The Story of Tihomil: The Oldest Preserved Literary Work in Serbian Literature

Authors:

Pages: 227-239
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/SBEF3719

Abstract:

According to the dominant opinion in Serbian science, the oldest literary work in Serbian history is dedicated to Saint Jovan Vladimir, preserved as a part of the Chronicle of Priest Dukljanin (Letopis popa Dukljanina). However, our opinion differs since we believe that the oldest literary work that became part of the Chronicle of Priest Dukljanin (Letopis popa Dukljanina) is a work about Tihomil. According to the chronicle (Letopis), Tihomil spent his life in the middle of the 10th century under the rule of the prince Časlav, who granted Tihomil Drina’s county. Prince Časlav was mentioned in the „De administrando“, written by Prince Časlav’s contemporary Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos. Tihomil was the original version of the name which Serbians transformed to Tihomir during the 9th century. It is believed that the role model for the development of Tihomil’s character was Emperor David, who just as Tihomil had risen from a shepherd to a ruler. Although the Chronicle (Letopis) describes Tihomil’s rise to power, it does not provide any information about the way he ruled. In comparison with Tihomil’s character, the number of biblical motives used for creation of Prince Vladimir’s character was significantly larger. The only two nations mentioned in the story of Tihomil are the Serbs and the Hungarians, which implies good relations in the East. The fact that the Slavic singers were well known in Germany during the 9th century could indicate that the literary form of the work about Tihomil derives from the song, most probably created during the 10th century. The notion of prince Časlav was added later in order to confirm his historical existence.

Keywords:

: Chronicle of Priest Dukljanin, Prince Часлав, the great mayor (велики жупан) Тихомил, Serbia, the literary work, gesta

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