# The Ballads of Marko Kraljević/The Sister of Leka Kapetan

THE SISTER OF LEKA KAPETAN
From the world's creation,
No greater marvel hath been,
Nor hath nowhere been heard tell of, Than the marvel they say at Prizren,
Of the household of Kapetan Leka;
And the marvel they say is of the maid Rosanda.
God! How fair she is, may no ill befall her! In the four quarters of the earth, In all the lands of Turk and of Giaour,
There was not her like for beauty in the whole world,10 Neither white Turkish maid nor Vlach,
Nor yet no damsel of slender Latin breed.
They that had seen the mountain Vila
Said that the Vila, brother, might not compare with her.
The maid grew up in a cage; Fifteen years, they say, she dwelt encaged,
And saw not the sun nor yet the moon, And the marvel was bruited through the world.
The tale went from mouth to mouth.
Until they heard it in Prilep;20 And Marko Kraljević, the hero, heard it.
And it pleased Marko passing well, That they praised her and spake no ill of him,
And him seemed that if she should be his wife,
Then Leka would be to him a worthy friend,
With whom he might drink wine
And hold knightly converse withal.
Marko called his sister to him:
"Go, hasten, sister, to the čardak, Open the box that is there,30 And take out my finest apparel,
That I have made ready, sister, For to put on against I marry me.
Methinks, sister, I go forth today
To Prizren under Šar mountain, For to ask the maid in marriage of Leka;
And when I have won her, and brought her home, Then will I marry thee, sister."
Quickly his sister ran to the čardak
And opened the box in the čardak40 And took out the fine apparel.
And when Marko clothed him, He put on cloth of velvet, And on his head he set a kalpak with a silver crest, And on his legs breeches with clasps, Each clasp worth a golden ducat.
And he girded on his damascened sabre, Whereof the golden tassels went to the ground;
Sheathed in gold was the sabre, Sharp of blade and sweet to handle,50 And the servants brought out his horse, And saddled him with a gilded saddle, And put trappings on him that came down to his hoofs,
And over all a dappled lynx-skin, And they bridled him with a bit of steel.
Now was Marko ready to depart, He called his servants, the cellarer makes such speed as he may.
Between them they bear forth wine, Two vessels of red wine, One they gave to the war-horse60
That he grew blood-red to the ears.
The second Marko drank as stirrup-cup,
And he grew blood-red to the eyes.
And now dragon rode forth on dragon, And they went out over the fields of Prilep.
So they passed over hill and dale
And drew nigh to Kossovo.
But Marko would not to level Mitrovica,
But turned him aside at the first cross-roads, And went straight to his pobratim,70 To his pobratim Vojvoda Miloš.
And when Marko was come near to the castle,
Vojvoda Miloš perceived him.
From his white tower he saw him,
And called to him his many servants:
"Servants mine, open the gate!
Get ye out to the wide plain, Go by the broad highway, Your caps, children, put under your armpits, And do obeisance down to the black earth,80 For lo, my pobratim Marko cometh to me!
Lay not hold on the hem of his mantle, Offer not to bear his sword for him, Nor go ye too nigh to Marko,
For it may be that he is in anger, It may be that he is flown with wine, And well might he trample you under his horse's feet, And leave you, children, in evil case.
But when Marko is come in at the gate, And we have embraced each the other, 90 Then take ye Marko's horse, And I shall lead Marko to the čardak."
Quickly the servants set open the gate
And met Marko in the field.
But Marko looked not at the servants,
But rode his ways past them;
He rode his horse to the gate, And at the gate he lighted down.
The Vojvoda Miloš came forth,
And met Marko his pobratim;100 They spread out their arms and kissed each the other, And Milo§ would fain have led him to the čardak,
But Marko refused and would not to the čardak.
"Nay, brother," quoth he, "I will not to the čardak,
I have no time for feasting;
But whether hast thou heard,
Concerning Prizren the white city, And the household of Kapetan Leka?
For thereof they say great marvel.
Wondrous marvel they say of the maid Rosanda; 110 In the four quarters of the earth
In all the lands of Turk and Giaour,
There be none like unto her in the whole world.
Neither white Turkish maid nor Vlach,
Nor yet no damsel of slender Latin breed.
They that have seen the mountain Vila,
Say that the Vila, brother, may not compare with her.
Thus folk praise her, and no man sayeth aught against us.
Today we two pobratims
Have met together, both of us unwed,120 Unworthier men have made mock of us,
Less worshipful than we have wedded, Yea, and have begotten offspring, And we remain, brother, for a reproach! We have a third pobratim, The winged Relja of Pazar;
Beyond Raška, beyond the cold river.
From the first we have been true brethren.
Put on now thy finest apparel,
Take with thee gold also,130 And take a golden ring for the maiden;
We shall ask the winged Relja to go with us,
And when we are safe come to Prizren,
Let Leka and the maid look upon us;
Let her choose which of us she will,
And that one shall be the happy bridegroom,
And the other twain shall be the two devers,
And all three of us shall be Leka's chiefest friends."
Miloš heard it and it liked him well, He left Marko in the courtyard, 140 He gat him to the slender čardak, And put on splendid apparel;
A sable kalpak with a silver crest that turned like a wheel,
And garments of many folds, And over all he donned a gay mantle, Such as today no king possesseth. There was paid thirty purses of gold
For the lining within, As for the outside, none may tell
The gold that it cost. 150 The servants led forward his swift steed.
Now whilst Miloš garbed him,
Marko was drinking wine;
One great vessel full of wine he drank, And his horse drained another.
Ah, hadst thou but seen with thine eyes,
Hadst thou but seen the Vojvoda Miloš!
Marko was as naught
Compared with Miloš the Vojvoda.
For none was of greater stature,160 There was none more broad of shoulder;
And what a knightly aspect was the hero's!
What a pair of eyes he had!
What a mighty black moustache! Graceful it drooped to his shoulders;
Happy she that taketh him to husband! And now they mounted their good steeds,
And went forth to Mitrovica plain.
They descended towards Novi Pazar,
Along the Raška to Relja's manor. 170 Relja saw them and came out to meet his pobratims,
They spread wide their arms and kissed one the other.
In the gateway they lighted down,
And swift squires took the horses.
Then Relja bade them to the čardak,
But Marko would not, and he said to Relja:
"We will not, pobro, to the čardak,
Nor to the čardak nor to the slender tower."
And he told him all wherefore they journeyed.
"Come, Relja," quoth he, "Come, pobratim, 180 We shall wait for thee a little:
Put on thy finest raiment upon thee, And let the servants saddle thee thy horse."
Relja was glad of that word.
Hadst thou but seen with thine eyes
When the winged hero donned his apparel! Hadst thou seen the splendid bridegroom
That the winged Relja made! It is no jest that the hero had wings, No jest is it—he had wings indeed.190 A sorry figure was Marko beside him,
A sorry figure also Miloš the Vojvoda.
Relja mounted his Vila-steed,
And they went by the wide plain, Along the Raška, by the cold river.
And they came to the fords, And they crossed the Jošanica water,
Seven and seventy fords.
They reached Kolašin village
And went down to level Metohia.200 They came to Senovac village,
To Senovac and so to Orahovac;
Then they went over level Metohia,
And entered on the Prizren plain, Under high Šar mountain.
And they were yet afar off, When Leka Kapetan espied them.
He took his spy-glass of crystal, That he might see who they were and whence,
For Leka Kapetan wit well 210 That they were worthy knights and horses;
And when he put the spy-glass to his eye,
Forthwith he knew the three Serbian Vojvodas,
He knew them and marvelled, And also was he somewhat adread.
And Leka cried with a loud voice, With a loud voice he cried and called his servants:
"Servants mine, open the gate!
Servants mine, haste ye forth into the field!
There come to me three Serbian Vojvodas.220 I know not what this portendeth, Nor know I whether there will be peace in our land."
Quickly the servants set open the gate, And went forth afar over the plain, And they bowed them down even to the ground,
But the Vojvodas regarded not the servants,
But urged their horses onward to the gate.
There the servants drew nigh to them, And took their valiant steeds,
And Leka Kapetan came forth; 230 In the courtyard he met the three Vojvodas,
They halsed each other in arms and kissed each the other,
And each hero asked other how he did;
Each took other by the hand,
And went, brother, to the slender čardak.
And when they were gone up into the čardak, Albeit Marko had gone to and fro in the earth,
Nor marvelled no more at anything, Nor was never abashed,
Yet here Marko both marvelled and was abashed, 240 When he beheld Leka's čardak, And saw the splendour thereof.
Wherewith, think ye, was the floor covered?
With fine cloth that reached to the door of the čardak;
And on the cloth was spread fair velvet.
And how, think ye, were the beds in Leka's manor?
How the pillows under the head?
All, all were wove in thread of purest gold.
Round the čardak were pegs a many,
Wherefrom hung knightly weapons,250 And the pegs were of white silver;
And the columns round about the čardak
Were all of white silver, And the capitals thereof were of fine gold.
And on the left side of the čardak
Was the well-garnished sofra, And along it wine had been poured out,
And brimmed in golden beakers;
And at the head thereof stood a goblet
That held full nine litres of wine,260 And was wrought of purest gold.
It was the goblet of Leka Kapetan,
And of that Marko had great marvel.
And now Leka bade them sit down, He made place at the head of the sofra,
Gladly he welcomed the Vojvodas.
Therewithal came the swift servants, They took the beakers from the sofra,
And gave them into the hands of the knights;
But first they gave to their own lord and master, 270 To Leka Kapetan their lord.
And wine there was out of measure, And the sofra was garnished with all knightly cheer,
And with fine meats of every sort. They drank wine, yea, and so they tarried
From Sunday again to Sunday,
And oft did Marko cast glance of eye
Upon his two pobratims, For to know whether of them should speak to Leka,
And say the word concerning the damsel. 280 But when Marko looked at them, They cast their eyes on the ground.
No light thing was it to speak of this matter to Leka,
That was such a great and worshipful knight. When Marko saw himself in this strait, He needs must speak the word to Leka:
"Most worshipful Leka," quoth he,
"We sit and we drink wine, And we have spoken together of all matters,
And ever I look to thee and listen 290 When thou wilt ask me, Leka,
Wherefore we are come this far journey, And wherefore we have tired our horses.
But thou wilt not ask me, Leka!" And now indeed it was hero against hero,
And craft met craft again;
And Leka answered him right craftily: "O Vojvoda, Kraljević Marko,
How should I ask thee, brother,
Since thou, Marko, hast long not honoured me?300 Why are ye not oftener come to me
That each might ask how it fared with other,
That we might drink red wine,
And see if peace were to reign in the land?
Ye are come to me today, tomorrow I will go to you.
He said and waited the word of Marko;
Nor for long was Marko silent, But made answer to him again:
"All is as thou sayest, Leka Kapetan,
But I have somewhat more to say unto thee 310 On a matter that is hard to open;
News of import hath reached us,
For they say that here is a marvel,
A wondrous marvel, even the proud maid Rosanda.
They say that in the four corners of the earth, In Bosnia and in Rumelia,
In Syria and in Egypt,
In Atolia and in Anatolia,
And in the seven Vlach kingdoms,
And in the whole world none may compare with her. 320 They praise her, and no man sayeth aught against us.
We are come. Sir Leka,
That we may ask the maid in marriage;
All three we are pobratims, All three till now unwed: Give thy sister to which of us thou wilt, Choose for brother-in-law which thou wilt, That one may be the eager bridegroom, And the others his two devers, And that all may be thy chiefest friends." 330 Leka was angered and made frowning countenance;
"Think not of that," quoth he, "Vojvoda Marko!
Bring not forth a ring for the maid, Nor yet the suitor's flagon.
What I as a knight have sought of God,
That have I obtained this day
In that I gain for me such friends.
But I must tell you a hard thing;
Sooth it is that thou hast heard, Vojvoda Marko,
That there is no such damsel of beauty; 340 It is true indeed what folk say, But this my sister is a shrew, She feareth none save God,
She careth naught for her brother.
Four and seventy suitors there are, That are come seeking my sister, And in all my sister hath found some fault,
And shamed her brother before the suitors.
I durst not take thy ring, Nor drink of the suitor's flagon. 350 If my sister will not go with you tomorrow,
How then shall I answer you?"
Into loud laughter brake Marko,
And spake to him in this wise:
"Ah me, Leka, alas for thy mother!
Art thou then head of this household,
And ruler of the level plain, And thine own sister feareth thee not?
By the faith of my body.
Were it my sister in Prilep, 360 And she would not obey me,
I should cut off her hands, Or put out her eyes! But hear me now, Leka Kapetan!
And if thou art afeared of thy dear sister,
I pray thee as head of the household
That thou go to the white tower; Go, Leka, where thy sister sitteth, Ask her and bring her hither, And let her look upon us knights; 370 It may well be that such she hath never seen.
Do thou tell thy sister, Leka,
That she may choose which of us she will,
And we brethren shall not quarrel, But one shall be the bridegroom, The other twain shall be the devers, And we shall all be thine own good friends." Up sprang Leka, no word he said, He went to the high tower, And spake to his sister Rosanda: 380 "Come, sister, come proud Rosa,
Come, sister, to the slender čardak! It so fortunes thee in this thy life, That of three Serbian knights thou mayst take thy choice, Whose like there is not in the world this day;
Thereby shall thy brother gain good friends
And thou, sister, shalt wed with great honour."
The sister made answer to her brother:
"Go, brother, to the slender čardak.
Drink wine together and toast one the other, 390 Behold thy sister cometh to the čardak."
Forthwithal goeth Leka to the čardak, And like brethren the knights sit together in the čardak. Then a sound was heard in the high čardak, There was a sound on the slender staircase
Of dainty slippered feet, And lo, a bevy of maidens!
And in the midst thereof the maid Rosanda.
And when Rosanda entered into the čardak,
The four corners thereof glittered 400 With the splendour of her apparel,
And the beauty of her form and features.
The three Serbian knights looked upon her,
They looked and were abashed, For in sooth they had great marvel of Rosa.
Many a wonder had Marko seen, He had seen the Vilas of the mountains,
And he had Vilas that were his sworn sisters,
But never tofore had he been adread,
Nor never tofore had he been abashed. 410 Yet now of Rosa had he exceeding great marvel,
And in Leka's presence he was sore abashed, That he cast his eyes upon the ground.
And Leka Kapetan perceived it.
He looked at his sister, he looked at the Vojvodas
For to see whether of the knights would speak,
Or with him or with the slender damsel.
But when he saw how the knights were silent,
He made the matter plain to his sister:
"Choose, sister," quoth he, "which thou wilt 420 Of these three worshipful knights.
And if thou art minded, sister, To take a good knight of prowess, That will make our face to shine with glory
On every field of strife, One that cometh forth with worship from every tourney, Take, sister, Kraljević Marko.
Go with him to Prilep castle, It will be well with thee there.
But if, sister, thou art minded 430 To take the knight of fairest seeming, Whom none may match for strength and comeliness,
Nor yet in stature nor in stoutness of countenance
In the four ends of the earth,
Then take, sister, the knight Miloš.
Go with him to the plain of Kossovo,
There too it will be well with thee.
But if, sister, thou art minded
To take a winged knight, That thou mayst embrace him and be proud,440 Take, sister, the winged Relja,
Go with him to Novi Pazar,
And there, too, it will be well with thee."
When Rosanda the damsel heard it, She smote the palms of her hands together,
That the čardak rang in the four corners thereof;
And therewithal she began to speak shameful words:
"God be praised! Praise be to the true God!
I can understand marvels of every sort,
And for all adversities I can find a remedy. 450 But I understand not this land of Prizren,
That hath bestowed the rank of chief
On a madman like Leka Kapetan! Where is thy understanding? Thou hast lost it!
What whim hath taken thee, brother?
How hast thou been so befooled this day?
Liever had I remain unwed,
In this our realm of Prizren
Than go to Prilep castle,
And be called Marko's wife. 460 For Marko holds of the Sultan,
He fights and smites for the Turks,
Never will he have grave nor burial, Nor o'er his grave will burial service be read.
Wherefore with all my beauty should I be wife to a Turkish minion?
Yet would I not be angered, That thou art deceived by reason of Marko's valour,
But I am wroth with thee,
That thou findest aught to love
In this Vojvoda Miloš, 470 Because he is featly fashioned of body and a strong knight.
Hast thou heard what folk say concerning him?
They say that a mare foaled Miloš,
A grey Arab mare,
An Arab mare that brought forth crane-like foals; In the morning they found Miloš in the stud, And the mare suckling him with her udder;
Hence his strength and his greatness of stature.
Yet even therefor should I not be wroth,
But this, brother, has moved me to anger, 480 That thou speakest to me of the winged Relja!
Where is thy understanding? Thou hast lost it!
Where is thy tongue? Thou speakest no word!
Wherefore, brother, askest thou not Relja
What is his parentage and what his line.
Who his father, and who his mother?
For I have heard folk say
That Relja is a bastard of Novi Pazar.
They found him one morning in the street, And a gipsy suckled him. 490 Hence hath he his pinions;
I go not with him nor with any of them."
She said, and went down from the čardak.
Behind her, face flamed to face, For the knights were shamed in each other's presence,
And Marko's anger blazed like living fire.
Lightly he leapt to his feet, He snatched his sharp sword from the nail, And would have stricken off Leka's head.
But Miloš sprang forward and seized Marko, 500 And grasped the sabre in his hand:
"Hold thy hand," quoth he, "Kraljević Marko,
Leave thy sabre—God's curse upon it!
Wouldst thou do scathe to this our brother
That hath so well received us?
And for a wretched she-bastard,
Wouldst thou make all Leka's land to weep?"
And Miloš suffered him not to lay hands on Leka.
Marko looked, and a thought came to him, He sought no more to take his sabre, 510 But looked at the dagger in his girdle, Then rushed down from the slender čardak.
And when Marko reached the ground, And set foot on the stony pavement,
Rosa was nigh unto the tower,
And her maidens were round about Rosanda;
They upheld her flowing sleeves and the hem of her garments;
Marko saw it and cried aloud:
"O damsel, O proud Rosanda,
I beseech thee of thy youthfulness, 520 Send from thee thy maidens
And turn thy face to me!
For I was sore abashed, Rosa,
Before thy brother in the čardak
So that I saw thee not well.
And when I go to Prilep castle, My sister will weary me
Asking: 'Was Rosa fair to look upon?'
Turn thee, that I may see thy face."
The damsel sent away her maidens, 531 She turned her about and showed her face:
"Now Marko," quoth she, "thou mayst look on Rosa!"
Marko raged and was wroth out of wit, One step he made and a mighty spring,
And by the hand he seized the damsel, He drew the sharp dagger from his girdle,
And cut off her right arm;
He cut off her arm at the shoulder,
And gave the right arm into her left hand, And with the dagger he put out her eyes, 540 And wrapped them in a silken kerchief,
And thrust them into her bosom.
Then spake Marko in this wise:
"Choose now, thou maid Rosanda,
Choose now which thou wilt, Whether the Turkish minion,
Or Miloš the mare's son,
Or Relja the bastard!" Rosa shrieked that it was heard afar,
And she cried to her brother Leka: 550
"O my brother, Leka Kapetan!
Seest thou not how I perish miserably
At the hands of mighty Kraljević Marko!"
In the slender čardak Leka hears her, But he is silent as were he a cold stone,
Nor durst he speak a word,
Lest he too should perish.
Marko lift up his voice, for he would not enter again into the čardak.
He called to his two pobratims:
"Come, brothers, come down from the čardak! 560 Bring my sabre in your hands, The time is come for us to depart."
The pobratims hearkened unto Marko,
They came down to the pavement,
Marko girded on his sword below the čardak, They mounted their good steeds, And went forth over the wide plain. Leka stayed like a cold stone, And Rosa, mutilated, kept wailing.
* ↑ "Captain" is not a suitable translation. Something equivalent to "governor" would be appropriate, but I have left the title "Kapetan" as in the original.
* ↑ у кавезу: perhaps not so figurative as it seems considering the way in which women were guarded. The same thing is referred to in the fairy-tale "Чардак ни на небу ни на земли" which begins "Био један Цар, па имао три сина и једну кћер, коју је у кафезу хранио и чувао као очи у глави." Сриске Народне Приповијетке, p. 7 (Биоград 1897).
* ↑ Čardak: an upper-chamber (or a tower) with a verandah.
* ↑ I believe the word слуга might often be appropriately rendered as "squire."
* ↑ А кад ала алу појахала. "Ала" according to Vuk (Dict.) is a kind of dragon which has the power to bring clouds and hail. Here, of course, figurative, meaning "mighty one."
* ↑ Dever: bride-leader, paranymph. Corresponds roughly to "best-man." Cf. Gk. δαήρ, Lat. levir.
* ↑ А слуге му ждрала изведоше: "And the squires led out his crane." The crane is regarded as typical of gracefulness, and a fine-looking horse is often called "a crane" (ждрал) or is referred to as ждралин, "swift steed."
* ↑ Виловита кона појахао: to express the superlative quality of his horse, the Vila being endowed with marvellous swiftness.
* ↑ "Seven and seventy": probably to express an indefinitely large number. "Two and twenty" is frequently used in this sense. Cf. the words of the kolo song beginning: "Igra kolo, igra kolo na dvadeset i dva." In the Iliad a very long spear is δυοκαιεικοσίπηχυ (xv. 678), and a huge bowl is δυοκαιεικοσίμετρος (xxiii. 264). Cf. also l. 345 of this ballad and page 141 line 99.
* ↑ Sofra: the low table round which the guests squatted on cushions on the floor.
* ↑ Просачка буклија: according to the custom, if Marko had produced the "suitor's flagon," and if Leka had drunk out of it, he would have been pledged to see that his sister married one of the three heroes. As he had no authority over his wilful sister he dared not enter into any agreement on her behalf.
* ↑ Lit. "to comb my grey hair."
* ↑ The hero's surname Obilić was said by many to be Kobilić, and as kobila = a mare, the point of the sneer is obvious.
* ↑ See note, line 151.