Serbian literature

Serbian literature is literature written in Serbian and/or in Serbia.

Periodization

This section requires expansion.

Medieval literature

The oldest manuscript book and a monument of Old-Serbian literacy is Miroslav's Gospel (Serbian: Мирославово јеванђеље / Miroslavovo jevandjelje), a 362-page liturgic book written between 1180 and 1191 in a transitional form between Old Church Slavonic and Slavoserbian. It was written by two monk pupils, Grigorije and probably Varsameleon, on a white parchment paper for Miroslav, the Duke of Zahumlje, brother of King Stefan Nemanja.

Miroslav's Gospel explains the origin of the Cyrillic script, the letters in it are a masterpiece of calligraphy and illustrations are daring and magnificent miniatures, vignettes and initials. For centuries Miroslav's Gospel has been kept in the Hilandar monastery of the Serbian Orthodox Church, on Mount Athos, Greece. In 2005 Miroslav's Gospel was entered into UNESCO program Memory of the World.

However, the most beautifully written and decorated manuscript remains Serbian Psalter of Munich, created in the last quarter of 14. century.

The Oktoih from 1494 is a Serbian Orthodox Christian Psalter and one of the first Serbian books to be written.

The other monumental inscription from this same period is the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja, dedicated to the Catholic coastal areas of Dioclea, that would later convert fully to Orthodox Christianity.

Oral literature

Medieval Serbian literature was dominated by folk songs and epics passed orally from generation to generation. Historic events, such as the "Battle of Kosovo" (Serbian: Бој на Косову / Boj na Kosovu) in the 14th century play a major role in the development of the Serbian epic poetry.

Baroque

Serbian literature in Vojvodina continued building onto Medieval tradition, influenced by Russian baroque, which culminated in Slavoserbian language. Most important authors of the time are Đorđe Branković, Gavril Stefanović-Venclović, Jovan Rajić and Zaharije Orfelin.

Pre-Romantism

Before the start of a fully established Romanticism concomitant with the Revolutions of 1848, some Romanticist ideas (e.g. the usage of national language to rally for national unification of all classes) were developing, especially among monastic clergy in Vojvodina. The most prominent representative of that is Dositej Obradović, who gave up his monastic vows and left for decades of wandering, occasionally studying, teaching, or working in the cultural field in countries as variegated as Russia, England, Germany, Albania, Ottoman Turkey and Italy, and ending up as a Minister of Education in the Principality of Serbia.

One of the first countries to win independence from the Ottoman Empire, the Serbian independence movement sparked the first works of modern Serbian literature. Most notably Petar II Petrović Njegoš and his Mountain Wreath of 1847, represent a cornerstone of the Serbian epic, which was based on the rhythms of the folk songs.

Furthermore, Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, a friend of J. W. von Goethe, became the first person to collect folk songs and epics and to publish them in a book. Vuk Karadžić is regarded as the premier Serbian philologist, who together with Đuro Daničić played a major role in reforming the modern Serbian language, though in recent times his work has been widely criticized for destroying the ethos of the Serbian language.

Modern literature

In the 20th century, Serbian literature flourished and a myriad of young and talented writers appeared. Ivo Andrić published The Bridge on the Drina (На Дрини ћуприја / Na Drini ćuprija) in 1945, for which he received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1961.

Since Andrić, Danilo Kiš is regarded as one of the most notable Serbian authors, alongside writers such as Miloš Crnjanski, Meša Selimović, Borislav Pekić, Milorad Pavić, David Albahari, Miodrag Bulatović, Dobrica Ćosić, Zoran Živković and many others. Jelena Dimitrijević and Isidora Sekulić are two early twentieth century women writers. Svetlana Velmar-Janković is the best known female novelist in Serbia today.

Milorad Pavić is perhaps the most widely acclaimed Serbian author today, most notably for his Dictionary of the Khazars (Хазарски речник / Hazarski rečnik), which has been translated into 24 languages.

English translations of some of the important pieces of modern Serbian literature

• Andric, Ivo, The Bridge on the Drina, The University of Chicago Press, 1977.
• Kis, Danilo, A Tomb for Boris Davidovich, translated by Translated by Duska Mikic-Mitchell, Penguin Books, 1980.
• Pekic, Borislav, The Time of Miracles (Writings from an Unbound Europe), translated by Lovett F. Edwards, Northwestern University Press, 1994.
• Pekic, Borislav, The Houses of Belgrade (Writings from an Unbound Europe), translated by Bernard Johnson, Northwestern University Press, 1994.

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Category:Serbian authors

• Serbian Language and Literature
• Selected Literatures and Authors Page - Serbian, Montenegrin, and Yugoslav Literature
• A brief overview of Serbian Literature
• Slavic Literature Resources from the Slavic Reference Service, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
• Istorijska biblioteka: Serbian Medieval Literature