GRAND KNEZ STEPHEN VUKANOVIĆ AND THE MORAČ A MONASTERY

The Morača Monastery was built in the mid-13th century by Grand knez (prince) Stephen Vukanović, a member of a cadet branch of the Nemanjić dynasty (1166–1371), as his burial place. Interpreting the actions its founder reveals interesting details about the relationship of the center of power with the political periphery, ruling ideology, and the monk’s place in society. The completion of the frescoes and other ornamentation at this monastic church of the Dormition of the Mother of God and Stephen’s withdrawal from his political life to take monastic vows partially coincides with the action of King Uroš I (1243–1276), who consolidated his royal power during this time by eliminating the principalities in the Serbian coastal regions. Prince Stephen’s transition to life as a hermit may have gone through two stages that included tonsuring and then admission into the Great Schema. These actions were motivated by his personal piety and his age or by a desire to emulate the Nemanjić dynasty’s model of sanctity–which was a key feature of the ruling dynasty’s political ideology–or were possibly the result of political upheaval.