Novus Israel: An Outline for a History of the Concept of Divine Election in the Serbian Milieu (13th–16th Centuries)

Abstract

The fact that the ancient concept of divine election (in its Judeo-Christian iteration) received a distinct political-theological elaboration in medieval Serbia is well-known and has long been acknowledged by scholars. Indeed, the belief that the secular and spiritual leaders of the Serbs – and through them the broader community – enjoyed a special status in the eyes of the Almighty is so prevalent in the sources that it simply could not go unnoticed. However, despite the fact that medievalists of various profiles have successfully illuminated certain aspects of this complex phenomenon over the past decades, a comprehensive study that would transcend the thematic and/or chronological limitations of previous considerations has yet to be written. Of course, this paper does not aspire to such an ambitious research endeavour. My aim, rather, is to present, through several examples that I consider representative, the range of religious, social, and, above all, political implications that the discourse of divine election had in various historical contexts. The discussion, which is based on the preserved corpus of celebratory texts from the period spanning the 13th to the 16th century, consists of three segments: in the first, I attempt to discern the meaning and function of the idea of chosenness in early Nemanjić hagiography, primarily in the works of hieromonk Domentian; in the second, I examine, through the same lens, the corpus of writings celebrating the memory of Prince Lazar in the years and decades following the Battle of Kosovo; finally, in the third section, I focus on the cult texts dedicated to the Branković despots of Syrmia.Ovaj tekst predstavlja prošireni rezime (na engleskom jeziku) rada "Novus Israel: Nacrt za istoriju ideje o bogoizabranju kod Srba (XIII-XVI vek)" https://reff.f.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/7284 Concepts of Nationalism and Patriotism in Serbian Political Discourse: Medieval, Modern, Contemporary. Proceedings of the Conference held on 30–31 May 2024 at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy, edd. S. Marjanović-Dušanić, A. Z. Savić, Belgrade 2025