The inscription on the fresco “St. Nicholas takes basil from the house of Emir” in the church of St. Nicholas in Ramaća as a historical source

Abstract

This paper explores the contents and historical context of the Cyrillic inscription written in old Serbian language with some Turkish words on the fresco “St. Nicholas takes Basil from the house of Emir” from the Church of St. Nicholas in Ramaća. Based on an analysis of the historical circumstances and events that took place at the end of the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth century on the Balkan Peninsula and especially in the Lazarević Principality, it is assumed that the presence of Turkish words in the mentioned inscription implies the influences of Islamic heterodox dervishes in the Christian milieu. The dating of the fresco painting from the Church in Ramaća can be narrowed down to the time of the reign of Stefan Lazarević. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 177025]

Keywords

• St. Nicholas
• Ramaća
• Despot Stefan Lazarević
• baba’is itinerant dervishes
• Celebi
• Tengri Sultan
• Ottomans