Chedomille Mijatovich

“ The history of the Serbs during the first five centuries after their arrival in their present country was a struggle between the attempts at union and centralization of the Zhupaniyas into one state under one government, and the resistance to such union and centralization, a struggle between the centripetal and the centrifugal political forces. ”

“ Reforms in all branches of public administration were introduced, and Servia, until then a half-oriental and half-patriarchal state, was resolutely led to become a civilized country in a European sense. When in 1862 the Turkish garrison bombarded the town of Belgrade from its citadel, Prince Michael, supported by the European diplomacy, succeeded in obtaining evacuation of some of the smaller forts in Servia, but the strong fortress of Belgrade still remained garrisoned by the Turkish troops. Prince Michael now made vigorous political and military preparations for war against Turkey. ”

“ Karageorge was one of the most remarkable Servians of the 19th century. No other man could have led the bands of undisciplined and badly-armed Servian peasants to such decisive victories against the Turks. ”

“ The Bosnian Crisis.—In 1908 the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary and the revolution in Turkey brought about an acute crisis. Many Serbs still hoped for the realization of the so-called “Great Servian Idea,” i.e. the union in a single empire of Servia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Old Servia (Stara Srbiya) or the sanjak of Novibazar with north-western Macedonia—all countries in which the population consists largely, and in some cases almost exclusively, of Orthodox Serbs. ”

“ In boyhood he had entered the monastery of Hoppovo in south Hungary and had become a monk. But as very soon he found that the monastery could not satisfy his aspirations, he left it and started to travel, acquiring a knowledge of classical and modern languages and literatures. An ardent Servian patriot, he proclaimed the principle that books ought to be written for the people and therefore in the language which the people understood and spoke. ”

“ Even by his admirers he is admitted to have killed by his own hand no fewer than 125 men who provoked his anger. But in battles he is acknowledged to have been always admirable, displaying marvellous energy and valour, and giving proofs of a real military genius. The Servians consider him one of their greatest men. ”

“ But when the Austrian wars of the 17th century began to roll back the Turkish power, and Hungary recovered its freedom, the Servians living in that country rapidly acquired some culture, and their literature began to revive. During the 18th century, however, they did not write in the living language of the Servian people. After the disappearance of the Servian printing-presses in the 16th century, all liturgical books were brought from Russia and printed in the Russian-Slavonic language; while the teachers in the Servian schools were Russians. ”

“ The administration of the Servian railways has its factory for repairing engines and principal store of materials in the city, which also possesses an iron foundry. The king and the government reside for at least three months in the year in Nish, where also the national assembly, before the constitution of 1901, was regularly held. ”

“ Many Servian emigrants returned, after 1878, to the territories which the Treaty of Berlin restored to their country. These territories had been occupied, under Turkish rule, by Albanians, west of the Morava, and by Bulgarians, along the Nishava; but, after 1878, the Albanians withdrew, and the Bulgarians were absorbed. The Rumans reside principally in the north-east, near the borders of their native land, and are peasant farmers, like the Serbs. The gipsies occasionally settle down, forming separate camps or villages, but in most cases they prefer a wandering life. ”

“ The Serbs cleared their country altogether of the Turks, and began to organize it as a modern European state. In 1807 the sultan offered to grant the Serbs self-government, and to acknowledge Karageorge as the chief of the nation with the title of prince. On the advice of the Russians, who were just going to war with Turkey, the Serbs refused that offer, preferring to fight against the Turks as Russian allies. The principal scene of the Russo-Turkish war being transferred to the Lower Danube, only a few unimportant actions took place on Servian territory. ”

“ The Servians having, in the beginning of the 10th century, successfully cleared Servia of Turks, were emboldened to attack Nish in 1809, but were repulsed with great loss. The Turks raised as a monument of their victory a high tower composed entirely of the heads of the Servians slain in the battle of Nish. ”

“ A Servian crowd at a festival presents a medley of brilliant and picturesque costumes, scarlet being the favourite colour. Men wear a long smock of homespun linen, beneath red or blue waistcoats with trousers of white frieze. ”

“ The Servians have as yet no great novelist, but they have several very successful writers of short stories. Among these the first place belongs to Dr Laza Lazarevich. After him the most popular authors of short stories are: Stefan Sremats, whose mild satire and sparkling humour earned for him the name of the “Servian Dickens”; Yanko Veselinovich, author of some delightful sketches from the life of Servian peasants; Sima Matavuly, whose stories give a true picture of the Servians of Dalmatia and of Montenegro. ”

“ The stature and features of the Serbs vary in different regions; but the northern peasantry are generally fairer and shorter than the mountaineers of the south. Those of the Shumadia are blue-eyed or grey-eyed. In many parts the prevailing types have been modified by intermarriage with Bulgars, Albanians and Vlachs; so that, along the Timok, for instance, it is impossible to make physiognomy a test of nationality. Even language does not afford a sure criterion, so nearly akin are many spoken dialects of Servian and Bulgarian. ”

“ The Rumanian women retain their native costume, and are further distinguished by the wooden cradles, slung over the shoulders, in which they carry their infants; the Servian mothers prefer a canvas bag. Women weave most of the garments and linen for their families, besides sharing in every kind of manual labour. Turkish ideas prevail about their social position; but so highly valued are their services, that parents are often unwilling to see their daughters marry; and wives are in many cases older than their husbands. ”

“ Russia, Austria-Hungary and Montenegro were the only Powers which congratulated King Peter on his accession, and in December 1903 all the Powers temporarily withdrew their representatives from Belgrade, as a protest against the attitude of the Servian government towards the regicides. But at the coronation of King Peter, in September 1904, all the European powers except Great Britain were officially represented, some concessions, more apparent than real, having been made in the matter of the regicides, who were very unpopular among the peasants and in the army. ”

“ These differences are so insignificant that it was very natural that the Croats after having tried to convert the chakavski dialect into a separate literary language were compelled to abandon that attempt and to adopt the shtokavski. ”

“ In Gorski Viyenats, “The Mountain Wreath” (Vienna, 1847) , Nyegosh describes the liberation of Montenegro from the Turks towards the end of the 17th century in the form of a drama. There is, however, hardly anything dramatic in the poem, but the characters deliver magnificent descriptions of Montenegro and Montenegrins, and the play is full of noble sentiments and great thoughts. The Servians consider Gorski Viyenats the finest poetical work in their literature. It has been translated into all the principal European languages except English. ”

“ From 1804 till the autumn of 1813 the Serbs governed themselves as an independent nation. But when in 1812 Russia, attacked by Napoleon, had in great haste to conclude at Bucharest a treaty of peace with Turkey, and omitted to make sufficient provision for the security of her allies the Serbs, the Turkish army invaded and reconquered Servia, occupying all its fortresses. ”

“ At a funeral, the coffin is left open until the last moment—a custom found everywhere in the Balkans, and said to have been introduced by the Turks, who found that coffins were a convenient hiding-place for arms. The same practice is, however, common in Spain and Portugal. Few countries are richer than Servia in myth and folklore. The peasants believe in charms and omens, in vampires, were-wolves, ghosts, the evil eye and vile or white-robed spirits of the earth, air, stream and mountain, with hoofs like a goat and henna-dyed nails and hair. ”

“ Much political influence is wielded by the priests, who played a prominent part in the struggles for national independence. They marry and work, and sometimes even bear arms like their parishioners, from whom a large part of their income is derived, in the shape of offerings and fees. ”

“ The heaps of débris which cover so many acres near Belgrade, on the Kopaonik foothills and in the Toplitsa valley bear witness to the importance of this industry in the past. During the later middle ages the Servian mines brought in a large revenue to the merchant princes of Ragusa. They prospered greatly during the 14th century, but Turkish rule put a stop to this industry after 1459; and the revival only began in 1835, under the patronage of Prince Milosh. The richest coal and lignite seams occur among the north-eastern mountains, generally near the Danube or Timok, and along the Morava. ”

“ The danger increased when the Bulgarians came, towards the end of the 7th century, and formed a powerful kingdom on the eastern and south-eastern frontiers of the Serbs. Practically from the 8th to the 12th century the bulk of the Serbs was under either Bulgarian or Greek suzerainty, while the Serbo-Croat provinces of Dalmatia acknowledged either Venetian or Hungarian supremacy. ”

“ The Russians themselves advised him to appeal to Austria and to try to obtain her support. The utter neglect of the Servian interests by Russia at San Stefano, and her evident inability at the Berlin Congress to do anything for Servia, determined Prince Milan to change the traditional policy of his country, and instead of continuing to seek support from Russia, he tried to come to an understanding with Austria-Hungary concerning the conditions under which that power would give its support to Servian interests. ”

“ During the reign of his heirs almost all the Servian provinces were conquered by the Bulgarian Tsar Simeon (924) . In 931 Chaslav, one of the princes of the Visheslav dynasty, liberated the largest part of the Servian territory from Bulgarian domination, but to maintain that liberty he had to acknowledge the Byzantine emperors as his suzerains.
The Princes of Zetta and the First Serb Kingdom.—Towards the end of the 9th century the political centre of the Serbs was transferred to Zetta (Zeta or Zenta: see Montenegro) and the Primorye (Sea-Coast) . ”

“ Manufactures and Commerce.—The scarcity of labour prevents the growth of any great manufacturing industries. There is no native artisan class; for except in very rare cases, the people value their independence too highly to work in factories, or even to enter domestic service. ”

“ Despite American competition and Austro-Hungarian tariffs the export of swine remains the principal branch of Servian commerce; Cheeses are made from the milk of both sheep and goats; but cattle are mostly bred for export or draught purposes. The cumbrous wooden carts which afford the sole means of transport in many districts are generally drawn by oxen, although buffaloes may be seen in the south. The native horses, though strong, are, like the cattle, of small size.
Land Tenure.—More than four-fifths of the Servians are peasant farmers ”