Medieval Serbia Research Articles

ОРГАНИЗАЦИЈА ЗАНАТСТВА У УРБАНИМ ЦЕНТРИМА СРЕДЊОВЕКОВНЕ СРБИЈЕ ORGANIZATION OF CRAFTSMEN IN URBAN CENTERS OF MEDIEVAL SERBIA

Various forms of organization of craftsmen existed in the territory of medieval Serbian countries, in the form of either public or private law relations. While based on numerous data it has been established that there was business cooperation and even association between domestic traders and craftsmen, the issue of formal legal organization of craftsmen in urban centers is less clarified due to poorly preserved sources. In this paper, based on the available parallels, the existing data from written or material sources have been reconsidered. Against such a broad background, it was possible to indicate the presence of elements of formal legal craft organizations – guilds, as suggested by the use of the title of the protomagister in the middle of internal hierarchy in urban centers in medieval Serbia.

Criminal Offences of Turning and Conversion to Roman Catholicism in Dušan’s Code

Dušan’s Code is the most important monument of Serbian medieval law. It contains a large number of provisions relating to Orthodoxy, the church, the clergy and monasticism. The first 38 articles are directly dedicated to the faith and the church. The Code also prescribes various criminal offences against Orthodoxy, and the most numerous are offences of Roman Catholic proselytism. The introductory part of the paper contains a brief analysis of the position of Roman Catholics in medieval Serbia, the relationship between Serbian rulers and popes, and especially emphasizes the role of Roman Catholic propaganda and the conversion of the Orthodox to Roman Catholicism, which was most prevalent during the reign of Tsar Dušan. The subject of the author’s legal-historical analysis is those provisions of Dušan’s Code that incriminate turning and conversion to Roman Catholicism. So far, it has been indisputably established in science that these are Articles 6, 7, 8, 9 and 21. In Article 6, the Code of Emperor Stefan Dušan proclaims: „And concerning the Latin heresy: Christians who have turned to the use of unleavened bread shall return to the Christian observance. If any fail to obey and do not return to Christian Orthodoxy, let them be punished as is written in the Code of the Holy Fathers.” Article 7 provides: „And the Great Church shall appoint head priests in all market towns to reclaim from the Latin heresy those Christians who have turned to the Latin faith, and to give them spiritual instructions, so that each one of them returns to Christianity.” Article 8 punishes the Latin priest: „And if a Latin priest is found to have converted a Christian to the Latin faith, let him be punished according to the Law of the Holy Fathers.” Article 9 prohibits mixed marriage: „And if a half-believer is found to be married to a Christian woman, let him be baptized into Christianity if he desires it. But if he refuses to be baptized, let his wife and children be taken from him, and let a part of his house be allotted to them, and let him be driven forth.” Finally, Article 21 prescribes: „And whoever shall sell a Christian into another and false faith, let him be crippled and his tongue cut out.” In the concluding remarks, the author points out the basic causes of prescribing these crimes, as well as certain historical data on Emperor Stefan Dušan’s anti-Catholic politics.

Halfway Between Byzantium and Serbia: Marriage Provisions of the Second Žiča Charter .

Marking the eight hundred years anniversary of the adoption of the Žiča Charter issued by Stefan Prvovjenčani is more than a good reason to closely examine the provisions of this Charter. If we think about the historical and political context of that time, it becomes clear that the Žiča Charter provides direct information on the formative processes of the Serbian state and church. Žiča was not only the seat of the new Serbian archdiocese, but also had a central role in building the cult of the Nemanjić dynasty and especially of Stefan Prvovjenčani as its first king. The Žiča Charter, one of the oldest Serbian legal monuments, represents the determination of the first Serbian king to create a powerful Serbian state and strengthen the Serbian Orthodox Church, which would be the base of the political and legal program not only for Stefan Prvovjenčani, but also for his successors. This is reminiscent of the „symphony doctrine” that was copied from Byzantium, and in that copying, no branch of law, including marriage law, was spared. The most important part of this Charter are definitely the norms dedicated to marital law, which show that general political tendencies had a huge impact on private law too. Many legal transplants such as the prohibition of arbitrary divorce, the prohibition of kidnaping as a way of separating spouses or dowry institutions have caused radical changes in Serbian marital law; however, they were not immune to transformations under the influence of customary law and attitudes of the society of medieval Serbia. It once again proves the thesis of professor Alan Watson who claimed that legal transplants have their own, independent life in the law system that accepted them. When it comes to Serbian medieval law, that life started very early. The influence of Roman-Byzantine and canon law was already felt in the Nomokanon of Sveti Sava, and then in the Žiča Charter; in later regulations of Serbian medieval law this influence becomes quite obvious. The main topic of this paper will be the process of legal transplantation in marital law from the Byzantine Empire to Serbia and the author will also try to discover and explain certain regularities and deviations in that process. Тhe analysis of the marital provisions of the Žiča Charter is naturally imposed here as a starting point.

The Court and the Monastery Complexes as Centers of Craft Production in Medieval Serbia

Being important economical centers on the territory of medieval Serbia and places that in the division of power into sacral and secular stood out, the court and the monastery were the central places of the manor but also first grade centers i.e. urban settlements within boundaries or fence-encircled areas. This was especially the case with the court of the ruler or the head of the church. Thus, in parallel with the craftsmen who were working for the sovereign, landlord or for the monastery on the territory of the manor – the craftsmanship activity was also taking place within the court or monastery complex - on the territory of physically or imaginarily enclosed economic space - the immediate courtyard.
 Unlike monasteries whose yard had been encircled and so there is no doubt to whom the workshop actually belonged, in the case of the fortified capital cities, it is difficult to make a distinction between the lord and city workshops. This is especially the case when there are no written sources or systematic archaeological excavations. Based on current knowledge it can be assumed that within the palace complex there were a blacksmith, a goldsmith, a mint, a potter and a tailor, and very likely shoemaker workshops. They were appropriately employing blacksmiths, weavers, gunsmiths, goldsmiths, jewelers, potters, craftsmen who worked on the production and decoration of clothes and shoes, and probably persons practicing the fine crafts, such as engraving. In the case of monasteries, there were blacksmith, goldsmith and potter workshops, and based on the tools it can be assumed that leather production was also present. Workshops with artisans for the production of the essential elements of books, especially within the scriptoriums, should be added to this list as well.
 Among them, the most skilled ones were certainly the craft masters. The monastery and church circle were common to found in the working role of craftsmen in a secular environment, as well as secular persons working in the monasteries. Apart from the craftsmen who lived continuously in the complexes, there were also those who traveled with their masters, or stayed within the complexes for a prolonged time due to their working obligations. In that case and where the work was related to a large construction project, some of them stayed within the complexes for years.

The Impact of Medieval Mining upon the Environment of the Central Balkans

The paper examines the impact of medieval mining upon the environment, based upon the present state of the historiographical, archaeological, and geological research. By the middle of the 13th century a massive increase in the exploitation of precious metals is noted, inducing the appearance of settlements in the vicinity of the locations of extraction and production of ores. The problems of water and air pollution occurred, raised by the operation of smelteries inside these settlements or in their immediate vicinity. Although the presence of slag indicates certain metallurgical activity, it is hard to discern the precise purpose and the period of their activity without archaeological excavations. The increase in demand for fuel may have induced deforestation, so the rights to exploit forests were legally regulated. The scope of wood exploitation in the region of Šumadija has been judged by the research estimating the presence of potassium in the previously registered old slag deposits. It is hard to discern the general health status of the inhabitants of the mining regions, since a small portion of skeletal material is examined, not including the one from the most important mining center of Novo Brdo. The anthropological analysis indicates the problems caused by hard physical activity and poor hygiene. The present knowledge on the influence of heavy metals indicates the impact of past mining practices upon the environment and human health. Decomposition of sulphides in the discard deposits and old slag, as well as the leak of acid waters from old shafts, still affect the present pollution of water and soil in the vicinity of mining centres such as Rudnik and Srebrenica. These same reasons may have presented dangers for the population living there during the period of 15th to 17th century. The future archaeological research, with the inclusion of other disciplines, will bring more detailed understanding of the relationship between people and their environment in the mining regions of the Medieval Serbia.

Four Less-Known Cases of Personal Union Projects in Southeast Europe

The paper discussed four episodes from the medieval Serbian past when personal unions’ concept formed the basis for resolving complex regional diplomatic relations. The first two dates in King Milutin’s (1282–1321) and Stephen Dečanski`s (1321–1331) reigns. In both instances, the unification proposals came from Bulgaria. Furthermore, Sigismund von Luxembourg (1387–1437) acquired in 1394 the right to receive the Bosnian royal crown. With the decline of Hungarian influence in Bosnia, the prospects of realizing this bold plan lost momentum. The last case examines the prevailing circumstances that led to establishing a short-lived personal union between Bosnia and the Serbian Despotate 1458/1459.

Lemšat srpskog srednjevekovnog prava

The topic of this article is the contract of lemšat (Lehenschaft) in Serbian medieval mining law. The author discusses the details of this legal and social institution in medieval Serbia by answering the following two questions: What was the scale of transplantation of Saxon law, i.e., how original were the Serbian rules? Who were the lenhavars – the contractors in a special type of lemšat? The results of the investigation show that Serbian lemšat was a contract of the temporary lease of a share in a mining partnership and that the lenhavars were qualified miners, whose employment was occasionally necessary. The results also show that Serbian medieval mining law contained numerous original legal solutions. The applied methods are linguistic, systemic and historical interpretation of the Mining Code of Despot Stefan, as well as the comparative method.

Rights over “The Property of Another” (Iura in re aliena) in Byzantine and Mediaeval Serbian Law

In some cases, when a person owned property, his rights over such property might be limited. The most important rights over another’s property, mentioned by Byzantine law and accepted in mediaeval Serbian legal sources are servitudes, pledge and emphyteusis. The rules on servitudes (δουλεία – rabota) penetrated in Serbian law at the beginning of 13th century, when Saint Sabba (Свети Сава) incorporated in his “Nomokanon” the whole Byzantine “Procheiron”. Its chapter XXXVIII, under the title “On novelties” (Περὶ καινοτομιῶν), contains different provisions, concerning the servitudes, mixed with administrative rules on building the new houses. That was the reason why Serbian translators of “Procheiron” entitled this chapter as “On building of new houses, reconstruction of the old and other things”. While the chapter XXXVIII of “Procheiron” contains 64 provisions, Matheas Blastares took in his “Syntagma” only 18, and created a short Chapter K-3 under the same title “On novelties” (“O novotvorenxhь” in Serbian translation). It contains, beside different decrees and prohibitions by administrative authorities, some urban servitudes, that could be changed by special agreements (συμφώνον – sьglasi«). Byzantine legal miscellanies always put together the rules on pledge in the same chapter with the provisions on loan, although modern legal science treats pledge as a part of the law of property and loan as a real contract and the part of the law of obligation. The chapter X of “Ecloga” has a title “On literal and unliteral loans and for them given pledges”; the chapter XVI of “Procheiron” is known under the title “On loan and pledge” and the chapter XXVIII of “Epanagoge” entitled “On loans and pledges”. For this reason, Matheas Blastares included the chapter Δ-2 under the title “On lenders, and loan, and pledges” in his “Syntagma”. Among Serbian legal sources, pledge was mentioned only in a few documents: these are so called “Justinian’s Law” (art. 26 and 27); King Milutin’s chrysobull, granted to the Hilandar’s pyrgos in Chrousija; King Dušan’s chrysobull, giving the church of Most Holy Virgin in Lipljan to the Hilandar’s pyrgos in Chrousija; and Dušan’s “Law Code” (art. 90). The chapter XV of the “Procheiron” has the title “On emphyteusis” and contains six provisions, speaking on emphyteusis of Church estates. Matheas Blastares introduced a short Chapter E-8, entitled “On emphyteusis” (“O nasa`denîi” in Serbian translation), in his “Syntagma”. Its chapter represents an interpretation of Justinian’s Novella CXX, chapters 2 and 8. In Serbian legal sources we can not find any information on emphyteusis.

Rudarski trgovi - nosioci urbanog razvoja srednjovekovne Srbije

The paper follows the formation and the rise of mining marketplaces in Medieval Serbia and their contribution to the urban development of the country. In addition to mining marketplaces in Serbia, there were others as well, but the mining marketplaces experienced the highest rise and the greatest urban development. Present urban elements bear witness to the fact that that they were modern elements in those times. Their rise was discontinued, as well as the development of Medieval Serbian state in the middle of the 15th century.

Mining and metallurgical activity in the medieval Serbia

The mining and metallurgical activity has a centuries-old tradition in Serbia. Copper, iron and gold are the basic metals in the ore of Eastern Serbia. Lead, zinc, iron and silver ore are present in central Serbia, while antimony and lead ore are predominant at the location of western Serbia. The strength of Nemanjic's Serbia was mostly based on the development of this activity. With the arrival of the Turks, the mining and metallurgical activity weakened, and at the beginning of the 18th century it completely become extincted. Almost all current mines of polymetallic ores in Serbia appeared on the locations of medieval mines.

A new interpretation of prince Lazar’s “tipar” from the Rudnik mountain

This paper offers a new interpretation of an object found on the Rudnik mountain in 2015. On its first public presentation, it was defined as a tipar (seal die) of the Serbian prince Lazar. However, a new reading of its inscription revealed a detail that demonstrates that it is not a seal die but an object with a different purpose. It is a mould (matrix) which would have been used for the fabrication of a medallion (plaquette) on the bottom of a goblet destined for the prince. This identification is also corroborated by examples of similar medallions known in the region of medieval Serbia and its surroundings. This find from the Rudnik mountain remains unique in our region while the new interpretation raises a series of questions about the development of artistic crafts and the fabrication of luxurious receptacles in medieval Serbia.

Kultura pamćenja začetaka srpske medicine

The study of the history of medicine has developed two approaches: traditional and new, which is more comprehensive. The traditional approach implies the study of important individuals and ideas, the advancement of medicine as a science. This approach is widely accepted in both our and world science. The second, which is much more comprehensive, was initiated by Henry Sigerst with his works, and expanded and came to life in the 1960s and 1970s. The authors of the paper approach the study and presentation of Serbian medieval medicine with the cause-and-effect relationship of health and disease and other medical-historical phenomena and analyze them in a social, cultural and political context. From this point of view, the authors connect the mentioned contests with modern medical problems and approaches. The aim of this paper is to investigate and present the development of Serbian medicine in the Middle Ages, the conditions under which it was formed and developed, as well as the influence of the Serbian state and church on it. The first hospitals were established under the protection of Christian monasteries in the East, but also in the West. In addition to the first hospitals, the ideas of social medicine were born in the Middle Ages, under the influence of Christian thought. All this is a significant contribution to European medicine, the basis without which further development of medical science in the Renaissance would not be possible. The first real hospitals as treatment institutions in medieval Serbia were established in the period from the 13th to the 17th century. The collected historical material indicates the fact that there were nineteen of them. Hospitals were built and arranged on the model of already existing hospitals built on the soil of Byzantium. The monastery hospitals have a significant historical role, because they introduced Serbian medicine into the family of the then European medicine. It should be especially emphasized that Serbia was at the forefront of medicine at that time, because it had special (separate) departments for the treatment of patients with epilepsy and mental illness. A special place is occupied by the monastery hospital Hilandar on the Holy Mountain and the monastery hospital in Studenica. Along with the establishment of hospitals, they are also working on medical education, in the beginning more according to the mentoring principle, so that from the period of King Milutin's rule, the first medical school was established. In the organizational sense, the Serbian monastery hospitals laid the foundations of today's hospital organization, starting from the place for construction, equipment and working conditions, through the election of directors, doctors, medical and non-medical staff, to ethical norms.

Urbane prilike u centralnim i južnim delovima Srbije u doba kralja Milutina

The era of the reign of the King of Milutin represents an important turning point in the history of the medieval Serbia. It cannot be said he was the initiator of either economic or urban development, but it can be noticed in his era there was a considerable step in this direction. The King Milutin himself showed an enviable energy thanks to it he enlarged his state and introduced numerous changes. By annexation of the areas in the south, the part of Serbian state became a territory which inherited the urban culture being inherited from the antique and renewed during the Byzantine rule. By the adoption on Byzantine patterns of behaviour, the urban culture was being adopted as well. The second important step toward the process of urbanization was the opening of mines and appearance of market places in their vicinity. In the era of the King Milutin in documents for the first time appears seven mining market places: Rudnik, Trepča, Rogozno, Gračanica (Janjevo), Novo Brdo, Lipnik and Trešnjica.Their characteristic was that they represented centres in which in initial period lived Saxons, but by the time local inhabitants will have been moved, which will be dealing with mining industry, craft, commerce and services provision. As the Saxon's community was restricted and without additional influx, by the time it will have been had assimilated into the Serbian one for those settlements as well. Close to Saxons, at least as per religion, were merchants coming from the Coast, and which were called by domestic population Latins. The King Milutin had issued several charts and letters to citizens of Dubrovnik by which he confirmed privileges and security to them. In that sense, it is important the chart issued in 1302 in Vrhlab. Besides the citizens of Dubrovnik, citizens of other coast towns dwelled in mining market places including some Italian communes due to which they represented multicultural milieu. In the era of the King Milutin these settlements were in their infancy, and the lack of sources did not allow their significant consideration. Nevertheless, those settlements represent a solid fundament and initiator for further urban development which will follow in subsequent decades.

Negativne predstave vizantijskih princeza u srpskim srednjovjekovnim žitijima

Negativne predstave vizantijskih princeza u srpskim srednjovjekovnim žitijima

Magistyka społeczno-kulturowa w średniowiecznej Serbii, czyli o strategii budowania wizerunku serbskich panujących

In the article, a phenomenon of promotion and marketing in the medieval Serbia was discussed, as well as the strategies of creating a specific, desired and functional image of the ruling dynasties. Due to this, the basic communication practices were recalled that is, a management of impression, building the so-called brand (social, political, cultural property of the dynasty, its family pattern), and also specifically conceived branding itself (that is, a management of consciousness and value of the dynastic brand), what ultimately proved that the lineage of social-cultural usage of images, along with the models and devices serving the politics of public relations is deeply rooted in the middle ages. The phenomenon of promotion and marketing in the medieval Serbia was presented on the basis of the medieval Serbian literature, hagiography, hymnography, historiography, and iconographic implementations were also included. The article presents images of rulers and dynasties prevailing in the historical, religious and ideological context, the phenomenon of promotion and marketing in the context of characteristic ideological structures, such as state and church tradition, imperial-monastic tradition, charismatic dynasty, sanctity of the ruling family, land and the Serbian nation e.t.c. The timeless phenomenon of promotion and marketing has been presented as a lasting component of shaping the culture model of the medieval Serbia.

Between Byzantium and the West: Serbian Marital Policy and Political Orientation (Mid-Eleventh Century – 1371)

Abstract The aim of this article is to present the marital policy of the dynasties of two medieval Serbian lands, Dioclea and Rascia (Serbia), from the mid-eleventh century until the death of King Milutin in 1321. Serbia was situated in the area of the Balkan Peninsula, which was a region of interest for both Western and Central European powers, as well as the Byzantine empire. In a cultural sense, Serbia embraced the Orthodox faith and Byzantine culture, but until the second half of the fourteenth century, Byzantium was its biggest political rival. Serbia had spread its territory and gained its political independence at the expense of Byzantium. In order to reach this political aim, marital policy was of highest importance. Central European and Western Latin princesses brought with them political alliances with the West, which gave Serbia a certain importance in the wider European context of international politics. Princesses came to Serbia from Norman Sicily and Hungary, and at the same time, Serbian female members of the ruling dynasties went abroad. Finally, Byzantine princesses in Serbia were a symbol of truce between the two countries, but also a pledge of the spread of the Byzantine culture and Orthodox faith.

CRIMINAL SANCTIONS IN DUŠAN'S CODE

Emperor Dušan's Code is the most important legal document of medieval Serbia, which is often considered to be the early Serbian "constitution". It is largely based on the Byzantine legal tradition, which entailed a rigorous system of criminal sanctions and diverse forms of punishment: death penalty by hanging and burning, mutilation of body parts, blinding, branding, scorching, cruel corporal punishment (beating, flogging), imprisonment, severe fines, confiscation of property, exile or banishment and dislocation as a form of collective punishment for the subjects. In this article, the author of presents and analyzes relevant provision of Dušan's Code, dealing with the envisaged criminal sanctions and different forms of punishment which were imposed on the perpetrators of criminal offences. The research methodology is based on normative, dogmatic and historical methods. Based on this analysis and comparison with the positive criminal legislation of the Republic of Serbia, the author concludes that Dušan's Code prescribed much more rigorous criminal sanctions, particularly given the fact that the current legislation law does not envisage death penalty and severe corporal punishment.

Tretman duševno poremećenih osoba u srednjovekovnoj Srbiji

The treatment of mental health patients in Serbia in the Middle ages was the same as in other European countries. Medicine of that time was based on science, the use of magic rituals and witchcraft was banned. Doctors from Serbia, Byzantium and the national doctors had been educated in Salerno and Montpellier, the most developed centers of medicine. They took the exam in front of the government Medical testimony. The development of medicine was followed in the Hodoloski code which was considered the oldest record of folk medicine and the Hilandar medical code which represented a collection of medieval scientific European medicine and Serbian medicine culture (XII-XV). The first Serbian hospital was established in Hilandar in 1199. The founder was Saint Sava who wrote the rules about the work of the hospital. Actually, it was the practice for all medical facilities that were opened later. We know about mental diseases and healing in Serbia from Lives of Saints in monasteries Zica (from 1207) and Decani (1327) and from the biography of Medieval ruler (king) Stephen of Decani. The illustrations of healing some patients with mental diseases were shown on frescoes and in the lives of saints. In Medieval Serbia, there were 49 foreign doctors working (15 in XIV, 30 in XV and 4 in XVI century) and until Turkish conquest Serbia took a very important place in Medieval Europe. Objective of this paper is to show where psychiatric patients were treated in Medieval Serbia, the way they were treated, who treated them, where the hospitals were and what kind of treatment wereapplied.

Migracije srpske vlastele za vladavine poslednjih Nemanjića

The role of the noble families in Medieval Serbia, as in other states of that time, was of great importance-their social status affected the character and the success of the statehood. They represented social elite, which influenced the development of various processes, one of them being migration. The migration process could be voluntary or involuntary, but it shadowed inner colonisation as well as the conquest of new territories. It determined the establishment of the governing structures in the newly acquired territories, as well as their integration into the state. Bearing in mind that many wars were waged during the Middle Ages-hence the constant redrawing of the borders-it is not surprising that migration was an ongoing process of various intensity and direction. Both the dependent population and the nobles took part in the process. However, following the migration flow of the noble families through history is much easier. The great expansion of the Serbian territory started during the reign of King Milutin and ended with the death of the Tsar Dušan (1282-1355), whose reign was especially marked by great conquests and extensive migrations. Though conquests are mainly attributed to rulers, the noble families often initiated them. This is confirmed in the historical sources and the research literature, which cites the growing dissatisfaction of the nobles and their desire for further conquest as the main reasons for the change in the Serbian throne after the great victory at Velbazhd in 1330. Such views are further substantiated by the early years of the reign of Stefan Dušan when significant territories in Macedonia were annexed. According to several sources, the main driver of change was the number of noble families close and directly subordinate to the young king. It is well known that Dušan inherited the governance of Zeta and western Serbia from his father in 1322. He managed those territories during the whole reign of Stefan Uroš III (Stefan of Dečani). The previous contention that the nobles drove the change in the throne is also validated by the relocation of the noble families to the newly annexed regions. A certain number of high born families originated from the western Serbian areas which is proved by the primary historical sources, while other families are loosely associated to the area by stories and legends. Neither is simple to confirm. Some of those nobles from the western Serbia are: the Braković familiy, the Mrnjavčević family, the Great Duke Nikola Stanjević, Ostoja Rajaković Ugarčić, Radoslav Hlapen, Nikola Bagaš, Andrija Gropa, Lord Žarko, and most probably Caesar Preljub, among others. They all received inheritance and governance of various territories as a reward for their loyalty and accomplishments, which can be traced back through their titles. Namely, military titles indicate that the person gained their status owning to their warrior abilities.

Highly venerated icons in medieval Serbia

The custom of venerating images that are believed to have healing and protective powers also made its way to Serbia from Byzantium. These images were usually icons of the Virgin, some of which continue to be objects of cult even today. Others are known to us from visual and written testimonies. The toponymic epithets inscribed on their copies are the most reliable proof of the veneration they once enjoyed. These images can be classified into three groups: the most famous sacred images of Constantinople and Thessalonike; icons highly venerated in places that became part of the medieval Serbian state during its expansion; and finally, those whose cult originated in Serbia itself.