"…across hills and fields and deserts he went looking for a place on which to build the desired family, the silent home. Having found the most suitable and the best site to build the home and having said a prayer, he approached the task and laid the foundations in the name of the Holy Trinity, universal Divinity…" /Constantine the Philosopher, 15th century/

By Dragana Tasić
Photo by Dragan Bosnić

Thus began construction of the Manasija (Resava) Monastery in the year 6915 (the period between September 1^st, 1406, and August 31^st, 1407).

The founding charter of the monastery has, unfortunately, not been preserved. The precise and direct data about events in Serbia during the first decades of the 15^th century and, above all, the invaluable biography of Despot Stefan Lazarević — the founder of Manasija and a man who left an indelible mark on Serbian medieval history — was written by Constantine the Philosopher, a Bulgarian. The original text of the Life of Despot Stefan Lazarević has not been preserved, but copies dating from the 15^th -17^th centuries testify to the importance of this work for Serbian literature and culture. Fleeing the Turks, Constantine found refuge in Serbia, as did many wise and educated men such as monks, writers and artists, to whom Serbian Despot offered shelter.

The Manasija Monastery, also known as Resava, was built two kilometres northwest from the town of Despotovac, in the picturesque ravine. Construction of the monumental mausoleum and the fortified town lasted about a decade, with breaks. During this period, a church, large refectory, lodgings, adjacent buildings, towers and walls, fortifications with protective walls and trenches were constructed.

The five-domed church dedicated to the Holy Trinity is the greatest monument of the so-called Morava School, the last period of Serbian medieval art, in terms of its size, complex architecture and wealth of wall-paintings. 

Monastery founder Despot Stefan built Manasija to serve as his mausoleum; in its grandeur, his resting place surpassed everything ever built in the Pomoravlje. The monumental and imposing Church of Manasija, together with the contemporary monuments (Ravanica, Ljubostinja, Kalenić, Gornjak, Pavlica…), bear witness to the last great artistic achievement of Morava's Serbia on the eve of its fall (1459) and subsequent domination for several-centuries by the Ottoman Turks. The refectory was built parallel to the church, and is one of the largest known structures in medieval Serbia, which was completely covered in frescoes. The monastery compound was encircled and protected by strong walls with eleven towers and trenches. Safe and powerful, this town became one of the largest in medieval Serbia.

The Church of Manasija Monastery was consecrated on the feast of Pentecost /Whitsun/ in 1418, after about 2,000 square metres of frescoes had been painted. Only a quarter of the paintings survived, but even these are among the most beautiful in the outstandingly rich treasure of old Serbian painting. History records that Despot Stefan invested great effort in finding the "most honoured and skillful workers, the most experienced icon painters". Luxury and grandeur, refinement and nobility emanate from the frescoes of Manasija. Scenes abound in lavish buildings, expensive furniture, figures in gilded robes. Everything is gilded, ornate and opulent. The famous "holy warriors" of Resava, painted in the choir, are not gloomy soldiers on the eve of battle but proud knights assembled for inspection. "All of the chivalrous elegance of Despot's time is fully expressed on the frescoes of Manasija".

Resava's frescoes also reflect Constantine's description of protocol at Despot's court: "… He has accepted (Despot Stefan) all the remarkable habits, including clothing, weapons, horse riding and positions at the table in accordance with rank… Shouting or trumping, laughing or clumsy clothing shouldn't even be mentioned and everybody dressed in bright clothes that he himself had provided for them." This was a milieu of refined taste and poetry, which he himself wrote had to result in such painting. In Resava there is also a most magnificent portrait of Despot Stefan. What is revolutionary in the paintings of Manasija is that a picture becomes the solemn image of the contemporary life. According to Byzantinist Prof. Dr. Vojislav Đurić, "Everyone who entered the church at that time saw members of society they had met at that time. To the rich, it was a warning, to others a lesson, and to the Church a new contribution and a hitherto unknown adornment – Resava's "genre-picture" is a unique fulfillment of the Byzantine style."

In the narthex is a relatively well preserved mosaic floor made of marble in various colours that was recently restored.

The Death of Despot Stefan (1427) brought "troubled and hard" times to the despotate.

Just 20 years after its construction, Manasija was conquered by the Turks (in 1439) and in 1456 was burned down. Five hundred years of "terrible killings and slavery" left the imprint of destruction. Plundered, burned and devastated, the monastery served the Turks as a fortification, its Church as a stable, and the Austrian army used it as an armory. Due to its good construction and care by some monks and the people living around it, the monastery managed to a degree to survive "many malevolent and unbearable temptations."

Only at the end of the 18^th century did the Turks finally withdraw from Manasija and the monastery returned to life within a liberated Serbia.

One of the most outstanding figures from Serbian medieval history is Stefan Lazarević, born around 1377, who was a prince from 1389 to 1402 and a despot from 1402 to 1427. Historical sources speak of him as a brave warrior, a knight, an intelligent and cautious politician, an attractive and educated man, well-versed in Byzantine and European cultures, a talented writer and poet alike. In the hard times of the Turkish invasion on the Balkans, the Despot's reign was more marked by wars than by peace.

After the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 and Prince Lazar's death, two powers were vying for the Balkans – Turkey and Hungary. Stefan's mother and Lazar's widow Princess Milica, a wise and brave woman, together with the patriarch and chancellors, came to a decision to adhere to Bayezid for the sake of Serbia. Like heroes from the Greek tragedies, she sacrificed her most precious treasure – her children – on the altar of history The youngest daughter, Stefan's sister Olivera, was sent to Bayezid's harem in the capital Bursa and young Stefan took an oath and became a vassal of the Turkish sultan who had killed his father. In the famous Battle of Angora (1402) against Tamerlane (Tatars), Stefan and his Serbs protected the withdrawing defeated Turkish army. Bayezid was captured. In Constantinople, Stefan Lazarević received from the Byzantine Emperor the title of Despot – a rank second only to the Emperor's, according to the Byzantine ceremonial. With the end of his vassal status finished the tragic drama of Stefan's youth.

Upon his return to Serbia, resolute to reconstruct his despotate, Stefan recognised the authority of Sigismund of Luxemburg, the German Emperor and the King of Hungary, thus becoming his vassal. He enlarged Serbia and Sigismund awarded him Belgrade as a lifetime present. Belgrade became the new capital of a very strong Serbia, its political and cultural centre. Stefan enjoyed great respect in the West as a wise and brave ruler and was considered the "shield" of Christianity. A German chronicler notes that "Despot is a very attractive man, sincere, just and peaceable".

Despot Stefan Lazarević died of heart attack while hunting, on July 19^th, 1427. He is buried in his memorial church. During his reign Serbia breathed with full lungs for the last time before the invincible Turkish power threw it into centuries of servitude.