Legal position of foreigners in mediaeval Serbia

Abstract

In the mediaeval Serbia we could find a big number of foreigners, living there either temporarily or permanently. The foreigners were mostly engaged in trade and mining, but some of them were the King's (Tsar's) noblemen or servants and some were mercenaries in the army. All those persons that Serbian rulers call 'my royal (or imperial) noblemen' were not always Serbs. Among the noblemen there were different nations, such as Greeks (Byzantines), Germans, Albanians, Latins (Roman-Catholics from maritime towns). The trade in the mediaeval Serbia was controlled by Ragusans (Dubrovčani), who obtained privileges from Serbian rulers since the year 1186. The miners in Serbia were from German (Saxon) origin and that is the reason why people called them Sasi (Saxons). It is very well known that the Serbian rulers had the mercenary army, but about the legal status of those soldiers we do not know anything for certain.

Keywords

• noblemen
• Ragusan merchants
• Saxons
• mercenaries
• charters
• Dušan's Law Code