Medieval Bosnia and South-East European Relations

Dženan Dautović is a doctoral researcher at the University of Sarajevo specializing in the history and historiography of medieval Bosnia and the Papacy. Emir O. Filipović is a Lecturer in medieval Bosnian history at the University of Sarajevo specializing in heraldry, chivalry, and the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans. Neven Isailović (Faculty of Philosophy, Belgrade) specializes in the political and social history of the medieval Balkans.

This stimulating volume of seven essays focuses principally on Bosnia and its hinterland in the high and later medieval period. In a short introduction, the editors state their desire to illuminate a region “overlooked by western historiography” and to help integrate the history of Bosnia into “dominant general narratives of the Middle Ages”. [...] The essays are edited and formatted to a high standard and written in accessible and clear English. The individual subheadings for each contribution and a thorough general index of seven pages mean non-specialists will find the volume easy to navigate, although the inclusion of a map to make sense of the panoply of settlements, rivers, and regions mentioned throughout would have been helpful. Scholars of various disciplines will find much of interest, given the broad thematic and chronological range of the contributions. In short, the volume fills important gaps in historical research, serves a genuine need for high-quality and accessible Anglophone scholarship on lesser-studied areas of Europe, and sets a fine example for any future endeavors in the field to follow.

• Introduction, Dženan Dautović, Emir O. Filipović and Neven Isailović1. Bosnia and Croatia-Dalmatia in the Late Middle Ages: A Historical Perspective, Neven Isailović2. The Role of Neighbouring Countries in the Relationship between the Bosnian Kingdom and the Serbian Despotate, Enes Dedić3. The Opposition between Bulgaria and the Latin Empire of Constantinople: A Necessary Hostility?, Francesco Dall’Aglio4. Ottoman Power Holders in the Balkans (1353–1580): A Case of Upward and Downward Elite Mobility, Günes Iṣiksel5. Exploiting the Frontier—A Case Study: the Common Endeavour of Matthias Corvinus and Nicholas of Ilok in Late Medieval Bosnia, Davor Salihović6. The Papacy and Marriage Practices in Medieval Bosnia, Dženan Dautović7. Ecclesiastical Reformer and Politician: The Two Faces of Bishop Stephen II of Zagreb, Igor RazumSelect Bibliography