The myth of Sokol, in which Stefanica could not even be mentioned

We arrived at the very foot of the Sokolski karsts from the western side, from the direction of Orašan in Kosijeri.

The whole area was in deep oblivion for decades, but interest in it has grown again in the past years. There are more and more people who visit and explore the Sokol Karst in smaller or larger groups. The reason is that on the top of that rocky massif, on an inaccessible ridge, rises a hidden Crnojević nest.

Traces

Sokol stands in a strategically important place, high above the rocky sea at the border between Rijeka and Lješanska nahija. Just above the ancient road route that ascended from the Zetska Plain from Karuč via cascade terraces along Rvaše and Peleše, via Zagora and Đalac to Orašani.

The wider surroundings of the Sokolski karsts are interwoven with stories related to Ivanbeg. Like the prehistoric hillfort on Bršeć more Kosijerski Korita "which was built by Ivan". Or the Ceraza Maidan near Selište in Orašani "from where Ivan took the mill for the construction of Soko-grad, because he had nowhere else to come from". Or "Ivan's chairs" in Prni Dolovi in ​​Orašani. Or the land-border "Ivan's Church" in Podsokol at the beginning of Đinovići, which was probably built in earlier centuries.

The legend of the origin

We have said many times that there are many buildings associated with Ivan Crnojević that he could not have had contact with, because they originate from an earlier time. But several buildings from his era that were built by others are also attributed to him. Like the Falcon. Whereby it is very possible that in those legends they were originally talking about Stefanica Crnojević.

This is evidenced by the example of Divan-grad nad Grbavci, where Stefanica is mentioned in the older note, and Ivan in the younger one. Historical reasons and needs made Ivanbeg occupy a central place in the Montenegrin understanding of the past. The image that was created among the people during the 18th and 19th centuries is evidenced by the "legend about the origin of Sokol", which was recorded by Đuro Špadijer in 1895 in Štitare.

Fireplace in Vujović's home in Štitare

"They told me that this city was created in the following way; when Ivo Crnojević lost Žabljak and the small town of Obod on Rijeka, he fled to these rugged regions, where the Turks had not yet reached. Going like that, he looked around, where he could fence a small town, to take shelter from the enemy, who could no longer be resisted. That's why he came here near the hill of Vodnik near Međeđe voda and there he found the old priest Šćepan from Kosijer and asked him where he could fence a small town. The Pope, since he knew these parts well, said to him: to this hill, where the ruins of Ivan's city are now. Ivo liked this place, because the water was close to him, so he fenced off this town, where, they said, he lived for about 32 years" ("Voice of Crnogorca" dated 11.11.1895/XNUMX/XNUMX).

Sentimentalism

Thus, historical reasons led to the fact that all other significant personalities disappeared from memory and that Ivan Bey's halo hung over Sokol to the extent that over time it was called Ivan's city. This in itself would not be so controversial if this fallacy did not occupy a dominant place in popular memory, and even in historiographical memory. Quite simply, few people take into account the fact that Sokol was built in Stefanica's time and that the circumstances surrounding its creation should first of all be linked to Stefanica.

Ancient housing in Donji Đalci

It seems that strong sentimentality plays a decisive role in this. Because, what and who is Stefanica Crnojević (about whom most people either know nothing or have a hazy image) according to Ivanbeg, a "hero's knee" who "fought like a fool with the Turks on all sides through mountains of blood". Who would even take care of Stefanica's forgotten battles and victories in this order of things.

A living memory

Tying Sokol to Ivanbeg increased the intrigue of that fortification. Because everything that was in any way attributed to "Lord Ivo" acquired sacred status in popular psychology, aroused curiosity and ignited the imagination. This is exactly what Vuk Karadžić testifies to when he writes that in Montenegro the memory of Ivanbeg is alive to such an extent that one gets the impression "as if it were yesterday". Ivan was obviously talked about at every turn with undisguised enthusiasm. At the same time, in the foreground was not so much the number of stories about Ivanbeg, but his unusual "presence" in the present. This, therefore, is the deeper point of Karadžić's note about "living memory".

The remains of Divan-grad above Grbavac

De Sommier

This detail has great potential because it points to a forgotten psychological-mentality specificity, which Vijala de Sommier talks about in his travelogue ("Historical and political trip to Montenegro", published for the first time in 1820). Around 1810, this French officer recorded many precious details of the old folk psychology at the last minute. Among other things, the way Montenegrins treated the "souls of the ancestors". At the same time, Somijer appears as a typical intellectual of his era who looks down and with contempt on any irrational customs and beliefs. But we are not interested in his enlightened-rationalist tone and attitude towards "superstition". Much more important are precious grains from folk life, such as a note about the "living communication" that people have with their ancestors.

Imagination

This should be carefully considered. In one place, Somijer describes the "horror caused by excommunicated persons, buried outside the cemetery" among Montenegrins. He adds that Montenegrins "stay away from that place, and if they remember it, they believe that they are haunted by ghosts." He then states that "nowhere is the belief in ghosts, witches and apparitions as rooted as in Montenegro", as well as that "spooks, apparitions and obsessions are constantly present in the imagination of Montenegrins".

After this comes the most important part. He says that "individuals believe that they see the shadows of their ancestors floating in the clouds and above their heads, speak to them in the silence of the night, make them hear voices", and that they "talk to the shadows and send messages to other deceased members".

Moreover, "in the delirium of imagination, they imagine that they themselves openly communicate with the other world". Someone will say that Somijer "scolded" us, but it seems that he did not exaggerate as much as it seems at first. Because, a good part of this superstition has been maintained until our time. Should we be reminded of the importance that anathema still has in Montenegrin political life?

Ivanbeg's "presence"

But why are we even doing this? Here we are not interested in the "delirium of imagination", but this experience of the "presence" of ancestral souls. Because, in order for someone to develop a tendency to "communicate with the shadows of ancestors", he must first believe that "ancestors" can somehow reside in the present, right next to us. Or “over us”. This is a remnant of a very ancient, primitive psychology, traces of which are found in numerous cultures. As for the Montenegrin tradition, we can trace the relapses of this belief all the way back to the metaphor about ancestral souls that "played out over Cetinje today". I don't want to go deeper into that question, but on a collective-psychological level, a connection can easily be established between this "presence" and the "living" mass memory of a prominent ancestral figure. Ranging from symbolism to the metaphysical dimension. As was the case with Ivanbeg. It was against this backdrop that "Ivan's Town" had to gain such a prominent role in the collective "memory". Because it was linked with Oboda and other topos in Ivanbeg's mythical "map". Within which they played the role of Ivan's passing strongholds in the retreat towards Cetinje, reminding at the same time of the days of old glory and the direction from where the state hearth was brought among the "hard mountains".

Holy cross

The image of Ivanbeg took a form in the 19th century that did not change for a long time. Precisely because of strong sentimentalism. A beautiful illustration of this Ivanbeg mythology can be found in a travelogue from 1887 through a story about the role and importance of Sokol.

"Looking once again at this memorable antiquity of our chivalrous ancestors, about which few people knew until now, and even fewer visited it, we return to the question: what was this fortress for and what could it have been for? So let's take a look into history to see if it could answer this question. From the middle of the XNUMXth century, the Turk became so strong in Europe that almost everything fell at his mercy... No one in Europe even thought of resistance against this power; everything was obeyed or removed.

In such a position, surrounded by the Turks on all sides, and abandoned by the whole world, the only Ivan-bey does not lose heart, but everything is being prepared for a desperate fight. He leaves the tame and level-headed Zeta, and finally leaves his capital Žabljak, and retreats into the karst, into misery, and the tun remains. Not a single voice of participation, not a single consolation, and not a single bow of hope. "A sad sorghum with nowhere to be." But God is with him; and he hoped only in God and in his iron will and the heroic chests of his bravest Montenegrins... So he yielded before the one who conquered many empires and defeated many emperors, and whom no one was able to oppose; however, Ivan-bey did not completely give in there either.

View from Sokol to the southwest

On the one hand, he builds churches and monasteries in the name of St. The Virgin and under her holy roof he was not afraid to stand and build a wonderful castle, which was admired at the time; and on the other hand, this holy karst claims cities and moats. The city on Obod and the city on Sokol were the biggest; and there were several other small towns and ditches like on Gradac, on Velja gora and on other heads, so that every entry between these breaches was sealed off. It was not a preparation for defense for a moment, but it was for a fight for the ages. Therefore, the one who worked in this way was inspired by the spirit of invincibility, and thanks be to the Most Holy Mother of God, his invincible spirit remained among these chivalrous violations until now, both in his noble successors and in the brave Montenegrins, and will remain..." ( "Put na Ivan grad", "Glas Crnogorca" from September 20.9.1887, XNUMX).

"Falcon"

This is how the picture of Ivanbeg and Sokol looked at the end of the 19th century, in which there was no room for Stefanica Crnojević. Folk tradition linked this fort exclusively to Stefanica's son, almost until the end of Nikola's era. Andrija Jovićević in his "Rijeka Nahija" in 1911 does not for a moment doubt that the Sokol was erected by someone else. Only Jovan Cvijić, in a remark in that book by Jovićević (CID, Podgorica, 1999, 180), pointed out the mention of Sokol in the Venetian sources, published in the 19th century by Šime Ljubić (Lists X, 21). He says that Ivan's city "exactly Soko (Castelo del Falcon)" is mentioned, as well as Žabljak even before Ivan Crnojević as one of the cities of Stefan Crnojević in 1453. Therefore, it is not about Ivan's work. We'll see how complex that story is.

Gallery