On September 26, an exhibition of books and periodicals “Vladimir and Kosara in history, legends and art”, whose authors are Milenija Vračar, consultant librarian, and Iva Vujović, librarian was opened in the National Library of Montenegro within the European Heritage Days.
The exhibition was opened by Željko Milović, writer, journalist and publicist. He spoke about the importance of the Legend of Vladimir and Kosara in the national and international cultural context, about its universality and eternity.
The legend of Vladimir and Kosara – The oldest and the most beautiful love story in Montenegrin history is related to Vladimir, the King of Duklja. During a war with the Bulgarian Emperor Samuel, he was imprisoned in the year 998 at the court in Prespa. The merciful Emperor’s daughter Kosara went to see the slaves in the cellar of the court every day and she fell in love with the beautiful man from Duklja who received bread and water from her. The Emperor’s daughter persuaded her father to allow her to marry the famous prisoner. King Vladimir, when back home, became very popular with the people and so Samuel’s heir, Emperor Vladislav decided to destroy him. He lured Vladimir to Prespa, sending him a wooden cross as a guarantee of his safety, and then he killed him. Because Vladimir’s cult started to spread, Vladislav allowed Kosara to transport Vladimir’s remains to Duklja. In the Precista Krajinska monastery on the lake of Skadar, Vladimir was buried with the wooden cross. Here, Kosara spent her remaining days as a nun under the name of Teodora and was buried next to her husband’s feet, at her own wish. The cult of the first saint from Duklja quickly spread to the neighboring lands – Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, and beyond.
The audience enjoyed the poetry of Mladen Lompar, whose verses were interpreted by actor Zoran Vujović. He read two poems about Vladimir and Kosara: “Prelude” and “Kosara’s Coronets”.
For all those who are interested and were not able to attend the event, we would like to emphasize that the exhibition setting can be viewed in the hall of the building of the former Italian Embassy in Cetinje.
