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'{{other uses|Obilić (disambiguation)}} {{Infobox person |name = Miloš Obilić<br/><small>Милош Обилић</small> |other_names = Miloš Kobilac, Miloš Kobilović, Miloš Kobilić |image = Miloš Obilić, by Aleksandar Dobrić, 1861.jpg |image_size = |caption = Painting by Aleksandar Dobrič, 1861. |birth_date = Unknown |death_date = 28 June 1389 |death_place = [[Kosovo Polje]] |death_cause = Killed |resting_place = |resting_place_coordinates = |known_for = The assassination of Ottoman Sultan [[Murad I]] |title = [[Knight]] |religion =[[Serbian Orthodox Christian]] }} '''Miloš Obilić''' ({{lang-sr-cyr|Милош Обилић}}, {{IPA-sh|mîloʃ ôbilit͡ɕ|pron}}; died June 15, 1389) was a Serbian knight in the service of [[Prince Lazar]], during the [[History of Ottoman Serbia|invasion of the Ottoman Empire]]. He is not mentioned in contemporary sources, but he features prominently in later accounts of the [[Battle of Kosovo]] as the assassin of the Ottoman sultan [[Murad I]]. Although the assassin remains anonymous in sources until the late 15th century, the dissemination of the story of Murad's assassination in Florentine, Serbian, Ottoman and Greek sources suggests that versions of it circulated widely across the Balkans within half a century after the event. It is not certain whether Obilić actually existed, but Lazar's family – strengthening their political control – "gave birth to the myth of Kosovo", including the story of Obilić.<ref>{{cite book|last=Judah|title=The Serbs|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-15826-7|page=32}}</ref> He became a major figure in [[Serbian epic poetry]], in which he is elevated to the level of the most noble national hero of medieval [[Serbian folklore]]. Along with the [[martyrdom]] of Prince Lazar and the alleged treachery of [[Vuk Branković]], Miloš's deed became an integral part of Serbian traditions surrounding the Battle of Kosovo. In the 19th century, Miloš also came to be venerated as a [[saint]] in the [[Serbian Church]]. ==Name== The hero's first name, [[Miloš]], is a Slavic given name recorded from the early Middle Ages among the [[Bulgarians]], [[Czechs]], [[Poles]] and [[Serbs]]. It is derived from the Slavic root ''mil-'', meaning "merciful" or "dear", which is found in a great number of Slavic given names.<ref>{{Citation| last=Miklosich| first=Franz| author-link=Franz Miklosich| year=1860| title=Die Bildung der slavischen Personennamen| publisher=Aus der kaiserlich-königlichen Hoff- und Staatdruckerei| place=Vienna| language=German| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=185EAAAAcAAJ| pages=[https://books.google.com/ebooks?id=185EAAAAcAAJ&pg=GBS.PA76 76–77]| mode=cs1}}</ref> Several versions of the hero's surname have been used throughout history.{{Cref2|a}} In his ''History of Montenegro'' (1754), [[Vasilije III Petrović-Njegoš|Vasilije Petrović]] wrote of one Miloš Obilijević, and in 1765, the historian Pavle Julinac rendered the surname as Obilić.<ref name="Popovic"/> According to Czech historian [[Konstantin Josef Jireček]], the surname Obilić and its different renderings are derived from the Serbian words ''obilan'' ("plenty of") and ''obilje'' ("wealth, abundance").<ref name=Jirecek-120>{{harvnb|Jireček|1967|loc= [https://books.google.com/books?ei=wU1FT_mgGZDR4QTRkYGSAw&id=G5JpAAAAMAAJ&dq=Julinac+Jirecek&q=Julinac+&redir_esc=y#search_anchor120 p. 120]}}: {{quote|''In Ragusa gab es eine Familie Kobilić (einer war 1390 Visconte von Breno), in Trebinje im 14.-15. Jahrh. eine Adelsfamilie Kobiljačić. Erst im 18. Jahrh. fand man den Namen eines "Stutenschnes" unanständig; der serb. Historiker Julinac (1763) änderte ihn zu Obilić, der seitdem in den Büchern zu lesen ist, von obilan reichlich, obilje Fülle, Überfluss.''<br/> [In Ragusa, there was a family Kobilić (one was Viscount in Breno, 1390), in the 14th and 15th centuries there was a noble family "Kobiljačić" in Trebinje. In the 18th century, they found the name of a "mare's son" indecent; the Serb historian Julinac (1763) changed it to Obilić, who has since appeared in the books, it comes from ''obilan'' ("plenty of"), ''obilje'' ("wealth", "abundance".)}}</ref> The surname Kobilić could come from the Slavic word ''kobila'' ([[mare]]), and means "mare's son", as in Serbian legends the hero is said to have been nursed by one.<ref name="Popovic">{{cite book|last=Popović|first=Tanya|title=Prince Marko: The Hero of South Slavic Epics|year=1988|publisher=Syracuse University Press|location=Syracuse, New York|pages=221–43|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ok93aZ27r-oC&pg=PA26}}</ref><ref name="Rossi">{{cite web|url=http://mss3.libraries.rutgers.edu/dlr/showfed.php?pid=rutgers-lib:26390|title=Resurrecting the past: democracy, national identity and historical memory in modern Serbia|last=Rossi|first=Michael|year=2009|publisher=Rutgers University|page=187|accessdate=25 January 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Katschnig-Fasch|first=Elisabeth|title=Gender and Nation in South Eastern Europe|year=2005|publisher=LIT Verlag Münster|location=Münster, Germany|pages=252|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=km132J3KYFQC&pg=PA96}}</ref> K. Jireček connected the surname to two noble families in medieval [[Dubrovnik|Ragusa]] and [[Trebinje]], the Kobilić and [[Kobiljačić]] in the 14th and 15th centuries, and noted that they altered their surnames in the 18th century because they considered it "indecent" to be associated with mares.<ref name=Jirecek-120/> Based on a 1433 document from Ragusan archives, the historian [[Mihailo Dinić]] concluded that Miloš's original surname was indeed Kobilić ({{lang-la|Cobilich}}).<ref name="Mihaljčić2001">{{cite book|author=Rade Mihaljčić|authorlink=Rade Mihaljčić|title=Sabrana dela: I - VI. Kraj srpskog carstva|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XCAtAQAAIAAJ|accessdate=10 September 2013|year=2001|publisher=Srpska školska knj.|page=44|quote=Динић је у дубровачком архиву пронашао документ који нас приближава правом презимену и који сведочи о раној слави косовског јунака. Milosh Stanishich Cobilich ...}}</ref> The rendering Obilić has universally been used by Serbian writers in modern times. The historian [[Noel Malcolm]] has proposed that the surname may have been derived from the term ''kopil'', of possible [[Eastern Romance languages|Vlach]] or [[Albanians|Albanian]] origin, which means "child" or "bastard child".<ref name=Malcolm>{{cite book|last=Malcolm|first=Noel|title=Kosovo: A Short History|year=1998|publisher=Harper Perennial|isbn=978-0-06-097775-7|page=73|quote=... Similarly, 'Kobilic' or 'Kobilovic' may have arisen from the Vlach and Albanian word 'copil', 'kopil', which, as already mentioned, means 'child' or 'bastard child'.}}</ref> However, a similar word (''kopile'') exists in the Serbian language and carries the same meaning.<ref name=ekmecic2000>{{cite book |last=Ekmečić |first=Milorad |authorlink=Milorad Ekmečić |title=Response to Noel Malcolm's book Кosovo. A Short History |url=http://www.rastko.rs/kosovo/istorija/malkolm/index.html |chapter=Historiography by the Garb Only |chapterurl=http://www.rastko.rs/kosovo/istorija/malkolm/mekmecic-garb.html |accessdate=2013-01-28 |year=2000 |publisher=Institute of History of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts |location=Belgrade |isbn=86-7743-020-2}}</ref> Malcolm also hypothesizes that Kobilić might be of Hungarian origin, possibly a transliteration of the Hungarian word ''kóbor lovag'' (knight-errant).<ref>{{cite book|last=Malcolm|first=Noel|title=Kosovo: A Short History|year=1999|publisher=Harper Perennial|isbn=978-0-06-097775-7|pages=73–74}}</ref> Miloš is often referred to in the epic poems as "Miloš of Pocerje", and according to local legends, he came from the western Serbian region of [[Pocerina]]. In Pocerina there is a spring known as "Miloševa Banja" (Miloš's spring) and an old grave that is claimed to be the grave of Miloš's sister.<ref name="Vodnik1908">{{cite book|author=Branko Vodnik|title=Izabrane narodne pjesme|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bXhBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA117&dq=miloseva+banja|year=1908|publisher=Tisak Kralj. Zemaljske tiskare|pages=117–}}</ref> ==Earliest sources== The earliest sources on the Battle of Kosovo, which generally favour the cult of [[Prince Lazar]], do not mention Miloš or his assassination of the sultan.<ref name="Emmert1" /> The assassination itself is first recorded by [[Deacon Ignjatije]] on 9 July 1389, only 12 days after the battle.<ref>{{cite book|title=Историјски гласник: орган Друштва историчара СР Србије|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ny9NAAAAYAAJ|accessdate=12 September 2013|year=1994|publisher=Друштво|page=9|quote=најстарији помен, настао свега 12 дана после битке,}}</ref> The assassination of sultan Murad and one of his sons was also mentioned in the instructions of the [[Venetian Senate]] issued to Andrea Bembo on 23 July 1389, although Venetians were uncertain if news about the assassination were true.<ref name="HeywoodImber1994">{{cite book|author1=Colin Heywood|author2=Colin Imber|title=Studies in Ottoman History in Honor of Professor V.L. Ménage|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PYxpAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=12 September 2013|year=1994|publisher=İsis Press|isbn=978-975-428-063-0|page=270|quote=For present purposes, the key importance of the July 23 senate deliberation record is its indication that one of Murad's sons died in... }}</ref> On 1 August 1389 King [[Tvrtko I of Bosnia]] (r. 1353-1391) wrote a letter to [[Trogir]] to inform its citizens about Ottoman defeat.<ref name="BrkljačaSarajevo1996">{{cite book|author1=Seka Brkljača|author2=Institut za istoriju Sarajevo|title=Bosna i svijet|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NIBpAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=12 September 2013|year=1996|publisher=Institut za istoriju|page=66|quote=O porazu Osmanlija pisao je 1. avgusta Trogiru, a oko dva mjeseca kasnije Firenci}}</ref> Victory over the Turks ({{lang-lat|ob victoriam de Turcis}}) was also reported by [[Coluccio Salutati]] (died 1406), Chancellor of Florence, in his letter to King Tvrtko, dated 20 October 1389, on behalf of the Florentine Senate.<ref name="Emmert1">{{harvnb|Emmert|1996}}</ref><ref name="Emmert2">{{harvnb|Emmert|1991}}</ref> The killer is not named but he is described as one of twelve Christian noblemen who managed to break through the Ottoman ranks: :"Fortunate, most fortunate are those hands of the twelve loyal lords who, having opened their way with the sword and having penetrated the enemy lines and the circle of chained camels, heroically reached the tent of Amurat [Murad] himself. Fortunate above all is that one who so forcefully killed such a strong vojvoda by stabbing him with a sword in the throat and belly. And blessed are all those who gave their lives and blood through the glorious manner of martyrdom as victims of the dead leader over his ugly corpse."<ref name="Emmert2" /><ref>Emmert cites V.V. Makušev, "Prilozi k srpskoj istoriji XIV i XV veka," ''Glasnik srpskog ucenog društva'' 32 (1871): pp. 174-5.</ref> Another Italian account, [[Bertrando de Mignanelli|Mignanelli's]] 1416 work, asserted that it was Lazar who killed the Ottoman sultan.<ref name="Ćirković1990">{{cite book|author=Sima M. Ćirković|authorlink=Sima M. Ćirković|title=Kosovska bitka u istoriografiji: Redakcioni odbor Sima Ćirković (urednik izdanja) [... et al.].|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V5pIAQAAIAAJ|accessdate=11 September 2013|year=1990|publisher=Zmaj|page=38|quote=Код Мињанелиjа, кнез је претходно заробл>ен и принуЬен да Мурату положи заклетву верности! и тада је један од њих, кажу да је то био Лазар, зарио Мурату мач у прса }}</ref> The assassin's first appearance in Serbian sources is in the biography of [[Stefan Lazarević]], Lazar's son, by [[Constantine of Kostenets|Constantine the Philosopher]], written in the 1440s. The hero, still anonymous, is described as a man of noble birth whom envious tongues had sought to defame before the prince. To prove his loyalty and courage, he left the front line on the pretext of being a deserter, seized the opportunity to stab the sultan to death and was killed himself shortly afterwards.<ref name="Emmert1" /> The initial phase of ignominy and its redemption by a courageous plot of slaying the sultan are narrative ingredients which would become essential to the Serbian legend as it evolved in later times.<ref name="Emmert1" /> ==Ottoman and Greek sources== The loss of the Sultan also made an impression on the earliest Ottoman sources. They usually describe how Murad was unaccompanied on the battlefield and an anonymous Christian who had been lying among the corpses stabbed him to death. In the early 15th century, for instance, the poet [[Ahmedi]] writes that "[s]uddenly one of the Christians, who was covered in blood and apparently hidden among the enemy dead, got up, rushed to Murad and stabbed him with a dagger."<ref name="Emmert1" /><ref>Ahmedi, ed. Olesnicki, "Turski izvori o Kosovskom bo ju."''Glasnik skopskog naucnog drustva'' 14 (1934): 60-2, as cited by Emmert below.</ref> [[Halil İnalcık]] explained that one of the most important contemporary Ottomans sources about the Battle of Kosovo is the 1465 work of [[Enveri]] ({{lang-tr|Düstûrnâme}}). İnalcık argued that it was based on the testimony of a contemporary eyewitness of the battle, probably Hoca Omer, an envoy sent by the Sultan to Lazar before the battle.{{Sfn|İnalcık|2000|p=25}} In this work Enveri explains that before he became a Serbian nobleman, Miloš (Miloš Ban is how İnalcık rendered the name in Enveri's text) was a Muslim at the Sultan's court who deserted Ottomans and abjured Islam. The Sultan allegedly called him to return to his service many times. Enveri explains that although Miloš always promised to return, he never did. According to this account, when Lazar was captured, Miloš approached the Sultan who was riding a black stallion and said: ''"I am Miloš Ban, I want to go back to my Islamic faith and kiss your hand."'' When Miloš came close to the Sultan, he struck him with the dagger hidden in his cuff. The Sultan's men cut Miloš into pieces with swords and axes.{{Sfn|İnalcık|2000|p=25}} One historian from [[Edirne]], [[Oruc Bey]], explains the lack of protection by saying that the army was preoccupied with pursuing the enemy in rear flight and introduces an element of deception: the Christian "had promised himself as a sacrifice and approached Murad, who was sitting alone on his horse. Pretending he wished to kiss the Sultan's hand, he stabbed the Sultan with a sharp dagger."<ref name="Emmert1" /><ref name="Emmert2" /><ref>Oruc, ''Tevarih I Al-i Osman'', as cited by Emmert.</ref> Since about the late 15th century, Greek sources also begin to record the event. The Athenian scholar [[Laonicus Chalcocondyles]] (d. ''c''. 1490) claims to draw on Greek traditions when he refers to Murad's killer as ''Miloes'', "a man of noble birth [... who] voluntarily decided to accomplish the heroic act of assassination. He requested what he needed from Prince Lazar, and then rode off to Murad's camp with the intention of presenting himself as a deserter. Murad, who was standing in the midst of his troops before the battle, was eager to receive the deserter. Miloes reached the Sultan and his bodyguards, turned his spear against Murad, and killed him."<ref name="Emmert1" /> Writing in the second half of the same century, [[Michael Doukas (historian)|Michael Doukas]] regarded the story as worthy of inclusion in his ''Historia Byzantina''. He relates how the young nobleman pretended to desert the battle, was captured by the Turks and professing to know the key to victory, managed to gain access to Murad and kill him.<ref name="Emmert1" /> In 1976, Miodrag Popović suggested that the narrative elements of secrecy and stratagem in the Serbian tradition were all introduced from Turkish sources, seeking to defame the capabilities of their Christian opponents by attributing the death of the Murat to "devious" methods.<ref name="Greenawalt">{{cite web|url=http://www.yorku.ca/soi/Vol_3/_HTML/Greenawalt.html|title=Kosovo Myths: Karadzic, Njegos, and the Transformation of Serb Memory|last=Greenawalt|first=Alexander|publisher=York University|accessdate=27 January 2013}}</ref> Thomas A. Emmert agrees with him.<ref name="Emmert1" /> Emmert says that Turkish sources mentioned the assassination several times, while Western and Serbian sources didn't mention it until much later. He thinks that Serbians knew about the assassination, but decided not to mention it in their first accounts for unknown reasons.<ref>{{harvnb|Emmert|1996}} "It is important to note that neither this chronicle nor any of the other early Serbian accounts of the battle attributes Murad's death to the hand of an assassin (...) The theme of assassination, which appeared in the contemporary accounts of the battle from Florence and Siena and was also an important theme in all of the fifteenth century Turkish sources for the battle, would eventually become a central element in the Serbian epic. (...) It is surprising that the assassination of Murad is not recorded in any of the Serbian cult sources for the battle. Why the Serbian authors would fail to speak of the assassin if they knew of him is unclear, (...). Whatever the reason for this silence, it appears from later sources that the story of Murad's assassination was clearly known in Lazar's principality. "</ref> In 1512 Ottoman historian [[Mehmed Nesri]] wrote a detailed account of the battle that became the source for later Ottoman and Western descriptions of the battle. Nesri's account took several elements from popular Serbian tradition, and described the assassination in a way which reflected negatively on the perpetrators.<ref name="Emmert1" /> ==Serbian traditions== Miloš Obilić is a major hero of the Serbian legend of Kosovo, whose central part is the [[Battle of Kosovo]]. According to the legend, Miloš was a son-in-law of the Serbian [[Lazar of Serbia|Prince Lazar]]. A quarrel broke out between his wife and her sister who was married to [[Vuk Branković]], about superiority in valour of their respective husbands. As a consequence of this, Branković took offence and picked a fight with Miloš. Filled with hate, Branković maligned Miloš to Lazar, saying that he conspired with Turks to betray the prince. At Lazar’s supper on the eve of the battle, the prince reproached Miloš for disloyalty. To prove his loyalty, Miloš went into the Turkish camp feigning defection. At a favourable moment, he stabbed and killed the Turkish Sultan Murad, whose attendants then executed Miloš. The legend then goes on to describe events regarding the battle.<ref name=redjep>{{Citation| last=Ređep| first=Jelka| year=1991| title=The Legend of Kosovo| journal=[[Oral Tradition (journal)|Oral Tradition]]| volume=6| issue=2–3| publisher=Center for Studies in Oral Tradition| place=Columbia, Missouri| issn=1542-4308| url=http://journal.oraltradition.org/issues/6ii-iii/redep| mode=cs1}}</ref> There are two main views about the creation of the Kosovo legend. In one view, its place of origin lies in the region in which the Battle of Kosovo was fought. In the other view, the legend sprang up in more westerly Balkan regions under the influence of the French ''[[chansons de geste]]''. Serbian philologist Dragutin Kostić stated that the French chivalric epics had in fact no part in the formation of the legend, but that they "only ''modified'' the already created and formed legend and its first poetic manifestations".<ref name=redjep/> The nucleus from which the legend developed is found in the [[Cult (religious practice)|cultic]] literature celebrating Prince Lazar as a martyr and saint, written in [[Moravian Serbia]] between 1389 and 1420. Especially important in this regard is the ''Discourse on Prince Lazar'' composed by Serbian Patriarch Danilo III. The legend would gradually evolve during the subsequent centuries.<ref name=redjep/> The tale of the maligned hero who penetrated the Turkish camp and killed Sultan Murad, is found in the ''Life of Despot Stefan Lazarević'' written in the 1430s by [[Konstantin the Philosopher]]. The hero's name is not mentioned in this work. The theme of the quarrel between Lazar's sons-in-law was first recorded in [[Herzegovina]] in the mid-15th century. Lazar’s supper on the eve of the battle and his reproach of Miloš are mentioned in texts from the 16th century. The argument between Lazar's daughters over the valor of their husbands was first recorded by [[Mavro Orbin]] in 1601. The fully developed legend of Kosovo, with all of its elements, is recorded in the ''Tale of the Battle of Kosovo'' composed around the beginning of the 18th century in the [[Bay of Kotor]] or [[Old Montenegro]]. This was a very popular text, whose copies were continuously produced for some 150 years in an area stretching from the south of ex-Yugoslavia to Budapest and Sofia. The ''Tale'' played a notable role in the awakening of national consciousness of the Serbs in the [[Habsburg Monarchy]], which began in the first half of the 18th century.<ref name=redjep/> [[File:Miloš Obilić posle zavere pred šatorom Muratovim, Pavle Čortanović i Adam Stefanović.jpg|thumb|Miloš Obilić at the tent of Sultan Murad.]] The first author to refer to Murad's killer by his full name is [[Konstantin Mihailović]], a Serbian [[Janissary]] from the village of Ostrovica, near [[Rudnik (mountain)|Rudnik]], who wrote his ''Memoirs of a Janissary'' or ''Turkish Chronicle'' in ca 1497. In a passage intended to infer a moral lesson about disloyalty from the Serbian defeat at Kosovo, Mihailović identifies Miloš Kobica<ref>{{Citation |last=Mihailović|first=Konstantin|authorlink= Konstantin Mihailović |title= Turska istorija ili kronika (Турска историја или кроника (Memoirs af a Janissary)) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x4A6AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA144&dq=skanderbeg&hl=en&ei=0MKsTYHrGMzQ4waSttz9Cg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B1%D0%B5%D0%B3&f=false|volume=18|year= 1865 |origyear=1490—1501 |publisher= Glasnik Srpskoga učenog društva ([[Serbian Learned Society]]) |language= Serbian |page=77 |quote= Ту је онда Милош Кобица убио цара Мурата}}</ref> as the knight who on the fateful last Friday of the battle slew Murad.<ref name="Emmert1" /> The next time a name is given in the sources is three decades later, in 1530, when the (Slovene) monk [[Benedikt Kuripečič]] (Curipeschitz) wrote memoirs of his travels through the [[Balkan Peninsula]]. His visit to Murad's tomb in [[Kosovo Polje]] provides the occasion for the story of the knight whom he names Miloš Kobilović.<ref name="Emmert1" /> Kuripešić elaborates on the humiliation and fall out favour which Miloš endured before the battle, his last dinner with Lazar and his nobles, his admittance to Murad's tent, the brutal murder and his own death on attempting to escape on horseback.<ref name="Emmert1" /> The monk, though not explicit about his sources, writes that Miloš was a celebrated figure in the popular traditions of [[Serbs]], who sing about his heroic exploits on the border.<ref name="Emmert1" /> He recorded some legends about the [[Battle of Kosovo]] and mentions epic songs about Obilić in regions far from Kosovo, like [[Bosnia (region)|Bosnia]] and [[Croatia]].<ref name="Ivić1996">{{cite book|author=Pavle Ivić|authorlink=Pavle Ivić|title=Istorija srpske kulture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r3FpAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=9 September 2013|year=1996|publisher=Dečje novine|page=160|quote=Бенедикт Курипечић. пореклом Словенаи, који између 1530. и 1531. путује као тумач аустријског посланства, у свом Путопису препричава део косовске легенде, спомиње епско певање о Милошу Обилићу у крајевима удаљеним од места догађаја, у Босни и Хрватској, и запажа настајање нових песама.}}</ref> In his 1603 work [[Richard Knolles]] described the [[Serbian epic poetry|"country songs" of Serbs]] about the Battle of Kosovo and refer to Obilić as "Cobelitz".<ref>{{cite book|title=Serb World: 1979-1983|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WnbxAAAAMAAJ|year=1979|publisher=Neven Publishing Corporation|page=4|quote=Richard Knolles, writing in 1603, refers to the 'country songs' of the Serbs which tell of the alleged duplicity of the ...In 1603, the English historian Richard Knolles called lim 'Cobelitz'}}</ref> In Serbian epic poetry and song (e.g. "Radul-bey and Bulgarian King Šišman" and the song "Dušan's Wedding"), Miloš Obilić is often grouped along with other literary creations like [[Karadjordje]], [[Vuk Karadžić]] and [[Njegoš]] as Serbs of [[Dinarides|Dinaric origin]] who distinguished themselves as the great moral and/or intellectual minds of the past in contradistinction to Bulgarian contemporaries, who could claim no such status.<ref>{{harvnb|Gavrilović|2003|p=722}} citing Cvijić.</ref> In the poem "Obilić Dragon's Son", Miloš is given a mythical ancestry as the son of a dragon to emphasise his superhuman strength on a physical and spiritual level; in this, he joins the ranks of many other heroes of Serbian poetry who fought against Turkish oppression and are claimed to have been descendants of a dragon.<ref>{{harvnb|Gavrilović|2003|pages=721, 725}}</ref> [[Albert Lord]] of Harvard University stated in 1982 that Albanian epic songs about the Battle of Kosovo were not translations of the Serbian epic songs, as was previously thought. Lord argues that the two traditions emerged more or less independent of each other. According to him, major elements of the Albanian tale of the assassination of Sultan Murad cannot be found in the corresponding Serbian accounts, while these elements can be traced to Albanian folklore. The Serbian and the Albanian traditions came into contact in the region of [[Raška (region)|Raška]], where they were fused.<ref>{{Citation| last=Lord| first=Albert| author-link=Albert Lord| year=1984| chapter=The Battle of Kosovo in Albanian and Serbocroatian Oral Epic Songs| title=Studies on Kosova|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mim5AAAAIAAJ| series=East European Monographs| volume=155| isbn=9780880330473| mode=cs1}}</ref> == Later legends == {{Refimprove section|date=October 2010}} *An earlier episode of Miloš Obilić's career in the service of Prince Lazar is related to the [[Battle of Pločnik]], in which he participated and survived an arrow wound. In many sources he is mentioned as a son-in-law of Prince Lazar, which would make him a brother-in-law to [[Vuk Branković]], another Serbian high ranking nobleman and a prominent antagonist in epic traditions concerning the [[Battle of Kosovo]]. The characters of Obilić and Branković are usually contrasted in these legends. However, these claims cannot be confirmed with certainty. *Another legend tells about the treason of [[Vuk Branković]], Serbian feudal lord and son-in-law of the Serbian [[Prince Lazar]]. According to this legend, Miloš was accused by Branković, at the eve of the [[Battle of Kosovo]] of intent to betray his lord Lazar and switch sides mid battle. The accusation was a result of alleged rivalry between the two. Branković, a nobleman of much higher rank, was intensely jealous of the reputation that Obilić enjoyed as the bravest of Serbian knights. In order to clear his name and prove his loyalty to Lazar and his country, Miloš made a solemn oath to slay the Ottoman Sultan during the battle. *Other variants of songs and legends state that Miloš was captured by a [[Baba Yaga]] (a [[witch]]), who advised the Turks how to kill Miloš's horse and find the keys of his armour, which were hidden in his moustaches. Miloš gained his revenge by killing the witch on a bridge, which is presently called ''Babin Most'' (''Old Woman's Bridge''). * In folk epic and legends, Miloš was celebrated as the hero of supernatural birth and strength (his mother was a fairy, demonic creature or his father was a dragon; he had got his strength from the milk of the mare). He had an extraordinary horse called Ždralin. * In [[Serbian epic poetry]], there are several blood brotherhoods. Miloš Obilić with [[Milan Toplica]] and Ivan Kosančić,<ref name="Popov2000">{{cite book|author=Nebojša Popov|title=The Road to War in Serbia: Trauma and Catharsis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GkBmdCwHuDsC&pg=PA192|date=January 2000|publisher=Central European University Press|isbn=978-963-9116-56-6|pages=192–}}</ref> Miloš Obilić with [[Prince Marko]],<ref name="Popovic1988">{{cite book|author=Tanya Popovic|title=Prince Marko: The Hero of South Slavic Epics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ok93aZ27r-oC&pg=PA26|year=1988|publisher=Syracuse University Press|isbn=978-0-8156-2444-8|pages=26–}}</ref> Miloš Obilić with the [[Jugović brothers]].<ref name="Segesten2011">{{cite book|author=Anamaria Dutceac Segesten|title=Myth, Identity, and Conflict: A Comparative Analysis of Romanian and Serbian Textbooks|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1SmTBNe0q2sC&pg=PA208|date=16 September 2011|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=978-0-7391-4865-5|pages=208–}}</ref> ==Legacy== [[File:Milos Obilic Hilandar.jpg|thumb|right|Icon of Miloš Obilić in [[Hilandar]], depicted as a holy warrior.]] It was not until the early 19th century that Miloš was also venerated as a saint in the Serbian Church. During the [[First Serbian Uprising]] (1804–1813), a fresco of Miloš as a haloed, sword-bearing saint was painted in Prince Lazar's [[narthex]] in the [[Hilandar]] Monastery on [[Mount Athos]] (Greece).<ref name="Emmert1" /> The historian [[Rade Mihaljčić]] suggests that the cult was a popular movement which originated among the Serbs south of the [[Sava]] and [[Danube]] during the [[Ottoman period]].<ref name="Emmert1" /> Later in the same century, the heroic figure of Miloš was given a national boost in the epic poem ''[[The Mountain Wreath]]'' (1847) by [[Petar II Petrović-Njegoš]], prince-bishop of Montenegro. The poem praises the assassin's valour in battle, calling him "the victim of a noble feeling, / An all powerful military genius, / A dreadful thunder that smashes crowns".<ref name="Emmert1" /> Njegoš also instituted the Obilić medal for courage.<ref>http://montenegrina.net/fokus/svetozar-n-popovic-obilica-medalja-odlicje-kao-obaveza-prema-crnoj-gori/</ref> This event and the [[Battle of Kosovo]] itself has become embedded in the [[Serbs]]' national consciousness, history, and poetry. Njegoš's tales, including Miloš, inspired later generations of Serbs - notably [[Gavrilo Princip]], the assassin of [[Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria|Archduke Franz Ferdinand]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Judah|title=The Serbs|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-15826-7|page=64}}</ref> In 1913, the [[Medal for Bravery (Serbia)|Medal of Miloš Obilić]] was awarded by [[Peter I of Serbia|King Peter I]] to soldiers for the acts of great personal courage, or for personal courage demonstrated on the battlefield. It was given during the [[Balkan wars]], [[World War I]], and during [[World War II]], to members of the Yugoslav Army or allied forces and was discontinued with the end of the war. In the late 1980s, religious nationalists began to breathe further life into the figure of Miloš and the [[Kosovo Myth]].<ref name="Sells 1996 89–90">{{harvnb|Sells|1996|pp=89–90}}</ref> Special inspiration was taken from Njegoš's ''The Mountain Wreath'', with its portrayal of Lazar as a Christ-like martyr and Obilić as the Serb sacrificing himself to prove his loyalty and seek retribution.<ref>{{harvnb|Sells|1996|pp=79, 89–90}}</ref> A key event which gave expression to this idea was the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo ([[Vidovdan]]) on 28 June 1989, which was held at the Gazimestan plain, near the site of the battle.<ref>{{harvnb|Sells|1996|pp=68, 79}}</ref> Obilić's feat has been cited as a source of inspiration in public speeches by political leaders, notably President [[Slobodan Milošević|Milošević]], who referred to him in his [[Gazimestan speech]] on the occasion of the battle anniversary.<ref>{{harvnb|Judah|2000|p=56}}</ref> His regime often alluded to Obilić frequently in comparison to Milosević, who was proclaimed the "saviour of the nation".<ref>{{harvnb|Stevanovic|2004|pp=174}}</ref> [[Anna Di Lellio]] presented Kosovo Albanian epic poems regarding the Battle of Kosovo, in her book ''The Battle of Kosovo 1389: An Albanian Epic'', released in 2009, just a few days after the anniversary of the battle. Reviewers point out that she portrays Miloš Obilić as an "Albanian knight", though she has said that she does not claim that Obilić was Albanian: "I have only collected poems sung by Kosovo Albanians and translated them into English so that the world can see the other view on the Kosovo myth which has a strong influence on Balkan countries".<ref name=BI-history>{{cite web|title=New Kosovo Battle Book 'Doesn't Change History'|date=July 3, 2009|url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/new-kosovo-battle-book-doesn-t-change-history}}</ref> She also noted that Albanian historiography officially views Obilić as having been a Serb.<ref>{{cite news|author=Marko Prelević|url=http://www.novosti.rs/vesti/naslovna/aktuelno.69.html:244105-Iznosim-albansku-pricu|title=Iznosim albansku priču|trans-title=Presenting the Albanian story|language=sr|date=1 July 2009}}</ref> Obilić is featured in Serbian rhymical [[idiom]] "Dva loša ubiše Miloša" or "Dva su loša ubila Miloša" which translates as "Two no-goods have killed Miloš". The idiom addresses the issue of quantity prevailing over quality as a sad fact of life, since Obilić was outnumbered by enemies.<ref>http://www.tabanovic.com/1.poslovice.htm</ref> He is included in ''[[The 100 most prominent Serbs]]''. ==See also== {{commons category}} * [[Battle of Kosovo]] * [[List of Serbs]] * [[History of Serbia]] * [[Lazar of Serbia]] ==Annotations== {{Cnote2 Begin|liststyle=upper-alpha}} {{Cnote2|a|The Serbian knight that killed Murad was unnamed until the 15th century; Athenian scholar [[Laonicus Chalcondyles]] (d. ca. 1490), claiming to draw on Greek traditions, refers to Murad's killer as ''Miloes''<ref name="Emmert1"/> or ''Milion''.<ref name=Jovicic/> In the work of [[Aşıkpaşazade]] (d. 1484), he is named (in Serbian transliteration) ''Biliš Kobila''.{{sfn|Šijaković|1989|p=6}}<ref>{{harvnb|Simonović|1992|pp=214–215}} {{quote|Ашик паша Заде помшье име Билиш Кобила. За Уруца убица је био један [...] И К. Михаиловип ^е за име сазнао посредством предан>а и то, веро- ватно, преко Турака. Дакле, извори наводе имена: Билиш Кобила, Милош Кобила, Милош Кобиловип, Димигрще Кобиловий. Сагласно је само презиме Кобила ...}}</ref><ref name=Jovicic>{{harvnb|Jovičić et al.|1988|p=125}}</ref> In the work of Serbian janissary [[Konstantin Mihailović]] (1435-1501) written in ca. 1497, his name is written as ''Miloš Kobila''.<ref name=CMSS-154>{{harvnb|Centar za mitološki studije Srbije|2006|p=154}}</ref><ref name=Skrivanic-52>{{harvnb|Škrivanić|1956|p=52}}</ref>{{sfn|Šijaković|1989|p=6}}<ref name=Jovicic/> In the work of Ottoman chronicler [[Mehmed Neşrî]] (d. ca. 1520), his name is rendered ''Miloš Kobila'' or ''Miloš Kobilović''.{{sfn|Šijaković|1989|p=194}}<ref name=Jovicic/> In Slovene monk [[Benedikt Kuripešić]]'s [[Balkans|Balkan]] travel memoirs dating to 1530, he uses ''Miloš Kobilović''.<ref name=Emmert1/><ref name=Jovicic/> The Italian edition of Doukas chronicles (15th century) renders the name ''Miloš Kobilić''.<ref name=Jovicic/> [[Mavro Orbini]] (1601) renders the name ''Miloš Kobilić''.<ref name=Jovicic/> [[Ludovik Crijević Tuberon]] (1459–1527), in his ''Writings on the Present Age'' (published in 1603), ''Milon'' is used.<ref name=Jovicic/><br>In a manuscript written by Mihailo Miloradović dating to 1714–15, the form "Obilić" is used.<ref name=G-218>{{harvnb|Univerzitet u Novom Sadu|1975|p=218}} {{quote|Разлика међу рукописима Г и УБ постоји, као што смо видели, и у употреби форме Обилић и Кобилић. У рукопису УБ (1715 — 1725) сачувала се форма Кобилић а у рукописима ММ (1714 — 1715) и Г (1727) форма Обилић, што значи да се млађа форма Обилић јавља не иоловином XVIII века, као што је гврдио Драгутин Костић, већ и раније, почетком XVIII а можда и крајем XVII века.}}</ref> In a manuscript (УБ) dating to 1715–25, the form "Kobilić" is used.<ref name=G-218/> In a manuscript (Г) dating to 1727, the form "Obilić" is used.<ref name=G-218/> In the [[Podgorica chronicle]] (1738), "Omiljević" is used.<ref name=Jovicic/> In a manuscript written by Mihailo Jeličić dating to 1745, the form "Kobilić" is used.<ref name=G-217>{{harvnb|Univerzitet u Novom Sadu|1975|p=217}} {{quote|... Обилић и Кобилић. Рукопис Стевана Гезовића (СГ)*1, писан у XVIII веку, има форму Обилић. Преглед варијаната рукописне Приче о боју косовском показује да сле- дећи рукописи имају презиме Милошево: Кобилић: УБ, В, МЈ. Обилић: ММ, Г, К, НБ 433, СУД, ПН, ГК, ДК, Б, ПМ, СГ, односно Обилич: ИЈ, АМ, ТН Хобилић: ГК, ДК, МС, Р Кобилић и Обилић: САН 134, НБ 425, С, П, ЛВ Анализа ...}}</ref> In a manuscript written by Ilija Jovanov dating to 1750, both "Kobilić" and "Obilić" are used.<ref>{{harvnb|Univerzitet u Novom Sadu|1975|p=215}}</ref> In [[Vasilije III Petrović-Njegoš|Vasilije Petrović]]'s work ''History of Montenegro'' dating to 1754, "Obiljević" or "Obilijević" were used.<ref name=Popovic/> Serbian historian Pavle Julinac used "Obilić" in 1763.{{sfn|Jireček|1967|p=120}}<ref name=Popovic/> In a [[Ravanica]] manuscript dating to 1764, the form "Hobilić" (Хобилић) is used.<ref name=G-217/> Based on these studied manuscripts,<ref>{{harvnb|Univerzitet u Novom Sadu|1975|pp=215–218}}</ref> the younger form Obilić is first attested in the beginning of the 18th century and possibly the end of the 17th century.<ref name=G-218/> This refutes [[Dragutin Kostić]]'s view that the form Obilić is from the mid-18th century.<ref name=G-218/>}} {{Cnote2 End}} ==References== {{reflist|2}} ==Sources== * {{Citation |last=Emmert |first=Thomas A. |title=Milos Obilic and the Hero Myth|journal=Journal of the North American Society for Serbian Studies |volume=10 |year=1996 |url=http://serbianstudies.org/publications/pdf/SS_Vol%2010_1996_No%202.pdf|ref=harv}} * {{Citation |url=http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/articles/emmert.htm|last=Emmert|first=Thomas A. |title=The Battle of Kosovo: Early Reports of Victory and Defeat|work=Kosovo: Legacy of a Medieval Battle |editor=Wayne S. Vucinich and Thomas A. Emmert|series= Minnesota Mediterranean and East European Monographs 1 |year=1991|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605024042/http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/articles/emmert.htm|archivedate=5 June 2011 }} Reproduced online at [http://www.deremilitari.org ''De Re Militari. The Society for Medieval Military History'']. * {{Citation |last=Gavrilović |first=Danijela |title=Elements of the Ethnic Identification of the Serbs |journal=Facta Universitatis |volume=2 |issue =10 |year=2003 |pages=717–730 |url=http://facta.junis.ni.ac.rs/pas/pas2003/pas2003-02.html}} * {{Citation |author-link=Tim Judah |last=Judah |first=Tim |title=Kosovo: War and Revenge|edition=2nd |location=New Haven |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2000 }} * {{Citation |author-link=Michael Sells |last=Sells |first=Michael Anthony |title=The Bridge Betrayed. Religion and Genocide in Bosnia |publisher= University of California Press|year=1996}} * {{citation|last=Stevanovic|first=Vidosav|title=Milosevic: The People's Tyrant|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=snR6WCQeS64C&pg=PA174|accessdate=3 January 2013|date=2004-10-01|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=9781860648427}} * {{cite book|ref=harv|last=İnalcık|first=Halil|authorlink=Halil İnalcık|title=Kosovo: six siècles de mémoires croisées|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CpRpAAAAMAAJ|year=2000|publisher=Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales|isbn=978-2-85831-107-1}} * {{cite book|author=Centar za mitološki studije Srbije|title=Mitološki zbornik|volume=1–6|year=2006|publisher=Centar za mitološki studije Srbije|location=Belgrade|pages=54, 58, 123, 152, 313|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RRskAQAAIAAJ|ref=harv}} * {{cite book| last=Jireček| first=Konstantin Josef| author-link=Konstantin Josef Jireček| year=1967| title=Geschichte der Serben| volume=2| language=German| url=https://books.google.com/books?ei=wU1FT_mgGZDR4QTRkYGSAw&id=G5JpAAAAMAAJ|ref=harv}} *{{cite book|last1=Jovičić|first1=V.|last2=Petrović|first2=M.|last3=Jovičić|first3=O.|title=Kosovo u svesti i nadahnuću Srpskoga naroda|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p6xIAQAAIAAJ|year=1988|publisher=Nova knjiga|pages=125–126|quote=<!-- И доцније извори, све до ХVIII века, не помињу име Милош Обидић. Код Ашик-пашезаде (ХV век) Муратов убица зове се Билиш Кобила; Халкокондилес (крај I V века) га назива Милион, А Констан- тин Михаиловић (1497) Милош Кобила. У италијанској преради Дуки- не хронике (крај К\ века) и код Орбина (1601) биће Милош Кобилић; код Цријевића (почетак ХV века) Милон; у Курипечићевом путопису (1531), ... -->|ref={{harvid|Jovičić et al.|1988}} }} * {{cite book|last=Šijaković|first=Miodrag B.|editor1-last=Gvero|editor1-first=Mladen|editor2-last=Nikolić|editor2-first=Nataša|title=Miloš Obilić: epski junak i legenda|year=1989|publisher=Zajednica književnih klubova Srbije|location=Belgrade|pages=6, 194|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WMViAAAAMAAJ|ref=harv}} * {{cite book|last=Simonović|first=Dragoljub|title=Nikola Vratković - kosovski car i bog: rezultati istraživanja kosovskih pesama i kosovske legende, priroda i poreklo knjiga carostavnih, nikolijanstvo|year=1992|publisher=Prosveta|location=|pages=133, 214–215|url=https://books.google.rs/books?id=7ZzlAAAAMAAJ|ref=harv}} * {{cite book|last=Škrivanić|first=Gavro A.|title=Kosovska bitka, 15 juna 1389|year=1956|publisher=Istoriski institut NR Crne Gore|location=Podgorica|pages=52,|url=https://books.google.rs/books?id=uc0MAAAAIAAJ|ref=harv}} * {{cite book|author=Univerzitet u Novom Sadu |author2=Univerzitet u Beogradu|title=Godišnjak|volume=17|year=1975|publisher=Filozofski fakultet u Novom Sadu|location=Novi Sad|pages=215–218|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PgbRAAAAMAAJ|ref=CITEREFUniverzitet u Novom Sadu1975}} ==Further reading== ;Primary sources *[[Deacon Ignjatije]] wrote a description of the battle on 27 June 1389, only 12 days after the battle. *The instructions of the [[Venetian Senate]] issued to Andrea Bembo on 23 July 1389. *King [[Tvrtko I of Bosnia]] sent a letter with information about Ottoman defeat to [[Trogir]] on 1 August 1389 [https://archive.org/stream/monumentaspecta07unkngoog#page/n61/mode/2up "Monumenta spectantia historiam Slavorum meridionalium", p.48] *[[Coluccio Salutati]] (chancellor of [[Florence]], died 1406) wrote a letter to King Tvrtko on 20 October 1389. *anonymous Florentine Chronicle, ed. L.A. Muratori, ''Cronica Volgare di Anonimo Fiorentino dall' anno 1385 al 1409''. Rerum Italicarum Scriptores vol. 17, fasc. 152. [[Citta di Castello]], 1917. pp.&nbsp;77–9. *[[Bertrando de Mignanelli]] of [[Siena]], ''Life of [[Timur|Tamerlane (Timur)]]'' (1416) *[[Constantine of Kostenets|Constantine the Philosopher]], ''Life of Despot [[Stefan Lazarević]]'' (written 1440s) *[[Konstantin Mihailović]] (15th century), ''Memoirs of a Janissary'' (or ''Turkish Chronicle'') written in period 1490—1501 *[[Ludovik Crijević Tuberon]] (written before 1527) *[[Benedict Kuripešić]], ''Travel memoirs'' (written 1530) *Ottoman sources **the poet [[Ahmedi]] (early 15th century), ed. A. Olesnicki, ''Turski izvori o Kosovskom boju.'', Glasnik skopskog naucnog drustva 14 (1934): 60-2. {{sr icon}} **[[Uruc]], historian *Greek sources **[[Laonicus Chalcocondyles]] (late 15th century) **[[Doukas (historian)|Doukas]] (mid 15th century) *Later narrations ** {{Cite book|ref=harv|last=Orbini|first=Mauro|authorlink=Mauro Orbini|year=1601|title=Il Regno de gli Slavi hoggi corrottamente detti Schiavoni|location=Pesaro|publisher=Apresso Girolamo Concordia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fx3OntcdUkQC}} ** {{Cite book|ref=harv|last=Орбин|first=Мавро|authorlink=Mauro Orbini|year=1968|title=Краљевство Словена|location=Београд|publisher=Српска књижевна задруга|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MduZAAAAIAAJ}} **[[Richard Knolles]], ''The Generall Historie of the Turkes'' (1603) **Drama ''Milos Obilic'' (1826) **[[Petar II Petrović-Njegoš]], ''[[The Mountain Wreath]]'' (written 1847) ;Secondary sources * {{Cite book |last=Chadwick |first=H. Munro |author-link=Hector Munro Chadwick|year=1912|title=The heroic age |series=Cambridge archaeological and ethnological series|location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press|url=https://archive.org/search.php?query=The%20heroic%20age%20Chadwick |page=315 }} * Ivanova, Radost (1993). "The Problem of the Historical Approach in the Epic Songs of the Kosovo Cycle." ''Études balkaniques'' 4: 111-22. * Khan, Mujeeb R. (1996) "The 'Other' in the Balkans. Historical constructions of Serbs and 'Turks'." ''Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs'' 16. * Kostic, Dragutin (1934–1935). "Milos Kopilic-Kobilic-Obilic." ''Revue Internationale des Etudes Balkaniques'' 1-2: 232-54. A study of Miloš Obilić's name. * [[Rade Mihaljčić|Mihaljcic, Rade]] (1989). ''The Battle of Kosovo''. Belgrade. * Мирослав Пантић, "Кнез Лазар и косовска битка у старој књижевности Дубровника и Боке Которске", Зборник радова о кнезу Лазару, Београд, 1975 {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2010}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Obilic, Milos}} [[Category:14th-century Serbian nobility]] [[Category:Medieval Serbian military personnel]] [[Category:Serbian knights]] [[Category:Serbian assassins]] [[Category:Medieval assassins]] [[Category:Characters in Serbian epic poetry]] [[Category:Eastern Orthodox Christians from Serbia]] [[Category:Members of the Serbian Orthodox Church]] [[Category:Assassins of heads of state]] [[Category:Regicides]] [[Category:Heroes in mythology and legend]] [[Category:History of Kosovo]] [[Category:Year of birth unknown]] [[Category:1389 deaths]] [[Category:14th-century murderers]]'