# The Ballads of Marko Kraljević/Uroš and the Mrnjavčevići

UROŠ AND THE MRNJAVČEVIĆI
FOUR camps were pitched one by other, On the fair plain of Kossovo,
By the white church of Samodreža:
One was the camp of King Vukašin,
The second, that of Despot Uglješ,
The third of Vojvoda Gojko,
And the fourth was that of the Tsar's son Uroš.
These princes disputed concerning the throne,
And fain would each slay the other;9 Fain would each thrust other through with a golden dagger,
For they knew not which of them was to receive the empire.
King Vukašin said: "It is mine!"
Despot Uglješ: "Nay, but it is mine!"
"Not so," says Vojvoda Gojko, "For it is mine!"
The young Tsarevitch Uroš held his peace.
The child held his peace—he said no word
Because he durst not before the three brothers,
The brothers, the three Mrnjavčevići.
King Vukašin wrote a letter, He wrote a letter and sent a messenger20 To the white town of Prizren,
To the protopope Nedeljko;
That he should come to Kossovo plain
To declare who is to receive the empire;
For he administered the Sacrament to the glorious Tsar,
He administered the Sacrament to him and confessed him,
And in his hands are the ancient books.
Despot Uglješ wrote a letter,
He wrote a letter and sent a messenger
To the white town of Prizren,30 To protopope Nedeljko.
A third letter wrote Vojvoda Gojko,
And sent likewise an ardent messenger.
A fourth wrote Tsar's son Uroš,
He wrote a letter and sent a messenger.
All four wrote letters,
And despatched swift messengers, Each keeping secret from the others what he did.
The four envoys met together, In Prizren, the white city,40 Before the dwelling of protopope Nedeljko.
But the priest was not there, He was in church at morning service, At morning service and the reading of the Liturgy.
Overweening were the ardent envoys
And froward of the froward;
They would not dismount from their horses,
But urged them into the church.
They drew their pleated whips
And smote protopope Nedeljko:50 "Come hence, and quickly, protopope Nedeljko!
Hence, and quickly, to the plain of Kossovo,
To declare who is to receive the empire.
Thou didst administer the Sacrament to the illustrious Tsar,
Thou wert his confessor also, And in thy hands are the ancient books.
Do thou hasten or thou wilt presently lose thy head!"
Protopope Nedeljko shed tears, He shed tears and answered to them again:
"Get ye gone—froward of the froward,60 When we have ended the service in the church
It will be made known who is to receive the empire."
And the messengers gat them forth.
And when they had finished God's service,
And were all come forth before the white church,
Protopope Nedeljko spake thus:
"My children—ye four messengers,
I indeed gave the Sacrament to the illustrious Tsar,
I gave him the Sacrament and I confessed him;
But as touching the empire I asked him nothing,70 I spake only of the sins that he had sinned.
So go ye to Prilep town,
To the abode of Marko Kraljevitch,
To Marko, erstwhile my pupil;
From me he learned his letters, He has been scribe to the Tsar,
In his hands are the imperial writings, And he knoweth who should receive the empire:
Summon ye therefore Marko to Kossovo,
Marko will speak forth the truth80 For Marko feareth none, Save only the one true God."
The four messengers departed thence, They departed thence to Prilep town, To the white castle of Marko Kraljevitch.
And when they were come before the white castle, They knocked on the door with the knocker.
Jevrosima, the old mother, heard the knocking, And called her son Marko:
"Son Marko, my dear child,90 Who knocketh on the door with the knocker?
Meseemeth they should be messengers from thy father."
Marko arose and opened the door,
The messengers inclined themselves before Marko:
"God be thy help, Lord Marko!"
And Marko caressed them with his hand:
"Welcome, my dear children,
Is it well with the Serbian knights,
And with the noble Tsar and King?"
The envoys bowed the head in reverence:100 "Lord Marko Kraljevitch!
In health all are well but they are not accorded together; Our lords have quarrelled bitterly together, On the wide Kossovo plain,
By the white church of Samodreža.
They dispute together concerning the succession,
And fain would each slay other.
Fain would each thrust other through with golden dagger, For they know not which should obtain the empire.
They summon thee to Kossovo plain110 To tell them who is heir to the empire."
Marko entered his lordly manor, And called Jevrosima his mother:
"Jevrosima, my dear mother,
Our princes have quarrelled, On the wide Kossovo plain, By the white church of Samodreža. They dispute together concerning the succession, And fain would each slay other.119 Fain would each thrust other through with golden dagger,
For they know not which should obtain the empire.
They summon me to Kossovo plain, To tell them who is heir to the empire."
Now although Marko sought ever to do the truth, Yet did his mother, Jevrosima, exhort him!
"Marko—only son of thy mother, If the milk wherewith I nourished thee is not to be accursed, Do not thou bear false witness, To pleasure either thy father or thy uncles, But speak according to the judgment of the true God;130 Lose not thy soul, my son;
Better it is to lose thy head, Than to sin against thy soul."
Marko took the ancient books, He made him ready and made ready Sharatz.
He leapt on the back of Sharatz,
And set out for Kossovo plain.
And when they were come to the King's tent
King Vukašin cried:
"Good fortune is mine, by the dear God!140 Behold my son Marko! He will say that the empire falls to me, For from the father it will pass to the son."
Marko heard, but said nothing, Nor turned his head towards the tent.
And when Vojvoda Uglješ perceived him,
Uglješ spake this word:
"Good fortune is mine! Behold my nephew!
He will say that the empire falls to me.
Say, Marko, that the empire is mine150 And we twain shall reign like brothers!"
Marko held his peace, he said nothing, Nor turned aside his head to the tent.
And when Vojvoda Gojko perceived him
Gojko spake this word:
"Good fortune is mine! Behold my nephew!
He will say that the empire falleth to me.
When Marko was yet a little child,
I cherished him tenderly;
I folded him in my silken bosom160 Like a fair golden apple;
And when I went forth on horseback
Ever I took Marko with me.
Say, Marko, that the empire is mine
And thou shalt reign chiefest therein,
And I will sit at thy knee."
Marko held his peace, he said nothing, Nor turned his head towards the tent, But he went straight to the white tent,
To the tent of the stripling Uroš.170 He urged Sharatz to the tent of the Tsar
And there Marko dismounted from Sharatz.
When the youthful Uroš perceived him
Lightly he leapt from the silken divan,
Lightly he leapt and cried:
"Fortunate am I! Behold my godfather!
Behold my godfather, Kraljevitch Marko!
He will declare who is to have the empire."
They opened their arms, they embraced.
They kissed each the other,180 Each asked how it fared with other.
Then they sate them down on the silken divan.
And after a while
Day went; dark night came down.
Early in the morning when it dawned, And the bells before the church were sounded, All the princes came to the morning service.
And when they had finished service in the church,
They came forth out of the white church
And sate them down at tables before the church,190 Sugar they ate and rakia they drank.
Marko took the ancient books, He scanned the books and thus spake Marko:
"O King Vukašin, my father! Is thy kingdom too small for thee?
Is it too small? May it become a desert! Ye dispute now an empire that is another's.
And thou, uncle. Despot Uglješ,
Is thy domain too small for thee?
Is it too small? May ye lose it!200 Ye dispute now an empire that is another's.
And thou, uncle, Vojvoda Gojko,
Is thy Vojvodstvo too small for thee?
Is it too small? May ye lose it!
Ye dispute now an empire that is another's.
Look ye now, else may God not regard you! The record saith that the empire goeth to Uroš,
From the father it descendeth to the son,
To the child the empire belongeth by heritage, To him the Tsar bequeathed it,210 When he died and went to his rest."
When King Vukašin heard this
The King sprang to his feet from the ground
And drew his golden dagger, For to slay his son Marko.
Marko fled from before his father.
For it had ill become him, brother,
To fight with his own father.
Marko fled round the white church, Round the white church of Samodreža.220 Marko fled and the King pursued after him
Until they had thrice made a circle
Round the white church of Samodreža.
Almost had the King reached him.
When a voice spake from the church: "Flee into the church, Kraljevitch Marko,
Dost thou not see that thou wilt perish this day, Perish by the hand of thine own father
And that because thou hast spoken the judgment of the true God?"
The church door opened,230 Marko fled into the white church;
Behind him the door closed. The King rushed upon the church door, He smote the wood with his dagger
And lo, blood dripped from the wood.
Then the King repented him
And spake these words:
"Woe is me, by the one God!
I have slain my son Marko!"
But a voice spake from the church:240
"Hearken thou—King Vukašin,
It is not Marko thou hast stabbed,
But thou hast stabbed one of God's angels."
Then the King was very wroth with Marko,
And in wrath he cursed him:
"Son Marko, may God slay thee,
Mayst thou have neither grave nor posterity, And may thy soul not leave thee, Until thou hast served the Turkish Sultan!"
The King cursed him, the Tsar blessed him:250 "Marko, my godfather, may God be thy stay!
May thy face shine in the council-chamber!
May thy sword be sharp in the battle!
May no knight be found to put thee to the worse!
Be thy name renowned everywhere,
Whilst sun and moon endure!"
Thus they spake curse and blessing, and so also it came to pass.
* ↑ The family name of King Vukašin; see Мрнавчева Градина (Vuk's Dict.).
* ↑ табор = a camp or army.
* ↑ Some sing "Gračanica" (Vuk's footnote).
* ↑ књиге староставне. Professor Pavle Popović informs me that "the ancient books" are supposed to mean the old Serbian biographies (Sava, Domentian, Danilo and others). As these books deal chiefly with the Nemanja dynasty and do not admit any rival claim to the throne, Marko, as a loyal subject, gives no heed to the demand of his father and uncles, but declares in favour of Uroš, the last of the Nemanjas. Vuk (Dict.) suggests цароставне as a possible reading. Cf. Jugoslovenska Književnost, pp. 8-10, 14.
* ↑ Šarac, the name of Marko's wonderful piebald horse.
* ↑ The bells were hung on a wooden framework outside the building.
* ↑ Vukašin, Uglješ and Gojko were all slain at the Marica (1371).
* ↑ There is a flavour about this passage, unique in the Marko poems. The same sort of mysticism, however, informs certain portions of the Kossovo cycle.