Miloš Obilić: Difference between revisions

Miloš Obilić
Милош Обилић
Miloš Obilić; Милош Обилић
	Painting by Aleksandar Dobrič, 1861.
Born	Unknown
Died	15 June 1389; Kosovo Polje
Cause of death	Killed
Other names	Miloš Kobilac, Miloš Kobilović, Miloš Kobilić
Known for	The assassination of Ottoman Sultan Murad I
Title	Knight

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit Next edit →

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Inline

Revision as of 18:29, 2 December 2015

Miloš Obilić (Serbian Cyrillic: Милош Обилић, pronounced [mîloʃ ôbilit͡ɕ]; died 1389) was a Serbian knight in the service of Prince Lazar, during the invasion of the Ottoman Empire. He is not mentioned in contemporary sources, but he features prominently in later accounts of the Battle of Kosovo as the assassin of the Ottoman sultan Murad I. Although the assassin remains anonymous in sources until the late 15th century, the dissemination of the story of Murad's assassination in Florentine, Serbian, Ottoman and Greek sources suggests that versions of it circulated widely across the Balkans within half a century after the event.

It is not certain whether Obilić actually existed, but Lazar's family – strengthening their political control – "gave birth to the myth of Kosovo", including the story of Obilić.^[1] He became a major figure in Serbian epic poetry, in which he is elevated to the level of the most noble national hero of medieval Serbian folklore. Along with the martyrdom of Prince Lazar and the alleged treachery of Vuk Branković, Miloš's deed became an integral part of Serbian traditions surrounding the Battle of Kosovo. In the 19th century, Miloš also came to be venerated as a Saint in the Serbian Church.

Name

The hero's first name, Miloš, is a Slavic given name recorded from the early Middle Ages among the Bulgarians, Czechs, Poles and Serbs. It is derived from the Slavic root mil-, meaning "merciful" or "dear", which is found in a great number of Slavic given names.^[2] Several versions of the hero's surname have been used throughout history, but in folk epics he almost invariably carried the surname Kobilić until the 18th century.^[3] In his History of Montenegro (1754), Vasilije Petrović wrote of one Miloš Obilijević, and in 1765, the historian Pavle Julinac rendered the surname as Obilić.^[4] According to Czech historian Konstantin Josef Jireček, the surname Obilić and its different renderings are derived from the Serbian words obilan ("plenty of") and obilje ("wealth, abundance").^[5] The surname Kobilić could come from the Slavic word kobila (mare), and means "mare's son", as in Serbian legends the hero is said to have been nursed by one.^[4]^[6]^[7] In medieval Ragusa and Trebinje, there were families named Kobilić and Kobiljačić in the 14th and 15th centuries, but they altered their surnames in the 18th century because they considered it "indecent" to be associated with mares.^[8] Based on a 1433 document from Ragusan archives, the historian Mihailo Dinić concluded that Miloš's original surname was indeed Kobilić (Template:Lang-la).^[9] The rendering Obilić has universally been used by Serbian writers in modern times.^[3]

The historian Noel Malcolm has proposed that the surname may have been derived from the term kopil/copil, of possible Vlach or Albanian origin, which means "child" or "bastard child".^[10] However, a similar word (kopile) exists in the Serbian language and carries the same meaning.^[11] Malcolm also hypothesizes that Kobilić might be of Hungarian origin, possibly a transliteration of the Hungarian word koborlovag (knight-errant).^[11]^[12]

Earliest sources

The earliest sources on the Battle of Kosovo, which generally favour the cult of Prince Lazar, do not mention Miloš or his assassination of the sultan.^[13] The assassination itself is first recorded by Deacon Ignjatije on 27 June 1389, only 12 days after the battle.^[14] The assassination of sultan Murad and one of his sons was also mentioned in the instructions of the Venetian Senate issued to Andrea Bembo on 23 July 1389, although Venetians were uncertain if news about the assassination were true.^[15] On 1 August 1389 King Tvrtko I of Bosnia (r. 1353-1391) wrote a letter to Trogir to inform its citizens about Ottoman defeat.^[16] Victory over the Turks (Template:Lang-lat) was also reported by Coluccio Salutati (died 1406), Chancellor of Florence, in his letter to King Tvrtko, dated 20 October 1389, on behalf of the Florentine Senate.^[13]^[17] The killer is not named but he is described as one of twelve Christian noblemen who managed to break through the Ottoman ranks:

"Fortunate, most fortunate are those hands of the twelve loyal lords who, having opened their way with the sword and having penetrated the enemy lines and the circle of chained camels, heroically reached the tent of Amurat [Murad] himself. Fortunate above all is that one who so forcefully killed such a strong vojvoda by stabbing him with a sword in the throat and belly. And blessed are all those who gave their lives and blood through the glorious manner of martyrdom as victims of the dead leader over his ugly corpse."^[17]^[18]

Another Italian account, Mignanelli's 1416 work, asserted that it was Lazar who killed the Ottoman sultan.^[19]

The assassin's first appearance in Serbian sources is in the biography of Stefan Lazarević, Lazar's son, by Constantine the Philosopher, written in the 1440s. The hero, still anonymous, is described as a man of noble birth whom envious tongues had sought to defame before the prince. To prove his loyalty and courage, he left the front line on the pretext of being a deserter, seized the opportunity to stab the sultan to death and was killed himself shortly afterwards.^[13] The initial phase of ignominy and its redemption by a courageous plot of slaying the sultan are narrative ingredients which would become essential to the Serbian legend as it evolved in later times.^[13]

Ottoman and Greek sources

The loss of the sultan also made an impression on the earliest Ottoman sources. They usually describe how Murad was unaccompanied on the battlefield and an anonymous Christian who had been lying among the corpses stabbed him to death. In the early 15th century, for instance, the poet Ahmedi writes that "[s]uddenly one of the Christians, who was covered in blood and apparently hidden among the enemy dead, got up, rushed to Murad and stabbed him with a dagger."^[13]^[20]

Halil İnalcık explained that one of the most important contemporary Ottomans sources about the Battle of Kosovo is 1465 work of Enveri (Template:Lang-tr). İnalcık argued that it was based on the testimony of contemporary eyewitness of the battle, probably of Hoca Omer, a sultan's envoy sent to Lazar before the battle.^[21] In this work Enveri explains that before he became Serbian nobleman, Miloš (Miloš Ban is how İnalcık translated Everi's text to English language) was Muslim in Ottoman service at sultan's court who deserted Ottomans and abjured Islam. Sultan allegedly called him to return to his service many times. Enveri explains that, although Miloš always promised to return, he never did it. According to this account, when Lazar was captured, Miloš approached to sultan who was riding black stallion and stated: "I am Miloš Ban, I want to go back to my Islamic faith and kiss your hand." When Miloš came close to sultan, he struck the sultan with the dagger hidden in his cuff. Sultan's men cut Miloš into pieces with swords and axes.^[21]

One historian from Edirne, Oruc Bey, explains the lack of protection by saying that the army was preoccupied with pursuing the enemy in rear flight and introduces an element of deception: the Christian "had promised himself as a sacrifice and approached Murad, who was sitting alone on his horse. Pretending he wished to kiss the sultan's hand, he stabbed the sultan with a sharp dagger."^[13]^[17]^[22]

Since about the late 15th century, Greek sources also begin to record the event. The Athenian scholar Laonicus Chalcocondyles (d. c. 1490) claims to draw on Greek traditions when he refers to Murad's killer as Miloes, "a man of noble birth [... who] voluntarily decided to accomplish the heroic act of assassination. He requested what he needed from Prince Lazar, and then rode off to Murad's camp with the intention of presenting himself as a deserter. Murad, who was standing in the midst of his troops before the battle, was eager to receive the deserter. Miloes reached the sultan and his bodyguards, turned his spear against Murad, and killed him."^[13] Writing in the second half of the same century, Michael Doukas regarded the story as worthy of inclusion in his Historia Byzantina. He relates how the young nobleman pretended to desert the battle, was captured by the Turks and professing to know the key to victory, managed to gain access to Murad and kill him.^[13]

In 1976, Miodrag Popovic suggested that the narrative elements of secrecy and stratagem in the Serbian tradition were all introduced from Turkish sources, seeking to defame the capabilities of their Christian opponents by attributing the death of the Murat to "devious" methods.^[23] Thomas A. Emmert agrees with him.^[13]

Emmert says that Turkish sources mentioned the assassination several times, while Western and Serbian sources didn't mention it until much later. He thinks that Serbians knew about the assassination, but decided not to mention it in their first accounts for unknown reasons.^[24]

In 1512 Ottoman historian Mehmed Nesri wrote a detailed account of the battle that became the source for later Ottoman and Western descriptions of the battle. Nesri's account took several elements from popular Serbian tradition, and described the assassination in a way which reflected negatively on the perpetrators.^[13]

Serbian traditions

Miloš Obilić is a major hero of the Serbian legend of Kosovo, whose central part is the Battle of Kosovo. According to the legend, Miloš was a son-in-law of the Serbian Prince Lazar. A quarrel broke out between his wife and her sister who was married to Vuk Branković, about superiority in valour of their respective husbands. As a consequence of this, Branković took offence and picked a fight with Miloš. Filled with hate, Branković maligned Miloš to Lazar, saying that he conspired with Turks to betray the prince. At Lazar’s supper on the eve of the battle, the prince reproached Miloš for disloyalty. To prove his loyalty, Miloš went into the Turkish camp feigning defection. At a favourable moment, he stabbed and killed the Turkish Sultan Murad, whose attendants then executed Miloš. The legend then goes on to describe events regarding the battle.^[25]

There are two main views about the creation of the Kosovo legend. In one view, its place of origin lies in the region in which the Battle of Kosovo was fought. In the other view, the legend sprang up in more westerly Balkan regions under the influence of the French chansons de geste. Serbian philologist Dragutin Kostić stated that the French chivalric epics had in fact no part in the formation of the legend, but that they "only modified the already created and formed legend and its first poetic manifestations".^[25] The nucleus from which the legend developed is found in the cultic literature celebrating Prince Lazar as a martyr and saint, written in Moravian Serbia between 1389 and 1420. Especially important in this regard is the Discourse on Prince Lazar composed by Serbian Patriarch Danilo III. The legend would gradually evolve during the subsequent centuries.^[25]

The tale of the maligned hero who penetrated the Turkish camp and killed Sultan Murad, is found in the Life of Despot Stefan Lazarević written in the 1430s by Konstantin the Philosopher. The hero's name is not mentioned in this work. The theme of the quarrel between Lazar's son-in-laws was first recorded in Herzegovina in the mid-15th century. Lazar’s supper on the eve of the battle and his reproach of Miloš are mentioned in texts from the 16th century. The argument between Lazar's daughters over the valor of their husbands was first recorded by Mavro Orbin in 1601. The fully developed legend of Kosovo, with all of its elements, is recorded in the Tale of the Battle of Kosovo composed around the beginning of the 18th century in the Bay of Kotor or Old Montenegro. This was a very popular text, whose copies were continuously produced for some 150 years in an area stretching from the south of ex-Yugoslavia to Budapest and Sofia. The Tale played a notable role in the awakening of national consciousness of the Serbs in the Habsburg Monarchy, which began in the first half of the 18th century.^[25]

The first author to refer to Murad's killer by his full name is Konstantin Mihailović, a Serbian Janissary from the village of Ostrovica, near Rudnik, who wrote his Memoirs of a Janissary or Turkish Chronicle in ca 1497. In a passage intended to infer a moral lesson about disloyalty from the Serbian defeat at Kosovo, Mihailović identifies Miloš Kobica^[26] as the knight who on the fateful last Friday of the battle slew Murad.^[13] The next time a name is given in the sources is three decades later, in 1530, when the (Slovene) monk Benedikt Kuripečič (Curipeschitz) wrote memoirs of his travels through the Balkan Peninsula. His visit to Murad's tomb in Kosovo Polje provides the occasion for the story of the knight whom he names Miloš Kobilović.^[13] Kuripešić elaborates on the humiliation and fall out favour which Miloš endured before the battle, his last dinner with Lazar and his nobles, his admittance to Murad's tent, the brutal murder and his own death on attempting to escape on horseback.^[13] The monk, though not explicit about his sources, writes that Miloš was a celebrated figure in the popular traditions of Serbs, who sing about his heroic exploits on the border.^[13] He recorded some legends about the Battle of Kosovo and mentions epic songs about Obilić in regions far from Kosovo, like Bosnia and Croatia.^[27]

In Serbian epic poetry and song (e.g. "Radul-bey and Bulgarian King Šišman" and the song "Dušan's Wedding"), Miloš Obilić is often grouped along with other literary creations like Karadjordje, Vuk Karadžić and Njegoš as Serbs of Dinaric origin who distinguished themselves as the great moral and/or intellectual minds of the past in contradistinction to Bulgarian contemporaries, who could claim no such status.^[28] In the poem "Obilić Dragon's Son", Miloš is given a mythical ancestry as the son of a dragon to emphasise his superhuman strength on a physical and spiritual level; in this, he joins the ranks of many other heroes of Serbian poetry who fought against Turkish oppression and are claimed to have been descendants of a dragon.^[29]

Albert Lord of Harvard University stated in 1982 that Albanian epic songs about the Battle of Kosovo were not translations of the Serbian epic songs, as was previously thought. Lord argues that the two traditions emerged more or less independent of each other. According to him, major elements of the Albanian tale of the assassination of Sultan Murad cannot be found in the corresponding Serbian accounts, while these elements can be traced to Albanian folklore. The Serbian and the Albanian traditions came into contact in the region of Raška, where they were fused.^[30]

Later legends

An earlier episode of Miloš Obilić's career in the service of Prince Lazar is related to the Battle of Pločnik, in which he participated and survived an arrow wound. In many sources he is mentioned as a son-in-law of Prince Lazar, which would make him a brother-in-law to Vuk Branković, another Serbian high ranking nobleman and a prominent antagonist in epic traditions concerning the Battle of Kosovo. The characters of Obilić and Branković are usually contrasted in these legends. However, these claims cannot be confirmed with certainty.
Another legend tells about the treason of Vuk Branković, Serbian feudal lord and son-in-law of the Serbian Prince Lazar. According to this legend, Miloš was accused by Branković, at the eve of the Battle of Kosovo of intent to betray his lord Lazar and switch sides mid battle. The accusation was a result of alleged rivalry between the two. Branković, a nobleman of much higher rank, was intensely jealous of the reputation that Obilić enjoyed as the bravest of Serbian knights. In order to clear his name and prove his loyalty to Lazar and his country, Miloš made a solemn oath to slay the Ottoman Sultan during the battle.
Other variants of songs and legends state that Miloš was captured by a Baba Yaga (a witch), who advised the Turks how to kill Miloš's horse and find the keys of his armour, which were hidden in his moustaches. Miloš gained his revenge by killing the witch on a bridge, which is presently called Babin Most (Old Woman's Bridge).
In folk epic and legends, Miloš was celebrated as the hero of supernatural birth and strength (his mother was a fairy, demonic creature or his father was a dragon; he had got his strength from the milk of the mare). He had an extraordinary horse called Ždralin.
His blood brothers were Milan Toplica and Ivan Kosančić,^{[citation needed]} prominent Serbian knights from Toplica region, both of whom, according to legend, lost their lives in the Battle of Kosovo.

Legacy

It was not until the early 19th century that Miloš was also venerated as a saint in the Serbian Church. During the First Serbian Uprising (1804–1813), a fresco of Miloš as a haloed, sword-bearing saint was painted in Prince Lazar's narthex in the Hilandar Monastery on Mount Athos (Greece).^[13] The historian Rade Mihaljčić suggests that the cult was a popular movement which originated among the Serbs south of the Sava and Danube during the Ottoman period.^[13]

Later in the same century, the heroic figure of Miloš was given a national boost in the epic poem The Mountain Wreath (1847) by Petar II Petrović-Njegoš, prince-bishop of Montenegro. The poem praises the assassin's valour in battle, calling him "the victim of a noble feeling, / An all powerful military genius, / A dreadful thunder that smashes crowns".^[13] Njegoš also instituted the Obilić medal for courage.^{[citation needed]}

This event and the Battle of Kosovo itself has become embedded in the Serbs' national consciousness, history, and poetry. Njegoš's tales, including Miloš, inspired later generations of Serbs - notably Gavrilo Princip, the assassin of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.^[31]

In 1913, the Medal of Miloš Obilić was awarded by King Peter I to soldiers for the acts of great personal courage, or for personal courage demonstrated on the battlefield. It was given during the Balkan wars, World War I, and during World War II, to members of the Yugoslav Army or allied forces and was discontinued with the end of the war.

In the late 1980s, religious nationalists began to breathe further life into the figure of Miloš and the Kosovo Myth.^[32] Special inspiration was taken from Njegoš's The Mountain Wreath, with its portrayal of Lazar as a Christ-like martyr and Obilić as the Serb sacrificing himself to prove his loyalty and seek retribution.^[33] A key event which gave expression to this idea was the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo (Vidovdan) on 28 June 1989, which was held at the Gazimestan plain, near the site of the battle.^[34] Obilić's feat has been cited as a source of inspiration in public speeches by political leaders, notably President Milošević, who referred to him in his Gazimestan speech on the occasion of the battle anniversary.^[35] His regime often alluded to Obilić frequently in comparison to Milosević, who was proclaimed the "saviour of the nation".^[36]

Religious nationalist use of the Obilić/Kosovo legend culminated in attempts to encourage and justify aggression against Bosnian Muslims, notably the Bosnian genocide of the early nineties.^[32] During the atrocities of the time, nationalists supporting the Republika Srpska wore patches of the Battle of Kosovo, and medals with Milos’ name (the Medal of Miloš Obilić) were awarded to soldiers who had taken part in the atrocities,^[37]^[38] for example in the killing or removal of all Muslims from the Bosnian town of Foča.^[39] A war-time patriotic song was directed at Bosnian president Alija Izetbegović, which boasted that the singer would slay the president just as Miloš slew the sultan.^[32]

Anna Di Lellio presented Kosovo Albanian epic poems regarding the Battle of Kosovo, in her book The Battle of Kosovo 1389: An Albanian Epic, released in 2009, just a few days after the anniversary of the battle. Reviewers point out that she portrays Miloš Obilić as an "Albanian knight", though she has said that she does not claim that Obilić was Albanian: "I have only collected poems sung by Kosovo Albanians and translated them into English so that the world can see the other view on the Kosovo myth which has a strong influence on Balkan countries".^[40] She also noted that Albanian historiography officially views Obilić as having been a Serb.^[41]

He is included in The 100 most prominent Serbs.

Notes

^ Judah. The Serbs. Yale University Press. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-300-15826-7.
^ Miklosich, Franz (1860). Die Bildung der slavischen Personennamen (in German). Vienna: Aus der kaiserlich-königlichen Hoff- und Staatdruckerei. pp. 76–77.
^ ^a ^b Malcolm, Noel (1999). Kosovo: A Short History. Harper Perennial. pp. 72–73. ISBN 978-0-06-097775-7.
^ ^a ^b Popović, Tanya (1988). Prince Marko: The Hero of South Slavic Epics. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press. pp. 221–43.
^ Jireček, Konstantin Josef (1967), Geschichte der Serben (in German), vol. 2, p. [1]:
In Ragusa gab es eine Familie Kobilić (einer war 1390 Visconte von Breno), in Trebinje im 14.-15. Jahrh. eine Adelsfamilie Kobiljačić. Erst im 18. Jahrh. fand man den Namen eines "Stutenschnes" unanständig; der serb. Historiker Julinac (1763) änderte ihn zu Obilić, der seitdem in den Büchern zu lesen ist, von obilan reichlich, obilje Fülle, Überfluss.
[In Ragusa, there was a family Kobilić (one was Viscount in Breno, 1390), in the 14th and 15th centuries there was a noble family "Kobiljačić" in Trebinje. In the 18th century, they found the name of a "mare's son" indecent; the Serb historian Julinac (1763) changed it to Obilić, who has since appeared in the books, it comes from obilan ("plenty of"), obilje ("wealth", "abundance".)
^ Rossi, Michael (2009). "Resurrecting the past: democracy, national identity and historical memory in modern Serbia". Rutgers University. p. 187. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
^ Katschnig-Fasch, Elisabeth (2005). Gender and Nation in South Eastern Europe. Münster, Germany: LIT Verlag Münster. p. 252.
^ Jireček, Konstantin Josef (1967), Geschichte der Serben (in German), vol. 2, p. [2]:
In Ragusa gab es eine Familie Kobilić (einer war 1390 Visconte von Breno), in Trebinje im 14.-15. Jahrh. eine Adelsfamilie Kobiljačić. Erst im 18. Jahrh. fand man den Namen eines "Stutenschnes" unanständig; der serb. Historiker Julinac (1763) änderte ihn zu Obilić, der seitdem in den Büchern zu lesen ist, von obilan reichlich, obilje Fülle, Überfluss.
[In Ragusa, there was a family Kobilić (one was Viscount in Breno, 1390), in the 14-15th centuries there was a noble family "Kobiljačić" in Trebinje. In the 18th century they found the name of a "mare's son" indecent; the Serb historian Julinac (1763) changed it to Obilić, who has since appeared in the books, it comes from obilan ("plenty of"), obilje ("wealth", "abundance".)]
^ Rade Mihaljčić (2001). Sabrana dela: I - VI. Kraj srpskog carstva. Srpska školska knj. p. 44. Retrieved 10 September 2013. Динић је у дубровачком архиву пронашао документ који нас приближава правом презимену и који сведочи о раној слави косовског јунака. Milosh Stanishich Cobilich ...
^ Malcolm, Noel (1998). Kosovo: a short history. Macmillan. p. 73. ISBN 9780333666128. Retrieved 18 January 2013. Similarly, 'Kobilic' or 'Kobilovic' may have arisen from the Vlach and Albanian word 'copil', 'kopil', which, as already mentioned, means 'child' or 'bastard child'.
^ ^a ^b Ekmečić, Milorad (2000). "Historiography by the Garb Only". Response to Noel Malcolm's book Кosovo. A Short History. Belgrade: Institute of History of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. ISBN 86-7743-020-2. Retrieved 28 January 2013. {{cite book}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
^ Malcolm, Noel (1999). Kosovo: A Short History. Harper Perennial. pp. 73–74. ISBN 978-0-06-097775-7.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q Emmert 1996
^ Историјски гласник: орган Друштва историчара СР Србије. Друштво. 1994. p. 9. Retrieved 12 September 2013. најстарији помен, настао свега 12 дана после битке,
^ Colin Heywood; Colin Imber (1994). Studies in Ottoman History in Honor of Professor V.L. Ménage. İsis Press. p. 270. ISBN 978-975-428-063-0. Retrieved 12 September 2013. For present purposes, the key importance of the July 23 senate deliberation record is its indication that one of Murad's sons died in...
^ Seka Brkljača; Institut za istoriju Sarajevo (1996). Bosna i svijet. Institut za istoriju. p. 66. Retrieved 12 September 2013. O porazu Osmanlija pisao je 1. avgusta Trogiru, a oko dva mjeseca kasnije Firenci
^ ^a ^b ^c Emmert 1991
^ Emmert cites V.V. Makušev, "Prilozi k srpskoj istoriji XIV i XV veka," Glasnik srpskog ucenog društva 32 (1871): pp. 174-5.
^ Sima M. Ćirković (1990). Kosovska bitka u istoriografiji: Redakcioni odbor Sima Ćirković (urednik izdanja) [... et al.]. Zmaj. p. 38. Retrieved 11 September 2013. Код Мињанелиjа, кнез је претходно заробл>ен и принуЬен да Мурату положи заклетву верности! и тада је један од њих, кажу да је то био Лазар, зарио Мурату мач у прса
^ Ahmedi, ed. Olesnicki, "Turski izvori o Kosovskom bo ju."Glasnik skopskog naucnog drustva 14 (1934): 60-2, as cited by Emmert below.
^ ^a ^b İnalcık 2000, p. 25.
^ Oruc, Tevarih I Al-i Osman, as cited by Emmert.
^ Greenawalt, Alexander. "Kosovo Myths: Karadzic, Njegos, and the Transformation of Serb Memory". York University. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
^ Emmert 1996 "It is important to note that neither this chronicle nor any of the other early Serbian accounts of the battle attributes Murad's death to the hand of an assassin (...) The theme of assassination, which appeared in the contemporary accounts of the battle from Florence and Siena and was also an important theme in all of the fifteenth century Turkish sources for the battle, would eventually become a central element in the Serbian epic. (...) It is surprising that the assassination of Murad is not recorded in any of the Serbian cult sources for the battle. Why the Serbian authors would fail to speak of the assassin if they knew of him is unclear, (...). Whatever the reason for this silence, it appears from later sources that the story of Murad's assassination was clearly known in Lazar's principality. "
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Ređep, Jelka (1991). "The Legend of Kosovo". Oral Tradition. 6 (2–3). Columbia, Missouri: Center for Studies in Oral Tradition. ISSN 1542-4308.
^ Mihailović, Konstantin (1865) [1490—1501], Turska istorija ili kronika (Турска историја или кроника (Memoirs af a Janissary)) (in Serbian), vol. 18, Glasnik Srpskoga učenog društva (Serbian Learned Society), p. 77, Ту је онда Милош Кобица убио цара Мурата
^ Pavle Ivić (1996). Istorija srpske kulture. Dečje novine. p. 160. Retrieved 9 September 2013. Бенедикт Курипечић. пореклом Словенаи, који између 1530. и 1531. путује као тумач аустријског посланства, у свом Путопису препричава део косовске легенде, спомиње епско певање о Милошу Обилићу у крајевима удаљеним од места догађаја, у Босни и Хрватској, и запажа настајање нових песама.
^ Gavrilović 2003, p. 722 citing Cvijić.
^ Gavrilović 2003
^ Lord, Albert (1984). "The Battle of Kosovo in Albanian and Serbocroatian Oral Epic Songs". Studies on Kosova. East European Monographs. Vol. 155. ISBN 9780880330473. {{citation}}: External link in |title= (help)
^ Judah. The Serbs. Yale University Press. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-300-15826-7.
^ ^a ^b ^c Sells 1996, pp. 89–90
^ Sells 1996, pp. 79, 89–90
^ Sells 1996, pp. 68, 79
^ Judah 2000, p. 56
^ Stevanovic 2004, pp. 174
^ Sells 1996, pp. 79
^ Emran Qureshi; Michael Anthony Sells (2003). The New Crusades: Constructing the Muslim Enemy. Columbia University Press. p. 385. ISBN 978-0-231-12667-0. Retrieved 29 January 2013. [Miloš Obilić became] the role model par excelence for Serbian religious nationalists. After Serbian militias carried out their ethnic cleansing, the most violent and affective leaders of the cleansing operations were given "Miloš Obilić" medals of heroism, in ceremonies marked by both civic and religious pomp and circumstance.
^ Omer Bartov; Phyllis MacK (2001). In God's Name: Genocide and Religion in the Twentieth Century. Berghahn Books. p. 190. ISBN 978-1-57181-302-2. Retrieved 29 January 2013. (...) Serbian religious leaders even held formal rituals to mark the successful "cleansing" of a town of all non-Serb-Orthodox inhabitants. In the Bosnian town of Foca on the Drina, all the Muslims were killed or expelled, and the town was renamed Srbinje (Serbplace). The militiamen who took part in the "cleansing" were given medals after Milos Obilic, the avenger of Kosovo, (...)
^ "New Kosovo Battle Book 'Doesn't Change History'". 3 July 2009.
^ Marko Prelević (1 July 2009). "Iznosim albansku priču" [Presenting the Albanian story] (in Serbian).

References

Emmert, Thomas A. (1996), "Milos Obilic and the Hero Myth", Journal of the North American Society for Serbian Studies, 10, archived from the original on 13 February 2010
Emmert, Thomas A. (1991), Wayne S. Vucinich and Thomas A. Emmert (ed.), "The Battle of Kosovo: Early Reports of Victory and Defeat", Kosovo: Legacy of a Medieval Battle, Minnesota Mediterranean and East European Monographs 1, archived from the original on 5 June 2011 Reproduced online at De Re Militari. The Society for Medieval Military History.
Gavrilović, Danijela (2003), "Elements of the Ethnic Identification of the Serbs", Facta Universitatis, 2 (10): 717–730
Judah, Tim (2000), Kosovo: War and Revenge (2nd ed.), New Haven: Yale University Press
Lellio, Anna Di (2009), The Battle of Kosovo 1389: An Albanian Epic, I. B. Tauris, ISBN 978-1-84885-094-1
Sells, Michael Anthony (1996), The Bridge Betrayed. Religion and Genocide in Bosnia, University of California Press
Stevanovic, Vidosav (1 October 2004), Milosevic: The People's Tyrant, I.B.Tauris, ISBN 9781860648427, retrieved 3 January 2013
İnalcık, Halil (2000). Kosovo: six siècles de mémoires croisées. Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales. ISBN 978-2-85831-107-1. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 ==Name==
-There were several versions of the hero's surname, but folk-epics almost always used variants of "Kobilić" until the eighteenth century.<ref name="malcom72"/> "Obilić" was first used in 1754 by [[Vasilije III Petrović-Njegoš|Vasilije Petrović]] in his ''History of Montenegro'' as ''Obilijević'' and in 1765 in its final form ''Obilić'' by Pavle Julinac.<ref name="Popovic"/> These are derived from the Serbian words ''obilan'', "plenty of", ''obilje'', "wealth, abundance".<ref>{{citation| last=Jireček| first=Konstantin Josef|author-link=Konstantin Josef Jireček| year=1967| title=Geschichte der Serben| volume=2|language=German|page=[http://books.google.com/books?ei=wU1FT_mgGZDR4QTRkYGSAw&id=G5JpAAAAMAAJ&dq=Julinac+Jirecek&q=Julinac+&redir_esc=y#search_anchor120]| url=}}: {{quote|''In Ragusa gab es eine Familie Kobilić (einer war 1390 Visconte von Breno), in Trebinje im 14.-15. Jahrh. eine Adelsfamilie Kobiljačić. Erst im 18. Jahrh. fand man den Namen eines "Stutenschnes" unanständig; der serb. Historiker Julinac (1763) änderte ihn zu Obilić, der seitdem in den Büchern zu lesen ist, von obilan reichlich, obilje Fülle, Überfluss.''<br/> [In Ragusa, there was a family Kobilić (one was Viscount in Breno, 1390), in the 14-15th centuries there was a noble family "Kobiljačić" in Trebinje. In the 18th century they found the name of a "mare's son" indecent; the Serb historian Julinac (1763) changed it to Obilić, who has since appeared in the books, it comes from ''obilan'' plenty of,''obilje''wealth, abundance.]}}</ref> "Obilić" is used universally among Serbian writers in modern times.<ref name="malcom72">{{cite book|last=Malcolm|first=Noel|title=Kosovo: A Short History|year=1999|publisher=Harper Perennial|isbn=978-0-06-097775-7|pages=72–73}}</ref>
+The hero's first name, [[Miloš]], is a Slavic given name recorded from the early Middle Ages among the [[Bulgarians]], [[Czechs]], [[Poles]] and [[Serbs]]. It is derived from the Slavic root ''mil-'', meaning "merciful" or "dear", which is found in a great number of Slavic given names.<ref>{{Citation| last=Miklosich| first=Franz| author-link=Franz Miklosich| year=1860| title=Die Bildung der slavischen Personennamen| publisher=Aus der kaiserlich-königlichen Hoff- und Staatdruckerei| place=Vienna| language=German| url=http://books.google.com/books?id=185EAAAAcAAJ| pages=[http://books.google.com/ebooks?id=185EAAAAcAAJ&pg=GBS.PA76 76–77]| mode=cs1}}</ref> Several versions of the hero's surname have been used throughout history, but in folk epics he almost invariably carried the surname Kobilić until the 18th century.<ref name="malcom72"/> In his ''History of Montenegro'' (1754), [[Vasilije III Petrović-Njegoš|Vasilije Petrović]] wrote of one Miloš Obilijević, and in 1765, the historian Pavle Julinac rendered the surname as Obilić.<ref name="Popovic"/> According to Czech historian [[Konstantin Josef Jireček]], the surname Obilić and its different renderings are derived from the Serbian words ''obilan'' ("plenty of") and ''obilje'' ("wealth, abundance").<ref>{{citation|last=Jireček|first=Konstantin Josef|author-link=Konstantin Josef Jireček|year=1967|title=Geschichte der Serben|volume=2|language=German|page=[http://books.google.com/books?ei=wU1FT_mgGZDR4QTRkYGSAw&id=G5JpAAAAMAAJ&dq=Julinac+Jirecek&q=Julinac+&redir_esc=y#search_anchor120]| url=}}: {{quote|''In Ragusa gab es eine Familie Kobilić (einer war 1390 Visconte von Breno), in Trebinje im 14.-15. Jahrh. eine Adelsfamilie Kobiljačić. Erst im 18. Jahrh. fand man den Namen eines "Stutenschnes" unanständig; der serb. Historiker Julinac (1763) änderte ihn zu Obilić, der seitdem in den Büchern zu lesen ist, von obilan reichlich, obilje Fülle, Überfluss.''<br/> [In Ragusa, there was a family Kobilić (one was Viscount in Breno, 1390), in the 14th and 15th centuries there was a noble family "Kobiljačić" in Trebinje. In the 18th century, they found the name of a "mare's son" indecent; the Serb historian Julinac (1763) changed it to Obilić, who has since appeared in the books, it comes from ''obilan'' ("plenty of"), ''obilje'' ("wealth", "abundance".)}}</ref> The surname Kobilić could come from the Slavic word ''kobila'' ([[mare]]), and means "mare's son", as in Serbian legends the hero is said to have been nursed by one.<ref name="Popovic">{{cite book|last=Popović|first=Tanya|title=Prince Marko: The Hero of South Slavic Epics|year=1988|publisher=Syracuse University Press|location=Syracuse, New York|pages=221–43|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ok93aZ27r-oC&pg=PA26&dq=milo%C5%A1+obili%C4%87+name+origin&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Ml35UL3rB6nj4QSKnoGIBg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=milo%C5%A1%20obili%C4%87%20name%20origin&f=false}}</ref><ref name="Rossi">{{cite web|url=http://mss3.libraries.rutgers.edu/dlr/showfed.php?pid=rutgers-lib:26390|title=Resurrecting the past: democracy, national identity and historical memory in modern Serbia|last=Rossi|first=Michael|year=2009|publisher=Rutgers University|page=187|accessdate=25 January 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Katschnig-Fasch|first=Elisabeth|title=Gender and Nation in South Eastern Europe|year=2005|publisher=LIT Verlag Münster|location=Münster, Germany|pages=252|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=km132J3KYFQC&pg=PA96&dq=milo%C5%A1+obili%C4%87+name+origin+kobila&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7135UJiSKceH4gT_4YCYBg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=milo%C5%A1%20obili%C4%87%20name%20origin%20kobila&f=false}}</ref> In medieval [[Dubrovnik|Ragusa]] and [[Trebinje]], there were families named Kobilić and [[Kobiljačić]] in the 14th and 15th centuries, but they altered their surnames in the 18th century because they considered it "indecent" to be associated with mares.<ref name=Jirecek1967-120>{{citation| last=Jireček| first=Konstantin Josef| author-link=Konstantin Josef Jireček| year=1967| title=Geschichte der Serben| volume=2| language=German|page=[http://books.google.com/books?ei=wU1FT_mgGZDR4QTRkYGSAw&id=G5JpAAAAMAAJ]| url=}}: {{quote|''In Ragusa gab es eine Familie Kobilić (einer war 1390 Visconte von Breno), in Trebinje im 14.-15. Jahrh. eine Adelsfamilie Kobiljačić. Erst im 18. Jahrh. fand man den Namen eines "Stutenschnes" unanständig; der serb. Historiker Julinac (1763) änderte ihn zu Obilić, der seitdem in den Büchern zu lesen ist, von obilan reichlich, obilje Fülle, Überfluss.''<br/> [In Ragusa, there was a family Kobilić (one was Viscount in Breno, 1390), in the 14-15th centuries there was a noble family "Kobiljačić" in Trebinje. In the 18th century they found the name of a "mare's son" indecent; the Serb historian Julinac (1763) changed it to Obilić, who has since appeared in the books, it comes from ''obilan'' ("plenty of"), ''obilje'' ("wealth", "abundance".)]}}</ref> Based on a 1433 document from Ragusan archives, the historian [[Mihailo Dinić]] concluded that Miloš's original surname was indeed Kobilić ({{lang-la|Cobilich}}).<ref name="Mihaljčić2001">{{cite book|author=Rade Mihaljčić|authorlink=Rade Mihaljčić|title=Sabrana dela: I - VI. Kraj srpskog carstva|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=XCAtAQAAIAAJ|accessdate=10 September 2013|year=2001|publisher=Srpska školska knj.|page=44|quote=Динић је у дубровачком архиву пронашао документ који нас приближава правом презимену и који сведочи о раној слави косовског јунака. Milosh Stanishich Cobilich ...}}</ref> The rendering Obilić has universally been used by Serbian writers in modern times.<ref name="malcom72">{{cite book|last=Malcolm|first=Noel|title=Kosovo: A Short History|year=1999|publisher=Harper Perennial|isbn=978-0-06-097775-7|pages=72–73}}</ref>
+The historian [[Noel Malcolm]] has proposed that the surname may have been derived from the term ''kopil''/''copil'', of possible [[Vlach language in Serbia|Vlach]] or [[Albanians|Albanian]] origin, which means "child" or "bastard child".<ref name="Malcolm1998">{{cite book|last=Malcolm|first=Noel|title=Kosovo: a short history|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=GGQ_AQAAIAAJ|accessdate=18 January 2013|year=1998|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=9780333666128|page=73|quote=Similarly, 'Kobilic' or 'Kobilovic' may have arisen from the Vlach and Albanian word 'copil', 'kopil', which, as already mentioned, means 'child' or 'bastard child'.}}</ref> However, a similar word (''kopile'') exists in the Serbian language and carries the same meaning.<ref name=ekmecic2000>{{cite book |last=Ekmečić |first=Milorad |authorlink=Milorad Ekmečić |title=Response to Noel Malcolm's book Кosovo. A Short History |url=http://www.rastko.rs/kosovo/istorija/malkolm/index.html |chapter=Historiography by the Garb Only |chapterurl=http://www.rastko.rs/kosovo/istorija/malkolm/mekmecic-garb.html |accessdate=2013-01-28 |year=2000 |publisher=Institute of History of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts |location=Belgrade |isbn=86-7743-020-2}}</ref> Malcolm also hypothesizes that Kobilić might be of Hungarian origin, possibly a transliteration of the Hungarian word ''koborlovag'' (knight-errant).<ref name=ekmecic2000/><ref>{{cite book|last=Malcolm|first=Noel|title=Kosovo: A Short History|year=1999|publisher=Harper Perennial|isbn=978-0-06-097775-7|pages=73–74}}</ref>
-The surname Kobilić could come from the Slavic word ''kobila'' "[[mare]]", as in Serbian legends the hero is said to have been nursed by a mare.<ref name="Popovic">{{cite book|last=Popović|first=Tanya|title=Prince Marko: The Hero of South Slavic Epics|year=1988|publisher=Syracuse University Press|location=Syracuse, New York|pages=221–43|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ok93aZ27r-oC&pg=PA26&dq=milo%C5%A1+obili%C4%87+name+origin&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Ml35UL3rB6nj4QSKnoGIBg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=milo%C5%A1%20obili%C4%87%20name%20origin&f=false}}</ref><ref name="Rossi">{{cite web|url=http://mss3.libraries.rutgers.edu/dlr/showfed.php?pid=rutgers-lib:26390|title=Resurrecting the past: democracy, national identity and historical memory in modern Serbia|last=Rossi|first=Michael|year=2009|publisher=Rutgers University|page=187|accessdate=25 January 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Katschnig-Fasch|first=Elisabeth|title=Gender and Nation in South Eastern Europe|year=2005|publisher=LIT Verlag Münster|location=Münster, Germany|pages=252|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=km132J3KYFQC&pg=PA96&dq=milo%C5%A1+obili%C4%87+name+origin+kobila&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7135UJiSKceH4gT_4YCYBg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=milo%C5%A1%20obili%C4%87%20name%20origin%20kobila&f=false}}</ref> In medieval [[Dubrovnik|Ragusa]] and [[Trebinje]] there were families named Kobilić and [[Kobiljačić]] in the 14th and 15th centuries.<ref name=Jirecek1967-120>{{citation| last=Jireček| first=Konstantin Josef| author-link=Konstantin Josef Jireček| year=1967| title=Geschichte der Serben| volume=2| language=German|page=[http://books.google.com/books?ei=wU1FT_mgGZDR4QTRkYGSAw&id=G5JpAAAAMAAJ]| url=}}: {{quote|''In Ragusa gab es eine Familie Kobilić (einer war 1390 Visconte von Breno), in Trebinje im 14.-15. Jahrh. eine Adelsfamilie Kobiljačić. Erst im 18. Jahrh. fand man den Namen eines "Stutenschnes" unanständig; der serb. Historiker Julinac (1763) änderte ihn zu Obilić, der seitdem in den Büchern zu lesen ist, von obilan reichlich, obilje Fülle, Überfluss.''<br/> [In Ragusa, there was a family Kobilić (one was Viscount in Breno, 1390), in the 14-15th centuries there was a noble family "Kobiljačić" in Trebinje. In the 18th century they found the name of a "mare's son" indecent; the Serb historian Julinac (1763) changed it to Obilić, who has since appeared in the books, it comes from ''obilan'' plenty of, ''obilje''wealth, abundance.]}}</ref> Based on a 1433 document from Ragusan archives, [[Mihailo Dinić]] concluded that Miloš's original surname was indeed Kobilić ({{lang-la|Cobilich}}).<ref name="Mihaljčić2001">{{cite book|author=Rade Mihaljčić|authorlink=Rade Mihaljčić|title=Sabrana dela: I - VI. Kraj srpskog carstva|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=XCAtAQAAIAAJ|accessdate=10 September 2013|year=2001|publisher=Srpska školska knj.|page=44|quote=Динић је у дубровачком архиву пронашао документ који нас приближава правом презимену и који сведочи о раној слави косовског јунака. Milosh Stanishich Cobilich ...}}</ref>
-It was proposed by [[Noel Malcolm]] that the surname may have been derived from the term ''kopil'' / ''copil'' of possibly [[Vlach language in Serbia|Vlach]] and Albanian origin which means "child" or "bastard child".<ref name="Malcolm1998">{{cite book|last=Malcolm|first=Noel|title=Kosovo: a short history|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=GGQ_AQAAIAAJ|accessdate=18 January 2013|year=1998|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=9780333666128|page=73|quote=Similarly, 'Kobilic' or 'Kobilovic' may have arisen from the Vlach and Albanian word 'copil', 'kopil', which, as already mentioned, means 'child' or 'bastard child'.}}</ref> [[Milorad Ekmečić]], however, argues that Malcolm ignored the fact that the same word, 'kopile', exists in the Serbian language.<ref name=ekmecic2000>{{cite book |last=Ekmečić |first=Milorad |authorlink=Milorad Ekmečić |title=Response to Noel Malcolm's book Кosovo. A Short History |url=http://www.rastko.rs/kosovo/istorija/malkolm/index.html |chapter=Historiography by the Garb Only |chapterurl=http://www.rastko.rs/kosovo/istorija/malkolm/mekmecic-garb.html |accessdate=2013-01-28 |year=2000 |publisher=Institute of History of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts |location=Belgrade |isbn=86-7743-020-2}}</ref> Another of his hypotheses is that "Kobilić" might be of Hungarian origin, being a transliteration of the Hungarian word ''koborlovag'' (knight-errant).<ref name=ekmecic2000/><ref>{{cite book|last=Malcolm|first=Noel|title=Kosovo: A Short History|year=1999|publisher=Harper Perennial|isbn=978-0-06-097775-7|pages=73–74}}</ref>
-The hero's first name, [[Miloš]], is a Slavic given name recorded from the early Middle Ages among the Bulgarians, Czechs, Poles, and Serbs. It is derived from the Slavic root ''mil-'', "merciful" or "dear", which is found in a great number of Slavic given names.<ref>{{Citation| last=Miklosich| first=Franz| author-link=Franz Miklosich| year=1860| title=Die Bildung der slavischen Personennamen| publisher=Aus der kaiserlich-königlichen Hoff- und Staatdruckerei| place=Vienna| language=German| url=http://books.google.com/books?id=185EAAAAcAAJ| pages=[http://books.google.com/ebooks?id=185EAAAAcAAJ&pg=GBS.PA76 76–77]| mode=cs1}}</ref>
 ==Earliest sources==

Miloš Obilić: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 18:29, 2 December 2015

Name

Earliest sources

Ottoman and Greek sources

Serbian traditions

Later legends

Legacy

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

Primary sources

Secondary sources