By far the best study on the Serbian national hero has been written by the Russian professor M. Halanski, who explains the puzzle by the natural sympathy of the people for a 'tragic hero.' The historical Marko was certainly a 'tragic hero.' Nothing proves that better than his last words before the battle of Rovina began (1399), and which M. Petrovitch quotes in the text.
I ought to add that there is also a theory that the Serbian nation, so to say, projected itself in the Royal Prince Marko, depicting its own tragic fate, its own virtues and weaknesses, in the popular yet tragic personality of Marko. No doubt Marko must have been in some way the representative type of a noble Serbian, otherwise he could not have found the way to the soul and heart of his people. Yet that theory is hardly modest, for my taste.
It may interest our British friends to know that a relation of the dynasty of which Marko was the last representative, a certain Prince John Mussachi, in a historical memoir stated that Marko's father, King Voukashin, was the descendant of a certain nobleman named Britanius or Britanicus! [2] We should be proud if it could be proved that the ancestors of our national hero were in some way connected with the Britons.
Chedo Miyatovich Member of the Royal Serbian Academy of Sciences
Introduction xvii I Historical Retrospect 1 II Superstitious Beliefs and National Customs 13 III Serbian National Epic Poetry 54 IV Kralyevitch Marko; or, the Royal Prince Marko 59 V Banovitch Strahinya 119 VI The Tsarina Militza and the Zmay of Yastrebatz 129 VII The Marriage of Maximus Tzrnoyevitch 134 VIII The Marriage of Tsar Doushan the Mighty 150 IX Tsar Lazarus and the Tsarina Militza 170 X The Captivity and Marriage of Stephan Yakshitch 177 XI The Marriage of King Voukashin 186 XII The Saints Divide the Treasures 195 XIII Three Serbian Ballads
1. The Building of Skadar 198 2. The Stepsisters 206 3. The Abduction of the Beautiful Iconia 210
1. The Ram with the Golden Fleece 213 2. A Pavilion neither in the Sky nor on the Earth 220 3. Pepelyouga 224 4. Animals' Language 230 5. The Stepmother and her Stepdaughter 235 6. Justice and Injustice 240 7. He who Asks Little Receives Much 243 8. Bash Tchelik or Real Steel 247 9. The Golden Apple-tree and the Nine Pea-hens 267 10. The Bird Maiden 280 11. Lying for a Wager 283 12. The Maiden Wiser than the Tsar 287 13. Good Deeds Never Perish 291 14. He whom God Helps no one can Harm 300 15. Animals as Friends and as Enemies 305 16. The Three Suitors 316 17. The Dream of the King's Son 322 18. The Biter Bit 328 19. The Trade that no one Knows 340 20. The Golden-haired Twins 353