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{{About|the Vuk Branković of the 14th century|his 15th century great-grandson|Vuk Branković II}} {{About|the Vuk Branković of the 14th century|his 15th century great-grandson|Vuk Branković II}}
⚫ {{Infobox royalty
{{Refimprove|date=September 2009}}
⚫ {{Infobox monarch
|name =Vuk Branković |name =Vuk Branković
|title =Gospodin (lord) |title =Gospodin (lord)
|image =Vuk Branković.jpg |image =Vuk Branković.jpg
|caption =Vuk, 18 years old (ca. 1363), fresco work in the ] |caption =Vuk, 18 years old (ca. 1363), fresco work in the Holy Mother of God church, ]
|reign = 1378–1389 |reign = 1371–1396
|coronation = |coronation =
|predecessor = |predecessor =
|successor = ] |successor = ]
|spouse = Mara Lazarević |spouse = ]
|issue = ] |issue = ]<br>]<br>]
|royal house = ] |royal house = ]
|father = ] |father = ]
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|birth_date = 1345 |birth_date = 1345
|birth_place = |birth_place =
|death_date = October 6, 1397 |death_date = 6 October 1397 (aged 51–52)
|death_place = |death_place =
|place of burial = |place of burial =
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}} }}


'''Vuk Branković''' ({{lang-sr-cyr|Вук Бранковић}}, {{IPA-sh|ʋûːk brǎːnkoʋit͡ɕ|pron}}, 1345 – 6 October 1397) was a Serbian medieval ] who, during the ], inherited a province that extended over present-day southern and southwestern ], the northern part of present day ], and northern ]. His fief (and later state) was known as ''Oblast Brankovića'' (]) or simply as ''Vukova zemlja'' (Vuk's land), which he held with the title of ''gospodin'' (lord, sir), under Prince ]. After the ] (1389), Vuk was briefly the ''de facto'' most powerful Serbian lord. '''Vuk Branković''' ({{lang-sr-Cyrl|Вук Бранковић}}, {{IPA|sh|ʋûːk brǎːnkoʋit͡ɕ|pron}}, 1345 – 6 October 1397) was a Serbian medieval ] who, during the ], inherited a province that extended over present-day southern and southwestern ], entire ], the northern part of present-day ], and northern ]. His fief (and later state) was known as ''Oblast Brankovića'' (]) or simply as ''Vukova zemlja'' (Vuk's land), which he held with the title of '']'' (lord, sir), under Prince ]. After the ] (1389), Vuk was briefly the ''de facto'' most powerful Serbian lord.


==Origins== ==Origins==
Branković was born in 1345<ref>{{cite journal|author=Spremić, Momčilo|year=1996|title=Vuk Branković i Kosovska bitka|journal=Glas SANU 9|page=85}}</ref> and belonged to a Serb noble family that held a prominent role in the 14th century.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Agoston |first1=Gabor |last2=Masters |first2=Bruce Alan |title=Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire |date=2010 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=9781438110257 |page=93 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QjzYdCxumFcC&pg=PA93}}</ref> Vuk was a son of ] (died before 1365),{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|p=79}} who received the high court title of '']'' from Emperor ] (r. 1331–1355) and served as governor of ] (present-day North Macedonia).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Buckton |first1=David |title=Byzantium: Treasures of Byzantine Art and Culture from British Collections |date=1994 |publisher=Trustees of the British Museum |isbn=9780714105772 |page=210 |quote=Sebastocrator Branko Mladenović, son of Prince Mladen, was a magnate at the court of the Serbian Tsar Stefan Dušan (1331-55) and, after 1334, governor of the city of Ohrid. He died before 1365. Two generations of Brankovićs..}}</ref> Vuk's grandfather was Mladen (died after 1326), who was '']'' (count) in ] under King ] (1282–1321) and ''vojvoda'' (duke) under King ] (1321–1331).<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Schmidt |editor1-first=Oliver Jens |title=Herrschaft und Politik in Südosteuropa von 1300 bis 1800 |date=2021 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=9783110744392 |page=103 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cI49EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA103 |language=German}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Memoirs of the Section of Philological Sciences, Literature and Arts of the Academy of the Socialist Republic of Romania |date=1984 |publisher=Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România |language=Romanian |quote=Cît priveşte pe Branko Mladenović, el este fiul acelui Mladen care apare în timpul regelui Uroš, in anul 1326, ca voievod (...), și tatăl lui Vuk Branković, despotul sirb, cum rezultă dintr - un document din anul 1392..}}</ref> Later chronicles alleged that the Branković were descended from ], son of ].

Branković was born in 1345,<ref>{{cite journal|author=Spremić, Momčilo|year=1996|title=Vuk Branković i Kosovska bitka|work=Glas SANU 9|page=85}}</ref> and belonged to a Serb noble family which held a prominent role under the ] in the 13th and 14th century. Vuk was a son of ] (died before 1365), who received the high court title of '']'' from Emperor ] (r. 1331–1355) and served as governor of ] (present day Macedonia). Vuk's grandfather was Mladen (died after 1326), who was '']'' (count) in ] under King ] (1282–1321) and ''vojvoda'' (duke) under King ] (1321–1331). Later chronicles alleged that the Branković descended from ], son of ].


==Expansion== ==Expansion==
⚫ ]
After their father's death, Vuk and his brothers ] and ] retreated to the valley of ] (central Kosovo).{{sfn|Spremić|2005|p=330}} During the final years of ]'s rule, Grgur and Vuk's governance was limited to their heritance in Drenica.<ref name="Emmert">{{cite web |last1=Emmert |first1=Thomas A. |title=Prologue to Kosovo: The Era of Prince Lazar |url=https://christian-heritage.eserbia.org/articles/06-Thomas-A-Emmert-Prologue-to-Kosovo-The-Era-of-Prince-Lazar.pdf |website=christian-heritage.eserbia.org |page=354}}</ref> Vuk took advantage of the death of ] in the ] (1371) and conquered ], ], and part of the ] valley.<ref name="Emmert">{{cite web |last1=Emmert |first1=Thomas A. |title=Prologue to Kosovo: The Era of Prince Lazar |url=https://christian-heritage.eserbia.org/articles/06-Thomas-A-Emmert-Prologue-to-Kosovo-The-Era-of-Prince-Lazar.pdf |website=christian-heritage.eserbia.org |page=354}}</ref>

⚫ Vuk's marriage to Mara, the daughter of the most powerful Serbian magnate prince ], brought him substantial lands in Kosovo. This marriage sealed the alliance between two houses and secured Lazar's assistance for Vuk's future plans, although Vuk in return had to acknowledge Lazar as his feudal senior. Soon after the marriage, Lazar and King ] attacked župan ], who ruled in the western part of Serbia, and conquered and divided his lands in 1373.<ref>{{harvnb|Fine|1994|pp=384–385}}</ref> In the partition of Altomanović's land, Vuk got areas of ] (including the old Serbian capital ]) and lands in ] (northern Montenegro). After the death of ] (13 January 1378), Vuk captured his cities of ] and ] and the area of ].<ref>{{harvnb|Fine|1994|pp=386–389}}</ref>


At its peak, the realm of Branković stretched from Sjenica in the west to ] in the east, with the cities of ] and ] serving as its capitals. The most important cities in Vuk's province were Priština, Prizren, Peć, Skopje, and Ras, as well as the rich mining settlements of ], ], ], and others.{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|p=79}}
] in the 14th century]]
⚫ ]
⚫ After their father's death, Vuk and his brothers ] and ] were forced by the usurper king ] to leave their land in western Macedonia (Ohrid), and they retreated to the valley of ] (central Kosovo). From there Vuk, who only held the humble title of ''gospodin'' (lord, sir), started to expand his realm and to create his own state. He took advantage of the death of king Vukašin in the ] (1371), and occupied his lands in the southern part of Kosovo and northern Macedonia with the city of ]. The turning point of Vuk's ascension to power in post-Nemanjić Serbia was his marriage with Mara, daughter of the most powerful Serbian magnate prince ], which brought him substantial lands in Kosovo and the city of ] as dowry. This marriage sealed the alliance between two houses and secured Lazar's assistance for Vuk's future plans, although Vuk in return had to acknowledge Lazar as his feudal senior. Soon after the marriage, Lazar, Vuk and king ] attacked župan ], who ruled in the western part of Serbia, and conquered and divided his lands in 1373. In the partition of Altomanović's land, Vuk got areas of ] (including the old Serbian capital ]) and lands in ] (northern Montenegro). After the death of ] (13 January 1378), Vuk captured his cities of ] and ] and the area of ].<ref>{{harvnb|Fine|1994|p=389}}</ref> At its peak, the realm of Branković stretched from ] in the west to Skopje in the east, with the cities of Priština and ] serving as its capitals. The most important cities in Vuk's province were Priština, Prizren, Peć, Skopje and Ras, as well as the rich mining settlements of Trepča, Janjevo, Gluhavica and others.{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|p=79}}


==Battle of Kosovo== ==Battle of Kosovo==
⚫ {{See also|Battle of Kosovo}}
⚫ ]
After the Battle of Maritza, the Ottomans forced the southern Serbian feudal lords (in present-day Macedonia and Greece), ], ], ], and others, to become their vassals and started to attack the northern Serbian lands ruled by prince Lazar and Vuk. After initial Serbian successes at the battles of ] (1381), ] (1386), and ] (1388), the Ottomans launched a full-scale attack on Serbia, aiming at the very heartland of Vuk's realm in central Kosovo. In the epic ] (1389), Vuk participated along with his father-in-law Lazar and a contingent of King Tvrtko's army.{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|pp=79-86}}


⚫ Unlike Lazar, who died in the battle along with most of his army, Vuk managed to survive and preserve his army, which later gave material for a popular Serbian folk tradition (represented in folk epic poems and tales) that he betrayed Lazar in order to become supreme ruler of Serbia, a theory that is rejected by modern-day Serbian historians but not by the Serb people.{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|pp=83–85}} Despite the consensus of modern historiography in ] that Vuk Branković was not a traitor in the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, ] emphasized that there is a possibility that Vuk really betrayed his Serbian allies.<ref>{{cite web |last=Zirojević |first=Olga |title=Bog ubio Vuka Brankovića... (Let God kill Vuk Branković...) |url=http://www.yurope.com/zines/republika/arhiva/96/153/153-45.html |access-date=14 May 2011 |quote=Momcilo Spremic kao da ponovo izvodi Vuka Brankovica na sud. »Uzimajuci u obzir« - kaze on - »celokupnu delatnost Vuka, ne bi se moglo reci da je bio bez predispozicije za izdaju. Konacno, sve sto je ovde izneto, ne na osnovu emotivnog narodnog predanja, vec iskljucivo na osnovu pouzdanih dokumenata, pokazuje da njegova izdaja na Kosovu nije bila nemoguca«... Momčilo Spremić is again taking Vuk Branković on the trial. "Taking into consideration - says he - the whole activities of Vuk Branković, it can not be said that he did not have prerequisites for betrayal. Finally, everything that was stated here, not based on an emotional popular narrative, but on the basis of reliable sources, shows that his betrayal at Kosovo was not impossible.}}</ref>
⚫ {{See also|Battle of Kosovo}}
⚫ After the Battle of Maritza, Ottomans forced the southern Serbian feudal lords (in present-day Macedonia and Greece), ], ], ] and others, to become their vassals, and started to attack the northern Serbian lands ruled by prince Lazar and Vuk. After initial Serbian successes at the battles of ] (1381), ] (1386) and ] (1388), the Ottomans launched a full-scale attack on Serbia aiming at the very heartland of Vuk's realm in central Kosovo. In the epic ] (1389), which ended with a strategic Serbian defeat, Vuk participated along with his father-in-law Lazar and a contingent of King Tvrtko's army. Unlike Lazar, who died in the battle along with most of his army, Vuk managed to survive and preserve his army, which later gave material for a popular Serbian folk tradition (represented in folk epic poems and tales) that he betrayed Lazar in order to become supreme ruler of Serbia, a theory that is rejected by modern day Serbian historians, but not by the Serb people.{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|pp=83–85}} Despite the consensus of modern historiography in ] that Vuk Branković was not a traitor in the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, ] emphasized that there is a possibility that Vuk really betrayed his Serbian allies.<ref>{{cite web|last=Zirojević|first=Olga|title=Bog ubio Vuka Brankovića... (Let God kill Vuk Branković...)|url=http://www.yurope.com/zines/republika/arhiva/96/153/153-45.html|quote= Momcilo Spremic kao da ponovo izvodi Vuka Brankovica na sud. »Uzimajuci u obzir« - kaze on - »celokupnu delatnost Vuka, ne bi se moglo reci da je bio bez predispozicije za izdaju. Konacno, sve sto je ovde izneto, ne na osnovu emotivnog narodnog predanja, vec iskljucivo na osnovu pouzdanih dokumenata, pokazuje da njegova izdaja na Kosovu nije bila nemoguca«... Momčilo Spremić is again taking Vuk Branković on the trial. "Taking in consideraton {{sic}} - says he - the whole activities of Vuk Branković, it can not be said that he did not have prerequisites for betrayal. Finally, everything that was brought here, not on emotional peoples narrative, but on the basis of reliable sources, shows that his betrayal on Kosovo was not impossible.|accessdate=14 May 2011}}</ref>
⚫ ]


==Last years== ==Last years==
⚫ After the Battle of Kosovo, Vuk refused to become an Ottoman vassal (unlike prince ], son of prince Lazar, who became an Ottoman vassal in late 1389) and started to plan anti-Ottoman action together with the Hungarian king Sigismund. However, Vuk was unable to resist the Ottomans for long. In 1392, they captured Skopje and forced Vuk to become their vassal and pay tribute. Even after that, Vuk showed some resistance to the Ottomans, refusing to participate on the Ottoman side in the battles of ] and ], unlike other Serbian lords such as prince Stefan, ], and ]. He also maintained contacts with Hungary. Finally, the Ottomans ended this situation by attacking Vuk in 1395–96, seizing his land, and giving most of it to prince Stefan Lazarević, while Vuk himself was imprisoned and died in an Ottoman prison. A small part of Vuk's land with the towns of Priština and Vučitrn was given to his sons to hold as Ottoman vassals.<ref>{{harvnb|Fine|1994|pp=409–415}}</ref>

⚫ After the Battle of Kosovo, Vuk refused to become an Ottoman vassal (unlike prince ], son of prince Lazar, who became an Ottoman vassal in late 1389), and started to plan anti-Ottoman action together with the Hungarian king Sigismund. However, Vuk was unable to resist the Ottomans for long. In 1392, they captured Skopje and forced Vuk to become their vassal and pay tribute. Even after that Vuk showed some resistance to Ottomans, refusing to participate on the Ottoman side in the battles of ] and ], unlike other Serbian lords such as prince Stefan, ] and ]. He also maintained contacts with Hungary. Finally the Ottomans ended this situation by attacking Vuk in 1395-96, seizing his land and giving most of it to prince Stefan Lazarević, while Vuk himself was imprisoned and died in an Ottoman prison. A small part of Vuk's land with the towns of Priština and Vučitrn were given to his sons to hold as Ottoman vassals.<ref>{{harvnb|Fine|1994|pp=409–415}}</ref>


==Family== ==Family==
{{See also|Branković family tree}} {{See also|Branković family tree}}
], restored by Vuk Branković]]
He married ], the daughter of ] and ] in 1371. She died on April 12, 1426. They had three sons: He married ], the daughter of ] and ] in 1371.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mihaljčić |first1=Rade |title=The Battle of Kosovo in History and in Popular Tradition |date=1989 |publisher=Beogradski izdavačko-grafički zavod |isbn=9788613003663 |page=33}}</ref> She died on April 12, 1426. They had three sons:
*] (1377 - 13 March 1408), *] (1377 - 13 March 1408),
*] (1377 - 24 December 1456), succeeded his maternal uncle ] as '']'' of Serbia (]), ruling 1427–1456 *] (1377 - 24 December 1456), succeeded his maternal uncle ] as '']'' of Serbia (]), ruling 1427–1456
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==Titles== ==Titles==
He is most often titled "Lord Vuk" (господин Вук),<ref>{{cite book|title=Зборник радова Византолошког института|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kP8TAQAAMAAJ|year=1997|publisher=Научно дело|page=191|quote=Познато је да се Вук Бранковић обично титулише као „господин Вук" }}</ref> while he signed himself "Lord of Serbs and Podunavlje" ({{small|господар Срба и Подунавља}}<ref name="Mirkov1998">{{cite book|author=Nada Mirkov|title=Hilandar u knjigama|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6BUyAAAAMAAJ|date=1 January 1998|publisher=Narodna biblioteka Srbije|page=44}}</ref><ref name="ЈовићРадић1990">{{cite book|author1=Момир Јовић|author2=Коста Радић|title=Srpske zemlje i vladari|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LHJpAAAAMAAJ|year=1990|publisher=Društvo za negovanje istorijskih i umetničkih vrednosti|quote=Он се у преговорима са краљем Жигмундом и Дубровником потписивао као »господар Срба и Подунавља«, преотимајући водећу улогу у Србији, као наследник таста кнеза Лазара.}}</ref>). The Serbian Church had in the period between 1374 and 1379 accepted ''knez'' Lazar as "Lord of Serbs and Podunavlje".<ref>{{citation| last=Blagojević |first=Miloš |authorlink=Miloš Blagojević |title= Državna uprava u srpskim srednjovekovnim zemljama | edition= 2nd | year= 2001 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=srAVAQAAIAAJ | publisher= Službeni list SRJ| place=Belgrade| isbn=86-355-0497-6 |ref=harv|language=sr}} {{quote|У периоду између 1374. и 1379. године Српска црква је прихватила кнеза Лазара као „господара Срба и Подунавља"}}</ref> According to historian ], when Vuk claimed the title, Stefan Lazarević was around 15 years old (ca. 1392).<ref name="Mihaljčić2001">{{cite book|author=Rade Mihaljčić|title=Sabrana dela: I - VI. Kraj srpskog carstva|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XCAtAQAAIAAJ|year=2001|publisher=Srpska školska knj.|quote=Када се Вук потписао као господар Срба и Подунавља, Стефан Лазаревић је имао око 15 година}}</ref> Vuk was not recognised with that title, as it was preserved for Lazar and Lazar's son Stefan.<ref>{{cite book|title=Istorijski glasnik: organ Društva istoričara SR Srbije|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MhEWAQAAMAAJ|year=1982|publisher=Društvo|quote=На основу досадашњег излагања са сигурношћу можемо рећи да деспот Угљеша , господин Константин , Вук Бранковић , Вукови синови и кесар Угљеша никада нису носили титулу „ господар Срба и Подунавља ” , јер је ова ...}}</ref> He is most often titled "Lord Vuk" (господин Вук),<ref>{{cite book|title=Зборник радова Византолошког института|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kP8TAQAAMAAJ|year=1997|publisher=Научно дело|page=191|quote=Познато је да се Вук Бранковић обично титулише као „господин Вук" }}</ref> while he signed himself "Lord of Serbs and Podunavlje" ({{small|господар Срба и Подунавља}}<ref name="Mirkov1998">{{cite book|author=Nada Mirkov|title=Hilandar u knjigama|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6BUyAAAAMAAJ|date=1 January 1998|publisher=Narodna biblioteka Srbije|page=44|isbn=9788670350717}}</ref><ref name="ЈовићРадић1990">{{cite book|author1=Момир Јовић|author2=Коста Радић|title=Srpske zemlje i vladari|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LHJpAAAAMAAJ|year=1990|publisher=Društvo za negovanje istorijskih i umetničkih vrednosti|isbn=9788681587010|quote=Он се у преговорима са краљем Жигмундом и Дубровником потписивао као »господар Срба и Подунавља«, преотимајући водећу улогу у Србији, као наследник таста кнеза Лазара.}}</ref>). The Serbian Church had in the period between 1374 and 1379 accepted ''knez'' Lazar as "Lord of Serbs and Podunavlje".<ref>{{citation| last=Blagojević |first=Miloš |author-link=Miloš Blagojević |title= Državna uprava u srpskim srednjovekovnim zemljama | edition= 2nd | year= 2001 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=srAVAQAAIAAJ | publisher= Službeni list SRJ| place=Belgrade| isbn=86-355-0497-6 |language=sr}} {{blockquote|У периоду између 1374. и 1379. године Српска црква је прихватила кнеза Лазара као „господара Срба и Подунавља"}}</ref> According to historian ], when Vuk claimed the title, Stefan Lazarević was around 15 years old (ca. 1392).<ref name="Mihaljčić2001">{{cite book|author=Rade Mihaljčić|title=Sabrana dela: I - VI. Kraj srpskog carstva|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XCAtAQAAIAAJ|year=2001|publisher=Srpska školska knj.|isbn=9788683565023|quote=Када се Вук потписао као господар Срба и Подунавља, Стефан Лазаревић је имао око 15 година}}</ref> Vuk was not recognised with that title, as it was preserved for Lazar and Lazar's son Stefan.<ref>{{cite book|title=Istorijski glasnik: organ Društva istoričara SR Srbije|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MhEWAQAAMAAJ|year=1982|publisher=Društvo|quote=На основу досадашњег излагања са сигурношћу можемо рећи да деспот Угљеша, господин Константин, Вук Бранковић, Вукови синови и кесар Угљеша никада нису носили титулу „ господар Срба и Подунавља ”, јер је ова ...}}</ref>


==People of his court== ==People of his court==
]
] and ]]]
*Braiko Pekpal (fl. 1374) *Braiko Pekpal (fl. 1374)
*Vlatko Hranotić *Vlatko Hranotić
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==Legacy== ==Legacy==
{{See also|Kosovo Myth}}
] portraits Vuk as a traitor: supposedly, Vuk tarnished the family name when he betrayed ] at the ], which he survived in 1389. This tradition may be apocryphal.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bataković |first=Dušan |authorlink=Dušan Bataković |year=1992 |title=Kosovo Chronicles |isbn=86-447-0006-5 |url=http://www.rastko.org.rs/kosovo/istorija/kosovo_chronicles/index.html |publisher=Plato; Rastko |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111192939/http://www.rastko.org.rs/kosovo/istorija/kosovo_chronicles/index.html |archivedate=2014-01-11 |df= }}</ref> ] portraits Vuk as a traitor in the ]: supposedly, Vuk tarnished the family name when he betrayed ] at the ], which he survived in 1389. This tradition is apocryphal.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bataković |first=Dušan |author-link=Dušan Bataković |year=1992 |title=Kosovo Chronicles |isbn=86-447-0006-5 |url=http://www.rastko.org.rs/kosovo/istorija/kosovo_chronicles/index.html |publisher=Plato; Rastko |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111192939/http://www.rastko.org.rs/kosovo/istorija/kosovo_chronicles/index.html |archive-date=2014-01-11 }}</ref>


==References== ==References==
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===Sources=== ===Sources===


* {{Cite book|ref=harv|last=Ćirković|first=Sima|authorlink=Sima Ćirković|year=2004|title=The Serbs|location=Malden|publisher=Blackwell Publishing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Wc-DWRzoeIC}} * {{Cite book|last=Ćirković|first=Sima|author-link=Sima Ćirković|year=2004|title=The Serbs|location=Malden|publisher=Blackwell Publishing|isbn=9781405142915|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Wc-DWRzoeIC}}
* {{cite book |last=Ćorović |first=Vladimir |authorlink=Vladimir Ćorović |title=Istorija srpskog naroda |edition=Internet |year=2001 | location=Belgrade |publisher=Ars Libri |url=http://www.rastko.rs/rastko-bl/istorija/corovic/istorija/index.html |language=sr}} <!--|ref=harv}}--> * {{cite book |last=Ćorović |first=Vladimir |author-link=Vladimir Ćorović |title=Istorija srpskog naroda |edition=Internet |year=2001 | location=Belgrade |publisher=Ars Libri |url=http://www.rastko.rs/rastko-bl/istorija/corovic/istorija/index.html |language=sr}}
* {{cite book |last=Fajfrić |first=Željko |authorlink=Željko Fajfrić |title=Sveta loza Brankovića |chapter=Vuk Branković |publisher="Tehnologije, izdavastvo, agencija Janus", "Rastko" |origyear=1999 |year=2000 |url=http://www.rastko.org.rs/kosovo/istorija/zfajfric-brankovici_c.html |location=Belgrade |language=sr |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302083918/http://www.rastko.org.rs/kosovo/istorija/zfajfric-brankovici_c.html |archivedate=2014-03-02 |df= }} <!--|ref=harv}}--> * {{cite book |last=Fajfrić |first=Željko |author-link=Željko Fajfrić |title=Sveta loza Brankovića |chapter=Vuk Branković |publisher="Tehnologije, izdavastvo, agencija Janus", "Rastko" |orig-year=1999 |year=2000 |url=http://www.rastko.org.rs/kosovo/istorija/zfajfric-brankovici_c.html |location=Belgrade |language=sr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302083918/http://www.rastko.org.rs/kosovo/istorija/zfajfric-brankovici_c.html |archive-date=2014-03-02 }}
* {{cite book |last=Fine |first=John Van Antwerp |authorlink=John Van Antwerp Fine Jr. |title=The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest |publisher=] |place=Ann Arbor |year= 1994 |isbn=978-0-472-08260-5 |url=https://books.google.com/?id=Hh0Bu8C66TsC |ref=harv}} * {{cite book |last=Fine |first=John Van Antwerp |author-link=John Van Antwerp Fine Jr. |title=The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest |publisher=] |place=Ann Arbor |year= 1994 |isbn=978-0-472-08260-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hh0Bu8C66TsC }}
* {{cite book |last=Kovačević |first=Ljubomir| authorlink=Ljubomir Kovačević|title=Вук Бранковић, 1372-1398|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8eEwAQAAMAAJ|year=1888|publisher=Штамп. у краљевско-српској државној штамп.}} * {{cite book |last=Kovačević |first=Ljubomir| author-link=Ljubomir Kovačević|title=Вук Бранковић, 1372-1398|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8eEwAQAAMAAJ|year=1888|publisher=Штамп. у краљевско-српској државној штамп.}}
*{{cite web |last=Stevanović |first=Miladin | title=Vuk Branković: junak ili izdajnik |year=2010 |work=Feljton| publisher=Novosti|url=http://www.novosti.rs/dodatni_sadrzaj/feljtoni.120.html?item_id=711|language=sr}} * {{cite web |last=Stevanović |first=Miladin | title=Vuk Branković: junak ili izdajnik |year=2010 |work=Feljton| publisher=Novosti|url=http://www.novosti.rs/dodatni_sadrzaj/feljtoni.120.html?item_id=711|language=sr}}
* {{cite book|last=Spremić|first=Momčilo|author-link=Momčilo Spremić|title=Прекинут успон: српске земље у позном средњем веку|chapter=Бранковићи у историји и предању|publisher=Завод за уџбенике и наставна средства|location=Belgrade|year=2005|pages=329–344}}
* {{cite book|author1=Miladin Stevanović|author2=Vuk Branković (srpski velmoža.)|title=Vuk Branković|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CmMMAQAAMAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Knjiga-komerc}} * {{cite book|author1=Miladin Stevanović|author2=Vuk Branković (srpski velmoža.)|title=Vuk Branković|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CmMMAQAAMAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Knjiga-komerc|isbn=9788677120382}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite journal|title=Кнез Лазар и Вук Бранковић |id=SN-2-029| publisher=Дигитална Народна библиотека Србије|url=http://scc.digital.bkp.nb.rs/document/SN-2-029}}


{{commons category}} {{commons category}}
{{Kosovo Myth}}

{{Authority control}} {{Authority control}}


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Latest revision as of 04:53, 14 December 2024

This article is about the Vuk Branković of the 14th century. For his 15th century great-grandson, see Vuk Branković II. Gospodin (lord)
Vuk Branković
Gospodin (lord)
Vuk, 18 years old (ca. 1363), fresco work in the Holy Mother of God church, Ohrid
Reign1371–1396
SuccessorĐurađ Branković
Born1345
Died6 October 1397 (aged 51–52)
SpouseMara Lazarević
IssueGrgur Vuković
Đurađ Branković
Lazar Vuković
HouseBranković
FatherBranko Mladenović
ReligionEastern Orthodoxy

Vuk Branković (Serbian Cyrillic: Вук Бранковић, pronounced [ʋûːk brǎːnkoʋit͡ɕ], 1345 – 6 October 1397) was a Serbian medieval nobleman who, during the Fall of the Serbian Empire, inherited a province that extended over present-day southern and southwestern Serbia, entire Kosovo, the northern part of present-day Republic of North Macedonia, and northern Montenegro. His fief (and later state) was known as Oblast Brankovića (District of Branković) or simply as Vukova zemlja (Vuk's land), which he held with the title of gospodin (lord, sir), under Prince Lazar of Serbia. After the Battle of Kosovo (1389), Vuk was briefly the de facto most powerful Serbian lord.

Origins

Branković was born in 1345 and belonged to a Serb noble family that held a prominent role in the 14th century. Vuk was a son of Branko Mladenović (died before 1365), who received the high court title of sevastokrator from Emperor Stefan Dušan (r. 1331–1355) and served as governor of Ohrid (present-day North Macedonia). Vuk's grandfather was Mladen (died after 1326), who was župan (count) in Trebinje under King Stefan Milutin (1282–1321) and vojvoda (duke) under King Stefan Dečanski (1321–1331). Later chronicles alleged that the Branković were descended from Vukan Nemanjić, son of Stefan Nemanja.

Expansion

States in the Central Balkans (including Realm of Vuk Branković) in 1373-1395

After their father's death, Vuk and his brothers Grgur and Nikola Radonja retreated to the valley of Drenica (central Kosovo). During the final years of Stefan Uroš V's rule, Grgur and Vuk's governance was limited to their heritance in Drenica. Vuk took advantage of the death of King Vukašin in the Battle of Maritsa (1371) and conquered Sjenica, Zvečan, and part of the Lim River valley.

Vuk's marriage to Mara, the daughter of the most powerful Serbian magnate prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, brought him substantial lands in Kosovo. This marriage sealed the alliance between two houses and secured Lazar's assistance for Vuk's future plans, although Vuk in return had to acknowledge Lazar as his feudal senior. Soon after the marriage, Lazar and King Tvrtko I of Bosnia attacked župan Nikola Altomanović, who ruled in the western part of Serbia, and conquered and divided his lands in 1373. In the partition of Altomanović's land, Vuk got areas of Raška (including the old Serbian capital Ras) and lands in Polimlje (northern Montenegro). After the death of Đurađ I Balšić (13 January 1378), Vuk captured his cities of Prizren and Peć (Peja) and the area of Metohija.

At its peak, the realm of Branković stretched from Sjenica in the west to Skopje in the east, with the cities of Pristina and Vushtrri serving as its capitals. The most important cities in Vuk's province were Priština, Prizren, Peć, Skopje, and Ras, as well as the rich mining settlements of Trepča, Janjevo, Gluhavica, and others.

Battle of Kosovo

See also: Battle of Kosovo
Kosovo Field with probable disposition of troops before the battle

After the Battle of Maritza, the Ottomans forced the southern Serbian feudal lords (in present-day Macedonia and Greece), Konstantin Dragaš, King Marko, Toma Preljubović, and others, to become their vassals and started to attack the northern Serbian lands ruled by prince Lazar and Vuk. After initial Serbian successes at the battles of Dubravnica (1381), Pločnik (1386), and Bileća (1388), the Ottomans launched a full-scale attack on Serbia, aiming at the very heartland of Vuk's realm in central Kosovo. In the epic Battle of Kosovo (1389), Vuk participated along with his father-in-law Lazar and a contingent of King Tvrtko's army.

Unlike Lazar, who died in the battle along with most of his army, Vuk managed to survive and preserve his army, which later gave material for a popular Serbian folk tradition (represented in folk epic poems and tales) that he betrayed Lazar in order to become supreme ruler of Serbia, a theory that is rejected by modern-day Serbian historians but not by the Serb people. Despite the consensus of modern historiography in Serbia that Vuk Branković was not a traitor in the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, Momčilo Spremić emphasized that there is a possibility that Vuk really betrayed his Serbian allies.

Last years

After the Battle of Kosovo, Vuk refused to become an Ottoman vassal (unlike prince Stefan Lazarević, son of prince Lazar, who became an Ottoman vassal in late 1389) and started to plan anti-Ottoman action together with the Hungarian king Sigismund. However, Vuk was unable to resist the Ottomans for long. In 1392, they captured Skopje and forced Vuk to become their vassal and pay tribute. Even after that, Vuk showed some resistance to the Ottomans, refusing to participate on the Ottoman side in the battles of Rovine (1395) and Nicopolis (1396), unlike other Serbian lords such as prince Stefan, prince Marko, and Konstantin Dejanović. He also maintained contacts with Hungary. Finally, the Ottomans ended this situation by attacking Vuk in 1395–96, seizing his land, and giving most of it to prince Stefan Lazarević, while Vuk himself was imprisoned and died in an Ottoman prison. A small part of Vuk's land with the towns of Priština and Vučitrn was given to his sons to hold as Ottoman vassals.

Family

See also: Branković family tree
Agiou Pavlou monastery, restored by Vuk Branković

He married Mara (Marija), the daughter of Lazar of Serbia and Milica Nemanjić in 1371. She died on April 12, 1426. They had three sons:

Titles

He is most often titled "Lord Vuk" (господин Вук), while he signed himself "Lord of Serbs and Podunavlje" (господар Срба и Подунавља). The Serbian Church had in the period between 1374 and 1379 accepted knez Lazar as "Lord of Serbs and Podunavlje". According to historian R. Mihaljčić, when Vuk claimed the title, Stefan Lazarević was around 15 years old (ca. 1392). Vuk was not recognised with that title, as it was preserved for Lazar and Lazar's son Stefan.

People of his court

Coin of Vuk Branković
Prince's Supper (1871) by Adam Stefanović and Pavle Čortanović
  • Braiko Pekpal (fl. 1374)
  • Vlatko Hranotić
  • Dragosav
  • Jakov
  • Nikola (c. 1389), kefalija
  • Nikolica (c. 1389), dijak
  • Pribil Kućinić
  • Todor Hamirović, vojvoda Prnjak and čelnik Smil (fl. 1387)
  • Stefan (fl. 1395), chancellor.
  • Todor, son of Žegar (fl. 1387)


Legacy

See also: Kosovo Myth

Folk tradition portraits Vuk as a traitor in the Kosovo Myth: supposedly, Vuk tarnished the family name when he betrayed Prince Lazar at the Battle of Kosovo, which he survived in 1389. This tradition is apocryphal.

References

  1. Spremić, Momčilo (1996). "Vuk Branković i Kosovska bitka". Glas SANU 9: 85.
  2. Agoston, Gabor; Masters, Bruce Alan (2010). Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire. Infobase Publishing. p. 93. ISBN 9781438110257.
  3. ^ Ćirković 2004, p. 79.
  4. Buckton, David (1994). Byzantium: Treasures of Byzantine Art and Culture from British Collections. Trustees of the British Museum. p. 210. ISBN 9780714105772. Sebastocrator Branko Mladenović, son of Prince Mladen, was a magnate at the court of the Serbian Tsar Stefan Dušan (1331-55) and, after 1334, governor of the city of Ohrid. He died before 1365. Two generations of Brankovićs..
  5. Schmidt, Oliver Jens, ed. (2021). Herrschaft und Politik in Südosteuropa von 1300 bis 1800 (in German). Walter de Gruyter. p. 103. ISBN 9783110744392.
  6. Memoirs of the Section of Philological Sciences, Literature and Arts of the Academy of the Socialist Republic of Romania (in Romanian). Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România. 1984. Cît priveşte pe Branko Mladenović, el este fiul acelui Mladen care apare în timpul regelui Uroš, in anul 1326, ca voievod (...), și tatăl lui Vuk Branković, despotul sirb, cum rezultă dintr - un document din anul 1392..
  7. Spremić 2005, p. 330.
  8. ^ Emmert, Thomas A. "Prologue to Kosovo: The Era of Prince Lazar" (PDF). christian-heritage.eserbia.org. p. 354.
  9. Fine 1994, pp. 384–385
  10. Fine 1994, pp. 386–389
  11. Ćirković 2004, pp. 79–86.
  12. Ćirković 2004, pp. 83–85.
  13. Zirojević, Olga. "Bog ubio Vuka Brankovića... (Let God kill Vuk Branković...)". Retrieved 14 May 2011. Momcilo Spremic kao da ponovo izvodi Vuka Brankovica na sud. »Uzimajuci u obzir« - kaze on - »celokupnu delatnost Vuka, ne bi se moglo reci da je bio bez predispozicije za izdaju. Konacno, sve sto je ovde izneto, ne na osnovu emotivnog narodnog predanja, vec iskljucivo na osnovu pouzdanih dokumenata, pokazuje da njegova izdaja na Kosovu nije bila nemoguca«... Momčilo Spremić is again taking Vuk Branković on the trial. "Taking into consideration - says he - the whole activities of Vuk Branković, it can not be said that he did not have prerequisites for betrayal. Finally, everything that was stated here, not based on an emotional popular narrative, but on the basis of reliable sources, shows that his betrayal at Kosovo was not impossible.
  14. Fine 1994, pp. 409–415
  15. Mihaljčić, Rade (1989). The Battle of Kosovo in History and in Popular Tradition. Beogradski izdavačko-grafički zavod. p. 33. ISBN 9788613003663.
  16. Зборник радова Византолошког института. Научно дело. 1997. p. 191. Познато је да се Вук Бранковић обично титулише као „господин Вук"
  17. Nada Mirkov (1 January 1998). Hilandar u knjigama. Narodna biblioteka Srbije. p. 44. ISBN 9788670350717.
  18. Момир Јовић; Коста Радић (1990). Srpske zemlje i vladari. Društvo za negovanje istorijskih i umetničkih vrednosti. ISBN 9788681587010. Он се у преговорима са краљем Жигмундом и Дубровником потписивао као »господар Срба и Подунавља«, преотимајући водећу улогу у Србији, као наследник таста кнеза Лазара.
  19. Blagojević, Miloš (2001), Državna uprava u srpskim srednjovekovnim zemljama (in Serbian) (2nd ed.), Belgrade: Službeni list SRJ, ISBN 86-355-0497-6

    У периоду између 1374. и 1379. године Српска црква је прихватила кнеза Лазара као „господара Срба и Подунавља"

  20. Rade Mihaljčić (2001). Sabrana dela: I - VI. Kraj srpskog carstva. Srpska školska knj. ISBN 9788683565023. Када се Вук потписао као господар Срба и Подунавља, Стефан Лазаревић је имао око 15 година
  21. Istorijski glasnik: organ Društva istoričara SR Srbije. Društvo. 1982. На основу досадашњег излагања са сигурношћу можемо рећи да деспот Угљеша, господин Константин, Вук Бранковић, Вукови синови и кесар Угљеша никада нису носили титулу „ господар Срба и Подунавља ", јер је ова ...
  22. Bataković, Dušan (1992). Kosovo Chronicles. Plato; Rastko. ISBN 86-447-0006-5. Archived from the original on 2014-01-11.

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