O Srbiji i srbima u delima francuskih intelektualaca krajem 19. i početkom 20. veka

Abstract

From the late 19th century to the Great War (1914-1918), information about Serbia and Serbs in the French public has crossed from the unreliable, rare and misty news of the enthusiasts to the reliable, reasoned and clear assessments of the situation on the Balkans and Serbia by the French scholars and publicists, who were also prominent international relations experts. After the official agreement between France and Russia in 1894, an increased interest in the Balkans, Serbia and the Serbs was noticed among French intellectuals (Louis Leger, Ernest Denis, Emile Haumant, Charles Loiseau, Auguste Gauvain, Albert Malet, Victor Berard, Andre Cheradame). For example, such interest in the Serbs in the Ottoman Empire (Victor Berard) was extended to the studies of the Slavic peoples who lived in the Austro-Hungarian Empire (Charles Loiseau, Andre Cheradame, Andre Barre, Leon Lamouche). The development of science and the actualization of the Balkans issue, as yet undefined, prompted the French intellectuals to devote more attention to gathering of information about the Balkans and the peoples in this region. The French authors who have written about the Balkans, Serbia and the Serbs since the end of the 19th century, have carried out a careful selection of source information, learned the Serbian language, travelled and visited the areas they wrote about, collaborated with Serbian intellectuals and collected new sources and literature for their texts. At the beginning of the 20th century, Serbian history, tradition and heroic folk songs, as once primary topics of interest, were gradually replaced by new topics that reflected life of the Balkans population, and then by the political, economic and social conditions in Serbia. Political events on the national and international scene have determined the interests and the themes, prompting intellectuals to action and creating space for cooperation. Due to the complexity and sensitivity of issues that came into focus, intellectuals relied on scholarly arguments, which at the same time, changed the terminology and the image of Serbia and the Serbs.