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ACADEMIE SERBE DES SCIENCES ET DES ARTS
COMITE DE L’ACADEMIE POUR L’ETUDE
DU KOSOVO ET METOHIJA
RECUEIL DU KOSOVO
ET METOHIJA
9
REDACTEUR DRAGAN VOJVODIĆ
BELGRADE 2022
КОСОВСКО-МЕТОХИЈСКИ
ЗБОРНИК
СРПСКА АКАДЕМИЈА НАУКА И УМЕТНОСТИ
АКАДЕМИЈСКИ ОДБОР ЗА ПРОУЧАВАЊЕ
КОСОВА И МЕТОХИЈЕ
9
УРЕДНИК ДРАГАН ВОЈВОДИЋ
БЕОГРАД 2022
ЧЛАНОВИ РЕДАКЦИЈСКОГ ОДБОРА
ГОЈКО СУБОТИЋ
МИХАИЛО ВОЈВОДИЋ
ДРАГАН ВОЈВОДИЋ, уредник
РАДА СТИЈОВИЋ, секретар
КОСТА ЧАВОШКИ
СЛОБОДАН РЕМЕТИЋ
РАДИВОЈЕ МЛАДЕНОВИЋ
МИЛОМИР СТЕПИЋ
Примљено на I електронском скупу Одељења историјских наука
18–21. јула 2023. године
ИЗДАЈЕ:
СРПСКА АКАДЕМИЈА НАУКА И УМЕТНОСТИ
ISSN 0354-284X
ЛЕКТОР И КОРЕКТОР: ЈОВАНА ШЋЕПОВИЋ
ПРЕВОД НА ЕНГЛЕСКИ ЈЕЗИК: МИЉАНА ПРОТИЋ
ТЕХНИЧКИ УРЕДНИК: НИКОЛА СТЕВАНОВИЋ
КОМПЈУТЕРСКА ПРИПРЕМА ЗА ШТАМПУ: ДАВОР ПАЛЧИЋ
ШТАМПА: ПЛ АНЕТА ПРИНТ, БЕОГРАД
ТИРАЖ: 300 ПРИМЕРАКА
НА ПРЕДЊОЈ СТРАНИ КОРИЦА:
АМБЛЕМ – ГРАЧАНИЧКА ЦРКВА У РУЦИ
КТИТОРА КРАЉА МИЛУТИНА СА ФРЕСКЕ У
ГРАЧАНИЦИ, 1321. ГОДИНА – НИКОЛА ДУДИЋ
ТЕКСТ – ДРАГОМИР ТОДОРОВИЋ
ШТАМПАЊЕ ЗАВРШЕНО 2023. ГОДИНЕ
САДРЖАЈ – TABLE DES MATIERES
Татјана Стародубцев Призори Преображења Христовог у Призренском јеванђељу . . .. 1
Tatjana Starodubcev Transfi guration Scenes in the Prizren Gospel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Зоран Ранковић О неким фонолошко-фонетским и морфолошким особинама ру-
кописног минеја РС 5 Народне библиотеке Србије . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Zoran RankovićSome Phonological-phonetic and Morphological Characteristics of
the Menaion MS RS 5 from the National Library of Serbia . . . . . . . . . . 46
Марка Томић Неколико до сада неидентификованих сцена грачаничког мено-
лога . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Marka TomićA Few Heretofore Unidentifi ed Scenes in the Gračanica Menologion . . . 77
Tatjana Kat ićOn the Origin of Konstantin Mihailović, Author of the Turkish Chro-
nicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Татјана Катић О пореклу Константина Михаиловића, аутора Турске хронике . . . 94
Лазар Љубић Српски патријарси светитељи XVII столећа 97
Lazar LjubićSerbian Patriarchs Saints of the Seventeenth Century . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Урош Шешум „О свештенству призренском варошком и сеоском“ свештеника
Милоша Велимировића . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Uroš Šešum On the Urban and Rural Clergy of Prizren by Miloš Velimirović . . . 135
Драган Војводић
Ивана Женарју Рајовић
Живопис Пећке патријаршије из 1875. године . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Dragan Vojvodić
Ivana Ženarju Rajović
The Paintings of the Patriarchate of Peć Monastery from 1875 . . . . . . . 163
Милун Стијовић Прилог односима у Призренској богословији уочи ослобођења
Старе Србије . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Milun StijovićThe Relations in the Prizren Seminary on the Eve of the Liberation
of Old Serbia: a Contribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Радивоје Младеновић Говор Призренског Подгора у метохијско-северношар плaнин-
ском микроконтинууму . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Radivoje MladenovićThe Vernacular of the Prizren Podgor within the Metohija-north Šara
Microcontinuum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Тања Милосављевић Лингвокултурне специфичности тематске групе ’тканине’ у
српском призренском говору . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
231
Tanja Milo savlje vićThe Linguacultural Specifi cities of the Thematic Group of ‘Cloth’ in
the Serbian Vernacular of Prizren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Татјана Трајковић Вокалски систем говора косовскокаменичког краја . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Tatjana Trajkov ićVocal System of the Vernacular of the Kosovska Kamenica Region . . . 275
Марија Јефтимијевић
Михајловић
Повест о клобучком диздару Асану Бегенишићу (Данак у крви
као књижевни мотив у роману Клобук Петра Сарића) . . . . . . . . . 277
Marija Jeftimijević
Mihajlović
The Story of Klobuk Dizdar Asan Begenišić. Blood Tax as a Literary
Motif in the Novel Klobuk by Petar Sarić . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Јово Медојевић
Саша Милосављевић
Антропогеографски процеси на територији Сиринићке жупе . . . . 291
Jovo Medojević
Saša Milosavljević
Anthropogeographic Processes in the Territory of the Sirinić Župa . . . 311
ПРИКАЗИ КЊИГА
Резултати досадашњих и правци будућих истраживања срп-
ских народних говора Косова и Метохије, главни уредник З.
Кнежевић, уредници Р. Младеновић, П. Пипер, Београд – Косов-
ска Митровица, 2021 (Недељко Богдановић)315
Пола века Универзитета у Приштини: сложеност трајања, уред-
ник Ј. Базић, Косовска Митровица 20 21 (Јелена Павличић Шарић)321
81
Memoirs of a Janissary or Turkish Chronicle penned by the Serbian soldier Kon-
stantin Mihailović is a well-known fi fteenth-century historical source that has
raised many questions and debates. One of them concerns the author’s origin, social
background and level of education. This paper will show that he was born in the
village of Ostrovica, whose approximate location has been established here. The
settlement was the centre of the medieval county of the same name renowned for its
silver mine and lively fi nancial and commercial activities. There was an Orthodox
monastery where Mihailović most likely received his schooling before entering Ot-
toman service.
Keywords: Memoirs of a Janissary, fi fteenth-century Ottoman Empire, Novo Brdo,
Ottoman cadastral surveys, Ostrovica, Serbian nobility
Turkish Chronicle by Konstantin, son of Mihailo Konstantinović of Ostrovica,
at least its earliest known redaction, originated towards the end of the fifteenth
century. From the very beginning, it gained wide popularity in early modern
Europe, due to which it was extensively rewritten and a couple of times re-
printed.1 Since the nineteenth century, it has become the subject of philological
and historical studies that remain current even today.2 Many of them have been
focused on elucidating the interdependence of the preserved manuscripts and
ON THE ORIGIN OF KONSTANTIN MIHAILOVIĆ,
AUTHOR OF THE TURKISH CHRONICLE*
TATJANA KATIĆ**
* This paper arose out of the research project
“History and the Cultural Heritage of the Ser-
bian People in Kosovo and Metohija” funded
by the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
under Strategic Projects programme – grant
agreement No 02-2021.
** The Institute of History in Belgrade,
tatjanakatich@gmail.com.
1 There are seventeen preserved manuscripts
composed between the 16th and 18th centu-
ries. Three manuscripts are in Old Czech and
fourteen in Old Polish (these entitled Mem-
oirs of a janissary). The first printed com-
plete edition of the Turkish Chronicle is from
1565. For more details, see Г. Јовановић,
Константин Михаиловић из Островице,
Јаничарове успомене или Турска хроника.
Пример пољско-чешко-српских веза, in:
Од Мораве до Мораве II. Из историје
чешко-српских односа, ed. В. Копривица,
A. Корда-Петровић, В. Штјепанек, Нови
Сад 2011, 243–252.
2 For the reception of Konstantin’s work
and for a review of the early research see Ђ.
Живановић, Живот и дело Константина
Михаиловића из Островице, Београд
2006, 8–36.
УДК 821.163.41:929 Mihailović K.
82
TATJANA KATIĆ
their relation to the missing autograph. It has been determined that the core
text of the Turkish Chronicle was modified and enlarged by different editors/
translators/copyists, but to what extent is yet to be ascertained.3
However, whatever the scope of these modifications is, one can say that they
do not compromise the general content and flavour of Konstantin Mihailović’s
work.4 Turkish Chronicle reflects his own knowledge and experience, particu-
larly in the chapters describing events he personally witnessed, for example,
the military campaigns from 1456 to 1463. Many parts of Mihailović’s report
have been considered authentic historical testimonies because they correspond
closely with the accounts of his contemporaries. Konstantin writes about the
assassination attempt on grand vizier Mahmud Pasha at ‘Petnoz Alan’ (Ch. 32)
while the Ottoman chronicler Rûhî records that the grand vizier was wounded
by an arrow at Bitinus Alanı (the same event is mentioned by the Greek his-
torian Michael Kritoboulos).5 Konstantin, like the chroniclers Oruç Bey and
Ibn Kemal, writes about Mihaloğlu Ali Bey’s victory against Hungarian com-
mander Michael Szilágyi but adds another detail, reporting that sultan Mehmed
II received good news while staying in Niksar on return from his Trabzon
campaign (Ch. 31).6 Konstantin transmits oral lore on how the Serbian despot
3 For example, in the first printed complete
edition from 1565, the editor added a small
paragraph about Skanderbeg (Georg Kastrio-
ti) at the end of Chapter 33, which was taken
from the then-popular De obsidione Scod-
rensi by Marin Barleti. He also added some
parts from the work of Mikulas Claudian.
Живановић, Живот и дело Константина
Михаиловића, 11–13.
4 So far, it has been translated into eight
modern languages: Serbian (J. Шафарик,
Мијаила Константиновића, Србина из
Островице, Историја или љетописи
турски, списани око године 1490, Гласник
Србског ученог друштва књ. 1 св. 18 (1865)
25–188; Ђ. Живановић, Константин
Михаиловић из Островице, Јаничарове
успомене или Турска хроника, Споменик
107, одељење друштвеник наука САН,
1959), Polish (J. Łoś, Pamiętniki Janczara
czyli Kronika Turecka Konstantego z Os-
trowicy napisana między r. 1496 a 1501,
Kraków 1912), English (B. Stolz, Konstan-
tin Mihailović, Memoirs of a Janissary, his-
torical commentary and notes by S. Soucek,
Ann Arbor MI 1975), German (R. Lahmann,
Memoiren eines Janitscharen oder Türkis-
che Chronik, commentary by C.-P. Haase,
R. Lachmann and G. Prinzig, Graz 1975),
Russian (А. И. Рогов, Записки Яничара,
написаны Константином Михайловичем
из Островицы, Москва 1978), Italian (A.
Danti, Konstantin Mihailović di Ostrovica,
Cronaca turca ovvero Memorie di un gian-
nizzero, Palermo 2001), French (Ch. Zarem-
ba, Mémoires d’un janissaire: Chronique
turque, Toulouse 2012) and Turkish (K. Bey-
dilli, Yeniçeriler ve Bir Yeniçerinin Hatıratı,
İstanbul 2013.
5 Although Konstantin, probably due to his
confused recollection of the events, mistak-
enly put the attentat in Chapter 32 instead
of at the beginning of Chapter 31, where it
chronologically belongs, its authenticity is
beyond any doubt. See Victor Louis Ménage’s
review of B. Stolz and R. Lachmann transla-
tions (Konstantin Mihailović, Memoirs of a
Janissary and Memoiren eines Janitscharen
oder Türkische Chronik) in Bulletin of the
School of Oriental and African Studies, 40/1
(1977), 157.
6 That the sultan encamped with his army
in Niksar at the end of August beginning of
September 1461 is corroborated by the en-
tries in Ottoman cadastral defters. For more
details, see А.Јаковљевић, Турска хроника
Константина Михаиловића и османски
наративни извори, in Средњи век у
српској науци, историји, књижевности и
уметности: 7 научни скуп, Деспотовац-
Манасија, 22–23. август 2015, ур. Г.
Јовановић, Деспотовац 2016, 147.
83
ON THE ORIGIN OF
KONSTANTIN MIHA ILOVIĆ,
AUTHOR OF THE TURKISH
CHRONICLE
George Branković obtained sultan Murad II’s permit to build Smederevo for-
tress by pretending that he wanted to build a monastery (Ch. 20), while Oruç
Bey writes almost the same, that the despot asked to erect a church.7 The au-
thenticity of certain events is also attested by the small details. For instance,
writing about the conspiracy against Mehmed II, Konstantin mentions an emp-
ty church in Istanbul called ‘Does not see the sun’ (Ch. 27), which actually
existed under this name.8 Even when incorrectly writing down some Turkish
terms, he shows solid knowledge of the Ottoman military organisation.9 He is
the only one who mentions čilik (Ch. 39), the term designating ‘one in forty’
(from Persian chihal-yek) and referring to the Christian boys, the sultan’s sub-
jects, who were taken for the Ottoman army.10
The opening part of Konstantin’s work devoted to the early history of Islam
and its practices is also informed by his first-hand experiences and the cultural
influences he was exposed to. Konstantin introduces us to the ‘Ali-centric’ ver-
sion of Ottoman Islam (Ch. 2), widely spread in the janissary corps.11 He shares
with us some of the Islamic lore circulating among janissaries, such as the story
about Karavida (Černavida) and the founder of the Ottoman dynasty.12 We meet
Mihailović in person in the public kitchen – imaret (‘gimarat’, ‘Giemarach’,
‘Gemarak’ in Ch. 4)
13 listening to the Muslim preachers whose teachings on
Christ were designed for converts from Christianity to Islam like him.14 We see
him attending a fiery religious debate whose content was also tailored to suit
the ears of renegades at the sultan’s court.15 According to his own testimony,
7 Ménage, Review, 159.
8 The church ‘Gün-görmez’ was situated
on the Hippodrome near the site of the Sul-
tan Ahmed mosque. It was converted into
a mosque by Mehmed II but later used as a
gunpowder magazine. It was destroyed due to
a lightning strike in 1489. Ibid., 158.
9 For instance, the name of the earliest Otto-
man infantry units – enük yaya (as recorded
in chronicles by Aşık Paşazade and Ibn Ke-
mal) has been recorded by Konstantin in the
corrupted form of yeni kahya (Ch. 11). For
more details, see Ibid., 159.
10 D. Bojanić-Lukač, Povodom izraza čilik
(Prilog izučavanju danka u krvi), Vesnik Vo-
jnog muzeja JNA 6–7 (1962) 237–239.
11 T. Krstić, Contested Conversions to Islam:
Narratives of Religious Change in the Early
Modern Ottoman Empire, Stanford CA 2011,
59; G. Veinstein, On the Ottoman janissaries
(fourteenth-nineteenth centuries) in Fighting
for a Living: A Comparative History of Mili-
tary Labour 1500–2000, ed. E. J. Zürcher,
Amsterdam 2013, 126.
12 For more details, see Krstić, Contested
Conversions, 59.
13 For other Turkish loanwords in Mihailović’s
Turkish Chronicle, see S. Petrović, Turkish
Loanwords in the Czech Manuscript of Kon-
stantin Mihailović’s “Memoirs of a Janis-
sary” in Etymological Research into Czech.
Proceedings of the Etymological Symposium
Brno 2017, 12–14 September 2017, Brno, eds.
I. Janyšková, H. Karlíková, V. Boček, Praha
2017, 339–349.
14 Veinstein , On the Ottoman janissaries, 126.
Konstantin’s conversion is not mentioned
any where in his Report, althoug h it m ust have
happened because he was a high-ranking of-
ficer in the sultan’s service, kahya, that is, the
second-in-command of a fortress garrison. G.
Veinstein, ‘Konstantin Mihailović’, i n Chris-
tian-Muslim Relations. A Bibliographical
History, vol. 5: 1350–1500, eds. D Thomas,
A. Mallett, Leiden-Boston 2013, 603, asserts
that Konstantin’s Muslim name was Ishaq
Kahya but without citing any sources for this
claim.
15 The audience could hear the story about
800 ghost camels that transport the bodies of
bad Muslims to Christian graves and the bod-
ies of good Christians to the empty Muslim
84
TATJANA KATIĆ
he participated many times in such gatherings in order to understand Muslim
teachings.
So, who was renegade Konstantin Mihailović, who, after being captured by
King Matthias Corvinus in 1463 and becoming Christian again, wrote Report
or Turkish Chronicle (so-called Memoirs of a Janissary)? Konstantin himself
gave sparse details on his life, some of which were controversial and difficult
to reconcile. He tells us he was one of the 1500 cavalrymen sent by the Serbian
despot George Branković to fight in the sultan’s army in 1453 (Ch. 26). But, in
1455, this mature and experienced soldier, as we can conclude from his first-
person statement, suddenly became a boy who was too young and weak to
resist his captors and kill them (Ch. 27).16 He was allegedly enslaved in Novo
Brdo in June 1455 with his two young brothers and other boys selected for the
janissary corps and sent to Anatolia for regular pre-military training. But only
a year later, he was allegedly a participant in the siege of Belgrade (Ch. 29),
which seems rather implausible in light of his claimed age and the fact that
he had not been trained yet. Seven years after that, he was appointed to a re-
sponsible position in an area exposed to Hungarian attacks. He became deputy
(kethüda/kahya) of the commander of the Zvečaj fortress, where he was soon
captured or ‘liberated’, as he euphemistically said (Ch. 34).
The aforesaid contradictory data convey the impression that Konstantin
Mihailović attempted to hide some parts of his biography or reinvent it. His
main motive for doing so was, no doubt, to prove loyalty to the Christian cause
and exculpate himself for having been a trustworthy servant of Mehmed the
Conqueror for eleven years.17 In all likelihood, Konstantin was not ‘enslaved’
as a juvenile boy in Novo Brdo in 1455.18 He was a Serbian cavalryman who
fought as the despot’s soldier in the siege of Constantinople in 145319 and de-
fected, that is, entered Mehmed II’s service, either then or shortly afterwards,
as hypothesized by V. L. Ménage. Or, he might have changed sides at the time
of the conquest of Novo Brdo, which seems more acceptable considering how
he describes in detail, mainly from the Serbian point of view, the battle in
graves. On Judgment Day, all good people
will stand together and be led by Muhammad
to Heaven, while the bad ones will be taken to
Hell by Je sus . It se ems thi s story a ims t o com-
fort renegades by giving them hope that they
will end up on the right side of God with their
Christian relatives and former neighbours.
See P. Buc, One among many renegades: the
Serb janissary Konstantin Mihailović and the
Ottoman conquest of the Balkans, Journal of
Medieval History 46/2 (2020) 220–221.
16 This discrepancy has been underlined by
several researchers, among others S. Soucek
(in Stolz, Memoirs of a Janissary, 91–93), V.
L. Ménage (Review, 157) and P. Buc (One
among many renegades, 225).
17 Ménage, Review, 158; Krstić, Contested
Conversions, 57–58.
18 Konstantin’s account of the fall of Novo
Brdo is somewhat obscure and lacking in
details, which made some researchers sus-
picious about its authenticity, for instance
Г. Јовановић, Константин Михаиловић
из новобрдске Островице и његов спис
Турска хроника или тзв. Јаничарове
успомене (крај XV века), Косовско-
метохијски зборник 6 (2015) 136, 146–147.
19 Konstantin tried to minimize the role of the
Serbian contingent in this battle, see Ch. 26.
85
ON THE ORIGIN OF
KONSTANTIN MIHA ILOVIĆ,
AUTHOR OF THE TURKISH
CHRONICLE
Dubočica in 1454 (Ch. 27). What is almost beyond doubt is that “he never went
‘across the sea’ for training because, as a trained soldier, he did not need it but
was already competent to serve in some capacity near the sultan in 1456”.20
It is arguable whether Mihailović was a janissary or not. He himself never
claimed explicitly to have been one, but he implied that he had some function in
the janissary corps.21 Considering that he had been a cavalryman before enter-
ing the sultan’s service, one can assume that he continued to perform military
duty as a mounted soldier, not as an infantryman. Hence, it seems more reason-
able, to me at least, that he was not a janissary. Most likely, he was a member
of the sultan’s household (kapıhalkı) and served as a light cavalryman in his
entourage.22
Konstantin was not a member of a pasha’s retinue because, if he had been, he
would certainly have mentioned it. He spent some time in the vicinity of the
then grand vizier Mahmud Pasha Angelović,23 his countryman, though not a
fellow citizen from Novo Brdo24, about whom he writes in several chapters.
Nevertheless, Konstantin did not belong to his retinue, which is apparent
from the fact that he did not take part in his campaign in Serbia in spring-
summer 1458. At that time, he was deployed in the sultan’s campaign in
Morea (Ch. 30).25
When not on the battlefield, Konstantin spent much of his time at the palace,
according to his Report. He ate in the palace kitchen and attended religious
debates to sate his curiosity. Judging by the attention he paid to the custom of
diplomatic gift-giving (Ch. 8), he witnessed the audiences of foreign envoys
more often than not. His Memoirs reveal a person who walked with innate
confidence through the saray, entered the rooms of the Bosnian envoys and
spoke with them as if they were his equals (Ch. 34). Therefore, it is hard to
believe that he was an ordinary janissary, a ‘little man’ of low birth, an illiter-
20 Ménage, Review, 157.
21 S. Soucek, the editor of Stolz’s translation
of Memoirs of a Janissary (p. xix) and A.
Danti (Ani janczar, ani autor Kroniki tureck-
iej? (W sprawie Konstantego Michaiłovicia z
Ostrowicy), Pamiętnik Slowiański 19 (1969)
101–113) question if Mihailović entered the
janissary corps or served as a soldier in some
other regiment, while Đ. Živanović (Живот
и дело Константина Михаиловића, 71, 79)
and recently P. Buc (One among many ren-
egades, 224–225) argue that his janissary af-
filiation is beyond any doubt.
22 In support of this claim, one might refer to
chapters 31 and 40, from which it is evident
that Konstantin was in the vicinity of the sul-
tan during a march or battle, behind the janis-
saries and pack animals (camels).
23 For example, during the religious de-
bate in the palace (Ch. 6) or in the Otto-
man treasury while hiding and eavesdrop-
ping on Mahmud Pasha’s conversation with
Ishak Pasha (Ch. 34).
24 Buc, One among many renegades, 221, 228.
Konstantin was born in the village of Ostro-
vica, north of Novo Brdo, while Mahmud
Pasha originated from the village of Angeli,
southeast of the same place (More on this
subject in my forthcoming article on the ori-
gin and family network of grand vizier Mah-
mud Pasha Angelović)
25 After ending their campaigns, Mahmud
Pasha and the sultan’s troops met in Skopje
in the late summer of 1458. T. Stavrides,
The Sultan of Vezirs. The Life and Times of
the Ottoman Grand Vezir Mahmud Pasha
Angelović (1453–1474), Brill 2001, 122, 127.
86
TATJANA KATIĆ
ate miner who received his first schooling in Ottoman captivity, as argued by
Živanović.26 It is more plausible that he was from a better family, as Šafarik
concluded earlier, bearing in mind Konstantin’s position in Ottoman service
and his brother’s office in the Imperial Treasury.27
Konstantin was probably a member of the mid-level or higher nobility who,
following the example of many Balkan Christian nobles, decided at the right
moment (during the siege of Novo Brdo or immediately after its fall) to switch
allegiance and become part of the sultan’s entourage.28 Being from a better
family, he knew to read and write at the very least. In addition, he might have
received some elementary education, like most children from privileged back-
grounds. What also leads to this conclusion is a recently noticed sentence in
the Czech manuscript M used by Konstantin while describing the death of
King Stefan Dečanski. The phrase is identical to a formulation in the Serbian
Genealogies that speak of the same subject. This fact indicates that Konstantin
was familiar with the history of the Nemanjić dynasty through medieval writ-
ten sources. One can suggest that this had to do with the schooling that he had
received before becoming an Ottoman soldier.29
Konstantin was from Ostrovica, as all preserved manuscripts of the Turk ish
Chronicle report. At first, it was assumed that this place referred to Ostrovica
on Rudnik Mountain. However, the hypothesis was soon dismissed due to the
distance separating Rudnik Mountain and Novo Brdo. Later, Ostrovica, near
the modern town of Preševo, was suggested as Mihailović’s birthplace and
then, Ostrovica, close to the village of Nerodimlje.30 Afterwards, it was con-
cluded, based on the Book of Debts of Mihailo Lukarević (Michel Luchari)
from the fifteenth century
31, that Konstantin’s Ostrovica must have been in
26 Константин Михаиловић из Островице,
Јаничарове успомене, XXXV–XXXVI;
Idem, Живот и дело Константина Михаи-
ло вића, 67, 70–71. If Mihailović were a miner,
his skills would have been used in the Otto-
man army, and he would have written about it.
27 Шафарик, Историја или љетописи
турски, 29.
28 The existing secondary literature has al-
ready shown that numerous members of the
Byzantine and Balkan aristocracy held im-
portant positions at the sultan’s court and in
the provinces, including the highest ones.
For instance, Stavrides, The Sultan of Vezirs,
73–93; H. Lowry, A Note on Three Palaiol-
ogon Princes as Members of the Ottoman
Ruling Elite, in E. Kolovos, Ph. Kotzageor-
gis, S. Laiou, M. Sariyannis (ed s), The Otto-
man Empire, the Balkans, the Greek Lands:
Toward a Social and Economic History.
Studies in Honor of John C. Alexander (pp.
279–288), Istanbul 2007; E. Zachariadou, Les
Tocco: seigneurs, vassaux, otages, renegats,
Güneydoğu Avrupa Çalışmaları Uygulama
ve Araştırma Merkezi (GAMER), 1 (2012)
11–22. In the Balkan provinces of the em-
pire, a significant part of the Christian high
and mid-level nobility was incorporated
into the Ottoman military system as timar-
holders. On average, Christians in the Bal-
kans accounted for 20% of all timar-holders
in the fifteenth century. H. İnalcık, Stefan
Duşan’dan Osmanlı İmparatorluğuna: XV.
Asırda Rumeli’de Hıristiyan Sipahiler ve
Menşeleri, in Fuad Köprülü Armağanı (pp.
208–248). Istanbul 1953.
29 For more details, see Јовановић, Кон стан-
тин Михаиловић из новобрдске Острови-
це и његов спис Турска хроника, 147.
30 For more details, see Живановић, Кон-
стантин Михаиловић из Островице,
Јаничарове успомене, xxx–xxxiii.
31 М. Динић, Из Дубровачког архива, књ. I,
Београд 1957, 35 –90.
87
ON THE ORIGIN OF
KONSTANTIN MIHA ILOVIĆ,
AUTHOR OF THE TURKISH
CHRONICLE
the vicinity of Novo Brdo. The precise location is unknown since the village
vanished a long time ago.32
Recently A. Jakovljević proved that Ostrovica was the name of a village but
also of a small region north of Novo Brdo, between Goljak Mountain and the
confluence of the Rivers Tularska and Jablanica. He has not dealt with this
subject in detail but has suggested in a footnote that the old village of Ostro-
vica might be today’s locality of Gradina, between Medevce and Gubavce vil-
lages.33 However, if one delves deeper into the topic, a more plausible location
of the village site emerges, and so does the potential place where Konstantin
was educated.
The pre-Ottoman district of Ostrovica, mentioned in Lukarević’s Book of
Debts34, continued to exist as a distinct area and a low-level Ottoman adminis-
trative unit (nahiye). The conquerors retained the inherited territorial organisa-
tion and the local toponyms. According to the oldest preserved Ottoman ca-
dastral survey from 149835, the nahiye of Ostrovica encompassed 21 villages:
Arba naš (Albanian) Petrila, Boško’s Petrila, Velika (Big) Petrila36, Bogunovce,
Dojić, Gonce37, Gubavac, Hri(je)kovce38, Jarkovica, Kalugerci39, Lipojevci40,
Medojevce41, Oporoštica, Ostrovica42, Ozrikovce43, Raka, Retko Cerje, Rupl-
jani44, Stanci45, Tulari46 and Vojnugovce (Vojnegovce)47. It belonged to the large
32 Живановић, Живот и дело Константина
Михаиловића, 62–63.
33 Јаковљевић, Турска хроника Констан-
тина Михаиловића и османски наративни
извори, 140.
34 Динић, Из Дубровачког архива, 67, 75.
35 T. C. Cumhurbaşkanlığı Devlet Arşivleri
Başkanlığı, Osmanlı Arşivi, Istanbul [hereaf-
ter BOA], Tapu Tahrir Defteri [hereafter TT]
nu. 28, pp. 156–175.
36 Today’s dispersed village of Petrilje previ-
ously consisted of three separate settlements.
Mihailo Lukarević’s Book of Debts mentions
these villages under the names: Upper Petrila
(Petrila Sopra, Petrila Gorna), [Lower?]
Petrila and Middle Petrila that is, Petrila
of Middle kolo (Petrila de Mezo; Petrila
de Mezo cholo). Динић, Из Дубровачког
архива, 38, 41, 43, 44, 48, 49, 53-55, 73, 74,
78, 79, 83, 84, 86–88. Kolo is a Slavic world
meaning ‘wheel’ but also ‘smeltery’, ‘smelt-
ing furnace’.
37 Gonze/Gonzi/ Gonzj in Lukarević’s Book.
Ibid., 38, 41, 53, 54, 74, 76, 81, 85, 87.
38 Lukarević registers Chrechouzi/Hrechouzj.
Ibid., 45, 82.
39 Chalugerize in Mihailo Lukarević’s Book
of Debts. Ibid., 44, 77.
40 The village Lipoeuzi also bore another
name: Lipoieuzi cholo (Ibid., 40, 47, 48, 81,
87), which suggests that a smeltery operated
there.
41 Lukarević stresses that this village is situ-
ated in the district of Ostrovica, Medoieuzj in
Hostruuza (Ibid., 67), Medoieuzi (Ibid., 81).
42 For the village of Ostrovica (Ostruviza, Os-
truuza) see Ibid., 88.
43 Under the same name Hosruchouzi, Osru-
chouzi in Ibid., 44, 75.
44 The same Ruplani in Ibid., 83.
45 Lukarević registers this village as Stanche
and Stanche cholo (smeltery). Ibid., 41, 48,
54, 87, 89, 90.
46 Also mentioned by Lukarević many times,
see Tulari in Ibid., 37–39, 40, 41, 43, 44, 48,
49, 51–53, 62, 72, 74, 75 (on this page Tu lar i
in Hostur[uuza]), 77, 79, 81, 84, 85.
47 Voinegouzi in Ibid., 49, 85, 90. It should
not be confused with Voinegouzj in Chatun
(Ibid., 79) in the district of Vranje (Chatun
de Vragne, Ibid., 73), which belonged to the
nahiye of Vranje in the sancak of Köstendil.
88
TATJANA KATIĆ
mining area of Novo Brdo, which was in its entirety part of the sultan’s do-
mains in the territory of the Vučitrn sancak.48 Near one of the villages – Jarko-
vica (Jarkovac), long before the Ottoman conquest, operated a silver mine of
the same name, which contributed substantially to the economic development
of Ostrovica county and the wealth of its inhabitants.49 In the Ottoman era and
maybe earlier, all the above-mentioned Ostrovica’s villages were part of the
Jarkovac mine’s domain. They performed auxiliary services such as: supplying
charcoal, transporting ore and the like or were involved in metalworking.50 The
silver ore from Jarkovac was sent to the village of Ozrikovce, where there was
an ore washing plant – plakaonica.51 From there, it was transported to several
smelting furnaces in the villages of Lipojevci, Stanci and Petrila.52 Afterwards,
instead of Novo Brdo, the smelted ore was sent back to Jarkovac to the local
silver refinery – kalhane.53 The Jarkovac mine opened probably in the four-
teenth century during the growth of mining around Novo Brdo but operated
only until the 1530s or 1540s when it was completely abandoned.54 At the same
time, the mining settlements of Rupljani, Boško’s Petrila and Arbanaš Petrila
vanished for a time or forever55, while the rest of the 18 villages continued to
exist.56 Most of the settlements survived during the seventeenth century57, but
in the Great Turkish War (1683–1699) some of them were abandoned.58 To-
48 The nahiye of Ostrovica consisted of the
same villages in 1525. BOA, TT 133, pp.
93–103
49 As usual, members of the nobility con-
trolled the most lucrative mining activities
(in fifteenth-century Serbia, the most promi-
nent one was the great čelnik Radič). Accord-
ing to Lukarević’s Book of Debts, there were
also village priests who invested in the min-
ing business (from Gonce, Stance and Petrila)
and those from humble backgrounds, for in-
stance, a shoemaker from Tulari and a black-
smith from Petrila. Динић, Из Дубровачког
архива, 53, 54, 74, 77, 79.
50 For more details, see the regulation act
(kanunname) of the Jarkovac mine in N.
Beldiceanu, Les Actes des premiers sultans
conservés dans les manuscrits turcs de la
Bibliothèque Nationale a Paris, II, Règle-
ments miniers 1390–1512, Paris 1964, pp.
268–270, 326–328.
51 Ibid., 269 [Uzur]qufče, 327.
52 Динић, Из Дубровачког архива, 54, 86, 87.
It is possible that smelting f urnaces existed in
some other villages, for instance, in Tulari,
where residues of mining and metallurgical
activities were found. V. Simić, Istorijski raz-
voj našeg rudarstva, Beograd 1951, 239.
53 Beldiceanu, Les Actes des premiers sultans
II,269, 327.ö
54 In the cadastral survey from 1544/45, Jark-
ovac was registered with only three house-
holds (BOA, TT 234, p. 100), while in 1571,
it was listed as long abandoned. Tapu ve Ka-
dastro Genel Müdürlüğü Tapu Arşivi, An-
kara [hereafter TKGM], Tapu Tahrir Defteri
[hereafter TTD] 124, p. 41b.
55 TKGM, TTD 124, p. 38b, 41b. Ruplani is
mentioned again in 1650, in a cizye survey
(BOA, Mâliyeden Müdevver Defteri [hereaf-
ter MAD] 1045, p. 6) as a village with seven
households.
56 Besides the previously recorded 17 vil-
lages, the hamlet of Prevetnica, with two
Christian households, was added to the Os-
trovica district in 1544/45. BOA, TT 234, p.
101. The hamlet was situated in the vicinity
of Medveđa (TKGM, TTD 124, p. 41a).
57 In 1650, in the cizye census of the district
of Novo Brdo, the following villages were
recorded: Ostrovica, Tulari, Ruplani, Vojnu-
govce and Retko Cerje. BOA, MAD 1045, pp.
6–7.
58 The last preserved register of the nahiye
of Ostrovica from 1700 does not reflect the
contemporary situation (BOA, TT 1081/2, pp.
133–136) because all data were copied from
89
ON THE ORIGIN OF
KONSTANTIN MIHA ILOVIĆ,
AUTHOR OF THE TURKISH
CHRONICLE
day there a re: Bogunovac, Gubavce, Medevce (Medojevce), Petrilje, Poroštica
(Oporoštica), Tulari and Retkocerje.
Although only seven out of twenty-one settlements remain, it is possible to
determine the extent of the medieval county of Ostrovica since all neighbour-
ing villages from surrounding regions still exist. They are registered in the
Ottoman cadastral surveys within different counties – medieval župas, that is,
Ottoman nahiyes of the Vučitrn and Alacahisar (Kruševac) sancaks. Knowing
their borders, one can define the borders of the Ostrovica nahiye (see Map 1).59
However, what is of particular concern here is to determine the precise location
of Konstantin’s birthplace – the village of Ostrovica, the main settlement after
which the whole area was named.
The toponym of Ostrovica, relatively common in the Balkans, is derived from
the adjective ‘ostro’ (Old Slavonic ostrъ), meaning ‘sharp’, and relates to a
pointed and naked rocky mountain peak. It also serves to designate a fortified
place atop a rocky hill or mountain.60 The Gradina hill between Medevce and
Gubavce villages, which is assumed to be former Ostrovica, does not respond
to the described landform, so it is hard to believe that it previously bore the
name Ostrovica, Oštri Vrh, that is, the Sharp Peak. Although there are well-
preserved remains of a late Roman–early Byzantine fortress at Gradina61, the
land area between the two villages mentioned above appears to be quite limited
and not sufficiently large to establish the most important settlement of a medi-
eval county. Below the hill, at a site named Luke, a large amount of slag was
found62, which led to the speculation that this might have been the location of a
smaller mining settlement with a smeltery (Lipojevce or Stance, for example).
the survey of 1571 (TKGM, TTD 124, pp.
37a–41b).
59 Nahiyes in general, especially those around
the mine of Novo Brdo, were compact terri-
torial units. Therefore, all unidentified set-
tlements of the Ostrovica district should not
be sought outside its borders even if there
are identical toponyms in relative proxim-
ity; cf. Poroštica southwest of Medveđa,
which belonged to the Ostrovica nahiye in
the sancak of Vučitrn, and Poroštica east of
Medveđa which belonged to the nahiye of
Dubočica in the sancak of Kruševac. (see Т.
Катић, Војнучки дефтер из 1455. године
за санџаке Kрушевац, Вучитрн, Призрен
и вилајете Звечан, Јелеч, Рас, Сенице и
Ходидед, Београд 2020, 41) . Therefore,
for instance, the villages of Kalugerci
(Kaluđerci) and Stanci in the nahiye of Pol-
janica in the Kruševac sancak (BOA, TT 179,
pp. 70 0, 708) should not be ident ified with the
villages of the same names in the Ostrovica
nahiye.
60 Cf. Old Slavonic ostrogъ, meaning a place
fortified by a palisade. Today, several Ostro-
vicas exist on hilltops with preserved traces
of fortifications: Ostrovica Rudnička, Os-
trovica near Kulen Vakuf, Ostrovica Lička
and Ostrovica Buška. For more details, see I.
Mataija, Lička toponimija, unpublished doc-
toral thesis, Zadar 2019, p. 203 [available on
https://urn.nsk.hr/urn:nbn:hr:162:068861] ac-
cessed 16 November 2021.
61 I am grateful to Toni Čerškov from the In-
stitute for Cultural Heritage Protection Niš,
who conducted field research in this area in
2007, for informing me about the existing
remnants on the Gradina hill in a personal
communication on 15 November 2021.
62 С. Ерцеговић-Павловић, Д. Костић, Ар-
хеолошки споменици и налазишта леско-
вачког краја, Београд–Лесковац 1988. 92.
90
TATJANA KATIĆ
In the area covered by the old district of Ostrovica, there are remnants of sev-
eral hilltop fortifications from the late Roman–early Byzantine period. They
are lined up along the old Roman road leading towards the mines of Priština,
Janjevo and Novo Brdo.63 Among them, there is only one fortress situated on
a mountain that clearly stands out from the surrounding area and whose geo-
graphical features – conical shape and rocky summit – fully correspond to the
name of Ostrovica. It is Mrkonjski Vis, that is, Mrkonjski Peak (1070 m), which
is, like Mount Ostrovica Rudnička, a perfect example of an extinct volcano.
The very summit is narrow and not spacious enough to accommodate more
than ten people. It ser ved previously as a natural watchtower, from where it was
possible to communicate with all other fortifications in the area. The fortress
itself was built on a slope facing Mrkonje village, on a site named Grobnice,
some 250 m from the summit, at a height of approximately 1020 m. In the vi-
cinity, there is a medieval graveyard.64
The name of this dominant peak is of a recent date. It was brought by the colo-
nists from Montenegro in the last two decades of the nineteenth century, the
same as the surrounding toponyms: Mrkonje, Pivljanski Potok, Cucki Brijeg
and Plješivački Brijeg. The former name of the mountain is forgotten, but bear-
ing in mind all of the above, one can conclude that it certainly was Ostrovica.
The fortress of Ostrovica, located less than 20 km by air from Novo Brdo, is not
mentioned in medieval or Ottoman sources, but its suburb, the village of Ostro-
vica, is recorded in Lukarević’s Book of Debts and Ottoman cadastral surveys.
The fortress, on whose ruins there are visible traces of a fire, was probably de-
serted sometime in the thirteenth century, while the open settlement continued
to develop throughout the Middle Ages.65
Ostrovica village, the central place of the eponymous district, must have had a
respectable sacred building. And, indeed, there was a monastery about which
the records have been preserved only in Ottoman surveys.66 They registered it
as “the Monastery of monk Raphail” with its obligation of paying an annual
tax of 50 akçes. This small amount indicates the monastery had no substantial
landed estates at the end of the fifteenth and in the sixteenth century. How-
ever, it does not imply that the monk community was insignificant.67 One must
63 See footnote 61.
64 These pieces of valuable information were
also obtained from Toni Čerškov’s unpub-
lished archaeological findings.
65 In 1498, in Ostrovica, there were 56 house-
holds (BOA, TT 28, pp. 164–165). In the
sixteenth century, the number of its inhabit-
ants started to diminish but not as much as in
settlements directly involved in mining pro-
duction. Till 1571 the number of Ostrovica’s
taxpayers ranged between 33 and 29 (BOA,
MAD 37, p. 466; BOA, TT 133, p. 100; BOA,
TT 234, p. 99; TKGM, TTD 124, p. 37b).
66 BOA, TT 133, p. 100; BOA, TT 234, p. 99;
TKGM, TTD 124, p. 37b; BOA, TT 1081/2,
p. 133.
67 The same amount of levy was paid by the
Monastery of the Holy Archangels in Priz-
ren during the sixteenth century. Т. Катић,
Опширни попис Призренског санџака из
1571. године, Београд 2010, 62.
91
ON THE ORIGIN OF
KONSTANTIN MIHA ILOVIĆ,
AUTHOR OF THE TURKISH
CHRONICLE
not forget that in Ostrovica county existed a settlement named after monks –
Kalugerci.68
Of Ostrovica’s monastery or the village of Ostrovica, not a trace is left.69 Today,
a meadow, 1,5 km north of Mrkonjski Peak in the direction of the village of
Tulare, bears the name of Nemanjić’s Monastery. In its vicinity is the Church
of the Holy Trinity, built on the foundations of a former church.70 Whether this
was the location of the Monastery of monk Raphail or it was situated some-
where else in the vicinity of Mrkonjski Peak is impossible to say without fur-
ther archaeological or documentary data.
The Monastery of monk Raphail was the only monastery in Ostrovica county.
It was built before the fifteenth century, but how long before that cannot be
determined. The founder of this convent is not known and neither is the patron
saint to whom it was dedicated. The fact that it was not named after a patron
saint or cult symbol but after its most famous monk leads to the conclusion
that it was an aristocratic monastery established by a local noble ruler to serve
as his mausoleum and a place to retire. Consequently, one can speculate that
monk Raphail was the actual founder whose lay name has been lost to oblivion.
The convent existed until the end of the seventeenth century, but its heyday,
as well as the heydays of Ostrovica village and county, were in the fourteenth
and the first half of the fifteenth century when mining, metallurgy and other
economic activities flourished. Most likely, it served as a school too, where
children of better-off families learned to write and read and also got some el-
ementary knowledge of history, mathematics and geometry; the latter two were
essential for mining and trade business. Besides, in medieval Serbia, education
could be obtained from parish priests and professional teachers.71 In Ostrovica
county, acco rding to Lukarević’s Book of Debts and the Ottoman survey from
1498, there were priests in three villages72 and eight villages73, respectively, but
in Ostrovica village, there was not a single one. In all likelihood, the monastery
church also served as the village church. Therefore, there is little doubt that
the Monastery of monk Raphail was Konstantin’s place of schooling. There
he could have acquired knowledge of the history of the Nemanjić dynasty and
68 Monks are also registered in the villages
of Retko Cerje and Medojevce. BOA, TT 28,
pp. 160, 174.
69 Both places were mentioned for the last
time in the Ottoman census of 1700 (BOA,
TT 1081/2, p. 133) but, it is uncertain whether
they actually existed then. As I stressed pre-
viously, the census TT 1081/2 contains only
old data from the census of 1571. The village
of Ostrovica and the monastery were likely
abandoned by the end of the Great Turkish
war (1683–1699).
70 Ерцеговић-Павловић, Костић, Археоло-
шки споменици, 82, 96.
71 For more details see С. Ћирковић, Ра-
ботници, војници, духовници: друштва
средњовековног Балкана, Београд, 1997,
411– 414.
72 In Gonce, Stanci and Petrilja, see Динић,
Из Дубровачког архива, 53, 54, 74.
73 BOA, TT 28, pp. 157, 159, 163, 166, 167,
170, 172. In the villages of Rupljani, Hrije-
kovci, Oporoštica, Kalugerci, Dojić, Tulari,
Gubavac and Velika Petrilja.
92
TATJANA KATIĆ
Turkish Chronicle
Report
ЛИСТА РЕФЕРЕНЦИ – REFERENCE LIST
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have been conversant with the Vita of Stefan
Dečanski by Gregory Tsamblak.
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KONSTANTIN MIHA ILOVIĆ,
AUTHOR OF THE TURKISH
CHRONICLE
SECONDARY LITERATURE
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muzeja JNA 6–7 (1962) 237–239.
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Ottoman conquest of the Balkans, Journal of Medieval History 46/2 (2020) 217–230.
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Sipahiler ve Menşeleri, in Fuad Köprülü Armağanı (pp. 208–248), Istanbul 1953.
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in E. Kolovos, PH Kotzageorgis, S. Laiou, M. Sariyannis (eds), The Ottoman Empire,
the Balkans, the Greek Lands: Toward a Social and Economic History. Studies in
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94
ТАТЈАН А КАТИЋ
О ПОРЕКЛУ КОНСТАНТИНА МИХАИЛОВИЋА,
АУТОРА ТУРСКЕ ХРОНИКЕ
Јаничарове успомене или Турска хроника настала из пера српског војника
Константина Михаиловића добро је познати историјски извор 15. века, који
и данас побуђује велику пажњу и отвара многа питања. Нека од њих тичу се
ауторовог места рођења, друштвеног порекла и нивоа образовања. У раду
се утврђује оквирни положај Константинове новобрдске Островице, сре-
дишта истоимене средњовековне жупе, познате по руднику сребра и живој
финансијској и трговачкој активности. У непосредној близини Островице на-
лазио се манастир у коме се Михаиловић, за кога сматрамо да је био племићког
порекла, највероватније школовао пре него што је ступио у османску службу.
Кључне речи: Јаничарове успомене, Османско царство у 15. веку, Ново Брдо,
османски катастарски пописи, Островица, српско племство
Константин Михаиловић из Островице био је војник коњаник у служби
деспота Ђурђа Бранковића, који је учествовао у борбама за освајање Ца-
риграда 1453. године на турској страни. Две године касније ступио је у
службу султана Мехмеда Освајача и притом, извесно, прешао на ислам. У
султановој војсци остао је до 1463. године када је, као другокомандујући
тврђаве Звечај, заробљен од стране угарског краља Матије Корвина.
По повратку у хришћанство Константин је написао Извештај или Тур-
ску хронику (тзв. Јаничарове успомене) о времену проведеном у турској
служби, о војном устројству Османског царства, походима султана, жи-
воту на двору и другом. Циљ му је, несумњиво, био да се својим врсним
познавањем турских прилика препоручи неком од европских владара.
О личности самог Константина знамо само онолико колико нам је он
сам рекао у свом делу или колико се из истог да наслутити. Детаљи из
његовог живота на двору, круг људи у коме се кретао и с којима је дола-
зио у контакт, као и дужности које су обављали он и његов рођени брат
показују да је пореклом био из виших кругова српског друштва, веро-
ватно из слоја средњег или вишег племства. Извесно је и да је поседовао
одређен ниво образовања који је стекао још у раној младости, а који је
свакако био виши од елементарне писмености; подаци из Турске хронике
сведоче о томе да је познавао средњовековна књижевна дела.
Островица из које је потицао налазила се у близини Новог Брда. Недавно
је утврђено да је ово место било и центар истоимене средњовековне обла-
сти, касније османске нахије, која је обухватала простор између планине
Гољак и ушћа Туларске реке у Јабланицу. Такође је изнета претпоставка
да би локалитет Градина, између села Медевце и Губавце, могло бити
место на коме се налазила некадашња Островица. Међутим, ако обрати-
мо пажњу на сам назив Островица, „оштри врх“, уобичајено коришћен
за утврђења на истакнутим, голим врховима, као друга, вероватнија
локација намеће нам се Мркоњски вис, који својим купастим обликом
95
О ПОРЕКЛУ КОНСТАНТИНА
МИХАИЛОВИЋА,
АУТОРА ТУРСКЕ ХРОНИКЕ
и стеновитим врхом у потпуности одговара изгледу осталих, до данас
сачуваних Островица на Балкану. На Мркоњском вису, на падини која
гледа према селу Мркоње, на висини од око 1020 m налазе се остаци
средњовековног утврђења за које се претпоставља да је напуштено у 13.
веку. У његовој близини је и средњовековно гробље. Сматрамо да се отво-
рено насеље Островица налазило не много даље од поменутог утврђења.
Османски катастарски пописи 15. и 16. века бележе у близини Островице
манастир монаха Рафаила, који није оставио трага на терену; индика-
тивно је, међутим, да данас једна ливада, 1,5 km северно од Мркоњског
виса носи име Немањићки манастир. Овде се вероватно ради о власте-
оском манастиру с обзиром да исти носи име свог најистакнутијег мо-
наха, можда и ктитора, а не свеца заштитника. Врло је могуће да се у
овом манастиру, једином у области Островице, школовао Константин
Михаиловић, као и остала деца из бољестојећих породица. Тамо су, по-
ред описмењавања, сигурно стицали и основна знања из аритметике и
геометрије, неопходна за трговачке и рударске послове, којима се знатан
део становништва области бавио. Наиме, у једном од островичких села
– Јарковцу, радио је рудник сребра, који је био довољно велик да има и
сопствено постројење за рафинацију; у селу Озриковце се налазила пла-
каоница док су села Петриље, Станце и Липојевци, а можда и нека дру-
га, имала своје топионице. Рудник Јарковац радио је до 30-их или 40-их
година 16. века после чега почиње замирање многих села. До данас их је
сачувано само седам: Богуновац, Губавце, Медевце, Петриље, Порошти-
ца, Тулари и Реткоцерје. Константинова Островица, као и још четрнаест
села су нестали, а име Островице је пало у заборав.
MA P 1: OSTROV ICA
