best-known battle in medieval Serbian history.[40] With the bulk of both armies wiped out and Lazar and Murad killed, the outcome of the battle was inconclusive. In its aftermath the Serbs had insufficient manpower to defend their lands, while the Ottomans had many more troops in the east. Serbian principalities which were not already Ottoman vassals became such over the next few years.[40]
In 1394, a group of Ottoman vassals in the Balkans renounced their vassalage.[41] Although Marko was not among them, his younger brothers Andrijaš and Dmitar refused to remain under Ottoman dominance. They emigrated to the Kingdom of Hungary, entering the service of King Sigismund. They travelled via Ragusa, where they withdrew two-thirds of their late father's store of 96.73 kilograms (213.3 lb) of silver, leaving the remaining third for Marko. Although Andrijaš and Dmitar were the first Serbian nobles to emigrate to Hungary, the Serbian northward migration would continue throughout the Ottoman occupation.[41]
In 1395, the Ottomans attacked
In folk poetry
Serbian epic poetry
Marko Mrnjavčević is the most popular hero of Serbian epic poetry,[46] in which he is called "Kraljević Marko" (with the word kraljević meaning "prince"[46] or "king's son"). This informal title was attached to King Vukašin's sons in contemporary sources as a surname (Marko Kraljević),n.b.3 and it was adopted by the Serbian oral tradition as part of Marko's name.[47]
Poems about Kraljević Marko do not follow a storyline; what binds them into a poetic cycle is the hero himself,
Serbian epic poetry agrees that King Vukašin was Marko's father. His mother in the poems was Jevrosima, sister of
As Marko matured, he became headstrong; Vukašin once said that he had no control over his son, who went wherever he wanted, drank and brawled. Marko grew up into a large, strong man, with a terrifying appearance, which was also somewhat comical. He wore a wolf-skin cap pulled low over his dark eyes, his black moustache was the size of a six-month-old lamb and his cloak was a shaggy wolf-pelt. A
The hero's inseparable companion was his powerful, talking piebald horse
Marko is portrayed as a protector of the weak and helpless, a fighter against Turkish bullies and injustice in general. He was an idealised keeper of patriarchal and natural norms: in a Turkish military camp, he beheaded the Turk who dishonourably killed his father. He abolished the marriage tax by killing the tyrant who imposed it on the people of Kosovo. He saved the sultan's daughter from an unwanted marriage after she entreated him, as her blood brother, to help her. He rescued three Serbian voivodes (his blood brothers) from a dungeon and helped animals in distress. Marko was a rescuer and benefactor of people, and a promoter of life; "Prince Marko is remembered like a fair day in the year".[48]
Characteristic of Marko was his reverence and love for his mother, Jevrosima; he often sought her advice, following it even when it contradicted his own desires. She lived with Marko at his mansion in Prilep, his lodestar guiding him away from evil and toward good on the path of moral improvement and Christian virtues.[56] Marko's honesty and moral courage are noteworthy in a poem in which he was the only person who knew the will of the late Tsar Dušan regarding his heir. Marko refused to lie in favour of the pretenders—his father and uncles. He said truthfully that Dušan appointed his son, Uroš, heir to the Serbian throne. This almost cost him his life, since Vukašin tried to kill him.[49]
Marko is represented as a loyal vassal of the Ottoman sultan, fighting to protect the potentate and his empire from outlaws. When summoned by the sultan, he participated in Turkish military campaigns.[48] Even in this relationship, however, Marko's personality and sense of dignity were apparent. He occasionally made the sultan uneasy,[49] and meetings between them usually ended like this:
Цар с' одмиче, а Марко примиче, |
|
Marko's fealty was combined with the notion that the servant was greater than his lord, as Serbian poets turned the tables on their conquerors. This dual aspect of Marko may explain his heroic status; for the Serbs he was "the proud symbol expressive of the unbroken spirit that lived on in spite of disaster and defeat,"[49] according to translator of Serbian epic poems David Halyburton Low.
In battle, Marko used not only his strength and prowess but cunning and trickery. Despite his extraordinary qualities he was not depicted as a superhero or a god, but as a mortal man. There were opponents who surpassed him in courage and strength. He was occasionally capricious, short-tempered or cruel, but his predominant traits were honesty, loyalty and fundamental goodness.[49]
With his comic appearance and behaviour, and his remarks at his opponents' expense, Marko is the most humorous character in Serbian epic poetry.[48] When a Moor struck him with a mace, Marko said laughingly, "O valiant black Moor! Are you jesting or smiting in earnest?"[59] Jevrosima once advised her son to cease his bloody adventures and plough the fields instead. He obeyed in a grimly humorous way,[49] ploughing the sultan's highway instead of the fields. A group of Turkish Janissaries with three packs of gold shouted at him to stop ploughing the highway. He warned them to keep off the furrows, but quickly wearied of arguing:
Диже Марко рало и волове, |
|
Marko, age 300, rode the 160-year-old Šarac by the seashore towards Mount Urvina when a vila told him that he was going to die. Marko then leaned over a well and saw no reflection of his face on the water; hydromancy confirmed the vila's words. He killed Šarac so the Turks would not use him for menial labor, and gave his beloved companion an elaborate burial. Marko broke his sword and spear, throwing his mace far out to sea before lying down to die. His body was found seven days later by Abbot Vaso and his deacon, Isaija. Vaso took Marko to Mount Athos and buried him at the Hilandar Monastery in an unmarked grave.[62]
Epic poetry of Bulgaria and North Macedonia
"Krali Marko" has been one of the most popular characters in Bulgarian (more generally Eastern South Slavic) folklore for centuries.[63] These epic tales of Marko seem to originate from the present-day North Macedonia,[64] therefore also being an important part of the ethnic heritage of Macedonians.
According to local legend Marko's mother was Evrosiya (Евросия), sister of the
In legend
South Slavic legends about Kraljević Marko or Krali Marko are primarily based on myths much older than the historical Marko Mrnjavčević. He differs in legend from the folk poems; in some areas he was imagined as a giant who walked stepping on hilltops, his head touching the clouds. He was said to have helped God shape the earth, and created the river gorge in
Legend also has it that Marko acquired his strength after he was suckled by a vila. King Vukašin threw him into a river because he did not resemble him, but the boy was saved by a cowherd (who adopted him, and a vila suckled him). In other accounts, Marko was a shepherd (or cowherd) who found a vila's children lost in a mountain and shaded them against the sun (or gave them water). As a reward the vila suckled him three times, and he could lift and throw a large boulder. An Istrian version has Marko making a shade for two snakes, instead of the children. In a Bulgarian version, each of the three draughts of milk he suckled from the vila's breast became a snake.[68]
Marko was associated with large, solitary boulders and indentations in rocks; the boulders were said to be thrown by him from a hill, and the indentations were his footprints (or the hoofprints of his horse).[68] He was also connected with geographic features such as hills, glens, cliffs, caves, rivers, brooks and groves, which he created or at which he did something memorable. They were often named after him, and there are many toponyms—from Istria in the west to Bulgaria in the east—derived from his name.[69] In Bulgarian and Macedonian stories, Marko had an equally strong sister who competed with him in throwing boulders.[68]
In some legends, Marko's wonder horse was a gift from a vila. A Serbian story says that he was looking for a horse who could bear him. To test a steed, he would grab him by the tail and sling him over his shoulder. Seeing a diseased piebald foal owned by some carters, Marko grabbed him by the tail but could not move him. He bought (and cured) the foal, naming him Šarac . He became an enormously powerful horse and Marko's inseparable companion.[70] Macedonian legend has it that Marko, following a vila's advice, captured a sick horse on a mountain and cured him. Crusted patches on the horse's skin grew white hairs, and he became a piebald.[68]
According to folk tradition Marko never died; he lives on in a cave, in a moss-covered den or in an unknown land.[68] A Serbian legend recounts that Marko once fought a battle in which so many men were killed that the soldiers (and their horses) swam in blood. He lifted his hands towards heaven and said, "Oh God, what am I going to do now?" God took pity on Marko, transporting him and Šarac to a cave (where Marko stuck his sabre into a rock and fell asleep). There is moss in the cave; Šarac eats it bit by bit, while the sabre slowly emerges from the rock. When it falls on the ground and Šarac finishes the moss, Marko will awaken and reenter the world.[70] Some allegedly saw him after descending into a deep pit, where he lived in a large house in front of which Šarac was seen. Others saw him in a faraway land, living in a cave. According to Macedonian tradition Marko drank "eagle's water", which made him immortal; he is with Elijah in heaven.[68]
In modern culture
During the 19th century, Marko was the subject of several dramatizations. In 1831 the Hungarian drama Prince Marko, possibly written by István Balog,[71] was performed in Buda and in 1838, the Hungarian drama Prince Marko – Great Serbian Hero by Celesztin Pergő was staged in Arad.[71] In 1848 Jovan Sterija Popović wrote the tragedy The Dream of Prince Marko, in which the legend of sleeping Marko is its central motif. Petar Preradović wrote the drama Kraljević Marko, which glorifies southern Slav strength. In 1863 Francesco Dall'Ongaro presented his Italian drama, The Resurrection of Prince Marko.[71] In her collection of short stories from 1978, Nouvelles Orientales, Marguerite Yourcenar imagined an alternative, inexplicable end to Marko's life (La Fin de Marko kraliévitch).
Of all Serbian epic or historical figures, Marko is considered to have given the most
Nineteenth-century lithographs of Marko were made by Anastas Jovanović,[78] Ferdo Kikerec[77] and others. Artists who painted Marko during that century include Mina Karadžić,[78] Novak Radonić[79] and Đura Jakšić.[79] Twentieth-century artists include Nadežda Petrović,[80] Mirko Rački,[81] Uroš Predić[82] and Paja Jovanović.[82] A sculpture of Marko on Šarac by Ivan Meštrović was reproduced on a Yugoslavian banknote and stamp.[83] Modern illustrators with Marko as their subject include Alexander Key, Aleksandar Klas, Zuko Džumhur, Vasa Pomorišac and Bane Kerac.[73]
Princ Marko, and his Sabre was also inspiration for Current Serbian National Anthem "Boze Pravde". The song was taken from a theatre piece Markova Sablja, very popular among Serbs in 1872.
Motifs in multiple works are Marko and Ravijojla, Marko and his mother, Marko and Šarac, Marko shooting an arrow, Marko plowing the roads, the fight between Marko and Musa and Marko's death.[84] Also, several artists have tried to produce a realistic portrait of Marko based on his frescoes.[74] In 1924 Prilep Brewery introduced a light beer, Krali Marko.[85]
See also
Footnotes
^n.b.1 The family name "Mrnjavčević" was not mentioned in contemporary sources, nor was any other surname associated with this family. The oldest known source mentioning the name "Mrnjavčević" is Ruvarčev rodoslov "The Genealogy of Ruvarac", written between 1563 and 1584. It is unknown whether it was introduced into the Genealogy from some older source, or from the folk poetry and tradition.[86]
^n.b.2 This liturgical book, acquired in the 19th century by Russian collector Aleksey Khludov, is kept today in the State Historical Museum of Russia.
Notes
- ISBN 978-0-8476-9809-7.
- ^ a b Fostikov 2002, pp.49–50.
- ^ a b Орбин 1968, p. 116.
- ^ a b c d e Fine 1994, pp.362–3.
- ^ a b Fine 1994, p.323.
- ^ Stojanović 1902, p.37.
- ^ Fine 1994, p.288.
- ^ Fine 1994, p.335.
- ^ Mihaljčić 1975, p.51. Ćorović 2001, "Распад Српске Царевине".
- ^ Mihaljčić 1975, p.77.
- ^ Šuica 2000, p.15.
- ^ Fine 1994, p. 358
- ^ Fine 1994, p. 345.
- ^ Šuica 2000, p. 19
- ^ Mihaljčić 1975, p.83.
- ^ Miklošič 1858, p.180, № CLXVII.
- ^ Sedlar 1994, pp. 31.
- ^ a b Šuica 2000, p. 20
- ^ Fajfrić (2000), "Први Котроманићи".
- ^ a b Jireček 1911, p.430.
- ^ a b Theiner 1860, p.97, № CXC.
- ^ Theiner 1860, p.97, № CLXXXIX.
- ^ a b c d e Mihaljčić 1975, pp. 170–1
- ^ a b Mihaljčić 1975, p. 137; Fine 1994, p. 377
- ^ Ćorović 2001, "Маричка погибија".
- ^ a b c d Fine 1994, pp. 379–82
- ^ a b c d Mihaljčić 1975, p.168.
- ^ Šuica 2000, pp.35–6.
- ^ Šuica 2000, p.42.
- ^ Fostikov 2002, p.51.
- ^ a b c Mihaljčić 1975, pp.164–5.
- ^ Stojanović 1902, pp.58–9
- ^ Mihaljčić 1975, p.166.
- ^ Mihaljčić 1975, p.181.
- ^ Šuica 2000, pp.133–6.
- ^ a b c Mandić 2003, pp.24–5.
- ^ Mihaljčić 1975, p.183.
- ^ Mihaljčić 1975, p.220.
- ^ Fine 1994, p.393.
- ^ a b Fine 1994, pp.408–11.
- ^ a b Fostikov 2002, pp.52–3.
- ^ a b Fine 1994, p.424.
- ^ Ostrogorsky 1956, pp. 489.
- ^ Konstantin 2000, "О погибији краља Марка и Константина Драгаша".
- ^ a b Ђурић, Иван (1984). Сумрак Византије: време Јована VIII Палеолога (1392–1448). Народна књига. p. 78.
У Дечанском летопису је, уз вест о боју на Ровинама, забележено како су тамо погинули Марко Краљевић и Константин Драгаш.
- ^ a b c Noyes 1913, "Introduction".
- ^ a b Rudić 2001, p.89.
- ^ a b c d e f g Deretić 2000, "Епска повесница српског народа".
- ^ a b c d e f g h Low 1922, "The Marko of the Ballads".
- ^ Popović 1988, pp.24–8.
- ^ Low 1922, "The Marriage of King Vukašin".
- ^ Ćorović 2001, "Стварање српског царства".
- ^ Bogišić 1878, pp. 231–2.
- ^ Low 1922, "Marko Kraljević and the Vila"
- ^ Low 1922, "Marko Kraljević and Musa Kesedžija"
- ^ Popović 1988, pp.70–7.
- ^ Karadžić 2000, "Марко Краљевић познаје очину сабљу".
- ^ Low 1922, p.73.
- ^ Karadžić 2000, "Марко Краљевић укида свадбарину".
- ^ Karadžić 2000, "Орање Марка Краљевића".
- ^ Low 1922, "Marko's Ploughing".
- ^ Low 1922, "The Death of Marko Kraljević".
- ^ For further information, read Veliko Iordanov (1901). Krali-Marko v bulgarskata narodna epika. Sofia: Sbornik na Bulgarskoto Knizhovno Druzhestvo.
- ^ Mihail Arnaudov (1961). "Българско народно творчество в 12 тома. Том 1. Юнашки песни" (in Bulgarian). Archived from the original on October 15, 2007.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ The River Danube in Balkan Slavic Folksongs, Ethnologia Balkanica (01/1997), Burkhart, Dagmar; Issue: 01/1997, pp. 53–60
- ^ A History of Macedonian Literature 865–1944, Volume 112 of Slavistic Printings and Reprintings, Charles A. Moser, Publisher Mouton, 1972.
- СбНУ2, с. 116–120, № 2 – "Марко грабит Ангелина").
- ^ a b c d e f g Radenković 2001, pp.293–7.
- ^ Popović 1988, pp.41–2.
- ^ a b c Karadžić 1852, pp.345–6, s.v. "Марко Краљевић".
- ^ a b c Šarenac 1996, p. 26
- ^ Šarenac 1996, p. 06
- ^ a b Šarenac 1996, p. 02
- ^ a b Šarenac 1996, p. 05
- ^ "Serbian Medieval Royal Attire". 2006-11-21. Archived from the original on 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
- ^ Momirović 1956, p. 176
- ^ a b Šarenac 1996, p. 27
- ^ a b Šarenac 1996, p. 44
- ^ a b Šarenac 1996, p. 45
- ^ Šarenac 1996, p. 28
- ^ Šarenac 1996, p. 24
- ^ a b Šarenac 1996, p. 46
- ^ Šarenac 1996, p. 33
- ^ Šarenac 1996, p. 6–14
- ^ "Krali Marko". Prilep Brewery. Archived from the original on 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2011-06-28.
- ^ Rudić 2001, p.96.
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- Šarenac, Darko (1996). Марко Краљевић у машти ликовних уметника (in Serbian). Belgrade: BIPIF. ISBN 978-86-82175-03-2.
- Šuica, Marko (2000). Немирно доба српског средњег века: властела српских обласних господара [The turbulent era of the Serbian Middle Ages: the noblemen of the Serbian regional lords] (in Serbian). Belgrade: Službeni list SRJ. ISBN 86-355-0452-6.
- Theiner, Augustin (1860). Vetera monumenta historica Hungariam sacram illustrantia (in Latin). 2. The Internet Archive.
External links
- The Ballads of Marko Kraljević, translated by David Halyburton Low (1922)
- Heroic Ballads of Servia, translated by George Rapall Noyes and Leonard Bacon (1913)
- Macedonian songs, fairy tales and legends about Marko (Macedonian)
- Bulgarian ballads (also here, with more information) and legends about Marko (Bulgarian)
- Marko, The King's Son: Hero of The Serbs by Clarence A. Manning (1932)
- Poem, "Marko Kraljević and the Vila"
- Conclusion of "Prince Marko and Musa Kesedžija" (verses 220–281)
- Web comic strip Archived 2009-01-09 at the Wayback Machine
Videos of Serbian epic poems sung to the accompaniment of the gusle: