Sveti Sava, najmlađi sin Stefana Nemanje Saint
From an historical perspective, their impact was so great and wide-ranging that we have every reason to be proud of being the descendants of a people who birthed such a dynasty. This was an incred- ible group of members of a single fami- ly who were capable of planning for the long term and seeing far ahead of their own times. WHAT KIND OF RULES APPLIED AT THE COURT? It is rare in the writings of domestic and foreign medieval authors to come across descriptions of feasts in the courts of Serbian rulers. It is even rarer to see such scenes in the paintings of the Nemanjić and post-Nemanjić periods, which means we can only make indirect assumption based on representations such as “Wed- ding in Kana” from Kalenić or “Parable of an Imperial Feast” from Manasija. These two intriguing frescoes from the early 15 th century, as well as a number of miniatures featured in manuscripts from the same period, depict scenes of luxurious din- ing, which, among other things, suggest a clearly established hierarchy of seating around the table, just as they highlight the lavish clothing worn by the attend- ees of feasts. There is no doubt that the table order was well known for Serbian rulers and senior officials, just as it was known for ordinary men. It is well known from comparative medieval sources that usually men dined exclusively at feasts, with women only joining them on extraordinarily rare oc- casions, and with such exceptions on- ly made for female rulers. In the case of public feasts for more general guests, men were served first, followed by wom- Na dvoru su postojale viljuške, dvozube, ali ne od zlata, već od kovanog gvožđa, kojima su se jeli kolači i voće pre nego meso ili neka druga, robusnija hrana Forks were used in court, two-pronged ones, but not made of gold, rather wrought iron, which were more often used to eat cakes and fruits than meat or other more robust food
en and, finally, children. It was the prac- tise for the ruler to determine when and how much food would be distributed to the poor following great celebrations or during regular annual cycles. The distri- bution of food to the poor in medieval Serbian lands was primarily the concern of the church. In addition to a hierarchal structure and fine attire, feasts also had another specific dimension - music, song and fun. Musicians, acrobats, fire-eaters, beast tamers, dancers and actors were obligatory in public specta- cles during fairs, bazaars and markets, but also during wedding celebrations and oth- er feasts. There were particularly gleeful rul- ers, like Stefan the First-Crowned, who was known to pick up a gusle (traditional sin- gle-stringed instrument) and personally play and sing for his guests.
Sava, the youngest son of Stefan Nemanja
Kralj Stefan Prvovenčani, manastir Mileševa King Stefan the First-Crowned Mileševa Monastery
GOLDEN FORKS – MYTH OR FACT?
The legend of the medieval banquet in Niš in 1189, which saw the great leader Stefan Nemanja, founder of the Nemanjić dynasty, host the then‘Holy Roman Emper- or’ Friedrich Barbarossa and other West- ern nobles, and at which the Serbian rul- er is said to have used golden forks, while his guests ate with their fingers, is one of those romantic tales of a glorious past that often occupy the imaginations of local lis- teners. It has long been known locally that this story is indeed an unfounded legend, most likely created during the romantic 19 th century, thus there are no preserved re- cords from reliable sources regarding that particular banquet in Niš. However, that doesn’t diminish the curiosity regarding our ancestors’familiarity with the fork dur- ing the Middle Ages. The two-pronged fork for food con- sumption, painted in front of Christ on the fresco ‘Last Supper’ in the Church of the Holy Apostles in the Patriarchate of Peć Monastery has been reliably dated at 1260. When it comes to written sources, the old- est records linked to forks owned by Serbi- an rulers and nobles emerged during the first half of the 15 th century. The record in question describes the cutlery of Stjepan Vukčić Kosača (1404-1466), Herceg (Duke) of Saint Sava, which were made of silver, coral and mountain crystal. Four two-pronged forks with an av- erage length of about 15.5cm and prongs with an average length of five centimetres were made of wrought iron and processed simply, without ornamentation, and were very thin. They served as utensils for eat- ing fruit or cakes rather than meat or oth- er more robust foods.
Kralj Dragutin Nemanjić, Crkva Svetog Ahilija u Arilju King Dragutin Nemanjić, The Church of St. Achillius in Arilje
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