Constantine (or Konstantin) of Kostenets (born c. 1380, died after 1431),^[1] also known as Konstantin Kostenechki (Bulgarian: Константин Костенечки) and Constantine the Philosopher (Serbian: Константин Филозоф), was a medieval Bulgarian writer and chronicler. He is most famous for his biography of Serbian despot Stefan Lazarević and for writing the first Serbian philological study, Skazanije o pismenah (A History on the Letters). Serbian (српски језик; srpski jezik) is one of the standard versions of the Shtokavian dialect, used primarily in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, and by Serbs everywhere. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ... The term writer can apply to anyone who creates a written work, but the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... Generally a chronicle (Latin chronica, from Greek Χρόνος) is historical account of facts and events in chronological order. ... This is an article on biographies. ... Anthem Serbia() on the European continent() Capital (and largest city) Belgrade Official languages Serbian written with the Cyrillic alphabet1 Government Parliamentary republic  -  President Boris Tadić  -  Prime Minister Vojislav KoÅ¡tunica Establishment  -  Formation 8th century   -  Independence c. ... The Serbian Despotate (Serbian: Српска деспотовина or Srpska despotovina) was among the last Serbian states to be conquered by the Ottoman Empire. ... Despot Stefan Lazarevićs Coat of Arms 1415 AD Despot Stefan Lazarević (Serbian Cyrillic: Стефан Лазаревић) (1374-1427) was the son and heir to Lazar (Serbian: Кнез Лазар), the Serbian prince who died at the Battle of Kosovo against the Turks in 1389, and princess Milica (Милица) from the subordinate branch of the Nemanjić (Немањић) dynasty. ... Philology is the study of ancient texts and languages. ...

Biography

Constantine was born in Bulgaria, probably in the town of Kostenets,^[2] which he later took as his surname. In his youth, he attended school in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria, and was taught by Andronik, a pupil of Patriarch Evtimiy of Bulgaria. He continued his studies on Mount Athos and in Constantinople. The Ottoman conquest of Tarnovo in 1393 drove him away and he settled in Stefan Lazarević's Serbia, probably around 1402. He was warmly welcomed by the Despot, also a man of letters and a benefactor of education, and was given the position of educator at his palace in Belgrade. Constantine also frequented Manasija monastery, where he helped establish the Serbian "Resava School" of literature. His high education, life experience and traveling earned him the nickname of "Filozof" (Philosopher), after Saint Cyril the Philosopher. On top of the travels in his youth, he traveled to the Holy Land and, judging by his description of three missions to the palaces of eastern rulers (Timur, Musa and Mehmed I), he may also have participated.^[3] Kostenets is a town located in Sofia Province in southwestern Bulgaria, 70 km from Sofia. ... Veliko Tarnovo (Bulgarian: Велико Търново; also transliterated as Veliko Turnovo) is a city in central northern Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. ... Capital Karyes Languages Koine Greek, Church Slavonic (both liturgical), as well as Modern Greek, Russian, Serbian, Georgian, Bulgarian, Romanian (civil) Head of State Greek Minister of For. ... Map of Constantinople. ... Motto: دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem: Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1680, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299-1326) Bursa (1326-1365) Edirne (1365-1453) Constantinople (Istanbul) (1453-1922) Language(s) Ottoman Turkish Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 Osman I  - 1918–1922 Mehmed VI... Belgrade (Serbian: Београд or Beograd  ) is the capital and the largest city of Serbia. ... Fresco portrait of Despot Stefan Lazarević in Manasija 1407-1418. ... The expression The Holy Land (Hebrew ארץ הקודש: Standard Hebrew Éreẓ haQodeÅ¡, Tiberian Hebrew ʾÉreá¹£ haqQāḏēš; Latin Terra Sancta; Arabic الأرض المقدسة, al-Arḍ ul-Muqaddasah) generally refers to the Land of Israel. ... Statue of Timur in Shahrisabz, Uzbekistan TÄ«mÅ«r bin Taraghay Barlas (Chagatai Turkic: تیمور - TÄ“mōr, iron) (1336 – February 1405) was a 14th-century warlord of Turco-Mongol descent[1][2][3][4], conqueror of much of Western and central Asia, and founder of the Timurid Empire (1370–1405... The Ottoman Interregnum (also known as the Ottoman Triumvirate; Fetret Devri in Turkish) was a period in the beginning of the 15th century when chaos reigned in the Ottoman Empire following the defeat of Sultan Bayezid I in 1402 by the Tatar warlord Tamerlane. ... Sultan Mehmet I Mehmed I Çelebi (nicknamed Kirisci, the Executioner) (1389 – May 26, 1421) was a sultan of the Ottoman Empire. ...

After the Despot's death in 1427, Constantine left Belgrade and entered into the service of Cesar Uglješa, in the area of Vranje, where he later died.^[3] Vranje (Врање) is a city located in Serbia and Montenegro at 42. ...

Constantine's work had a tremendous impact on medieval Serbian literature and education. He introduced many classical Greek elements of literature and philosophy. His frequent citing of ancient philosophers and comparisons of the Despot in the Biography caused many to consider him a precursor to the Renaissance which, due to Ottoman conquest, never occurred in Serbian culture.^[3] This article describes the ancient classical period: for the classical period in music (second half of the 18th century): see Classical music era. ... Raphael was famous for depicting illustrious figures of the Classical past with the features of his Renaissance contemporaries. ...

Biography of Despot Stefan Lazarević

After Despot Stefan's death in 1427, the Serbian Patriarch Nikon ordered Constantine to write the Despot's biography. That order was only fulfilled four years later, after Stefan himself allegedly appeared in Constantine's dream and restated Nikon's order. The biography is one of the most interesting in the old Serbian literature because it contains not only the data on the Despot's life, but also geographic data and thorough descriptions of numerous historical events. He was apparently inspired by the Empire chronicles of Byzantine historians. The Biography of Despot Stefan Lazarević (Житија деспота Стефана Лазаревића) begins with a geographic description of Serbia's natural beauties, going on to describe of its residents, praising their character but also mourning their forthcoming fall to the Turks. An exhaustive story of court events and the Despot's life follows, with numerous Biblical and antic references, but also with numerous historical data which have proven invaluable to later historians. On several occasions, Constantine used acrostics, with three masterpiece instances: in the introduction verses, in the titles of central chapters, and finally, in the verses telling of his sorrow for the deceased Despot.^[3] Generally a chronicle (Latin chronica, from Greek Χρόνος) is historical account of facts and events in chronological order. ... The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... The Bible (From Greek βιβλια—biblia, meaning books, which in turn is derived from βυβλος—byblos meaning papyrus, from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported papyrus) is the sacred scripture of Christianity. ... An acrostic (from the late Greek akróstichon, from ákros, extreme, and stíchos, verse) is a poem or other writing in an alphabetic script, in which the first letter, syllable or word of each verse, paragraph or other recurring feature in the text spells out another message. ...

References

Further reading

• "Живот и дейност на Константина Костенецки", Юрдан Трифонов, Списание БАН 66, 1943, pp 223-292. (Bulgarian)
• Житије деспота Стефана Лазаревића (excerpts), Project Rastko (Serbian)