The Kosovo Myth is a belief held by a large group of people that the Battle of Kosovo symbolizes a martyrdom of the Serbian nation in defense of their honor and Christendom against Turks (non-believers). The myth evolved slowly through chronicles and particularly the oral tradition of Serbs, exceeding the real significance of the battle. Since the 19th century period of national revivals in Europe, the Kosovo Myth became an important constitutive element of ethnic identity, as well as cultural and political homogenization of Serbs, and later of members of other South Slavic nations (Yugoslavs). The basic elements of the Kosovo Myth are vengeance, martyrdom, betrayal and glory. This myth dominated political discourse in Serbia until the end of the 20th century.[1] The Kosovo myth is incorporated into the Serb national identity's multifaceted mythomoteur.[2]
Background
The basis of the Kosovo myth is a real historical event, the Battle of Kosovo, which took place on Vidovdan in 1389 in the Kosovo Polje. Since its establishment at the end of the 14th century, the Kosovo Myth and its poetic, literary, religious, and philosophical exposition was intertwined with political and ideological agendas.[3] The mythologization of the battle occurred shortly after the event.[4] The legend of Kosovo was not created immediately after the battle but evolved from different originators into various versions.[5] The Kosovo Myth existed in the Serbian oral tradition for centuries, until it was recorded by early collectors like Vuk Karadžić and evoked at times of later major historic events such as the Balkan Wars, the First World War[6] and by Slobodan Milošević at the end of 1980s.[7]
The essence and basic elements of the myth
The essence of this myth is the struggle for freedom through the defense of Christianity and the establishment of the free state. Its basic elements are"[8]:
- vengeance — to restore the Serbian medieval state on the territories where it once existed, for example, Kosovo, without Muslim "non-believers"
- martyrdom — to sacrifice for freedom and faith
- betrayal — justifies defeat and warns those who do not belong to the majority, such as Vuk Branković
- glory — those who sacrifice themselves are promised "the kingdom of heaven" and eternal glory, such as Prince Lazar and Miloš Obilić
The Kosovo Myth presents the Kosovo Battle as "a titanic contest between Christian Europe and the Islamic East" in which Tsar Lazar renounced "the earthly kingdom for a heavenly one".[9] The real Battle of Kosovo was not as decisive as presented by this myth because the final downfall of medieval Serbia happened 70 years after it, in 1459, when Ottomans captured Smederevo.[10]
The Kosovo Myth pictures Serbia as Antemurale Christianitatis, similarly to constructions of the other nations in the Balkans.[10] It is sometimes propagated to evoke a sense of pride and national grievance among Serbs.[7]
In Serbia
The scale of interpretations of the Kosovo Myth is undeniably one of the richest. On one side, it can be interpreted as "democratic, anti-feudal, with a love for justice and social equality" while on the another as "an instrument of fascist policy of violence and expansion".[11] The myth can be interpreted in different ways in connection with other myths like: myth of military valor, myth of victimhood, myth of salvation and myth of chosen people.[12]
Until 19th century
Oral epic poetry and folk songs cultivated the Kosovo Myth. Medieval church writers portrayed Prince Lazar as a servant of God whose death was martyrdom for the faith, while Serbs are portrayed as "heavenly people" who defended Christianity against Islam. Military defeat in the Kosovo Battle was portrayed as moral victory.[13]
Since the 19th century
The Kosovo Myth is the central myth of Serbian nationalism used since the 19th century to legitimize the intention of the Serbian nationalistic movement to create an independent national state.[14] Some authors, including Noel Malcolm, believe that Kosovo Myth is punctuated by modern Serbian nationalism.[15]
The Kosovo Myth was often used to create a Serbian victimization narrative.[11] This myth and its connection to the Serbian victim-centered position was used to legitimize reincorporation of Kosovo into Serbia. The Kosovo Myth was activated and linked to the metaphors of 'genocide' (which are explicitly Jewish). Albanians from Kosovo were accused of genocide (killing and forcible expulsion) of Kosovo Serbs since the Battle of Kosovo in 1389. Islamized Albanians were presented as violent and treacherous people who settled themselves in Kosovo to collaborate with Ottoman occupiers and terrorize Christian Serbs. This centuries-long Albanian 'genocide' of Serbs allegedly continued in the 19th century through the forcible expulsion of up to 150,000 Serbs, and also in Tito's Yugoslavia, 'morally disqualified' Albanians to claim any control of Kosovo at the expense of Serbs.[16]
In the illogical interpretations of Serbian nationalists, the choice for heavenly Serbia also entitled Serbs to its earthly kingdom, which Lazar actually renounced. According to this interpretation, Serbs were a heavenly nation "authorized by God to sweep away all that stood at its path".[9] During the 1980s, the Serbian Orthodox Church started a revival of the myth such as leading a procession through Serbia and Bosnia in 1988, carrying Prince Lazar's body and taking on the role of "protector of the Serbian nation".[17]
Outside of Serbia
The Kosovo myth was not related only to Serbs and Serbia, although it was initially connected with them.
There was a deep belief among Montenegrins that they descend from people who retreated after the Battle of Kosovo to escape Turkish control and settled in the unreachable mountains. The Kosovo Myth was present among the people in Montenegro before Njegoš in the form of folk legends and especially folks songs. Still, this myth received its clear characteristics through a number of symbols only during the 18th and 19th century wars of national movement.[18]
At the beginning of the 20th century, it also became connected with Croats and Slovenes as a sign of their common culture, origin and tradition. Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović greatly contributed to the Kosovo Myth. In the period 1907-11, he created Vidovdan Temple as "the eternal ideal of heroism, loyalty and sacrifice, from which our race draws its faith and moral strength" and "collective ideal of the Serbian people". Mirko Rački, together with Meštrović, nurtured this impression and painted numerous paintings within Kosovo cycle, including The Jugović mother, Nine Jugović brothers, Kosovo Maiden and Miloš Obilić.[19]
Kosovo was particularly present in the public opinion of Great Britain during the First World War where 28 June was proclaimed Kossovo Day. Manifestations were held across the country. The Kosovo cycle epic folk poems were several times published in France during the war while some French authors emphasized that Kosovo Myth is important to strengthen the "the energy for revenge".[20]
Kosovo is mythologized in the Albanian contemporary politics also. Albanian and Serbian myth are in conflict and contemporary Albanian myth triumphed.[21]
References
- ^ Duijzings, Gerlachlus (January 2000). Religion and the Politics of Identity in Kosovo. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. p. 206. ISBN 978-1-85065-392-9.
Until recently the Kosovo myth has dominated political discourse in Serbia
- ^ Stoianovich 1994, p. 303.
- ^ Živković, Marko (2011). Serbian Dreambook: National Imaginary in the Time of Milošević. Indiana University Press. p. 189. ISBN 978-0-253-22306-7.
From its very inception the myth of Kosovo and its poetic, literary, religious, and philosophical exegesis was intertwined with political agendas and ideologies....
- ^ Milica Cimeša (28 November 2012). Marija Wakounig (ed.). From Collective Memories to Intercultural Exchanges. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 78. ISBN 978-3-643-90287-0.
... the great amount of mythologization that followed shortly after it.
- ^ Greenawalt 2001, p. 52
- ^ Trgovčević 1996
- ^ a b Kaufman, Stuart J. (2001). Modern Hatreds: The Symbolic Politics of Ethnic War. Cornell University Press. p. 205. ISBN 978-0-8014-8736-1. Cite error: The named reference "Kaufman2001" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Trgovčević 1996
- ^ a b Ramet, Sabrina P. (8 December 2005). Thinking about Yugoslavia: Scholarly Debates about the Yugoslav Breakup and the Wars in Bosnia and Kosovo. Cambridge University Press. p. 149. ISBN 978-0-521-61690-4.
a titanic contest between Christian Europe and the Islamic East
Cite error: The named reference "Ramet2005" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ a b Biljana Vankovska; Haken Wiberg (24 October 2003). Between Past and Future: Civil-Military Relations in Post-Communist Balkan States. I.B.Tauris. p. 227. ISBN 978-1-86064-624-9. Cite error: The named reference "VankovskaWiberg2003" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b Segesten, Anamaria Dutceac (2009). [url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Yyg0XvRlfuIC Myth, Identity and Conflict: A Comparative Analysis of Romanian and Serbian Textbooks]. ProQuest. p. 163. ISBN 978-1-109-19838-6.
... it is undeniable that this myth offers one of the richest scale of interpretations: from being "democratic, anti-feudal, with a love for justice and social equality"... to "an instrument of fascist policy of violence and expansion"
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(help) Cite error: The named reference "Segesten2009" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ Segesten, Anamaria Dutceac (16 September 2011). Myth, Identity, and Conflict: A Comparative Analysis of Romanian and Serbian Textbooks. Lexington Books. p. 101. ISBN 978-0-7391-4867-9.
- ^ Schnabel, Albrecht; Thakur, Ramesh Chandra (1 January 2000). Kosovo and the Challenge of Humanitarian Intervention: Selective Indignation, Collective Action, and International Citizenship. United Nations University Press. p. 23. ISBN 978-92-808-1050-9.
- ^ Kaser, Karl; Katschnig-Fasch, Elisabeth (2005). Gender and Nation in South Eastern Europe. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 95. ISBN 978-3-8258-8802-2.
The myth of Kosovo is the central national myth of Serbia.
- ^ Modern Greek Studies Yearbook. University of Minnesota. 2005. p. 422.
...as Noel Malcolm's book on Kosovo has shown, the powerful "Myth of Kosovo" was constructed by modern Serbian nationalism.
- ^ Macdonald, David Bruce (2002). Balkan Holocausts?: Serbian and Croatian Victim Centered Propaganda and the War in Yugoslavia. Manchester University Press. pp. 75, 76, 78. ISBN 978-0-7190-6467-8.
- ^ Bieber, Florian; Daskalovski, Zidas (1 April 2003). Understanding the War in Kosovo. Routledge. pp. 187–. ISBN 978-0-203-50073-6.
- ^ Zirojević, Olga; Popov, Nebojša; Gojković, Drinka (January 2000). "Kosovo myth (cult) in Montenegro". The Road to War in Serbia: Trauma and Catharsis. Central European University Press. p. 196. ISBN 978-963-9116-56-6.
- ^ Trgovčević 1996
- ^ Trgovčević 1996
- ^ Vedran Obućina (2011). "A War of Myths: Creation of the Founding Myth of Kosovo Albanians". Contemporary issues. 4/1: 41.
Contemporary Albanian political mythology is very similar in power, focus and methods to Serbian political mythology about Kosovo. Combined, they make a powerful clash point, a war of the myths which ended in violence and armed conflict. The Albanian myth prevailed.
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Sources
- Greenawalt, Alexander (2001). "Kosovo Myths: Karadžić, Njegoš, and the Transformation of Serb Memory" (pdf). Spaces of identity. 3: 51. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
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(help) - Stoianovich, Traian (1 January 1994). Balkan Worlds: The First and Last Europe. M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 978-0-7656-3851-9.
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(help) - Trgovčević, Ljubinka (1996), "The Kosovo Myth in the First World War", in Ilija Konev (ed.), Sveti mesta na Balkanite, Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria: UNESCO, pp. 331–338, ISBN 9789548317429, OCLC 52405733
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