The Ballad
This ballad from which the King of Montenegro--Nicholas
Petrovitch--drew inspiration for his drama The Empress of the Balkans
is undoubtedly the finest Serbian national poem ever composed and
chanted in Montenegro. To render it satisfactorily in its poetic
form into another language, compact as it is of intensely national
characteristics, metaphors and other figures of speech, religious
conceptions, customs and superstitions, would be impossible for even
the greatest of our poets.
A French proverb says quand on n'a pas ce que l'on aime, ou aime ce
que l'on a, and the hope may here be expressed that the philosophic
English reader will make the best of the following prose version,
such as it is, of a most interesting national poem.
The Story
Ivan Tzrnoyevitch [45] sailed across the Adriatic to Venice, in order
to pay a visit to the doge and to ask his daughter in marriage for
his son Maximus. He remained there three years, during which he spent
three tovars of gold and upon his departure at the end of this period
he arranged to return the following year with his son and with one
thousand, or more, guests for the marriage festivities. The doge and
his two sons, as well as a hundred of the doge's high dignitaries,
accompanied Ivan to his galley and the Montenegrin prince repeated
his promise to come again the next year with his guests and with his
son, than whom, he averred, no finer hero or handsomer youth could be
found in any gathering of one thousand Montenegrins or one thousand
Venetians. The doge, exceedingly pleased to have for his son-in-law
such a fine hero, embraced Ivan, saying: "I thank thee, my friend,
for such words! How happy I am to have gained such a dear son-in-law,
whose equal should in vain be sought among thousands! I shall love
him more than the sight of my eyes; and shall prepare precious gifts
for him: horses and falcons, helmets with golden crests and round him
cloaks to wrap such as he may be proud to wear. But if he be not as
handsome as thou hast said; woe to thee!"
After this Ivan sailed for Zablak. As he neared his castle he felt
very happy and urged on his steed Zdral the sooner to reach home. His
faithful consort perceived him from afar, and at once gave orders to
the servants to make the necessary preparations for the arrival of
their lord. She judged from the gay appearance of her husband that
he must have succeeded in his mission.
When Ivan arrived in the courtyard of his castle, some of his servants
helped him to alight from his steed, others took off his armour
and arms, and his son Maximus brought him a silver settle that he
might be seated and rest. Ivan turned to thank his son, but behold! A
misfortune had befallen him! During his father's absence Maximus had
been stricken with small-pox--that terrible scourge!--and his once
handsome face was so pitted and seamed that it was now horrible to
look upon. The bard assures us that it was hardly possible to find
an uglier fellow than Maximus had become.
The prince immediately recollected his boast to the doge, that there
could not be found amongst thousands a handsomer youth than his son,
and he felt very sad; his long moustache drooped down on to his
shoulders, [46] and, with eyes fixed on the ground he sat silent and
gloomy. His consort saw with concern her husband's despondency and
she endeavoured to raise his spirits. Gathering up the folds of her
flowing robe and the ends of her long sleeves, she came close and,
bending, kissed his hand. "Pray, my lord," she said, "why art thou
so sad? Hast thou, perhaps, not been successful in thy mission? Hast
thou not betrothed the doge's daughter to our son? Is she perhaps
not fair enough to become thy daughter-in-law? Dost thou regret the
three tovars of gold which thou hast spent?"
Thereupon Ivan roused himself and replied that it was quite another
misfortune which was troubling him. He told how he had successfully
betrothed the doge's daughter, and that she was so beautiful that
even the veele could not be compared with her; that it was not the
thought of the gold he had spent that tormented him--for his castle
was heaped up with treasure, and the abstraction of three tovars of
ducats had hardly affected the size of the store. No, the real cause
of his misfortune was that he had promised the doge to give him for
his son-in-law a youth who was the handsomest to be found amongst
thousands, and that if he were to present his son Maximus as he now
was, the doge would surely be angry and a war would ensue.
When the princess heard this, she reproached Ivan with having gone so
far away for a bride, when he could have found in Montenegro itself
a much finer maiden whose family would be worthy of an alliance
with his own. Prince Ivan was persuaded that he had acted unwisely,
and he decided to abandon the betrothal, and forbade his friends to
congratulate him.
The Message from the Doge
Nine years elapsed, and it seemed that the betrothal had been forgotten
by all, and that the doge's daughter, having heard nothing from Ivan,
had surely wedded another prince. But one day a message from the doge
arrived, in which he reproached the Montenegrin prince with having
allowed nine years to pass without sending a word to his daughter--who,
"from only a bud, had developed into a beauteous rose." He further
requested Ivan to write to his still patient daughter, and to tell
her plainly what he had decided with regard to the proposed marriage;
for if he did not now deem his son worthy of such a precious maiden,
he must at once tell her so, that a prince deserving of her might
be found.
The prince was seized with great grief as he read the doge's
message. What could he say or do? After pondering long he sought his
princely consort and addressed her in this wise: "O my sweet-eyed
darling! I pray you counsel me now what to do! Shall I despatch a
message to the maiden and tell her that she is at liberty to seek
another in marriage, or how otherwise shall I write?"
The princess was a wise woman, and she advised her husband prudently:
[47] "O my lord, thou Tzrnoyevitch Ivo! Has ever any man been
counselled by a wife? This has never been and never shall be. For we
women have long hair, but little brains. But as thou hast asked for my
opinion, I will venture to say that it would be a sin before God, and
before the world a shame, to deprive a maiden of happiness by releasing
her from a suitably arranged betrothal. Listen to me, dear lord! What
an insignificant reason alarms thee! If the small-pox has damaged
thy son's visage, thy distant friends should make allowance for such
misfortune resulting from illness--for who is exempt? Furthermore,
if thou dreadest a conflict when thou comest to Venice, I would
remind thee that thou hast dungeons full of pure golden ducats; in thy
cellars there is old wine in abundance; thy granaries are overfilled
with wheat and other grain; consequently thou art well able to gather
a great number of svats. Thou hast promised the doge to go thither
with one thousand svats, but why shouldest thou not take two thousand
chosen heroes and equerries with thee? When the Venetians see with
how great a force thou journeyest, they will not dare to attack thee,
even if thy son were blind. Therefore, gather the svats, and hasten
to bring the bride. O my lord, lose no more time in vain musing." At
these bold words, the prince expressed his great satisfaction in a
burst of laughter. He immediately inscribed a missive and despatched
it by a speedy courier. Its contents ran thus: "O my friend, thou Doge
of Venice! Thou could'st hear, if thou didst but listen, the roaring
of my thirty cannons, which I am about to fire from my fortress! O
friend, do not lose a single moment, but send at once galleys to meet
me, my son and all our svats. Farewell!" Ivan then sent to Milosh
Obrenbegovitch, inviting him to be the stari-svat and to attend with
as many chosen heroes as he could possibly find within the provinces
of Antivari and Dulzigno. He wrote also to his cousin, Captain Yovan,
inviting him to come to the wedding with as many of his friends as
possible. Couriers were sent to other friends, who received Ivan's
invitation gladly, and before long the plain of Zablak was studded
with their innumerable tents. One morning Ivan noticed Captain Yovan,
the bride's leader, pacing sadly the ramparts of the castle, and
casting frequent glances at the spearmen, equerries and standards
in the encampment below. Prince Ivan would not suffer anybody to
be unhappy in the midst of his festive preparations, and so asked
Captain Yovan the cause of his gloom. Yovan said, that if he might
speak of what was lying upon his heart, he would counsel the prince
to prepare a great feast for those numberless Montenegrins encamped
before his castle, after which couriers should be sent throughout
the camp telling all to return home that their fields should not be
ruined by neglect. Thus the land would not be deprived of defenders
against their persistent foe, the Turk, who might attack the country at
any moment while they were away. Then Yovan went on to relate to the
prince how the previous night he had seen in a dream the sky suddenly
covered with dark clouds; from those clouds a thunderbolt had fallen
upon his princely castle and razed every single stone of it to the
ground; a fire had then broken out and consumed the beautiful capital
Zablak. When the castle fell a tower had struck Maximus but without
doing him serious hurt. "Nevertheless," continued Yovan, "if there
be any truth in dreams, Maximus would either perish or be severely
wounded in Venice, and if I should be offended by a Venetian, all my
followers, five hundred men of Podgoritza, would die in my defence."
Prince Ivan laughed heartily when Yovan had ended, and said that his
good friend owed his bad dreams to the fact that his pillows were
either too high or too low. Then saying, "dreams are false, but God
is true," he turned away to give orders to fire thirty guns from the
fortress as the signal for departure.
When the cannon roared, especially the two famous guns Krgno and
Zelenko, the whole valley quaked, the black mountains resounded and
the water of Zetina was stirred to its depths. Some equerries were
shaken from their steeds and those standing fell on their knees on
the grass, for it is no light matter when siege-guns roar!
The Wedding Procession sets out
The svats started on the journey in the best of spirits; some urged
and raced their coursers, others were drinking and singing gay wedding
songs as they marched. In their midst rode Prince Ivan on his courser
Zdral, with two proud falcons on his shoulders; on his right rode
Maximus, and on his left Milosh Obrenbegovitch. Prince Ivan glanced
often at his companions, and involuntarily drew a comparison between
the two. All at once he ordered a halt and spake aloud, saying:
"Listen, O my brothers, ye glorious svats! I have a plan to propose,
and hope that you will think it good. We are on the point of embarking,
O brothers, and will soon arrive in Venice. But look upon my son
Maximus, how much spoilt is his appearance by horrible disease; he
is unquestionably the ugliest of us all! Alas! when I was in Venice
nine years ago I praised him as the handsomest youth to be found
amongst one thousand Montenegrins; yea, even amongst one thousand
Venetians. Therefore, O brothers, I am very sad this morning, and
have no pleasure in the thought of meeting the doge. Hear that the
Venetians may attack us, so great will be their disappointment. But
behold! O ye my valiant svats! We have here with us a hero whose equal
in manly beauty must be vainly sought amongst us, as also amongst the
proud Venetians. I speak of Voivode Milosh Obrenbegovitch. Let us,
then, take off the plumed helmet from the head of my son and place
it upon Milosh's head, and thus make him the bridegroom for the time
being, until we have peacefully gained possession of the maiden!"
The svats were greatly impressed by Ivan's scheme, but they
hesitated to speak, fearing to hurt the feelings of Maximus, who was a
spirited youth and might resent the proposal. But Voivode Milosh said
graciously: "O Ivan, our lord! Why dost thou make vain appeal to the
svats? Rather give me thy hand as a sign of firm faith that the plan
does not in any way offend thy noble son. Swear to me by the true God
that thou hast suggested this after an understanding with thy son,
and I will in return pledge my honour that I shall obtain the bride
for Maximus without a fight. You shall consent, however, to cede to
me as my reward for playing a false part all the presents that may be
given to me as the bridegroom, and I shall not be expected to divide
them with anybody, but shall retain them all for myself!"
Ivan burst into laughter, and exclaimed: "O Milosh, thou Serbian
Voivode! As to the presents thou namest, I give thee my faith, firmer
and harder than stone itself, that nobody shall seek to have a share in
them with thee! Only secure the bride and honourably escort her till
we reach our city of Zablak, and I promise to give thee two bootfuls
of golden ducats, a golden cup to hold nine litres of wine, a mare
'Bedevia,' the mother of studs like my Zdral, and I shall girdle on
thee a sabre worth thirty purses of golden ducats."
So they all agreed, and having placed the distinctive hat and ornaments
of the bridegroom on the head of Voivode Milosh they resumed their
journey, and after some tossing upon the waters of the Adriatic they
reached Venice without misadventure.
There came large numbers of people curious to see the Montenegrins
and especially to discover for themselves if Maximus was really the
fine and handsome prince that they had heard he was.
When the Venetian princes heard from their servants that their future
brother-in-law was really as handsome as his father had described
him nine years earlier, they came eagerly with outstretched arms
to embrace and welcome him. They showed him the apartments in their
palace which had been prepared for the princely guests, and all were
lodged in comfort.
The wedding festivities lasted for three days and then came the
hour of departure. At the sound of cannon the svats assembled in the
great courtyard awaiting the commands of Prince Ivan, and his noble
son. They felt uneasy when they saw the gate of the palace closed,
and on each side of it two Moorish and two Venetian soldiers standing
with drawn swords the blades of which, and even their own arms, were
covered with blood. Their uneasiness became alarm when after some time
they saw no sign of their prince and the bride and bridegroom. They
were beginning to murmur loudly when suddenly they heard the sound
of horses' hoofs on the marble pavement and they saw Voivode Milosh
trying to curb his destrier with his bit as he spurred him gently in
order to make him bound and prance.
The Wedding Gifts
Behind Milosh rode his two brothers-in-law bringing gifts. The elder
of them led a black steed without a single blemish, bearing a silver
saddle adorned with heavy gold, upon which sat the fair bride holding
a grey falcon. "Accept, O my dear and noble Maximus," said the prince,
"this fair maiden, together with her black steed and her grey falcon as
a token of our love, for thou art in truth the pride of thy brothers!"
Milosh bowed deeply over his horse's neck as he thanked the prince
for his gracious words and accepted the bride with the gifts which
she brought. The second brother now bestowed upon the bridegroom a
sabre in a golden scabbard, saying: "Wear this, O brother, and be
proud of it!" Next came the father of the bride. What a beautiful
present he placed in his hands! A helmet in the crest of which shone
a precious stone dazzling like the sun so that one could not look at
it long. But the gift which was given to him by the mother of the
bride was more magnificent than all! This gift was a shirt of pure
gold, which was neither woven nor twined, but had been made entirely
with fingers; in its collar, representing a viper ('and a viper will
finally bite him') there was fixed a brilliant diamond shedding forth
such a blaze of light that he would never need a candle when he went
to visit his bride in her bed-chamber. All the svats were astonished
at the magnificence of the present.
Now came the aged brother of the doge, Yesdimir, with his beard
reaching to his waist, walking slowly and supporting himself with a
golden staff. Bitter tears streamed from his eyes. He wept, it is true,
with good reason. Seven wives he had had in turn during his long life,
but no sons or daughters had been born to him. Therefore he bestowed
all his affections upon his niece, whom he looked upon as a daughter,
and who took in his heart the place of the children he had once hoped
to be blessed with, and now that the beloved maiden was to depart to
a far-away land he was greatly grieved. He had some 'wonder' folded
under his arm, and as he approached the svats, he called the bridegroom
by name. The latter appeared at once and the venerable lord laid upon
the young man's shoulders a magnificent cloak which reached from his
shoulders down to the grass. Indeed when Milosh remounted his horse,
the cloak concealed not only himself, but also his steed down to its
very hoofs. How precious it was! and oh! that it might never be the
cause of anything but happiness to the hero! It was said that thirty
purses of gold had been spent on its lining alone, and what a sum
of money the cloth itself must have cost! Prince Maximus watched and
saw with envious eyes how Voivode Milosh received the presents which
were intended for him, the real bridegroom. When the large gateways
of the courtyard were opened, the svats, passing out in procession,
received from the doge's servants each a piece of precious silk and a
box containing various presents, and then they sailed away in galleys.
Soon they arrived on the field of Zablak, where they had met
on starting out for their journey, and where they were now to
separate. Prince Maximus had ridden a little ahead with his ten
brothers-in-arms in order to hasten and communicate the joyful news
to his mother and Voivode Milosh, being aware that Prince Maximus
was out of sight, spurred forward his courser and coming up with the
bride and the dever, he boldly took the hand of the noble maiden. The
bride, thinking in her innocence that he was Prince Maximus, removed
her veil and stretched out her hands to the pretended bridegroom.
The Princess learns of the Deception
Those who were near feigned not to have noticed the incident, but
Prince Ivan himself happened to see what had occurred and it troubled
him, and he rode up and addressed the bride thus: "Touch him not with
thy hands, O my dear daughter-in-law! or may they be struck with
a palsy! Veil thine eyes! or may thy sight for ever fail thee! How
canst thou act so in the presence of all the svats? Dost thou see
that hero riding his black steed, and holding his lance? Dost thou
see his shining shield and his face disfigured by small-pox? That
is my son Maximus, whom I praised to thy father--when I asked your
hand for him--saying that there was no handsomer youth than he to
be found amongst thousands. But I was afraid to present my son with
his ugly face to you and to your father, and so we had recourse to a
stratagem and made Voivode your groom temporarily in order to succeed
in bringing thee away in peace. For acting so Milosh is entitled to
all the presents which were assigned to the bridegroom!"
To the noble maiden her father-in-law's words came as a
thunderbolt. She halted her horse and refused to go any farther,
saying: "O my dear father-in-law, thou Prince Ivan! Thou hast
caused thine own son's misfortune by having made Milosh the
alleged bridegroom. Why hast thou done so? May the true God
give thee thy deserts for that! What matters it if his face is
pitted? All are subject to disease, and might have to suffer even worse
consequences. If his face is damaged, his eyes are certainly bright and
his heart is as sound as ever. If thou hadst considered thy son to be
still too young to be my husband, thou shouldest have told me so, and
I would have waited in my father's palace for another nine years--but
even then I would certainly never have caused you to blush with shame
before your own nobles in Zablak. Now thou hadst better give up the
presents to their rightful owner, thy son Maximus, else I shall not
go a step further, even if thou shouldest threaten to put out my eyes."
Hearing this firm speech, Prince Ivan was greatly disturbed, and
he called friends and Voivodes to counsel him as to what he should
do. But none of them dared say one word, for they well remembered
the arrangement made before sailing across the sea.
Milosh's Offer
Voivode Milosh saw that no one would speak, and he spurred his steed
and addressed Prince Ivan in this wise: "O Ivan, thou our lord! Where
is thy firm faith? If it fails now, may you yourself live to be
betrayed! Hast thou not given me thy word that the wedding gifts should
be mine intact? But now you frame a plan to break thy faith! Since
thou art so little to be depended on, I agree--for the sake of peace
among our brothers and svats--to give up the first two presents:
I return to your son the fair bride and her steed with all its gold
and silver trappings. In justice, and according to impartial judgment,
I should be fully entitled even to marry the fair maiden--for she was
presented to me by all, her parents and her brothers--but I shall
say no more about that, and simply cede to you these two presents,
together with the grey falcon. Here! I return to your son even the
golden scabbard and the bright sabre, but I shall never consent to
yield the helmet, the cloak, and the golden shirt; for I am determined
to carry them to my own land, and show them to my friends and brothers,
who, I am certain, will be proud of them. I swear by my faith in the
true God that I shall not give up these three presents."
All the svats, moved by Milosh's fairness, agreed to the offer,
and thanked him for his noble sacrifice for the sake of peace, but
they were strongly opposed by the bride, who could not reconcile
herself to the loss of the precious gifts, and especially the golden
shirt. So she called aloud for Prince Maximus. This alarmed Prince
Ivan very much, and he tried to quieten the maiden in these words:
"O my sweet daughter-in-law, thou Venetian maiden! Do not call my son,
for we have done him great injustice. Prince Maximus has a high sense
of honour and is a brave man. I dread a fight above everything, and
our festivities may so easily turn into mourning. I possess in Zablak
a dungeon full of golden treasure, which I shall present to thee,
and thou canst do with it whatever pleases thee!"
But the maiden was not easy to persuade, and she once more called
Prince Maximus, who came with all speed to the scene. "O Maximus,
thou only son of thy mother!" began his bride, "may she lose thee! May
the warriors make a handbier of thy lance and with thy shield may they
cover thy tomb! May thy visage blush with shame on the day of judgment,
as it does to-day at the contest with Voivode Milosh! Why didst thou
agree to yield to another the presents which rightly belong to the
bridegroom? I care nothing for all the other presents, let Milosh take
them away, and may a torrent take him away with them! but I cannot
suffer the loss of the golden shirt, which I made for thee myself,
and which took me three years to make, with three maidens assisting
me. I nearly lost my sight before I finished working at this shirt,
and all the time I was thinking of thee. Thou hadst better recover the
shirt from Voivode Milosh at once, for I swear by the name of the true
God that otherwise I will not take a step forward; but I shall rein
back my steed, and, when I reach the sea-coast, I shall pluck a leaf
of aloe and shall scratch my face with its thorns till blood flows;
then I shall write and send a message by my falcon to my aged father,
beseeching him to call to arms all his force, to come and conquer
and pillage thy Zablak and repay thee thus with mourning for thy
shameful conduct!"
The Violence of Maximus
The moment Prince Maximus heard this, he reined back his black courser,
spurred it so vehemently that the skin of his courser's stifle-joint
burst and blood besprinkled its hoofs. The frantic animal sprang
the height of three lances in the air and the length of four lances
forward, so that he sped like lightning. Milosh burst into laughter,
saying: "God be praised! What was suddenly the matter with that
boy!" But his mirth was short-lived, for Prince Maximus now turned
his horse straight toward Milosh furiously throwing his lance at his
head. [48] He struck Milosh so vigorously that both his eyes burst and
he fell from his steed. Maximus rushed in and cleft his head asunder;
then he took his bride from her leader and sped into the castle. [49]
When Voivode Milosh's warriors saw their chief fall, they fiercely
attacked the followers of Prince Maximus, and a fight ensued from
which but very few returned home.
Maximus becomes a Turk
Prince Maximus, it is said, was so disgusted with what had occurred
that he wrote to the doge, inviting him to invade Zablak with a large
force and to conquer Montenegro; as for him, he would go to Istamboul
and embrace Islamism. This he did.
Now a brother of Milosh, namely, Yovan Obrenbegovitch, suspecting that
Maximus's intention was to obtain from the Sultan a great force with
which to conquer Montenegro, decided to go to the Sultan for the same
purpose. But it was his intention, should he also succeed in obtaining
an army from the Sultan, to use it, not against his fatherland,
Montenegro, but against Prince Maximus. On their way to Istamboul the
two men met and they appeared together before the Sultan, who, knowing
well who they were and deeming that they could be usefully employed
in his service against the Christians, like many other malcontents
from Christian courts, received them most kindly. They adopted the
Mohammedan religion and were given Turkish names: Voivode Yovan was
called Mehmed-Bey Obrenbegovitch, and Prince Maximus, Scander-beg
Ivanbegovitch. Having served as faithful Turks for nine years, the
Sultan, pleased with their conduct, granted them both vizirates: to
Mehmed-bey Obrenbegovitch he gave as fief the plain of Ducadyin, and
Scander-beg (Prince Ivan's son) he granted Scutari on the River Boyana.