Related: croatian-history-101
theserbs.webs.com
If you're into Croatian history, especially about the times of the first Croatian rulers, princes and kings leading right up to the first medieval "Kingdom of Croatia", then this is the one for you. "Hrvatski Kraljevi" (Croatian Kings) is a documentary series about the beginnings of the Croatian nation/state. As a kid I found this type of stuff interesting, I guess partly because I always found the medival times fascinating. All those cool looking coat of arms, armour, legends, wenches and witches. Even when I was around 10 yrs old, and my Croatian wasn't exactly the best when it came to reading fact filled history books with all those technical words, I still enjoyed grabbing one of the few that were tucked away on a shelf anyway, read the best I could, but still really enjoyed flipping through all those cool photos and paintings of historic Croatian places, monuments and people from long ago. Besides, especially for younger people of Croatian background, wouldn't it be a good idea to learn something about your own history, instead of always watching those done a million times documentaries or films about about other peoples histories ad nauseum? Like whens the last time you saw any Croatian history mentioned on the History Channel? Just usually about George Washington, WWII battles, Napoleon, Ceasar, etc. Or those cheesy made up religious films (especially ones featuring preachy Charleton Heston) that have no historical reality at all. Even sit-coms and episodes of Joao Joao Popsick (The Phantom Popsick)...get kind of boring and lame after a while. But this stuff, this stuff is documented historical events, interesting and has those cool medieval helmets, swords and chainmail armour......
Before it was only through paintings like these, or textbooks where one could visualize moments of early Croatian history.
Arrival of the Croats to the sea.
Arrival of the Croats to the sea.
King Tomislav
The Arrival of the Croats to the Adriatic Sea.
Now you can do the same, yet without having to waste time and energy by going down to hunt and peck for books at your local library. (This is the day and age of the internet afterall, everything is just a few taps on the keyboard away) This is a 7 part documentary series that aired on Croatian Television just this past November, and it's chock full of useful information with the added bonus of cool visuals. Just get your popcorn, sit back and watch all those historic places and people come alive before your very eyes. From the time of the arrival of the Croats as pagans to our present lands in the 6th and 7th centuries, to the time of King Tomislav and the first medieval Croatian Kingdom a few hundred years later. You will see that it took hundreds of years from their arrival to the Croatian realms, to official recognition as a unified Kingdom in 925 under Tomislav, that the Slavic pagan ways were never really stamped out, especially in the most rural parts and the hinterland. For them life went on as usual according to the old ways, and even most marriages did not involve any kind of christian religious customs. I touch upon this topic on a previous post HERE.
Croatian Television (HRT) has produced other documentary series' but this is a first time effort for a documentary series that deals with with this early time period of Croatian history. Not a bad first time effort either. When this series "Hrvatski Kraljevi" eventually gets to DVD, this will be the series to get to keep at home or for friends/family. The DVD release may even come with English subtitle options.
Interestingly, the exploits of Borna, who is discussed in the first video, has even made it's way into Croatian comic books these days. Illustrations are by Boris Talijancic
A scene from the documentary.
...Throughout the series there's also input from other European historians and experts as well, discussing even the ancient Croatian people and homelands that were located in present day Czech Republic, Poland, and Ukraine before arriving to where we are today. All done against the backdrop of CG visuals that reconstruct important ruins and buildings, that make you feel like you are actually there. It's not "Lord of the Rings", or "Game of Thorns", but there are some good special effects that make it seem realistic and one feels the ambience of the times. Not a dry boring series at all. As well as touching upon what they ate, how they lived, farmed and built their homes, buildings and castles/forts. This documentary series is in Croatian of course, but is still worth checking out even if your Croatian is subpar or even non-existent these days. Who knows? It may even inspire you to brush up on your "Hrvatski". Also, perhaps as a surprise to some, it will be shown that Croatia in those times essentially had no dealings with Serbs or their activities across the Drina river. (Save for the times they saved them from the Bulgarians or were in battle against the Ottomans) Right up through the centuries of union with Hungary and Austria even. Croatians had official political dealings with Hungary, Austria, Venice, even for a short time with Napoleans France, but never with any entity that was to be known as or called eventually Serbia.
Not until the beginning of the 20th century, and only then for 70 years were Croatians and Croatian lands, along with other peoples, in a common entity living within a state that included Serbia. From the very beginning of the Croatian principalities, states and kingdom, we were always separate from the Serbs and their dealings in their realm. That's a very interesting fact, which puts the short lived existence of the former-Yugoslavia into perspective. During the past century, Serb claims to foreign lands is based upon a few sprinkled Serb churches here and there, even to Austria, Romania and Hungary, and elsewhere, but that is a very disordered thinking pattern and erroneous system of reasoning. (More on that HERE) I sort of wish though that the documentary series would have touched upon Porga a little bit in the first video of the series.
Some scenes from eposide 1 of the documentary series "Hrvatski Kraljevi".(Croatian Kings)
A quick related mention, but still keeping this post on the "Medieval Times" theme. Croatian celebrity and daughter of former Croatian pop singer Dino Dvornik put out another music video recently. (So I had to add this, it's medieval people) More on her can be found on a post HERE.
*A note to the reader - Before continuing
on and proceeding to watch the videos, I would just like to make 1 thing
clear. Maps used on this post were not arbitrarily picked to show
favoritism to the Croatian point of view, but rather to show the most
true visualizations of what the reality was 1500 years ago and onwards.
Obviously borders portrayed on any maps from those times are not
accurate to the point where one can without a doubt pinpoint delineation
points between peoples and realms. Also because of various empires,
realms and kingdoms in those days there was a certain amount political
agenda seeping into written works as well as map making.
I
used numerous sources in finally deciding which maps to add here (as
well as some personal opinions I added). From Byzantine, Roman, Papal,
Carolingian, Ecclesiastical, Bulgarian, Greek, Northern Slavic sources
and others. I've seen some very erroneous, misinformed and untruthful
maps floating around. Maps made by people who used only 1 source
without taking my above points into consideration. I've also seen some
maps made by people that are blatantly wrong and without a doubt made by
people with political agendas. (Those are the one that were drawn up
more recently, by the same type of people who then used the same maps to
start the Serbian ethnic cleansing campaigns of the 90's) A few of
them look like they were drawn up quickly during a high school lunch
hour.
A
few of these maps were obviously nothing but politically oriented
because of blatant omissions of commonly known proven facts, because of
misappropriating names of people to mean something that it does not mean, especially the term Sklaveni/Slavs. All of these things, and more information I've learned over the years, is what I used before deciding which maps to use. Also, Wikipedia is a good starting point for basic information, but sometimes more background information is needed before making a judgement call about some question....
Here is just some of the events that the documentary series "Croatian Kings" will touch upon:
Adapted from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Croatia_medieval -
".....The Croats were a Slavic tribe, coming into the Balkans from an area in and around today's Poland or western Ukraine. Many modern scholars believe that the early Croat people, as well as other early Slavic groups, were agricultural populations that were ruled by the nomadic Iranian-speaking Alans. It is unclear whether the Alans contributed much more than a ruling caste or a class of warriors; the evidence on their contribution is mainly philological and etymological. The most widely accepted Slavic theory, proposes migration of White Croats from the territory of White Croatia during the Migration Period
The name of Croatia derives from Medieval Latin Croātia, from Dux Croatorum ("Duke of Croatians") attested in the Branimir Inscription, itself a derivation of North-West Slavic *Xrovat-, by liquid metathesis from proposed Common Slavic *Xorvat-, from proposed Proto-Slavic *Xarwāt- (*Xъrvatъ) or *Xŭrvatŭ (*xъrvatъ).[6] The origin of the name is uncertain, but is thought to be a Gothic or Indo-Aryan term assigned to a Slavic tribe.[7] The oldest preserved record of the Croatian ethnonym *xъrvatъ is of variable stem, attested in the Baška tablet in style zvъnъmirъ kralъ xrъvatъskъ ("Zvonimir, Croatian king").
The oldest preserved stone inscription is the 9th century Branimir Inscription (found near Benkovac), where Duke Branimir is styled as Dux Cruatorvm. The inscription is not dated accurately, however, Branimir ruled Croatia in 879–892.
The book De Administrando Imperio, written in the 10th century, is the most referenced source on the migration of Slavic peoples into southeastern Europe. It states that they migrated first around or before year 600 from the region that is now (roughly) Galicia and areas of the Pannonian plain, led by the Avars, to the province of Dalmatia ruled by the Roman Empire. De Administrando Imperio reports a folk tradition that the Croats were led into the Roman province of Dalmatia by a group of five brothers, Klukas, Lobel, Kosenc, Muhlo and Hrvat, and their two sisters, Tuga and Buga.
The second wave of migration, possibly around year 620, began when the Croats were invited by the Emperor Heraclius to counter the Avar threat on the Byzantine Empire.
De Administrando Imperio also mentions an alternate version of the events, where the Croats weren't actually invited by Heraclius, but instead defeated the Avars and settled on their own accord after migrating from an area near today's Silesia. This record is supported by the writings of one Thomas the archdeacon, Historia Salonitana from the 13th century.
Archdeacon Thomas, as well as the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja from the 12th century, state that the Croats remained after the Goths (under a leader referred to as "Totila") had occupied and pillaged the Roman province of Dalmatia. The Chronicle of Dioclea speaks of a Gothic invasion (under a leader referred to as "Svevlad", followed by his descendants "Selimir" and "Ostroilo")......
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Historia_Salonitana
Related: fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/CROATIA
From the Polish territories called Lingonia seven or eight tribal clans arrived under Totilo. When they saw that the Croatian land would be suitable for habitation because in it there were few Roman colonies, they sought and obtained for their duke...The people called Croats...Many call them Goths, and likewise Slavs, according to the particular name of those who arrived from Poland and Bohemia.
.....The Slavs arrived in the early 7th century in what is Croatia today. The first Croatian ruler recognized by the Pope was duke Branimir, whom Pope John VIII called dux Croatorum ("duke of Croats") in 879.[3] Croatia was elevated to the status of Kingdom around 925, when King Tomislav received the crown from the Papal legate. He united the Slavs of Dalmatia and Pannonia into a single Kingdom in 925. Tomislav's state extended from the Adriatic Sea to the Drava river, and from the Raša river to the Drina river. Under his rule, Croatia became one of the most powerful kingdoms in the Balkans......"
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Croatia
Popular Encyclopedia by Samuel Orgelbrand from 1864 provides information that the name of Croatian comes from Carpathian Mountains: Croats (Krroat, Kroata), in fact Croatians in Czech: Charwati, in Croatian: Herwati (Hrwati) is the name of numerous Slavic tribes which partly is still keeping up. All tribes’ the oldest headquarter are lands of the Tatras called (by Constantine Porfyrogenita) the Great or White Croatia, coming from Carpathian Mountains […] The momento of them has kept up in some local names in the eastern Halicz (Chrewi, Charwin, Charzewice) and folk name of the Carpathians: Horby (Chryby, Cherby). Adam Szelągowski (after Paweł Józef Szafarzyk) also draw their name from word chrb (a mountain) and added: today still in eastern Galicia the name for the Carpathians (Chorby)
Historians often point at the north part of Czech, Silesia, Lesser Poland or Ukraine as the places where White Croatia happened to be located.
The slight differences in spelling may throw some people off. Different maps using English, Latin, Greek or Croatian version place/people names. In even modern Polish the "CH" is a Digraph which still gives the "H" sound when pronouncing "Hrvatska". Similar to the "H" sound in the Scottish-Gaelic "Loch". Hence not much change in actual pronouncing and sound. Proto-Slavic to Croatian to Latinized/Modern English spelling. Chrobatia-Hrvatska-Croatia....Listen Here.
At the end of the day, it just shows again that Croatians brought our name-ethnonym with us to our new homeland. We weren't named, we didn't change our name and we weren't forced to take another peoples name.
A map of the year 500, before Slavic migrations started towards the
Adriatic. Note the interesting ethnonym "Crouti" (Croats) and "Polyane"
(Poles) which correlates with the 2 maps below. The ethnonym of modern day Croats/Hrvati is surmised by many scholars to be of Gothic origin. Even though the Croats were a Slavic tribe, there was a great deal of interaction in those areas. Similar to the ethnonym "Rus/Russian" being of Varangian origin. Source: antique.mrugala.net/Atlas
Below "Chrobatia" is still shown to exist even hundreds of years after Croatian rule in the southern Adriatic/Panonian regions started. Interestingly, even though eventually immersed with the surrounding Slavs, with a large part of them becoming Polish, the ethnonym "Chrobati/Hrvati/Croat" still continued in varying degrees for right up to the 20th century.
The main point of adding this map below is to show that "Hrvati"- Croatians brought our name with us to the Adriatic. That's why today it's called "Hrvatska" - Croatia.
Based many, many sources I've looked into over the years, (Wikipedia is a good starting point and covers basic's, but it can get much more interesting using the various many other sources, and sifting through the geo-political agendas of the writers sometimes) Here I add an interesting sidenote. The location of peoples referred to in many works as the Triballi, Bulgarians, Serbs or the common generic name of all Slavic people in the 6th century that the Byzantine Empire came into contact with, simply the Sclaveni. (Sclaveni/Slavs were located from Russia/Poland area to within modern day Germany, to the Adriatic sea and Black sea) Without getting into another long fact filled post within a post, Here is a quick lesson on the people on the other side of the Balkan peninsula, those who eventually came to be called "Srbs/Serbs". These people were so officially given their name by the Byzantine Empire. (The Western Roman Empire also at that time and before had come to call that people/land as Servia/Servs. There were many place names from Roman Times found across the lands even to Greece.. Servitium, Servicium, Servio, Servo..etc. All stemming from the Latin Servus which means "slave". These place names were used hundreds of years before any Slavic migration came to the area) A number of Slavs were given this new name, and many eventually transferred by Constantine to their new namesake Gordoservon, to perform military duty for the Byzantine Empire. This was their new Byzantine given name. That is what they started to call themselves from that time forward. These new "Serbs?Servs" then started to not just incorporate the Byzantine symbols into their own new national symbols, but at times almost carbon copy them....
There are other nations that have adapted Byzantine elements, especially the 2 headed eagle. Variations of a 2 headed eagle has been on many coat of arms in Europe and has a very long history. (Even the Croatian city of Rijeka has had a variation of a 2 headed eagle on it's coat of arms for a long time, from the time Croatia was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. But as can be seen from the above image of a Byzantine Empire flag, Serbian coats of arms and it's elements are almost exactly like an iron on transfer.
The Byzantine's eventually helped them start their own Orthodox "Serb church" also using these exact same Byzantine symbols.(Even Triballian symbols as well) This was basically a green light from Constantinople to go and try to make as many of these new Orthodox Serbs as possible, to help expand and for fight for Byzantium, and help fight against the Bulgarians. They would use any leverage possible with their tie to Byzantium to make more of those "Srbs". Interestingly though during all this time, in the Croatian realms and lands, the Croatian rulers and kings knew a thing or two about diplomacy themselves. Using diplomacy with Byzantium (Not Srbs) neighboring Slavs under Byzantine suzerainty along the coast as well as the Western European Empire (Carolingians, Franks,Venice, Papacy etc) to secure their realms, peace and independence. This type of diplomacy allowed Croatia under King Tomislav to become a Kingdom about 300 years before any similar named "Serbian" kingdom. Tomislav's Kingdom of Croatia was recognized by the Pope, the Franks as well as Byzantium and Bulgaria. Ultimately the Western Rome Empire won, and Byzantium eventually disappeared .
Kingdom of Croatia Formed (925): The Slav tribe of the Croats form the Kingdom of Croatia (shaded in link). The Croats would maintain their distinct identity throughout history, even while under long periods of foreign suzerainty or in alliance with neighboring empires, Especially Carolingian dynasties and Byzantium in the early years of Croatian rulers. Upon the collapse of Yugoslavia in 1991, they once again became a sovereign nation. For an interesting interactive map that gives a better understanding of the various empires, kingdoms and powers that Croatia had to deal with during the middle ages, click link here.
So there you now just had a fast track course on the beginnings of their so-called magikal "Serb/Serv race", possibly also their psychology, belief structure, desire and plan , (with Byzantine assistance many times in those days, they were afterall practically using even the Byzantine flag as their own Serb/Serv flag and doing their bidding) in trying to make as many other Slavic people into these new "Serbs". This was sort of their gift for helping fight against the Bulgarians. This was especially true vis a vis coastal Slavic communities/tribes who never knew the name of Serbs/Servs until they were forcefully made to become so. They had already been ruling their coastal communities before Serbs came into the area. This practice was made easier and exacerbated with the appearance of the Orthodox Serbian church. Now you know,.....And now on with the rest of this Croatian History post........
A scene from the documentary.
Source: www.momentum-studio.com
Related: tvprofil.net
www.ezadar.hr
www.dnevno.hr
sajt.com.hr
www.novilist.hr
www.vecernji.hr
www.tportal.hr
arhinet.arhiv.hr
biblionet.arhiv.hr
www.arhiv.hr
Croatian Kings is the biggest Croatian documentary series. Shot in full 1080p HD, directed by Domagoj Buric and produced by Croatian National television (HRT). Our task was to create quite wide range of visual effects work. From crowd replication, digital wounds, historical building reconstruction, matte paintings to full 3D environments with CG soldiers and destruction. We are very proud to have been a part of this historical project and to work with such a great team of people.
Delegation of Croats and Serbs to the Byzantine Emperor Basil I.
Text from the Chronicle of John Skylitzes: "... When the aforementioned races of Scyths, the Croats, Serbs (Serb dressed in red above the x that I added is probably a portrayal of the Serb most likely trying to bribe the Byzantine Emperor into becoming a Serb, permission to use Byzantine symbols as Serb symbols, and/or to call the Hrvat-Croat a Serb as well) and the rest of them saw what had happened in eastern Dalmatia as a result of Roman intervention, they sent delegates to emperor requesting to be brought into subjection under Roman rule. This seemed to emperor to be a reasonable request; he received them with kindliness, and they all became subjects of the Roman government and were given governors of their own race and kin. ..." (Translated by John Wortley, in: John Skylitzes: A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811-1057: Translation and Notes, p.143.
*Note - In the 9th century, during the time of Basil I, the land area called Dalmatia was based upon the old Roman province of Dalmatia, which was originally given the name by the Greeks, which in turn was so named because of the ancient "Dalmatae" tribe of people who lived in the area around 170 BC. . It was much bigger than todays Croatian Dalmacija southern coastal region. It was not a country or kingdom, but an adminstered province and over time that name was sometimes used by foreign rulers and empires to call the land area and the people who dwelled in it. It extended from modern day Slovenia, including sometimes part of Hungary and even to Bulgaria, Macedonia and Albania. The Croatian and Serb realms were situated within this Roman/Greek named province or named land area of Dalmatia. Also, there has been written accounts that the Croat lands in those times extended actually even to include up to even past modern day Belgrade, among other places.
(Many historians believe that a large segment of Serbs in various areas are actually forcefully converted good looking Croats. Prior to the formation of the Serbian Orthodox church, these good looking Croats were caught between the shifting Roman and Byzantine areas of influence, thus being left out of the domain of their kin in Croatia-proper areas, i.e: Littoral Croatia and Panonian Croatia which was united under King Tomislav, and so they then eventually (unfortunately) became to be called Serbs. The same can be said of Muslims in the area of Bosnia vis-a-vis the Ottoman Empire incursions. The important truth revealed though, is that once again Serbs and Croats are defined as 2 distinct Slavic people, with their own ethnic identity, rulers and realms, and in this instance regarding both peoples inhabiting the Eastern part of the Dalmation theme that was under Byzantine suzerianty at that time, roughly the location of todays republic of Serbia. (This information of Croat presence in these areas, at that time, using the above same image and source is always omitted on Serbian sites. Also a little known related fact is that the later adapted Serbian coat of arms is basically a copy of the Byzantine Empire flag from those times, in many of it's features. This fact may have a big influence and direct correlation with contributing to the Greater Serbian mental psyche, meaning that Serbs think they are successors to the Byzantine Empire and...well, you know the rest )
The documentary series discusses and revolves around the centuries leading up to the formation of the "Kingdom of Croatia" under King Tomislav in 925, and afterwards.
The viewer will also learn about the amazing history and relevance of the historic interwoven Croatian wattle designs that are found throughout Croatian lands, found on some of the earliest churches, monuments, monasteries and buildings. The Preromanesque church of St. Mihaljo (Michael) near Ston being just one example of Croatian wattle designs. It is found in the Croatian lands that were for a short time under Byzantine suzerainty. The Croatian Kingdom and lands were a buffer zone for a time between the Byzantine and Frankish/Carolingian dynasty's of Western Europe.
Example of the historic Croatian Wattle (Pleter) design found in the Preromanesque church of St. Mihajlo (Michael) near Ston. Combined with the 3 crosses which are a common trait of the crowns of Croatian Kings and Rulers from Carolingian Dynasty times. (See photo below) Informative PDF in Croatian HERE
Just one of numerous examples again, and a testament to the fact of Croatian Wattle (Pleter) designs being associated with Croatian heritage. Here on a fragment pertaining to Duke Branimir of the Croats who ruled from 879-892.
A famous 11th century baptistry in Split. Containing again the elaborate Croatian wattle design found throughout the room and centering on the image of the crowning of King Zvonimir. The Crown with 3 rising crosses is also a common characteristic found pertaining to Croatian medieval Rulers and Kings, which is found in numerous places throughout Croatian lands. An interesting sidenote is the common trait of 3 ascending crosses found on Croatian crowns as well as the distinctive longish sides. An influence from the various western neighbouring Frankish and Carolingian dynasty's with whom Croatian rulers had as neighbours. These style of crowns are very different from portrayed Serb crowns from that and later era which are directly influenced by Byzantine style and Emperors, much like the later Serbian coat of arms/flag
Here is a link to a pdf with lots more information and some very good photos from HRT: hrt.hr/uploads/media/Hrvatski_kraljevi.pdf
1 - The series "Croatian kings" is a special documentary and educational project which consists of seven 50-minute episodes. This is the first time in Croatian film and media history that the earliest, and in many ways the most interesting period of Croatian history, will be presented on the screen - from their arrival at the beginning of the 7th century to the end of the native Croat Trpimirovic ruling dynasty and personal union with Hungary at about the year 1100. In this unique series of Croatian rulers, Trpimir, Tomislav, Držislav, Petar Kresimir IV, Zvonimir and many others will receive a face and character for the first time. Viewers will be able to see large early medieval battles of Croats against the Bulgarians, Byzantines, Saracens, and Hungarians as well as the coronation of Croatian kings. Croatian ruins, as well as churches and buildings destroyed by the Ottoman empire will be reconstructed using CG technology.
2 - The second episode starts with the first peak of the Croatian state - the time of the great ruler Prince Trpimir. We will see his struggles against Byzantium where he defeated a mighty empire, as well as his other victories, like the one against the Bulgarians. We will introduce Trpimir as a great patron of the Church and culture in general, the arrival of the great dissident theologian and philosopher Gottschalk, who spent some time at the court of Prince Trpimir. Trpimir was the first ruler to be called "Dux Chroatorum" - Duke of the Croats. Furthermore, we will also meet Duke Domagoj, who after his death, because of his stubborness and control of the Adriatic with his pirates, the Venetians had called "the severest leader of the Slavs."( pessimus dux Sclavorum) This willfull and aggressive, yet brave Croatian prince fought on all sides. He led Croatian soldiers even to participate in the Frankish siege of Italian Bari, which at that time was suffering at the hands of the Arabs. Pope John VIII refered to Domagoj in letters as his "Famous Duke". (glourisus dux) Viewers will be able to enjoy the spectacular scenes of the siege. In addition, Ljutiša. one of our seven travelling villagers in this episode, will fall into debt bondage, and his friends will save him from slave labor.
3 - The third episode begins with the alleged murder of Prince Zdeslav, the son of Trpimir who reigned only a few months. Prince Branimir then takes the throne as one of the most important rulers of this age. We will see the first cultural flowering of Croatian. Branimir left behind for us five stone inscriptions bearing Branimir's name, an extremely large number for that time which almost no other European monarch of that era can boast. During Branimir's time ruling in Croatia, many churches were built, some of them of very monumental proportions. In addition, Branimir also led a successful foreign policy. In Branimir's time Venetians had to pay taxes to the Croatian state for their ships traveling along the Croatian coast. Pope John VIII. sent him a letter blessing the Prince and the Croatian people, which is one of the most important documents in Croatian history. In this same episode we also learn about Prince Muncimir, who also led a vigorous foreign policy. He was even embroiled in the turmoils of the neighboring Servs, also known as Triballians, who were living in the Bulgarian Lands that were called Rascia. When their exiled leaders were searching for protection, the Triballians/Serbs were recieved at his court for their safety, before they took power again in Rascia. Our group of seven villagers in this episode will taste beans for the very first time, a relatively new food ingredient that did not penetrate into Europe until the 10th century, and seems to have affected even the architecture of that time. Through the adventures of our seven villagers, we will witness the drinking of alcohol and eating habits of medieval times, but also the propensity to violence, which was a common part of the political and daily culture of those times. Twice our rambunctious villagers will even get into fisticuffs.
4 - In this 4th episode, we learn about the man who may be the most important Croatian icon and name from that era - King Tomislav. We will see his battle against the Bulgarians, in which he decisively defeated then made peace with, and his successful policy towards Byzantine ruled Dalmatian towns. King Tomislav it seems, was the first Croatian king who successfully administered all the Dalmatian towns within his realm. We will see the Split church councils of the years 925 and 928, where besides Tomislav, also Bishop Gregory of Nin participated. After Tomislav there was civil war around the throne of Croatia in the 10th century, which ended in the overthrow and execution of King Miroslav and then coming to power of his brother Michael Krešimir II, who during his military campaigns was helped by the famous Croatian ban Pribina. We will see the 7 villagers in this episode go on a pilgrimage to the North Italian city of Cividale. Through their stories we will find out all the important and interesting things about medieval pilgrimages.
5 - In this 5th episode, we will familiarize ourselves with the era of Stephen Držislav I, the first of the Croatian rulers who bore the title of king of Dalmatia and Croatia. After the long and stable reign of Držislav, his three sons, Svetoslav, Krešimir and Gojslav, clashed to become next to rule on the throne. Svetoslav was ousted from the throne and Petar Krešimir III ruled Croatia. In this episode we will also meet one of the greatest of Croatian rulers, Petar Krešimir IV. We will see his mighty fleet and the flourishing of arts and culture during his time. In this episode, we will again follow the adventures of the seven travelling Croatian peasants. They will travel from the the rural hinterlands near Kozjak, come across a pastor who was bothered by the pagan superstitions of his parishioners, and gave orders to them to cut down the nearby ancient sacred trees of the old Slavs. We will see them work as wage laborers in the reconstruction of the roof at the basilica in Solin, a town on the Adriatic coast. We will also see them in their free time to start fishing, which was a new experience for our travellers from the hinterland, but which will supply them and others with abundant sea food for tasty meals and a new staple in their daily diet.
6 - This sixth episode begins with a magnificent scene from the coronation of King Zvonimir in the seaside town of Solin, at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Moses.(Hollow Church) This king is of one of the greatest monarchs in Croatian history. He made an agreement with Pope Gregory VII., who sent him a crown and scepter. He married a Hungarian princess Helen I (Jelena Lijepa), which connected him also to the royal families of Poland, Denmark, Byzantium and Bulgaria, and he led a very active foreign policy. Viewers will learn how much historical truth, and how much mythology is in the story about the murder of King Zvonimir. Also, we will see the last years of this Croatian ruling dynasty, as Croatia is joined to Hungary with the assenting of Croatian nobles in the "Pacta Conventa", as well as the death of King Petar Svačić during the legendary battle of Gvozd. This episode will see Žitimir, one of our travelling village heroes, get married. Through the story of his wedding, we will find out much about the position of women in the Middle Ages and about medieval views on sexuality. We will see how many marriages were performed without the involvement of the church, especially in rural areas, and that mortality rates were especially high for children in those times.
7 - In the final episode of this series we take a step back, going back several hundred years, to the time that preceded the creation of the Croatian state. After spectacular opening scenes of the siege of Constantinople in 626, we will show the time of the arrival of the Croats into this area. We will deal with the legend of the five brothers and two sisters, who according to the legend, led the Croats during their immigration all the way to the shores of the Adriatic. We'll find out all the important information about the origin of the Croats and of their religious conversions, with input from European historians discussing the arrival of the Croatian tribes and how our earliest neighbours to the east were not Raskians, Tribalians, or Servs (Srbs) but Bulgarians. (Also discussed will be the less well known interesting fact that only Croatian history in that era and area, has the highly prized distinction of leaving behind monuments and written records in not only the early (Precursor to Cyrillic) Glagolitic script in the Croatian language, and even instances of early Croatian/Western Cyrillic script (Mainly among Croats in B-H and along some coastal areas during Byzantine times)... like some other nations, but historically most importantly Croatians have a long tradition using the Latin language and then using Latin script simultaneously for writing Croatian , with Latin taking the increasingly predominant role since the Middle Ages in literature and de jure in government. This de facto made Latin the official Croatian script of choice many centuries ago. That a nation and people's language was for a time simultaneously and independently using 3 scripts in parallel is still a European phenomena to this day! (Croatians had been given special rights to use the Croatian language in religious services in Glagolitic script, but over time Latin script was chosen as the main script, in literature, government and all other vernacular writings) Finally, this episode will come to a close where the first episode begins - at the beginning of the 9th century, i.e, the beginning of the time of the first Croatian rulers and Croatian state.
