Order of the Serbian despot George (Djuradj)
Brankovic
ca. 1430
St Paul's Monastery
Slavonic document, Cod. 21 (1)
Paper(?), 26.2 x 43.8 cm |
Charter's Translation
The
despot of the Serbs, George Brankovic, permits the
'noble great eparch (celnik) of my realm, Radi ' to
make a gift to the monks of St Paul's Monastery. The
gift consists in the transfer of the village of Gornya
Peshtsanitsa in the district of Branitchevo, which had
been part of the despot's patrimonial estate and was
transferred to Radic by Brankovic himself. The despot
now permits the village to be given to the monks of St
Paul with all its territory and rights. As long as the
despot and his children live, the gift shall be
inalienable, and no-one shall have the right to revoke
it.
Description of the charter:
The
despotic order comprises 33 lines of calligraphic text
in the Serbian script of the Resava School. The
ornamental red initial capital is preceded by an
ornamented cross. There are also red initials within
the text. In the lower part of the document there is
the signature: 'By the mercy of God, the master of the
Serbs despot George', together with a piece of red
braid passing through a wax seal 8 cm in diameter,
bearing the coat of arms of the Brankovic dynasty
surrounded by the inscription: 'In Christ the Lord,
the faithful and Christ-loving master of the Serbs and
the Cisdanubian territories, George'. The document is
undated, but an approximate dating may be reached on
the basis of other documents connected with Radi.
Bibliography: Stojanovic 1890, p. 5. Novakovic 1912,
pp. 531-2. For a correct reading of the seal, see
Sindik 1978, p. 196.
[ source:
ODYSSEUS
]
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