Stećci

Stećak in front of National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Stećak from Radimlja near Stolac, 13th century. Engraving on the tombstone: May this hand make you think about yours.

Stećak necropolis near Perućac, Serbia.

Stećak in Cista Provo, Croatia

The Stećci (singular: Stećak), are monumental medieval tombstones that lie scattered across Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the border parts of Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia. An estimated 60,000 are found within the borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the rest of 10,000 are found in Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro. Appearing in the 11th century, the stećci reached their peak in the late 14th to 15th centuries, before dying away during the Ottoman occupation.Stećci - tombstones belonging to the medieval Bosnia and the Bosnian Church (Bosnian heretics), who was part of the European rebellion against the Vatican^Evidence?. Symbols of the tombstones indicate Gothic-Celtic origin of Bosnians and the largest Bosnian king Tvrtko Kotorman (Kotromanic) derived from Kotorman the Goth^Evidence?.Epitafier on the tombstones are written in Bosnian alphabet (bosančica) and the alphabets belonging to the Bosnian church and medieval Bosnia. The largest collection of stećci are outside the city Radimlja in Herzegovina.

The Stećci have been nominated to the UNESCO World Heritage List as Joint Cultural Heritage by the four countries in 2009.

Etymology

The word itself is a contracted form of the older word stojećak, which is derived from the verb stajati (v. stand). It literally means "the standing thing".

Characteristics

Their most remarkable feature is their decorative motifs, many of which remain enigmatic to this day. Spirals, arcades, rosettes, vine leaves and grapes, suns and crescent moons are among the images that appear. Figural motifs include processions of deer, dancing the kolo, hunting and, most famously, the image of the man with his right hand raised, perhaps in a gesture of fealty.

History

Although its origins are within the Bosnian Church, all evidence points to the fact that stećci were erected in due time by adherents of the Orthodox, Catholic and Islamic faith alike.^{[citation needed]} Today many stećci are displayed in the garden of the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo.

On November 2, 2009, the government ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro agreed to nominate the stećci as their shared cultural heritage to the UN World Heritage List.

Controversies

Some historians have argued that the Bosnian Church was related to Bogomils of Bulgaria or other dualist groups. Others have asserted that the church was actually founded by Franciscan monks from the Catholic Church. However, Marian Wenzel, the world's leading authority on the art and artifacts of medieval Bosnia and Herzegovina, concluded that the stećci tombstones were a common tradition amongst Catholic, Orthodox and Bosnian Church followers alike. Wenzel's conclusion supported other historians' claims that the stećci reflect a regional cultural phenomenon rather than belonging to a particular faith.

Famous Stećci

Stećak of Grdeša, the oldest one found.

• The oldest stećak is that of Grdeša, a 12th-century Duke of Trebinje.

• The medieval Mramorje necropolis in Serbia, Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance contains large number of Stećak tombs.

• Vlatko Vuković's grave lies marked near the village of Boljuni near Stolac, Bosnia and Herzegovina, from late 14th century. Inscription on the grave was written in Bosnian Cyrillic Script (bosančica or bosanica) in ikavian accent.

• The most famous and decorated stećak is from Zgošća near Kakanj in Bosnia and Herzegovina, from 15th century. Although it has no engraved writing, since it was immaculately decorated, it is suggested that it belonged to Ban Stjepan II Kotromanić.

See also

• Bosnian Church
• Bogomilism

External links

• Bosnian archeology