Das epische Volkslied als Quelle zur Kenntnis der Haiduken- und Uskokentracht
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Abstract
That the Serbo-Croat folk epic songs of Hajduk and Uskok cycle provide
information about real life and historical facts has been confirmed by various documents from archives. The exploration of the archives from Dubrovnik, Venice and those from Austria has corroborated the fact that epic song
has portrayed people and events such as they have been, not adding to the description more than it was necessary in order to achieve epic coloring. A
unique example of the consistency between the poetic expression and historical
reality can be found in the description of the garments worn by Hajduks and
Uskoks in Serbo-Croat epic songs. Descriptions of the garments and arms
abound and it is easy to come to the conclusion that Uskoks and Hajduks wore
striking and expensive garments, decorated with gold and silver. Of Hajduks
Vuk Karadzic says that "some of them became hajduks without necessity, in
order to wear nice garments and arms as much as it pleased them”. With their
elegant clothes and perfect arms Hajduks and Uskoks caught the eye of every
passer-by. Great attention has been paid in songs to the description of garments
worn by famous Hajduks and Uskoks, and in particular by company commanders and by the supreme commander (Harambaša). As an illustration let us
mention the garments worn by the Old man Vujadin (Starac Vujadin), wearing a cloak of pure gold, and on his head a tuft of twelve feathers, each weighing one liter of gold. Or the garments of the well-known Uskok Jankovič
Stojan, who wears a silk shirt embroidered with gold, a green dolman with
buttons, and on top of that a sleeveless jacket with gold buttons, while on his
head he has a helmet with a tuft of feathers. Beside cloaks made of expensive fabric of different colours, embroidered with gold and silver, our attention is caught by gold and silver buttons which serve as decoration for the breast. The expensive garments made of rare fabrics and of a special cut, as described in folk songs and confirmed by archives, were made in tailors’s shops of Balkan towns such as Janjina, Kraševo, Skadar, etc. Thanks to those Balkan tailors this costume displayed a high artistic creation, both in the perfection of the cut and in the richness of ornaments.
information about real life and historical facts has been confirmed by various documents from archives. The exploration of the archives from Dubrovnik, Venice and those from Austria has corroborated the fact that epic song
has portrayed people and events such as they have been, not adding to the description more than it was necessary in order to achieve epic coloring. A
unique example of the consistency between the poetic expression and historical
reality can be found in the description of the garments worn by Hajduks and
Uskoks in Serbo-Croat epic songs. Descriptions of the garments and arms
abound and it is easy to come to the conclusion that Uskoks and Hajduks wore
striking and expensive garments, decorated with gold and silver. Of Hajduks
Vuk Karadzic says that "some of them became hajduks without necessity, in
order to wear nice garments and arms as much as it pleased them”. With their
elegant clothes and perfect arms Hajduks and Uskoks caught the eye of every
passer-by. Great attention has been paid in songs to the description of garments
worn by famous Hajduks and Uskoks, and in particular by company commanders and by the supreme commander (Harambaša). As an illustration let us
mention the garments worn by the Old man Vujadin (Starac Vujadin), wearing a cloak of pure gold, and on his head a tuft of twelve feathers, each weighing one liter of gold. Or the garments of the well-known Uskok Jankovič
Stojan, who wears a silk shirt embroidered with gold, a green dolman with
buttons, and on top of that a sleeveless jacket with gold buttons, while on his
head he has a helmet with a tuft of feathers. Beside cloaks made of expensive fabric of different colours, embroidered with gold and silver, our attention is caught by gold and silver buttons which serve as decoration for the breast. The expensive garments made of rare fabrics and of a special cut, as described in folk songs and confirmed by archives, were made in tailors’s shops of Balkan towns such as Janjina, Kraševo, Skadar, etc. Thanks to those Balkan tailors this costume displayed a high artistic creation, both in the perfection of the cut and in the richness of ornaments.
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