One of the most popular of the south European epic heroes—a counterpart of the French Roland or Spain’s El Cid—Prince Marko has not been well known in America. The historical Marko headed a small kingdom in Macedonia in the fourteenth century. A vassal of the Turkish sultans, he was a relatively minor historical figure. Yet in the oral tradition he was transmuted into a figure of legend, the great hero who protected the South Slavic people from injustice and oppression. In Prince Marko, Popovic traces the epic hero’s themes, over time and across countries. She looks at the factual and fictional images of Marko, especially as he was presented in epic poetry and popular lore. Popovic also examines the legend and history of the Prince as revealed in many epic songs. Prince Marko is a compelling account of a medieval king transformed by epic bards into a legend that will appeal to historians, anthropologists, and folklorists.

The Indians manifest their poetry in their huge temples; the Persians in their holy books; the Egyptian in pyramids, obelisks and the like; the Hellene in their magnificent statues; the Romans in their enchanting pictures; the Germans in their beautiful music—but the Slavs have poured out their soul and their intimate thoughts in ballads and tales. Herein are 33 Serbian superstitions and national customs, 12 legends of Prince Marko, a Serbian national hero, the epic poem of the hero knight Banovitch Strahinya, 3 epic Serbian ballads, the marriages of Maximus Tzrnoyevitch, Tsar Doushan The Mighty, King Voukashin,and of Stephan Yakshitch, each filled with drama and awe, plus 20 folk tales and 7 Serbian anecdotes. All-in-all a complete volume of Serbian folklore which includes 32 colour illustrations of the stories and events contained therein. So compelling are these stories and tales that in the first half of the nineteenth century various German poets transversified some of the Serbian national ballads into German. One of these, Jacob Grimm, of Grimm's Fairy Tales, learned Serbian so that he might acquaint himself with these Serbian literary treasures. So, we invite you to get yourself a hot toddy, download this book, then sit back in front of a roaring fire and read these tales. But be prepared to be pleasantly surprised for Serbian folklore is like none other. 10% of the publisher’s profit is donated to charities.

Hero Tales and Legends of the Serbians weaves an intricate tapestry of myth, folklore, and national pride, portraying the rich cultural landscape of Serbia and its people. This anthology encapsulates a diverse range of literary styles, from epic poetry to intimate folklore, encapsulating centuries of oral and written traditions. The collection stands as a beacon of the Serbian spirit, with tales that traverse the realms of history, mythology, and legendary heroism, demonstrating the profound depth and resilience of Serbian culture. These narratives not only entertain but serve as cultural milestones, preserving the collective memory and identity of a nation through the ages. The anthology benefits from the scholarly acumen and cultural insight of Vuk Stefanovi Karad~i and Woislav M. Petrovitch, whose lifeworks have significantly contributed to the preservation of Serbian folklore and the broader discourse of Slavic studies. Karad~i, in particular, is revered as a seminal figure in the standardization of the Serbian language and a pivotal collector of folk tales and songs. Their collaborative efforts embody a confluence of historical, cultural, and literary movements, immersing readers in the heart and soul of Serbian tradition and its enduring narrative legacy. Hero Tales and Legends of the Serbians offers a unique window into the vibrant tapestry of Serbian folklore, appealing to scholars, enthusiasts of Slavic cultures, and anyone captivated by the art of storytelling. This anthology not only enriches ones understanding of Serbian heritage but also celebrates the universal power of storytelling to unite and inspire. Readers are invited to delve into this collection to discover a world where heroism, honor, and the ancestral echoes of the past speak to the present, fostering a deeper appreciation for the diversity and complexity of human culture and the bonds that tie us to our ancestral legacies.

The ballads of Servia occupy a high position, perhaps the highest position, in the ballad literature of Europe. Of them Jacob Grimm wrote: “They would, if well known, astonish Europe,” and “in them breathes a clear and inborn poetry such as can scarcely be found among any other modern people.”1 The origin of this popular literature goes back to a period of which no written record exists; its known history dates from the fourteenth century, since which time it is absolutely continuous. And in Servia, unlike England and Spain, ballads still survive as an important part of the nation’s intellectual life; they are still sung, and still composed, by peasant poets who have received their training from oral tradition instead of from the printed page. According to their subjects the Servian ballads may be divided into two very unequal divisions, the first, and by far the larger, being based on the national history, while the second lacks any such historical foundation. Yet the line between the two groups cannot be strictly drawn; well-known folk-lore motives or mere popular jests are continually attached to historical heroes. Such ballads as Prince Marko’s Plowing and Marko Drinks Wine in Ramazán called “historical” only in the most ultra-catholic interpretation of the term. The historical ballads may again be divided into more or less definite cycles. First in order of time come those dealing with the kings of the Némanich dynasty (1168-1367). This royal line made less impression on the popular mind by its heroic exploits than by its piety in founding churches and monasteries (cf. p. 28). The surviving ballads of the cycle, which are few in number, are represented in this volume by Urosh and the Sons of Marnyáva1 and The Building of Skadar. After the death of the great tsar Stepan Dushan in 1356, his son, the weak Urosh, came to the throne, but was unable to preserve his authority intact. The leader of the revolting chieftains was King Vukáshin, who defeated his lawful superior and caused him to be slain. Of the rivalry of the two men the ballad Urosh and the Sons of Marnyáva preserves a distant echo; to the historic brothers Vukáshin and Úglyesha it adds a third, Goyko, unknown outside of folk-lore. Another glimpse, still more legendary, of the three brothers is preserved in The Building of Skadar.

Almost as soon as Communism fell in Eastern Europe in 1989, Western politicians and intellectuals concluded that the West had "won" the Cold War and that liberal democracy had triumphed over authoritarianism in the world. Euphoria spread with the expectation of a New World Order. Within months, the giddy optimism began to fade, especially in the face of what soon became a brutal war in former Yugoslavia. Why did Serbia choose to replicate many of Germany's methods and aims from World Wars I and II, including ethnic cleansing (read "genocide") and a campaign to establish a Greater Serbia? Sociologist Stjepan Mestrovic, writing with Slaven Letica and Miroslav Goreta, argues that the social and political character of the Dinaric herdsmen--which dominates Serbian culture and politics, even though it is found in all Balkan nations--accounts for the form Communism took there, the fall of Communism, and the savagery and brutality of the post-Communist war. With carefully reasoned analysis, the authors show how sociological theories of social character--propounded by such thinkers as de Tocqueville, Veblen, and Bellah--can shed light on the conflicts in the Balkans, which, according to conventional wisdom, were not supposed to occur when Communism fell. They demonstrate that ancient, traditional ethnic, social, and nationalistic tendencies--"habits of the heart"--of the various people of the Balkans have taken precedence over pressures for democracy in the political and cultural vacuum left by the end of Communism in the region. Unfortunately, the difficulties in the Balkans will persist for a long time to come, and similar conflicts could break out in the former Soviet Union. This thought-provoking book has much new to say about the causes of such ethnic and class conflicts in the region, and the feasibility of policies for dealing with these sores. If democracy is to be achieved in post-Communist East Europe, the authors argue, it must be based on the "good" habits of the heart that coexist there with "bad" or authoritarian social character.

An epic novel of twentieth-century Balkan life, from the decline of the Ottoman Empire through the bloodshed of the Bosnian War This grand novel encompasses nearly all of Yugoslavia's tumultuous twentieth century, from the decline of the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires through two world wars, the rise and fall of communism, the breakup of the nation, and the terror of the shelling of Dubrovnik. Tackling universal themes on a human scale, master storyteller Miljenko Jergovic traces one Yugoslavian family's tale as history irresistibly casts the fates of five generations. What is it to live a life whose circumstances are driven by history? Jergovic investigates the experiences of a compelling heroine, Regina Delavale, and her many family members and neighbors. Telling Regina's story in reverse chronology, the author proceeds from her final days in 2002 to her birth in 1905, encountering along the way such traumas as atrocities committed by Nazi Ustashe Croats and the death of Tito. Lyrically written and unhesitatingly told, The Walnut Mansion may be read as an allegory of the tragedy of Yugoslavia's tormented twentieth century.