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12 Dead Kings and National Myths: Why Myths of Founding and Martyrdom Are Important Sabrina P. Ramet* The use of myths and religion in politics has a long history. Myths can establish a claim to dynastic legitimacy, to coveted territory, to glory, even to sainthood on the part of the central figure in a myth. Canonization is, in its own right, an especially powerful tool. There are, of course, diverse reasons for elevating someone to sainthood—among them: the desire to hold up for emulation a particularly pious and kind person, the wish to gratify the inhabitants of a certain country or region by honoring one of their own, the calculation that the creation of a national saint will help to promote the Christianization of a land in which pre-Christian beliefs still hold some sway, and even the endeavor to delegitimize a regime, as per the canonization of Tsar Nicholas II by the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000, which served to complete the delegitimizing of the Bolsheviks, now cast as slayers of a saint. Of particular interest to us here, however, is the conferral of sainthood upon a king, as a device to confer legitimacy upon that king’s line or to sacralize the cause allegedly championed by that king.1 Myths may evolve and the representation of a king may change over time; in this regard, Serbia is no exception. In fact, where Serbia is concerned, one can speak of a choice among a number of possible candidates for the role of central mythical hero: To begin with, one might think of Saint Sava (1175–1235), Serbia’s first archbishop and one of the sons of Stefan Nemanja. Recognized as Serbia’s most * I am grateful to Thomas A. Emmert and Dragana Dulić, as well as the anonymous reviewers for the press, for comments on an earlier draft of this chapter. Any errors which remain in the text are the responsibility solely of the author. important saint, Sava established the Serbian Orthodox Church. His importance is emphasized by the dedication of Serbia’s largest cathedral to his memory. But Saint Sava is ill-equipped to serve as the central figure in the national myth, since he was not a political figure. A second candidate might be Tsar Dušan the Mighty (Stefan Uroš IV Dušan, 1308–1355). Dušan—who reigned as King of Serbia from 1331 to 1346 and thenceforth as emperor (tsar)—extended the borders of the state until it became one of Europe’s larger states; he presented a legal code at congresses held in 1349 and 1354; he defeated Hungary on two separate occasions and annexed a large portion of Byzantine territory in southeastern Europe. He has often been described as the greatest Serbian ruler of all time. However, in 1354, hoping that Pope Innocent IV would appoint him to command a crusade against the Turks, Tsar Dušan sent a legation to Rome to offer, in exchange for the pope’s endorsement, to recognize the pope as the successor of St. Peter and Vicar of Christ.2 Insofar as this would have meant abandoning the Orthodox faith for the Catholic faith, Dušan was not the ideal choice to play the role of central figure in the national myth (although there is still some debate about his willingness to abandon Orthodoxy). A third possibility would be Stefan Nemanja (1109–1199), who reigned as Grand Prince from 1166 until his abdication in 1196. He might seem to have been an ideal choice insofar as he both unified various small Serb states into a single state, thus ranking as a statebuilder and achieved sainthood when, after his death, several miracles were attributed to his intercession. He also had good claim to the title of a defender of the Christian faith, insofar as he persecuted the Bogomils and burned their books, viewing them as heretics. Finally, acting at a time when Serbs were facing a choice between Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, Stefan Nemanja opted for the latter. He eventually abdicated in favor of his second son, and, together with his wife, took monastic vows. Had the cult of Stefan Nemanja been promoted in Serbia in the 1980s and 1990s, that saint’s association with state-building and piety might have lent itself to reinforcing forces for political moderation in Serbia. To put the case in simple terms, what would be needed, at the time of national revival (in the nineteenth century) was a king...

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