Serbian epic poetry
Encyclopedia
Serb epic poetry is a form of epic poetry
written by Serbs
originating in today's Serbia
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
, Croatia
, Macedonia
and Montenegro
. The main cycles were composed by unknown Serb authors between the 14th and 19th centuries. They are largely concerned with historical events and personages.
Poems depict historical events with varying degrees of accuracy.
or Radovan Karadžić
. Some modern songs are published in books or recorded, and under copyright
, but some are in public domain
, and modified by subsequent authors just like old ones. There are new songs that mimic Serbian 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.
dubbed the "Serbian Homer" both for his blindness and poetic gift, was a guslar (gusle player) that lived 1767–1834.
Modern example of Serbian epics as recorded in 1992 by film director Paweł Pawlikowski in a documentary for the BBC
Serbian epics; an anonymous gusle
singer compares Radovan Karadžić
, as he prepares to depart for Geneva
for peace talk, to Karađorđe, who had led the First Serbian Uprising
against the Turks in 1804:
Epic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
written by Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
originating in today's Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
and Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
. The main cycles were composed by unknown Serb authors between the 14th and 19th centuries. They are largely concerned with historical events and personages.
Corpus
The corpus of Serbian epic poetry is divided into cycles:- Non-historic cycle
- Pre-Kosovo cycle - poems about events that predate the Battle of KosovoBattle of KosovoThe Battle of Kosovo took place on St. Vitus' Day, June 15, 1389, between the army led by Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, and the invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the leadership of Sultan Murad I...
- Cycle of Marko Kraljević
- Kosovo cycle - poems about events that happened just before and after the Battle of KosovoBattle of KosovoThe Battle of Kosovo took place on St. Vitus' Day, June 15, 1389, between the army led by Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, and the invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the leadership of Sultan Murad I...
(no poem covers the battle itself) - Post-Kosovo cycle - poems about post-Battle events
- Cycle of hajdukHajdukHajduk is a term most commonly referring to outlaws, highwaymen or freedom fighters in the Balkans, Central- and Eastern Europe....
s - Cycle of uskoksUskoksThe Uskoks were Croatian Habsburg soldiers that inhabited the areas of the eastern Adriatic and the surrounding territories during the Ottoman wars in Europe. Etymologically, the word uskoci itself means "the ones who jumped in" in Croatian...
- Poems about the liberation of Serbia
- Poems about the liberation of Montenegro
Poems depict historical events with varying degrees of accuracy.
Kosovo cycle
Modern Serbian Epic Poetry
Serbian epic poetry is being made even today in this same form. Modern songs sing about modern events and people, such as the Kosovo warKosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
or Radovan Karadžić
Radovan Karadžic
Radovan Karadžić is a former Bosnian Serb politician. He is detained in the United Nations Detention Unit of Scheveningen, accused of war crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats during the Siege of Sarajevo, as well as ordering the Srebrenica massacre.Educated as a...
. Some modern songs are published in books or recorded, and under copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
, but some are in public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
, and modified by subsequent authors just like old ones. There are new songs that mimic Serbian 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.
People of Serbian Epic Poetry
Filip VišnjićFilip Višnjic
Filip Višnjić was a popular Serbian epic poet and guslar , born in northern Bosnia. He is often described as the "Serbian Homer" both because he was blind and for his poetic gift...
dubbed the "Serbian Homer" both for his blindness and poetic gift, was a guslar (gusle player) that lived 1767–1834.
Excerpts
- Slavic antithesisSlavic antithesisThe Slavic antithesis is a stylistic device used in traditional Slavic epic poetry. It is usually implemented at the beginning of the poem and consists of three parts: a question is asked, then a negative answer is given, and finally the real explanation is provided...
:
- (Marko Kraljević speaks: )
Modern example of Serbian epics as recorded in 1992 by film director Paweł Pawlikowski in a documentary for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Serbian epics; an anonymous gusle
Gusle
The Gusle is a single-stringed musical instrument traditionally used in the Dinarides region of the Balkans ....
singer compares Radovan Karadžić
Radovan Karadžic
Radovan Karadžić is a former Bosnian Serb politician. He is detained in the United Nations Detention Unit of Scheveningen, accused of war crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats during the Siege of Sarajevo, as well as ordering the Srebrenica massacre.Educated as a...
, as he prepares to depart for Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
for peace talk, to Karađorđe, who had led the First Serbian Uprising
First Serbian Uprising
The First Serbian Uprising was the first stage of the Serbian Revolution , the successful wars of independence that lasted for 9 years and approximately 9 months , during which Serbia perceived itself as an independent state for the first time after more than three centuries of Ottoman rule and...
against the Turks in 1804:
See also
- Bugarštica
- Erlangen ManuscriptErlangen ManuscriptErlangen Manuscript is manuscript written in cyrilic in period between 1716 and 1733 which contain one of the earliest written collections of epic poetry written on Serbo-Croatian language...
- List of national poetries
External links
- An article about Serbian oral tradition
- Songs from Kosovo cycle
- The Battle of Kosovo - Serbian Epic Poems Preface by Charles SimicCharles SimicDušan "Charles" Simić is a Serbian-American poet, and was co-Poetry Editor of the Paris Review. He was appointed the fifteenth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 2007.-Early years:...
Swallow Press/Ohio University Press, Athens 1987 - Heroic Ballads of Servia translated by George Rapall Noyes and Leonard Bacon, 1913