"When they were making major, difficult historical decisions, Serbs often wondered what they could show for their effort. Perhaps it was for this reason that, foolhardy, they stood opposite the mightiest forces, e.g. in 1389, 1804, 1914, 1941, and 1999. Oftentimes this audacity resembles a sort of megalomaniacal madness. Such an unsubmissive attitude of an entire nation is tied to the vision of Saint Vitus Day and the Kosovo Oath," historian Predrag Marković says. In his interview with Kurir on the occasion of Saint Vitus Day, he touched on the most important St. Vitus Day dates in our history – from 1389 and the Battle of Kosovo to the present day.
What does Saint Vitus Day mean to Serbs? Why is it so important to them? Is that, as it is sometimes claimed, a fateful date for the Serbian nation and Serbia's history?
"Kosovo hasn't become solely a place from which Serbia ascends straight to heaven, as Ljubomir Simović has said. In both history and poetry, the Battle of Kosovo has become a magical historical and literary portal. By passing through this gate, Serbia's history has become a supreme work of poetry. The Battle of Kosovo was created so that legends could be built up around it and so it could serve as material for a grand myth. Unlike many other nations, who have to think up and develop stories showing why they are unusual and unique, Serbs have an abundance of such unusual and singular historical experiences. One such specific historical episode is the Battle of Kosovo. Our image of the Kosovo Saint Vitus Day has long since become larger than an unusual historical tale. Njegoš completed the conversion of Miloš Obilić into a supreme role model of chivalry and sacrifice to honour and freedom. Miloš's example, as much as the stories of Lazar's supper and curse, have created a moral compass. This compass points straight to the kingdom of heaven."
But many people do not believe in the kingdom of heaven.
"People who don't read much mock the kingdom of heaven as some sort of Serbian nationalist madness. Reaching the kingdom of heaven and leaving behind fame and earthly possessions is a general motif in the European medieval Christianity. Serbs are specific in that the faith in the kingdom of heaven isn't an abstract topic that theologians are concerned with. At decisive moments, the entire Serbian nation is prone to believing that certain things are more important than life and immediate benefit. When they were making major, difficult historical decisions, Serbs often wondered what they could show for their effort. Perhaps it was for this reason that, foolhardy, they stood opposite the mightiest forces, e.g. in 1389, 1804, 1914, 1941, and 1999. Oftentimes this audacity resembles a sort of megalomaniacal madness. Such an unsubmissive attitude of an entire nation is tied to the vision of Saint Vitus Day and the Kosovo Oath."
Which Sant Vitus Day would you choose as especially important?
"The 1914 Saint Vitus Day was the most fateful. A group of young idealists and/or fanatics changed the course of human history. Post-1389, no Serbian St. Vitus Day has resonated so much in the history of humanity."
What would history have looked like if we had defeated the Turks in Kosovo on Saint Vitus Day in 1389?
"Even if we had emerged victorious from the Battle of Kosovo, over the long term we wouldn't have stopped the Ottoman invasion of Europe. The invasion of Europe by the Turks was stopped as late as three centuries after the Battle of Kosovo, when the Turks tried to conquer Vienna for the last time. The Ottoman state was so robust that it survived the decimation of the Turks by the Mongols at Angora in 1402. The Ottomans resumed their conquests soon after. The rich and large Hungary couldn't defend itself against the Turkish incursions even though it had won great victories over the Turks. John Hunyadi led what many refer to as the last crusade against the Turks. In that campaign, he initially had a great deal of success, but, having reached the Black Sea and Varna in 1444, suffered a major defeat. He was defeated again in the second battle of Kosovo in 1448 (interestingly, partly due to the betrayal by Đurađ Branković). Not even this defeat proved to be his coup de grâce – in July 1456, he roundly defeated the Turks at Belgrade. His son Matthias Corvinus was also a great ruler. So, all the individual victories notwithstanding, the mighty Hungary did fall under Turkish power. It wasn't saved by the leadership of great warriors and statesmen, or even the help of some European allies."
Do you think that the fact that the former President of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milošević was extradited to the Hague Tribunal on Saint Vitus Day in 2001 was a coincidence or not?
"The people who were in power in Serbia at the time when Milošević was extradited to the Hague didn't care much for tradition. They probably hadn't been aware of the symbolism of the date until Milošević himself remined them of Saint Vitus Day. They thought that all the EU and US demands needed to be met, and that we would then immediately be accepted into the fold. Instead, new blackmails were delivered. Humiliating North Macedonia demonstrated that accepting each demand made by the EU and the US didn't contribute to European integration."
B. Karović
