People from the epics around Marko Kraljević
This article deals with some characters from the epics of the king's son Marko :
Jevrosima is the mother of Marko. She is the sister of the voivod Momčilo. Momčilo had twelve brothers and was married to Vidosava. He refused to recognize Vukašin as the new king, whereupon Vukašin besieged the kingdom of Momčilo in the Durmitor Mountains. Vukašin 'army was able to defeat the twelve brothers of Momčilo, but Momčilos himself could not get hold of them, because Momčilo was too strong and had a winged horse, and so Vukašin' was able to escape the army every time. Only on the betrayal of Vidosava, Momčilo's wife, who promised Vukašin to marry her and make her the new tsarina, Momčilo was caught and killed. When Vukašin inspected Momčilos Castle and its weapons and armor, he felt remorse and instead of Vidosava took Momčilos' sister, Jevrosima, as his wife. And she gave birth to Marko, who beat his uncle, the voivode Momčilo, ... In the epics, Jevrosima has a decisive influence on her son, she stands for right conduct and Christian integrity. Marko often cries in her lap when he laments his fate and that of the world.
In contrast, Ravijojla in the Bulgarian epics Gyura that Schutzfee Markos and his oath sister . She gives him many gifts, e.g. B. talking to animals and giving him advice. With her advice, Marko can defeat stronger opponents such as Musa Kesedžija. Some see Ravijojla or Gyura as the pre-Christian, pagan element in the epics.
King Vukašin is the father of Marko. When the young Marko awards the tsar's crown to the rightful tsar Uroš rather than him,Vukašin tries to kill him, but Marko finds refuge in a church. At the gates of the church, Vukašin curses his son for serving the Turks all his life.
Marko's wife is called Jelena . Historically, a courtier named Dobre mentions a possible love affair between Markos in the 14th century, when he (according to Dobre) left a Todora, the wife of Grgur, and turned to his first-married wife Jelena, the daughter of Prince Hlapen.
Anđelija is Marko's sister. Like mother Jevrosima, she is an example of good behavior. She also worries about Marko's castle and lands, and waits until Marko assigns her a right husband and gives her his blessing for the marriage.
Andrijaš is the name of the brother Markos, who is killed in some epics by Marko because of a noble horse. In some epics of the Dalmatian islands like Hvar , Andrijaš is the real hero and not Marko. There is historical evidence of Andrijaš, who emigrated to Hungary and entered Hungarian service.
Miloš Obilić , the greatest knight in Serbia, is brotherhood with Marko. Together they have several adventures.
Relja Krilati or Relja from Novi Pazar is also fraternized with Marko. As he was descended from the winged horse of Marko's uncle Momčilo, Relja also has wings and can fly.
Filip Mađarin , Hungary's greatest hero, is also fraternized with Marko. Filip is an epic processing by Philippo Scolari .
Beg Kostadin is brotherhood with Marko. Marko rebukes him when Kostadin only invites rich relatives and friends to the festival of his patron saint, but leaves the poor outside. He appears in several epics as a companion to Markos. Beg Kostadin is the epic derivative of Konstantin Dragaš , where the first name Beg is borrowed from the Turkish lord .
Ljutica Bogdan , the grim Bogdan; an old, experienced fighter, is considered to be the mightiest warrior in Serbia until Marko. He takes Miloš Obilić and other Serbian heroes prisoner for tasting his grapes. When he meets Marko, he hesitates in front of the determined Marko and releases all heroes.
The Sultan is a contradicting figure: he loves and admires Marko, but is also not afraid to persecute and imprison him. Several times he asks Marko to convert to Islam and marry his daughter, which Marko refuses.
Alil-aga is a Turkish military leader. At first he is hostile to Marko and challenges the sick Marko to archery, in which the winner should get the other's wife and court. Marko, too weak to fight against Alil-aga's army, agrees, and defeats them in archery with the help of a Tatar bow. The two fraternize afterwards.
Janja , a landlady that Marko often visits.
Vuča dženeral , a Hungarian military leader from Oradea . He takes Miloš Obilić and other Serbian military leaders prisoner, but is then defeated and captured by Marko with his son Velimir. For his and his son's release, he has to release the Serbian heroes and pay a large ransom.
Musa Kesedžija is an Albanian rebel. He defeated entire Turkish armies. Ultimately, Marko is taken from a Turkish dungeon and sent against Musa for the price of freedom. Marko defeats Musa with a ruse that his guardian fairy Ravijojla gives him. When Marko realizes that three hearts were beating in Musa, one of which was still asleep in the fight with Marko (i.e. Musa did not fight with all his might), he regrets having killed a hero greater than himself.
Ćemo brđanin is the brother of Musa Kesedžija. He wants to avenge his brother and defeats Marko in a duel. In order not to hang Marko, he gets richly rewarded by the "Christians", but still intends to kill Marko. Marko also convicts Ćemo with a ruse by making him drunk with the help of Janja, the landlady, killing him and giving the Christians all their gold back.
Mina od Kostura , also a rebel against the Turks, seized the city of Kastoria , hence his nickname "von Kastoria". While Marko is fighting for the Sultan in Arabia, he kidnaps Marko's wife Jelena. Marko wages war with the Turks against Mina, but cannot defeat him. Only when he is admitted to the fortress of Minas, disguised as a monk, does Marko manage to kill Mina.
The Moorish Princess is an Arab princess . Marko leads the Turkish lord against the king of Arabia, but is captured by the twelve Arabs. The Arabs keep Marko in prison for seven years, but then the beautiful princess falls in love with Marko. She helps him to escape, believing that he will take her with him, but Marko kills her when she wants to kiss him because he cannot stand her "black skin and white teeth". Later he regrets his deed, which is the reason for his numerous church foundations, with which he hopes for forgiveness.
The twelve Arabs are named as mighty warriors when Marko fights in Arabia. He defeats them and frees her slave, a girl who tortured the twelve Arabs in various ways. Marko makes her his sister-in-law and sends her to his mother Jevrosima.
The black Arab (in the translation of Talvj the black moor ) kidnaps the sultan's daughter, whom Marko then frees. The black Arab also appears in the song “Marko abolishes the bride tax”, for many the most touching epic about the king's son. In the story, Marko meets the girl from the blackbird field who wants to throw herself into the river, because the black Arab has acquired the rights to the blackbird field from the sultan and has introduced a bride tax - each groom has to pay 34 gold pieces or he is thrown into dungeon, and each bride has to pay 30 gold pieces or spend a night with the black Arab. Marko gives the girl 30 gold pieces so that she doesn’t take her own life and care for her old mother and her loved ones, and rides weeping across the blackbird field. When the black Arab arrives at the tent camp, he kills his warriors and finally this one too, and frees the prisoners. He sends the servants of the black Arab in all four directions, who are supposed to announce that there will be no more bride tax from then on, because “Marko has paid for everyone”. The story gives an indirect answer as to why Marko serves the Turks: It is his fate determined by his father's curse, but in this way he can also save his people from further harm, because "he pays for everyone".