Originally published in 1932, this book was created with the aim of widening interest in the popular ballads of the Yugoslav region.

The Indians manifest their poetry in their huge temples; the Persians in their holy books; the Egyptian in pyramids, obelisks and the like; the Hellene in their magnificent statues; the Romans in their enchanting pictures; the Germans in their beautiful music—but the Slavs have poured out their soul and their intimate thoughts in ballads and tales. Herein are 33 Serbian superstitions and national customs, 12 legends of Prince Marko, a Serbian national hero, the epic poem of the hero knight Banovitch Strahinya, 3 epic Serbian ballads, the marriages of Maximus Tzrnoyevitch, Tsar Doushan The Mighty, King Voukashin,and of Stephan Yakshitch, each filled with drama and awe, plus 20 folk tales and 7 Serbian anecdotes. All-in-all a complete volume of Serbian folklore which includes 32 colour illustrations of the stories and events contained therein. So compelling are these stories and tales that in the first half of the nineteenth century various German poets transversified some of the Serbian national ballads into German. One of these, Jacob Grimm, of Grimm's Fairy Tales, learned Serbian so that he might acquaint himself with these Serbian literary treasures. So, we invite you to get yourself a hot toddy, download this book, then sit back in front of a roaring fire and read these tales. But be prepared to be pleasantly surprised for Serbian folklore is like none other. 10% of the publisher’s profit is donated to charities.

A collection of Serbian folk tales preceded by background to the history and cultural traditions of the Slavic people, including short essays on good and evil spirits, vampires, superstition, Christmas Eve, wedding rites, etc.

In the early nineteenth century Serb scholar Vuk Karadzic collected and published now classic transcriptions of Balkan oral poetry. This edition, by taking great care to preserve the unique meter and rhythm at the heart of Serbian oral poetry as well as the idiom of the original singers, offers the most complete and authoritative translations ever assembled in English.

As the seventh and probably last state to arise from the ruins of the former Yugoslavia, Kosovo is the newest country in Europe. For centuries, Kosovo, also known as Kosova, was part of the Ottoman Empire, and for most of the 20th century, it was a province of what was once Yugoslavia. After the military conflict in 1998-1999 and a period of administration by the United Nations, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008. Focusing not only on Kosovo's turbulent recent years, the second edition of the Historical Dictionary of Kosovo also relates the country's rich culture and long history. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, an extensive bibliography, and over 400 cross-referenced dictionary entries on significant persons, places, and events; institutions and organizations; and political, economic, social, cultural, and religious facets. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Kosovo.

The story of the apocryphal pope and saint Gregorius was extremely popular throughout the middle ages and later in Europe and beyond. In a memorable narrative Gregorius is born from an incestuous relationship between a noble brother and sister, and is set out to sea with (unspecific) details of his origin. He is found and brought up by an abbot, but when revealed as a foundling leaves as a knight to seek his origins; he rescues his mother's land from attack, and marries her. On discovering his sin he undertakes years of penance on a rocky islet, which he survives miraculously. An angel sends emissaries from Rome to find him after the death of the pope, the key to his shackles is equally miraculously discovered, and he becomes pope. This hagiographical romance is not a variation upon Oedipus; it uses the invisible sin of incest as a parallel both for original sin (the sin of Adam and Eve) and for actual sin. It combines the universal theme of the quest for identity with the problem not of guilt as such, which is inevitable, but of how sinful humanity can cope with it. Brian Murdoch traces the story's probable origins in medieval England or France, and its later appearance in versions from Iceland and Ireland to Iraq and Egypt, in verse and prose, in full-scale literary forms or in much-reduced folktales, in theological as well as secular contexts, down to Thomas Mann and beyond.

This scholarly study explores the moral and religious philosophy of Serbian folk poetry and makes its literary treasures available to English speakers. This thorough and well-documented study examines the theology and anthropology of the Serbian folk epic. The book opens a new field in Slavic folklore and offers scholars material previously unavailable in English. The work also sheds light on the soul of Serbian national culture. A scholar of Eastern European culture and history, Krstivoj Kotur investigates a number of fascinating topics, including conceptions of God; man’s relationship to culture and civilization; the transcendentalism of Serbian folk poets; the deep ontological, cosmic, and theurgic character of the heroes of the Serbian folk epic; and many others.