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Kosovo crucified : narratives in the contemporary Serbian orthodox perception of Kosovo

Saggau, Emil Hilton LU (2019) In Religions 10(10).
Abstract

In contemporary Serbian Orthodox texts, Kosovo is often referred to as the Serbian “Jerusalem”: a city calling for a Christian defense. All Serbs are bound to heed the call in keeping with the Kosovo “covenant” or “pledge” dating back to the Battle of Kosovo Polje in 1389, when Serbian troops, led by Prince Lazar, were defeated by the invading Muslim Ottoman army. The battle and Kosovo in general have since then assumed a central symbolic role in Serbian nationalism and the Serbian Orthodox Church. Furthermore, it has been claimed that the imagery and narratives of Kosovo were the ideological backdrop for the wars in the Balkans in the 1990s. This article investigates the development of the Serbian narratives and imagery pertaining to... (More)

In contemporary Serbian Orthodox texts, Kosovo is often referred to as the Serbian “Jerusalem”: a city calling for a Christian defense. All Serbs are bound to heed the call in keeping with the Kosovo “covenant” or “pledge” dating back to the Battle of Kosovo Polje in 1389, when Serbian troops, led by Prince Lazar, were defeated by the invading Muslim Ottoman army. The battle and Kosovo in general have since then assumed a central symbolic role in Serbian nationalism and the Serbian Orthodox Church. Furthermore, it has been claimed that the imagery and narratives of Kosovo were the ideological backdrop for the wars in the Balkans in the 1990s. This article investigates the development of the Serbian narratives and imagery pertaining to Kosovo and their modern form in the Serbian Orthodox Church in order to trace what type of imagery is dominant. The main focus will be on whether and to what extent the narratives of Christian defense and holy Serbian warriors fighting in the name of Christ are dominant. This investigation seeks to discuss whether the Kosovo imagery and narratives are formed upon and influenced by a broader Christian European antemurale myth.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Antemurale myth, Kosovo myth, Religion and violence, Serbian orthodox church
in
Religions
volume
10
issue
10
article number
578
pages
18 pages
publisher
MDPI AG
external identifiers
  • scopus:85074227247
ISSN
2077-1444
DOI
10.3390/rel10100578
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
ba914b6f-5f7a-4491-b7ab-775d63189684
date added to LUP
2021-02-02 14:15:21
date last changed
2022-04-27 00:01:21
@article{ba914b6f-5f7a-4491-b7ab-775d63189684,
  abstract     = {{<p>In contemporary Serbian Orthodox texts, Kosovo is often referred to as the Serbian “Jerusalem”: a city calling for a Christian defense. All Serbs are bound to heed the call in keeping with the Kosovo “covenant” or “pledge” dating back to the Battle of Kosovo Polje in 1389, when Serbian troops, led by Prince Lazar, were defeated by the invading Muslim Ottoman army. The battle and Kosovo in general have since then assumed a central symbolic role in Serbian nationalism and the Serbian Orthodox Church. Furthermore, it has been claimed that the imagery and narratives of Kosovo were the ideological backdrop for the wars in the Balkans in the 1990s. This article investigates the development of the Serbian narratives and imagery pertaining to Kosovo and their modern form in the Serbian Orthodox Church in order to trace what type of imagery is dominant. The main focus will be on whether and to what extent the narratives of Christian defense and holy Serbian warriors fighting in the name of Christ are dominant. This investigation seeks to discuss whether the Kosovo imagery and narratives are formed upon and influenced by a broader Christian European antemurale myth.</p>}},
  author       = {{Saggau, Emil Hilton}},
  issn         = {{2077-1444}},
  keywords     = {{Antemurale myth; Kosovo myth; Religion and violence; Serbian orthodox church}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{10}},
  publisher    = {{MDPI AG}},
  series       = {{Religions}},
  title        = {{Kosovo crucified : narratives in the contemporary Serbian orthodox perception of Kosovo}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel10100578}},
  doi          = {{10.3390/rel10100578}},
  volume       = {{10}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}