Hegumen Mardarije

Not to be confused with Hieromonk Mardarije.
Hegumen Mardarije
Born Vraneši, Sanjak of Bosnia, Ottoman Empire
Died Bogovađa monastery
Nationality Rum Millet (Ottoman Empire)
Occupation monk, printer and editor
Known for being one of the first printer of srbulje (books on Serbian language)
Denomination Serbian Orthodox

Hegumen Mardarije (fl. 1543–45) was a Serbian Orthodox monk and one of the first printers of Serbian language books.

He was a Serb from Podrinje,[1] who descended from Vraneši, Sokolac, Sanjak of Bosnia, Ottoman Empire (modern day Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina). Mardarije received his education in the Monastery of the Holy Trinity of Pljevlja. To save its liturgical books and other valuables, he moved to Banja Monastery and became its hegumen. In 1543 he and two monks from Mileševa monastery travelled to Venice to buy the printing press and bring it to Mileševa to establish the Mileševa printing house.

Early life

Mardarije was educated in the Monastery of the Holy Trinity of Pljevlja. When he learned that the Ottomans were going to destroy Ljuboviđa Church in Pavino Polje, he took liturgical books and other valuables and transported them to Banja Monastery using six loaded horses.[2]

Mileševa printing house

In 1543 Mardarije was a hegumen of the Banja Monastery near Priboj when Todor Ljubavić, a monk in Mileševa and son of Božidar Ljubavić, was sent to Venice to join his brother Đurađ and to buy a printing press for the monastery. Todor was accompanied by the Mileševa monk Sava and by Mardarije. At that time Banja Monastery was a seat of the metropolitan bishop while Mileševa was the richest monastery of Dabar eparchy. That is why those two monasteries were given the task to finance and organize establishing of the printing house in Mileševa and why Mardarije travelled to Venice together with monks from Mileševa.[3] The Mileševa printing house was operational in period 1544–1557.[4] Three books were printed in it, Psalter (Псалтир, 1544), Breviary (Требник, 1545) and another Psalter (1557).[5][6] Psalter of 1544 was edited and prepared by Mardarije and Teodor Ljubavić, based on 1519–20 Psalter of Božidar Vuković.[7][8]

In 1545 Mardarije went to Bogovađa near Lajkovac and rebuilt it. An engraved plate commemorates this rebuilding and mentions Mardarije and Vraneši as his fatherland.[9]

Misidentification with hegumen Mardarije

In many earlier sources Hegumen Mardarije who was hegumen of the Banja Monastery is misidentified with Hieromonk Mardarije who was also printer, but in Mrkšina crkva printing house and Belgrade printing house. Taking in consideration that Mardarije of Mrkšina crkva never mentioned in his books his much higher position of the hegumen of Banja monastery, it was concluded that Hegumen Mardarije and Hieromonk Mardarije were two different persons.[10][11]

References

  1. ↑ Samardžić, Radovan (1993). Istorija srpskog naroda: pt. 1–2. Srbi pod tudinskom vlashdu 1537–1699. Srpska knjiiževna zadruga. p. 125.
  2. ↑ Ristivojčević, Milan. "Памбуковица – Мркшина црква: Исповест, памћење и нада". http://www.eparhijavaljevska.rs/''. Eparchy of Valjevo. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  3. ↑ Biblioteka, Matica srpska (Novi Sad, Serbia). (1994). Godïsnjak Biblioteke Matice srpske. p. 29.
  4. ↑ Aćimović, Dragoljub; Đorđević, Milivoje (1987). Štamparstvo u Užičkom kraju, 1537–1987: povodom 450 godina Rujanske štamparije. Dimitrije Tucović. p. 277.
  5. ↑ Ćirilske rukopisne knjige Biblioteke Matice srpske: Psaltir Gavrila Trojičanina iz 1643. godine. Biblioteka Matice srpske. 1992. p. 8.
  6. ↑ Šafárik, Pavel Jozef; Boškov, Živojin (1963). P.J. Šafarik, 1795–1861: zbornik članaka povodom 100-godišnjice smrti. Matica srpska. p. 51.
  7. ↑ Biblioteka, Matica Srpska (Novi Sad) (1995). Godǐsnjak Biblioteke Matice srpske za ... Biblioteka Matice srpske. p. 30.
  8. ↑ Bibliotekar. Društvo bibliotekara N.R. Srbije. p. 1220. ...Псалтир из 1544. и Молитвеник из 1545. штампани у Милешеви,...
  9. ↑ Recherches sur l'art. Matica. 1991. p. 206.
  10. ↑ Plavšić, Lazar (1959). Srpske štamparije: od kraja XV do sredine XIX veka. Udruženje grafičkih preduzeća Jugoslavije. p. 115.
  11. ↑ Recherches sur l'art. Matica. 1991. p. 205.