Pragmatic Literacy in Medieval Serbia (Utrecht Studies In Medieval Literacy 29)

Examining the significance and uses of written documents in medieval Serbian society, for the very first time the manifestations of everyday literacy are revealed in the area where the East and the West intersect in southeastern Europe. The interweaving of Latin and Byzantine influences shaped the culture of literacy in medieval Serbia. Unprecedented in the field, this study aims to show that, even if only about 1000 Serbian medieval documents are preserved, this does not mean that little had been written. An exploration of the use of written documents in commercial, legal, and private relations in late medieval Serbia constitutes the basic scope of the research. It focuses on the documents fate and on their social roles from the moment they were issued or submitted to their beneficiaries. The making of charters-by rulers, the Church, the aristocracy, towns, and public notaries-is analysed, as are the main fields of the use of the written word-evidentiary procedure, diplomacy, and correspondence. The citation of individual examples of pragmatic literacy allows us to give an approximate idea of how widespread the belief in the power of the written word really was. Even though the ways in which documentary literacy manifested itself in late medieval Serbia display certain idiosyncrasies, the growth in the use and reputation of written documents suggests that the Serbian case was not all that unlike the written customs and practices elsewhere in medieval Europe. Foreword ix Acknowledgements xiii Abbreviations xv List of Illustrations xix Maps xxv Chapter 1. Introduction: Medieval Serbia (Land, Ruler, People) 1 Part One: Written Records in Medieval Serbia Chapter 2. Several Observations on Sources 27 Laws 28 Documents 32 Literary Sources 33 Other Sources 36 Chapter 3. Characteristics of This Research 37 Chapter 4. Basic Characteristics of the Documentary Legacy of the Serbian Middle Ages 45 Materials 45 Writing and Language 50 The Names of Documents 55 The Fate and Preservation of Medieval Documents 64 Chapter 5. Social and Material Prerequisites of Written Communication 87 The Development of Literacy 87 The Pre-Nemanjiæ Period: Examples of Documentary Literacy 93 Serbia in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries: Causes of the Surge in Documentary Literacy 103 Peculiarities of the Bosnian State 117 Part Two: Agents of Literacy Chapter 6. The Ruler 123 The Rulers’ Ideology and the Written Document 123 The Reputation of Rulers’ Documents (Public Faith and Permanence) 132 The Ruler and State Administration 139 Chapter 7. The Church 151 Written Basis of the Privileged Status of the Church 152 Documents of Bishops, Written Administration under the Auspices of the Church 154 Monasteries 163 Chapter 8. The Nobility 177 “Written Patrimony” 177 The Use of Documents as a Reflection of Social Status 184 Chapter 9. The Towns 191 Town Privileges 192 Administration 195 The Mining Business 199 Trade (Coastal Merchants in the Hinterland) 206 Chapter 10. Public Notaries and Private Legal Relations 217 Written Documents in Private Legal Relations: The Word of Law 218 Nomiks and Nomik Documents 223 Private Documents and Notes 231 Part Three: Domains of the Use of the Written Word Chapter 11. Diplomacy 241 Diplomatic Correspondence 242 Diplomatic Missions 262 Concluding Treaties and Issuing Charters 276 Chapter 12. Correspondence 285 Hagiographies, Epistolaries, Drafts of Beginnings of Letters, Short Messages (Several Notes on Sources) 286 Private Correspondence of the Ruler’s Family 296 The Ruler and the Church: A Symphony in Correspondence 300 Church, Nobles, Citizens, Private Persons... 304 Chapter 13. The Probative Force of Documents and Their Role in Judicial Proceedings 315 Means of Evidence: The Basic Purpose 316 The Role of the Written Word in Legal Procedures 323 Probative Force and the Use of Serbian Documents in the Maritime Communes and in Venice 336 Forgeries 352 The interweaving of Latin and Byzantine influences shaped the culture of literacy in medieval Serbia. Unprecedented in the field, this study aims to show that, even if only about 1000 Serbian medieval documents are preserved, this does not mean that little had been written. An exploration of the use of written documents in commercial, legal, and private relations in late medieval Serbia constitutes the basic scope of the research. It focuses on the documents’ fate and on their social roles from the moment they were issued or submitted to their beneficiaries. The making of charters - by rulers, the Church, the aristocracy, towns, and public notaries - is analysed, as are the main fields of the use of the written word - evidentiary procedure, diplomacy, and correspondence. The citation of individual examples of pragmatic literacy allows us to give an approximate idea of how widespread the belief in the power of the written word really was. Even though the ways in which documentary literacy manifested itself in late medieval Serbia display certain idiosyncrasies, the growth in the use and reputation of written documents suggests that the Serbian case was not all that unlike the written customs and practices elsewhere in medieval Europe