STEFAN NEMANJA AND THE NATIONAL SERBIAN AWAKENING

Text topic: Studies

Text author: Виолета Цветковска Оцокољић и Татјана Цветовски

During the creation of the first Serbian kingdom, the role of Stefan Nemanja as a great prefect was reflected in the balance between the two great powers, i.e. the East and the West, where Serbia was trying to develop and maintain a national identity. Preserved hagiographic works, although schematized and written to celebrate Nemanja and his descendants, however, express a historical and cultural context of the early Serbia, especially that preceding the time of the kingdom. In the earliest surviving works related to the life and the cult of Stefan Nemanja, we can most clearly see the role of preserving Serbian identity and tradition. The main features of the Serbian culture, among others, related to the concepts of language and image.