Manastir Pavlovac: Neobjavljena arhivska građa

Abstract

After the introductory author's note, which explains the context of the publication and its purpose, as well as the circumstances in which it arose, the author in the first chapter entitled Holy Mount of Kosmaj: From the Age of King Dragutin to the Age of despot Stefan Lazarević in a detailed manner provides an introduction to the historical-topographic and ideological-sacral frame of the mountain Kosmaj in Šumadija in which the late medieval monastery Pavlovac (Pavlovci) is located. sing the primary sources, but also historiographical data here in a very reliable manner is provided a vault of knowledge about this area, the significance of the holy mountain as a special cult idiom, as well as micro toponymy in the immediate environment. In the second chapter entitled ”By the grace of God, Lord of the Serbs Despot Stefan. In Pavlovci”. Unpublished archival documents about the monastery” the author provides a complex discussion enriched with valuable comments from diplomatic, archaeological, hagiographic, and archival sources. Examination and digitization of archival material is the only way to preserve the data from oblivion. By carefully observing the documentation, it is possible to understand what knowledge the architects came to. The architects often worked in rather difficult conditions, in inaccessible terrain. In the photographs taken by the architect Đurđe Bošković in Pavlovac, the characteristics mentioned above of the terrain can be seen, in the most immediate surroundings, but also in the interior of the church. Despite all the difficulties, Bošković, in a technique that seems to resemble the technique of free drawing, still conveys the detailed dimensions of the church. His efforts seem more incredible because he records all the details of the foundations and upper construction. The discovery of these drawings of Pavlovac monastery turned out to show the most precisely recorded dimensions of all elements of the church, as well as that all sketches with notes represent the most complete insight into the true condition of this monastic church several decades before archaeological reconnaissance began. Analogue photographic material, notes, and free and technical architectural drawings as carriers of memory are obvious examples of marginal topics in the interpretation of Serbian medieval architecture that do not belong to any sub-discipline of art history and, therefore, were forgotten. However, it turned out that the documentation of the architect Đurđe Bošković, as well as the documentation of other architects who were engaged in the last century in the restorations of the Serbian architectural heritage of the Middle Ages, concerns all of us. Photographic material in the legacy of Bošković as a carrier of the memory touches on important places in the history of Serbian medieval architecture, as well as the scientific method. The available data can be an incentive for detailed examinations of all documents of this type since their exactness testifies to the living interests in restoring the cultural heritage of Kosmaj, the unbreakable connection between monasteries Pavlovac and Tresije, as well as new readings of the forgotten world of Despot Stefan Lazarević.