Perast manuscript
Perast, Venetian Empire (modern-day Montenegro)
Dateend of 17th century
Place of originPerast, Venetian Republic (modern-day Montenegro)
Scribe(s)Nikola Mazarović
Author(s)Unknown, speculations about some of songs being authored by Andrija Zmajević or probably Nikola Burović
Conditionwithout coverpage
Contents
Previously keptin the house of noble family Smecchia or family Balović in Perast
Discoveredby Srećko Vulović

The Perast manuscript (Serbian: Перашки рукопис) is a manuscript written around 1700 which contains the earliest records of the heroic songs in decasyllable verse (Serbian: deseterac).[1]

The origin of the songs recorded in Perast manuscript is not the end of the 17th century because they must have had long development before they were recorded.[2] The Perast manuscript contains eight bugarštica songs and one drama. The topic of four bugarštica and drama is the Battle of Kosovo, while others tell other historical events, like of Bajo Pivljanin.

The oral folk poetry was very popular in Kotor bay and during the 18th century, people began recording them. Some of their manuscripts survived until modern days, many of unknown authorship.[3] Therefore, besides the Perast manuscript known as Balovićs manuscript, many other 18th century manuscripts written in Perast survived until modern-days, most notable of them being manuscript written in 1775. This manuscript is known as Mazarović's manuscript. It does not contain bugarštica but ten-syllable verse songs which are other versions of bugarštica songs from the earlier manuscript.

Authorship

The scholars disagree about the origin and chronology of songs found in the Perast manuscript.[4]

Its original has not been preserved. The manuscript was found by Srećko Vulović in the house of a noble Perast family Smecchia. Since the manuscript did not have the cover page with the name of author or authors of its text, they remained unknown.

According to Maja Bošković-Stulli, the manuscript which contains bugarštica songs was found in the house of Balović, while the manuscript with ten-syllable verse songs was found in the house of Mazarović family.[5]

Vulović speculated that the author of the play about the Battle of Kosovo was Serbian primate and archbishop Andrija Zmajević or probably Nikola Burović who authored larger part of the manuscript and this hypothesis was accepted by many other authors.[6][7] Some authors insist that manuscript belongs to unknown collector rejecting the possibility that it was Zmajević.[8] According to analysis of the handwriting performed by Gracija Brajković, the author of manuscript was Nikola Burović.[9]

The manuscript written by Mazarović has the year of its creation, 1775, written on it.[10] According to Svetozar Koljević, the person who wrote the manuscript with bugarštica. Koljević also emphasize that none of the songs from the 1775 manuscript with ten-syllable verse songs are bugarštica.[11] The 1775 manuscript was written in Latin script with most of its songs being versions of bugarštica found in earlier Perast manuscript[12] Still, Valtazar Bogišić believed that Mazarović did not record ten-syllable verse songs on the basis of bugarštica songs from an earlier manuscript, but in some other, possibly even older, manuscript.[13] Mazarović certainly has not authored or recorded from oral poetry any of the songs he recorded in 1775 manuscript. He only transcribed them from already existing records.[14]

Content

In this manuscript from Boka Kotorska eight songs are presented in two versions: like bugarštica and in ten-syllable verse.[15] One bugarštica is very similar to drama.[16] Four bugaršticas are about Battle of Kosovo. One bugarštica which is similar to drama and another which more resembles the song, describe Miloš Obilić both referring to his last name as Koviljić.[17] The similar mistake about the year of the Battle of Kosovo led to conclusion that they are linked to each other.[18] In drama and one bugarštica song, Miloš Obilić was described as stepping onto sultan's neck.[19]

One bugarštica describes ill fate of Nikola of Perast who was accused by some girl from Paštrovići for raping her, so twelve armed men from Paštrovići killed him before all of them were killed to. Another bugarštica describes the pirate attack on Perast galley near Durazzo. One bugarštica describes clash between the citizens of Perast with the Ottomans from Risan trying to capture women from Perast.[20]

The Perast manuscript contains three songs about Bajo Pivljanin which are actually old motives applied on Bajo and Perast.[21]

Nobody have ever published all of the songs from Balović version of the Perast manuscript. Only 9 bugarštica were published.[22]

Play about the Battle of Kosovo

This play does not have short title, but rather long one: “Here begins the battle of Prince Lazar and the evil purpose of Miloš Kobilić and of the traitor Vuk Branković and the nine Jugović brothers at Kosovo field on June 24, 1343.”.[23] The author of this play deprived the Kosovo legend of its overtones connected to Serbian Orthodoxy and gave it more general Christian ones instead of the particular national tale.[24]

Other Perast manuscripts

Besides Perast manuscripts of Mazarović, there were many other similar manuscripts, smaller and usually of lower importance. Three of such manuscripts came from family of Balović.[25] One of them, sometimes referred to as Balovićs manuscript, contains 24 folk poems including 9 bugarštica, all of them thematically connected with Kotor Bay.[26]

In Dubrovnik, a copy of the Perast Navigation Instructions manuscript is held in the archives.[27]

References

  1. ^ Memoirs of the American Folklore Society. American Folklore Society. 1954. p. 27. The earliest known records of heroic songs in deseterac, however, date from about 1700 and they are found in a Dalmatian manuscript (the older Perast manuscript), where it is stated that they are collected from the oral tradition of the people in that region ...
  2. ^ Memoirs of the American Folklore Society. American Folklore Society. 1954. p. 27.
  3. ^ Istorijski zapisi. 1991. p. 244.
  4. ^ Anzeiger für slavische Philologie. Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt. 1977. p. 278. ISBN 978-3-201-01015-3. The earliest known records of heroic songs in short verse date from about 1700, found in a Dalmatian manuscript (the old Perast manuscript), collected from the oral tradition. Scholars are in disagreement concerning the origin and chronology ...
  5. ^ Bošković-Stulli, Maja (2005). Od bugarštice do svakidašnjice. Konzor. p. 8. ISBN 978-953-224-040-5. Peraške rukopisne bugarštice nađene su u kući Balovića u Perastu, a deseteračke u obitelji Mazarovića.
  6. ^ Ređep, Jelka (1991). "The Legend of Kosovo". Oral Tradition. Columbia, Missouri: Center for Studies in Oral Tradition. 6 (2–3). ISSN 1542-4308. It has been attributed to Andrija Zmajević, archbishop and "Serbian primate."
  7. ^ Kosovski boj u književnom i kulturnom nasleđu. Međunarodni slavistički centar. 1991. p. 37. Вуловић се колебао, "рука која је тај рукопис исписала за њега је и даље могла бити рука Андрије Змајевића, али исто толико рука писара већега рукописа, то јест Николе Буровића како од скора знамо"
  8. ^ Rad kongresa. 1978. p. 61. и Боки уопште, чине рукописи Ј. Баловића и Н. Мазаровића, и рукопис непознатог састављача, који је дуго времена погрешно везиван за име угледног Пераштанина Андрије Змајевића, барског архиепи- скопа и српског примаса, истакнутог културног
  9. ^ Prilozi za književnost, jezik, istoriju i folklor. Državna Štamparija. 1984. p. 130. Читав рукопис писан )е )'едном руком и то, како )е установио Грацщ'а Бра)ковиЬ, Николе БуровиКа.
  10. ^ Durman, Milan (1928). Književnik. 1928. p. 14.
  11. ^ Koljević, Svetozar (1980). The Epic in the Making. Clarendon Press. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-19-815759-5.
  12. ^ The Slavonic and East European Review. Jonathan Cape Limited. 1930. p. 120. Another collection (the later Perast MS.) was made in Latin script about fifty years later (1775), south of Ragusa ; it contained mainly versions of the bugarstice, which had been recorded in the beginning of the century in the older MS. of the ...
  13. ^ Nastavni vjesnik. Društvo hrvatskih srednjoškolskih profesora. 1931. p. 186. Deseteračke varijante prema tim bugaršticama nalaze se u mlađega Mazarovića, ali Bogišiću se čini, da je Mazarović prepisivao iz drugih (starijih?) rukopisa.
  14. ^ Samardžić, Radovan (1986). Istorija srpskog naroda: pt. 1. Srbi u XVIII veku. Srpska knjiiževna zadruga. p. 117.
  15. ^ Oinas, Felix J. (1978). Heroic Epic and Saga: An Introduction to the World's Great Folk Epics. Indiana University Press. p. 273. ISBN 978-0-253-32738-3.
  16. ^ (CZMSS 2006, pp. 15–17): "У перашком рукопису с краја XVII века налази се и бугарштица која је врло слична драми."
  17. ^ (MSC 1991, p. 38):" Перашка бугарштица има много заједничког и са драмом, са којом се налази и у истом рукопису, и са рукописном Причом. Милош је Ковиљић и у драми и у песми, оба дела почшьу са причом о свађи Лазаревих кпери па зетова, ..."
  18. ^ Реферати и саопштења - Научни састанак слависта у Вукове дане. Међународни славистички центар. 1989. p. 38. Извесно је да је на истој територији, у Боки, сачуван и рукопис Приче и цео перашки рукопис. Везу СА рукописа са драмом такође потврђује и слична грешка у оба текста. Наиме, у наслову драме је година 1348. а на последњем ...
  19. ^ Prilozi za knjizevnost jezik, istoriju i folklor. Drzana shtamparija. 2001. p. 267.
  20. ^ Medenica, Radosav (1975). Nasa narodna epika i njeni tvorci. Obod. p. 31. Остале бугарштице су праве хронике догађаја које опевају: о Николи Перашташшу кога изнесе на глас некаква Паштровка девојка да ју је на- силу обљубио, па га дванаест наоружаних Паштровића убише у Перасту из освете, ...
  21. ^ (Бојовић 2008, p. 147): "Три песме о Бају Пивљанину у Мазаровићевом перашком рукопису представљају у ствари „варијанте старинских мотива адаптиране на Баја и Пераст""
  22. ^ Srejović, Dragoslav; Gavrilović, Slavko; Ćirković, Sima M. (1986). Istorija srpskog naroda: knj. Srbi u XVIII veku (2 v.). Srpska književna zadruga. p. 117. Све песме Баловићевог зборника ни до данас нису објављене; штампан је њихон старији део: то је девет бугарштица, у којима су опевани искључиво
  23. ^ Ređep, Jelka (1991). "The Legend of Kosovo". Oral Tradition. Columbia, Missouri: Center for Studies in Oral Tradition. 6 (2–3). ISSN 1542-4308. Instead of a short title, the following inscription heads this work: "Here begins [sic] the battle of Prince Lazar and the evil purpose of Miloš Kobilić and of the traitor Vuk Branković and the nine Jugović brothers at Kosovo fi eld on June 24, 1343."
  24. ^ Medaković, Dejan (1991). Zapadnoevropski barok i vizantijski svet: zbornik radova sa naučnog skupa održanog od 10. do 13. oktobra 1989. SANU. p. 108. The author of the Perast manuscript play succeeded, by depriving the Kosovo legend of its Serbian Orthodox overtones, to open new ways of interpretation of the story that has grown out of a historical fact, and to give a new, more general Christian significance to a particular national tale.
  25. ^ Srejović, Dragoslav; Gavrilović, Slavko; Ćirković, Sima M. (1986). Istorija srpskog naroda: knj. Srbi u XVIII veku (2 v.). Srpska književna zadruga. p. 136. После збирке Николе Мазаровића у Перасту су начињене и друге такве збирке, мањег обима, а обично и мањег значаја: три потичу од чланова породице Баловић, ...
  26. ^ Zbornik o Vatroslavu Jagiću: književnom povjesničaru, kritičaru i filologu : zbornik radova s Međunarodnoga znanstvenog skupa Več, 1 listopada 2005. [i] Varaždin, 13.-15. listopada 2005. Hrvatski studiji Sveučilišta u Zagrebu. 2007. p. 306. Rukopis koji se nalazio u kući poznate peraške obitelji Balović, koji sretno zovemo Balovićev rukopis sadrži 24 narodne pjesme, među kojima i devet bugaršćica. Tematski, sve su vezane za bokokotorski prostor.
  27. ^ HI (1954). Anali Historijskog instituta u Dubrovniku. Historisjki institut. p. 512. Osim tih dvaju peraških pomorskih ruko- pisa-pi iručnika i u Dubrovniku je sačuvan još jedan peraški navigacijski udžbenik,4 a vjerojatno ih još ima

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