Voisava
The Dream of Skanderbeg's Mother – Jörg Breu II 1533
Born	Polog, likely a reference to the Polog valley
Other names	Jella,^[1] Vojsava, Vojislava; Tribalda, Tripalda^[A]
Known for	Mother of Skanderbeg
Spouse	Gjon Kastrioti
Children	Reposh Stanisha Konstandin Mara Skanderbeg Jelena Mamica Angelina Vlajka
Parent	Domenico Moncino Musachi (father)

Voisava (fl. at least 1402–05) was the wife of Gjon Kastrioti, an Albanian nobleman from the House of Kastrioti. They had nine children together, one of whom was the Albanian national hero^[2] Gjergj Kastrioti, better known as Skanderbeg.

Early life

The wife of Gjon Kastrioti is mentioned for the first time by Albanian authors Marin Barleti and Gjon Muzaka about 70–80 years after her death as Voisava. Both authors lived in the immediate generation after Skanderbeg's death and mention her origin as being in the Polog area. Barletius explicitly states that "Polog" stretched from the mountains of Mokra in Southern Albania, to Skopje.^[3] It has also been argued that another Polog, closer to the town of Bitola in the plain of Pelagonia, may be the location of the Polog mentioned by Barleti.^[4] She was married to Gjon Kastrioti likely around 1390.^[5]

Origin

The issue of the origin of Voisava has been a matter of debate among scholars. Based on a statement by Marin Barleti who described her father nobilissimus Tribalorum princeps (most noble prince of the Triballians) which was adopted in another form by Muzaka several theories have been proposed. As such, most scholars believe that Voisava was of South Slavic descent, while others propose that she came from the Albanian Muzaka family based on Gjon Muzaka's assertion that she was related to his family.^[6] There are no primary or archival sources which connect Voisava to the Branković.^[7] A modern theory interprets the reference to a nobilissimus Tribalorum princepsas referring a Serbian origin and some modern scholars consider her as coming from the Branković dynasty. Other scholars interpret the same statement to be referring to a Bulgarian background.^[8]^[7] While the name does not refer to a particular ethnic origin, the name Voisava is a feminine rendition of the Slavic name Vojislav from voj (war, struggle) and slava (fame, glory). The name was in use among Albanian nobility; Karl Thopia and Gjergj Arianiti both had daughters named Voisava.^[9]^[10]^[11] The picture is further complicated by the fact that a notary act from the archives of the Republic of Ragusa dated July 10, 1439, names Gjon Kastrioti's widow Jella.^[12]

Family

Voisava married Gjon Kastrioti, the "Lord of a part of Albania" (dominus partium Albanie) or the Albanian Lord,^[13]^[14] closely linked to Orthodoxy, as shown by the foundation of the so-called "Albanian Tower" (Serbian: Arbanaški pirg) in Hilandar and the monastic life of Gjon's son Reposh.^[15]^[16] She bore 9 children to Gjon, four sons and five daughters:

Reposh (fl. 1426–d. 1431), retired as an Orthodox monk in the Serbian monastery of Hilandar on Mount Athos. Reposh died and was buried in the monastery,^[17]^[10] in King Stefan Milutin's narthex, beside the north wall,^[18] his tomb bearing the inscription "duks ilirski" (Illyrian duke).^[19]
Stanisha (fl. 1426–d. 1445), commander.^[20]
Konstandin (fl. 1426),
Mara, married Stefan Crnojević, Lord of Zeta (r. 1451–65)
Skanderbeg (Gjergj Kastrioti, 1405–1468), Albanian magnate and general; Ottoman subaşi of Krujë, sanjakbey of Dibra, later organizer of the League of Lezhë, and Neapolitan vassal as of 1451
Jelena (or Jela), married Pavle Balšić^[21] with whom she had, according to Noli, three sons.^[22]
Mamica, married Muzak Thopia in 1445^[21]
Angelina, married Vladan Arianiti,^[23] brother of Gjergj Arianiti.^[24]
Vlajka, married Gjin Muzaka,^[21] secondly Stefan Strez Balšić^[25] with whom she possibly had sons Ivan and Gojko.^[26]

Early sources

The earliest works mentioning Voisava are:

Marin Barleti, the Albanian-Venetian historian, wrote in his biography of Skanderbeg (published between 1508 and 1510), that her father was "a noble prince (or ruler) of the Triballi" (pater nobilissimus Triballorum princeps).^[6] In another chapter, when talking about the inhabitants of Upper Debar that defended Svetigrad, he calls them "Bulgarians or Triballi" (Bulgari sive Tribali habitant...).^[27] The term "Triballians" (Triballoi) was also used in Byzantine works as an exonym for Serbs.^[28]^[29]^[30]
Gjon Muzaka, a member of the Albanian Muzaka family in Italy, mentioned her in his chronicle first as Visava Tribalda^[31] and then as Voisava Tripalda, and says that she "came from a beautiful place".^[32] Furthermore, he says that his family is related to her father through his mother's side.^[33] This led Fan Noli and Harry Hodgkinson to theorize that Voisava was a Muzaka. According to William Miller,^[9] and Johann Georg von Hahn, the surname (Tripalda) added by Muzaka is a corruption, a derivative from Barleti's quote on the Triballi.^[34]

In historiography

Johann Georg von Hahn (1811-1869), an Austrian expert in Albanian studies, had several theses on the genealogy of Albanian noble families in Albanesische Studien (1854). In Reise durch die Gebiete von Drin und Wardar (1867/69), he theorized that if one of Vrana Konti's descendants held the title "Marchese di Tripalda", that Vrana and Voisava Tripalda were related by blood.^[35]
Karl Hopf (1832–1873), a German historian and expert in Byzantine studies, in Chroniques Greco-romanes (1873) concluded that Voisava was daughter of a Serbian lord from Polog.^[36]
William Miller (1864-1945), an English medievalist, said the following, in his review of Athanase Gegaj's work which claimed that Skanderbeg was purely Albanian: "...Skanderbeg's mother had a Slav name, and the epithet 'Tripalda' given to her is a corruption of the tribal name 'Triballi', which the pedantic Byzantine historians applied to the Serbs. Moreover, if he had no connexion with Serbia, why should he have given two villages to Chilindar ... the famous Serbian monastery on Mount Athos, immemorially connected with Serbian kings, medieval and modern?".^[9]
In Bulgarian historiography, historian-medievalist Vasil Zlatarski (1866-1935), mentioned her as the daughter of a Serbian nobleman.^[37] Historian Strashimir Dimitrov (1892–1960) said that she was a daughter of a local Bulgarian lord (boyar) from Macedonia.^[38]
Fan S. Noli, an Albanian-American writer, in his biography of Skanderbeg (1947), adopted the view that Vojsava came from the Muzaka family.^[39] British writer and Balkans expert Harry Hodgkinson (1913–1994)^[40] considered her a member of the Muzaka family as well.^[41] Oliver Schmitt stated that Hodgkinson had done no archival research.^[42]
Boban Petrovski, a Macedonian historian and author of Voisava Tribalda (2006), hesitantly concluded that there is a chance Voisava was of Slavic origin, most likely Serb, as she was possibly the daughter of a lord of the "Triballians" (Serbs) in Polog, that had ruled before the Ottoman conquest.^[43] He had several theses on the ultimate identity of Voisava's father: "If the Branković family indeed governed Polog in the last decade of the 14th century, it arises the chance that Voisava was a daughter of Grgur Branković or even Vuk Branković."^[44] However, he says, "the word "Tribalda" associated with Scanderbeg's mother's name does not necessarily mean ethnic determination, but could represent a state qualification, or could refer to his father's service to Đurađ Branković, king and heir of medieval Serbia".^[45]
Oliver Schmitt, a professor of South-East European history at Vienna University, in his biography Skanderbeg: Der neue Alexander auf dem Balkan (2009) writes that she was a Serbian noblewoman, probably of the Branković family and sister to Mara Branković.^[46]
Robert Elsie (born 1950), an Albanologist, mentioned her as "a Slavic woman ... related to the noble Serbian Brankovići family".^[47]
Boško Bojović, a medievalist with a research focus on the relations of the Kastrioti family to Mount Athos (Hilandar) considers her a member of the Muzaka family.^[48]

Annotations

^
Barleti gives her name as simply "Voisava",^[6] without any surname, while Muzaka wrote her name as "Voisava Tripalda".^[49] According to W. Miller,^[9] and von Hahn, the surname added by Muzaka is a corruption, or derivative, from Barleti's quote on the Triballi.^[34] The name "Voisava" is Slavic,^[9]^[50]^[10] derived from Vojislava.^[10]^[51] Her name is also rendered Vojsava.

References

^ Omari, 2014 & 31:l quadro si complica quando un documento notarile ragusano del 10 luglio 1439, a differenza delle cronache cinquecentesche basate sulle memorie, attribuisce alla vedova di Giovanni Kastrioti il nome Jella, anziché Voisava.
^ "Skanderbeg | Albanian hero". Encyclopedia Britannica. 13 January 2024.
^ Barletius, Marinus (1508). Historia De Vita Et Gestis Scanderbegi Epirotarvm Principis. p. 90v.
^ Omari 2014, p. 31
^ Biçoku 2007, p. 28.
^ ^a ^b ^c Noli 1947, p. 189: "writes: "Uxori Voisavae nomen erat, non indignam eo viro, tum pater nobilissimus Tribalorum princeps ...""; Barletius, l. I, fo 2: "... Triballorum princeps"
^ ^a ^b Biçoku 2007, p. 28:Burimet e kësaj të dhëne dëshmojnë se i ati i saj ka qenë prej një dere “shumë fisnike dhe prijës i tribalëve” (sinonim i bullgarëve). Sipas një hipoteze të fundit, pa mbështetje burimore, Vojsava është konsideruar vajzë e familjes së njohur aristokrate Brankoviçi, që në atë kohë sundonte trevën e Kosovës së sotme e të Maqedonisë dhe Shkupin e kishte kryeqendër të saj. Martesa me Vojsavën, vajzën e prijësit të bullgarëve, dëshmon se në atë kohë Gjoni ka qenë sundimtar i fuqishëm dhe se në zotërim të familjes së tij ka pasur treva të gjera dhe qytete.
^ Omari 2014, pp. 31–32.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Miller, William, Reviews of books; JSTOR: The English Historical Review, Vol. 53, No. 209 (Jan., 1938), p. 129
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Vukanović 1971.
^ Omari 2014, p. 31:Secondo Kristo Frashëri alcuni storici, per via del nome, considerano Voisava di famiglia slava, ma altri storici partendo dal fatto che gli albanesi abbiano utilizzato nomi stranieri con grande facilità (altri signori come Carlo Thopia e Giorgio Arianiti avevano figlie col nome Voisava) non definiscono la loro nazionalità né dal nome e né dal cognome
^ Omari 2014, p. 31:l quadro si complica quando un documento notarile ragusano del 10 luglio 1439, a differenza delle cronache cinquecentesche basate sulle memorie, attribuisce alla vedova di Giovanni Kastrioti il nome Jella, anziché Voisava.
^ Ndreca, Ardian (2021). "Gjon Kastrioti në arkivat e murgjve serbë". exlibris.al. Letra në fjalë përfundon me një fjali, e cila, e vetme, na tregon shumë. Të gjithë ata që kanë studjuar sadopak rusisht në Shqipërinë e dikurshme do të jenë krejtësisht në gjendje ta kuptojnë atë: Милостію божіею іоаннь кастріоть господинь албанскіи. Shqip mund ta përkthejmë kështu: «Falë hirit të Zotit, Gjon Kastrioti zot arbëror.»" (The letter in question ends with a sentence which, alone, tells us a lot. All those who have studied even a little bit of Russian in ex-[Comunist] Albania will be perfectly able to understand it: Милостію божіею іоаннь кастріоть господинь албанскіи. We can translate it ... as follows: "By the grace of God, Gjon Kastrioti, Albanian lord)".
^ Korablev, B. (1915). Actes de Chilandar II. pp. 561–562. 6945 AM/1426 AD: Titre de donation de Jean Castriote d'Albanie et de ses fils: ...Милостію божіею іоаннь кастріоть господинь албанскіи (By the grace of God, Ioan Kastriot, Albanian lord).
^ Schwarcz, Andreas; Soustal, Peter; Tcholakova, Antoaneta, eds. (2014). Das mittelalterliche Bulgarien, Byzanz und Europa. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 113. ISBN 9783643505910.
^ Šufflay, Milan (1925). Srbi i Arbanasi: njihova simbioza u srednjem vijeku. Seminar za arbanasku filologiju. pp. 94–95. U drugoj, bez datuma, iguman tog monastira prodaje pirg Sv. Gjurdja Ivanu Kastriotu i trima sinovima njegovim Repošu, Konstantinu i Djurdju za »šestdeset florina«. taj toranj Sv. Djurdja još danas nosi naziv »Arbanaski pirg«. Repoš... doista je pokopan u narteksu saborne crkve hilandarske. Natpis naziva ga »duks ilirski«.
^ Fischer, Bernd; Schmitt, O.J. (2022). A Concise History of Albania. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107662186. having donated a tower in the Serbian monastery [...] as a result, became known as the Albanian Tower.
^ Bogdanović, Dimitrije; Đurić, Vojislav J.; Medakovich, Dejan (1997). Chilandar. Monastery of Chilandar. p. 130. ISBN 9788674131053. Albanian tower still stands, though in ruined condition. While staying at Chilandar, one of his four sons, Reposh, died, and was buried in King Milutin's narthex, beside the north wall
^ Dragić Kijuk, Predrag R. (1992). Catena mundi: Srpska hronika na svetskim verigama. Ibarske novosti. p. 299. ISBN 9788663430709.
^ Noli 1947, p. 22: "This time he notified Venice that he was compelled to give his son as a hostage to the Despot of Serbia.48 As a matter of fact, he had sent his son Stanisha with an auxiliary corps to help the Serbians against the Venetians at Scutari.49".
^ ^a ^b ^c Nicol, Donald M. (1997). Theodore Spandounes: On the Origins of the Ottoman Emperors. Cambridge University Press. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-521-58510-1.
^ Noli 1947, p. 208.
^ Noli 1947, p. 189: "Angelina with Vladan Araniti".
^ Johann Samuel Ersch (1868). Allgemeine encyclopädie der wissenschaften und künste in alphabetischer folge von genannten schrifts bearbeitet und herausgegeben von J. S. Ersch und J. G. Gruber ... J. f. Gleditsch. p. 123. Angelina den Vladin Arianites KomnenoS, deS "Großen" Bruder
^ Noli 1947, p. 64: "Vlajka me Stefan Stres Balshën".
^ Gopčević, Spiridon (1914). Geschichte von Montenegro und Albanien (in German). Gotha: F.A. Perthes. p. 460. OCLC 9968504. Retrieved 29 March 2012. Bezüglich der Strez herrscht Verwirrung. Hopf macht Ivo und Gojko BalSid zu Söhnen des Stefan Strez, welcher Vlajka Kastriota geheiratet hätte und Sohn des Gjuragj Balšić gewesen wäre, eines Bastards des Gjuragj I.
^ Barletius (1537). De vita, moribus ac rebus. pp. 139–140.; Barletius, l. V, fo. 62: "Superior Dibra montuosa est et aspera, ferax tarnen et Macedoniam tum ipsa loci vicinitate, tum similitudine morum contingens. Bulgari sive Tribali habitant"
^ The Journal of Hellenic Studies. Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies. 1922. p. 48. Byzantine historians [...] calling [...] Serbs Triballians
^ Fanula Papazoglu (1978). The Central Balkan Tribe in Pre-Roman Times: Triballi, Autariatae, Dardanians, Scordisci and Moesians. Hakkert. ISBN 978-90-256-0793-7. The Triballi lived deep in the interior of the Balkan Peninsula, between the lower course of the Southern Morava and the ... many centuries later, learned Byzantine writers, seeking the ancient name for the Serbs, chose the term Triballi as the ...
^ Zbornik radova Vizantološkog instituta. Vol. 44. Naučno delo. 2007. The Serbs were often called Triballi by Byzantine authors.
^ Hopf 1873, p. 295
E più sappiate ch' il Signor Giovanni Castrioto', padre del Signor Scanderbego, hebbe per moglie la Signora Visava Tribalda, con la quale fece quattro figli mascoli e cinque figlie femine.
^ Hopf 1873, p. 301
... la madre de detto Signor Scanderbeg, moglie del detto Signor Giovanni, hebbe nome Signora Voisava Tripalda e venne da bona parte
^ Hopf 1873, p. 301
Acciò sappiate, in che modo c'era parente il Signor marchese della Tripalda, ve dico, che l'è per parte de donna
^ ^a ^b Hahn, Johann Georg von (1867). Reise durch die Gebiete von Drin und Wardar (in German). Wien. p. 305. Skanderbeg's Mutter wird von dem Despoten einmal Visava Tribalda (*), ein andersmal Voisava Tripalda genannt, ...". (*)(Footnote 3) "Dieser Name mag vielleicth Anlass zu der sonderbaren Angabe des Barletius S. 4 gegeben haben, dass ihr Vater nobilissimus Tribalorum princeps gewesen sei." ["Tribalda" or "Tripalda" is a corruption or derivative from Barleti's quotation on Triballi]((cite book)): CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link); Hahn 1869, p. 117
^ Hahn 1869, p. 121: "... Mutter eine geborene Tripalda war und ein Nachkomme des Wrana Conte den Titel Márchese di Tripalda führte, so erscheint selbst die Frage erlaubt, ob nicht etwa Wrana Conte ein Blutsverwandter von Skanderbeg's Mutter war.".
^ Hopf 1873, p. 533: "fille du seigneur (Serbe) de Polog".
^ Васил Николов Златарски (2005). България през XIV и XV век: Лекционен курс. Изток-Запад. ISBN 9789543211722. Иван Кастриот, храбър противник на турците, женен за Воислава, дъщерята на сръбския властител [daughter of a Serbian nobleman]
^ Димитров, Страшимир: Георги Кастриоти-Скендербег и неговата освободителна борба, В: Г. Кастриоти Скендербег 1468-1968 г. София, сп. "Балкани", БАН, No2, 1970, стр. 11: "It is known that his mother, Voisava, was of Slavic-Bulgarian origin, "daughter of the lord of Polog, which is part of Macedonia and Bulgaria", says one anonymous Venetian chronicle..."
^ Noli 1947, p. 189, note 33: "Në faqen 308, Muzaka na thotë se Vojsava ishte shqiptare nga familja e Muzakajve; Barleti "Vita", Libri I, faqe 1, shkruan "Bashkëshortja kishte emrin Voisavë, (grua) jo e padenjë për atë burër; i ati ishte një princ shumë fisnik i Tribalëve ".
^ James Pettifer (2008). "Obituary: Harry Hodgkinson". The Independent. London, United Kingdom. Retrieved 27 November 2010. throughout his life he fought for the Albanian cause and took up strong anti-Serb and anti-Bulgarian positions
^ Hodgkinson, Harry (24 December 2004). Scanderbeg: From Ottoman Captive to Albanian Hero. I. B. Tauris. p. 240. ISBN 978-1-85043-941-7.
^ Schmitt 2009, p. 8: "Gelandekundige, wie etwa ein britischer Geheimdienstoffizier des Zweiten Weltkriegs (H.Hodgkinson), wiederum, hatten keine Archivarbeit betrieben"
^ Petrovski 2006, pp. 2, 3, 10.
^ Petrovski 2006, "Доколку ја прифатиме оваа варијанта, според која Бранковиките биле господари на/во Полог до почетког на последната деценија од XIV век, во тој случај произлегува дека Воисава била керка на Гргур или пак, можеби на Вук Бранковик.".
^ Petrovski 2006, p. 12
Cependant, le mot « Tribalda », lié au nome de la mère de Scanderbeg, pas nécessairement signifie la détermination ethnique, mais ça pourrait présenter une qualification de l’Etat, ou porrait se referer au service de son père chez Volkachin le Roy et dauphin de l’Etat Serbe Médiéval.
^ Skanderbeg verband mit Mara wahrscheinlich auch Verwandtschaft; denn Skanderbegs Mutter Voisava war wohl eine Branković.Schmitt 2009, pp. 44–45; Andreas Künzli (November 2009). "Rezension: Skanderbeg: Der neue Alexander auf dem Balkan" (PDF). Osteuropa.ch. osteuropa: 44. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2011. Skanderbegs Mutter Vojsava war eine Serbin aus der Dynastie Branković, also eine Slavin.
^ Robert Elsie (2012). A Biographical Dictionary of Albanian History. I.B.Tauris. p. 76. ISBN 978-1-78076-431-3.
^ Bojović 2020, p. 18:Sa mère Vojsava est issue de la famille des Muzaka, ses frères avaient pour nom Stanisa, Repos, Kostadin
^ Hopf 1873, p. 301, quoting Muzaka: "Muzachi "E la madre de detto Signor Scanderbeg, moglie del detto Signor Giovanni, hebbe nome Signora Voisava Tripalda e venne da bonna parte"
^ Jireček, Konstantin, Geschichte der Bulgaren (in German), vol. II, p. 368
^ Šimundić, Mate (1988). Rječnik osobnih imena (in Croatian). Zagreb: Matica hrvatska. p. 370. ISBN 9788640100373. VOISAVA

Sources

Biçoku, Kasëm (2007). "Peshkopata e Arbnit dhe Kastriotët [The bishopric of Arbni and the Kastriots]". Studime Historike. 03–04.
Hahn, Johann Georg von (1869). "Reise durch die Gebiete von Drin und Wardar". Denkschriften (in German). 16. Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien: 117, 121.
Hopf, Karl (1873). Chroniques gréco-romanes: inédites ou peu connues, pub. avec notes et tables généalogiques. Bibliopoleion. pp. 301, 533. Dominicus alias Moncinus [genuit]: 1. Agnese Andre Angeli mater, & 2. Voisava Ivani uxorem. (Karl Hopf: Chroniques gréco-romanes inédites ou peu connues, Berlin, p. 308). Uxor is Latin for "wife, spouse". (appendix, Giovanni Musachi, Historia della casa Musachia)
Noli, Fan Stilian (1947). George Castrioti Scanderbeg (1405–1468) (in Albanian). International Universities Press. OCLC 732882.
Petrovski, Boban (2006). "Воисава Трибалда (Voisava Tribalda)" (PDF) (in Macedonian). Skopje. ((cite journal)): Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
Schmitt, Oliver Jens (2009). Skanderbeg: Der neue Alexander auf dem Balkan (in German). Regensburg: Verlag Friedrich Pustet. OCLC 441151026.
Vukanović, Tatomir P. (1971). "Словенска симбиоза породице Ђурђа Кастриота Скендербега". Врањски гласник (VII). Народни музеј Врање.
Omari, Jeton (2014). Scanderbeg tra storia e storiografia [Skanderbeg between history and historiography] (PDF) (Thesis). University of Padua.
Bojović, Boško (2020). "Byzance et les Slaves méridionaux : alliances dynastiques matrimoniales (Xe –XVe siècles) " (PDF). Revue des Études Sud-Est Européennes. LVIII (1–4).

v t e House of Kastrioti
Medieval	Konstantin Pal Gjon (Vojsava) Skanderbeg (Donika) Gjon II (Jerina) Hamza Costantino Castriota Kastriot of Kanina (hypothetical)