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The Myth of Skanderbeg is one of the main constitutive myths of Albanian nationalism. Albanian nationalist writers transformed Skanderbeg's history into myth and thus his figure and deeds became a mixture of historical facts, truths, half-truths, inventions, and folklore. The Myth of Skanderbeg is the only myth of Albanian nationalism that is based on a person; the others are based on ideas, abstract concepts, and collectivism. There are two different Skanderbegs today: the historic Skanderbeg, and a mythic national hero as presented in Albanian schools and nationalist intellectuals in Tirana and Pristina.
Contents
- Antemurale Christianitatis
- Serbianization of Skanderbeg
- Albanisation of Skanderbeg
- Exploits of Skanderbegs figure
- Consequences
- Scientific research of the Myth of Skanderbeg
- Literature
- References
From the 16th to the early 19th century Skanderbeg's fame survived mainly in Christian Europe and was based on perception of Skanderbeg being Antemurale Christianitatis against invading Turks. In largely Islamized Albania of this period his fame faded, to be rediscovered at the end of 19th century when the figure of Skanderbeg was brought to the level of national hero.
Antemurale Christianitatis
Skanderbeg is built in part of the antemurale myth complex which portrays Albanians united by Skanderbeg as protectors of the nation and Christendom against "invading Turks". In the 16th century, the "Defence against the Turks" had become a central topic in East Central and South East Europe. It was put in functional use and served as a propaganda tool and to mobilize religious feelings of the population. People who participated in campaigns against the Ottoman Empire were referred to as “antemurale Christianitatis” (the protective wall of Christianity). The Pope Calixtus III gave Skanderbeg the title Athleta Christi, or Champion of Christ. Furthermore, during the 18th century the Myth of Skanderbeg was moulded and transformed to suit the taste and the anxieties of the British readers.
Under the influence of the Myth of Skanderbeg and antemurale myth, the Albanian Catholic clergy seems to understand the figure of Mother Teresa as Skanderbeg's ideological heir who completes his task of guarding the boundaries of Catholicism and Albanianism, introducing a new era after the end of glorious era that culminated with Skanderbeg. In contrast to the Skanderbegs' myths of Albanian Christians, the Myth of Skanderbeg of Albania's Muslim community had a positive outcome because the glory of the Illirian era did not end with Skanderbeg, but continued into the Ottoman era.
Serbianization of Skanderbeg
While Greek references to Skanderbeg were used up, Serbian historians, often contradictorily, used Skanderbeg as a symbol of joint Serbian-Albanian progress (1866). On the other hand, forty years later, in a different political environment, the faded memory of Skanderbeg among a large portion of Albanians was used as evidence of a lack of an ethnic identity and even the said Serbian character of the medieval hero. Spiridon Gopčević, a proponent of Serbian expansion in the Ottoman Balkans, claimed that northern Albanians are actually Serbs and Skanderbeg's main motivation was his feelings of Serb national injury. In Montenegro, a country which had tribal structures similar to the ones in northern Albania and also had a similar mentality, Skanderbeg was celebrated as a Slavic hero, a concept which was incorporated into the movement to justify an expansion of Montenegro into northern Albania. By the end of the 19th century, one could find a wide dissemination of brochures with Skanderbeg being presented as a Slavic hero along the Montenegro-Albania border. The myth is particularly popular in Kuči tribe where the Drekalović brotherhood, also known as Novokuči (New Kuči) claims descent from him. Serbian history supports the theory that Skanderbeg's great-grandfather Branilo was a nobleman from Zeta who was granted possession of Kaninë after taking part in Emperor Stefan Dušan's conquests. This version was popularized again in the 1980s, right before the crisis in Kosovo, where Serb historians, with facts, again celebrated Skanderbeg as "the son of Ivan, Đorđ Kastrioti, the Serbian horseman of Albania."
Albanisation of Skanderbeg
Skanderbeg's fame survived in Christian Europe for centuries, while in largely Islamized Albania it gradually faded. It was only in the 19th century, in the period of Albanian National Revival, that Skanderbeg was rediscovered in the Albanian speaking world and raised to the level of national myth. Although Skanderbeg had already been used in the construction of the Albanian national code, especially in communities of Arbėresh, it was only in the final years of the 19th century with the publication of the work of Naim Frasheri "Istori'e Skenderbeut" in 1898 that his figure assumed a new dimension. Naim Frasheri was the biggest inspiration and guide for most Albanian poets and intellectuals.
Albanian nationalists needed an episode from medieval history for the centre of the Albanian nationalistic mythology and they chose Skanderbeg, in the absence of the medieval kingdom or empire. The figure of Skanderbeg was subjected to Albanisation, and he was presented as a national hero. Later books and periodicals continued this theme, and nationalist writers transformed history into myth. There was significant effort of the Albanian historiography to adapt the facts about Skanderbeg to meet the requests of the contemporary ideology. Although the Myth of Skanderbeg had little to do with the reality it was incorporated in works about history of Albania.
Authors borrowing from the national epics and nationalisms of Greeks, Croats and Serbs of Montenegro (like those of Gjergj Fishta and his Lahuta e Malcís) contributed to the creation of Skanderbeg as the Albanian national hero. The religious aspect of Skanderbeg's struggle against Muslims was minimized by Albanian nationalists because it could divide Albanians and undermine their unity as Albanians are both Muslims and Christians. Because of the insufficient primary sources it is difficult to pin down the "hero of the Albanian nation" status of Skanderbeg.
Exploits of Skanderbeg's figure
Skanderbeg's name, horse, and sword summarize exploits of his figure:
- Nomen est omen is used in the exploitation of Skanderbeg's figure by connecting his name with Alexander the Great, who defended his territory, and implying that Skanderbeg also struggled to defend his territory from the Ottoman Empire.
- The sword used by Skanderbeg was a present of the sultan and was endowed with magical powers.
- The horse connects the mythological hero with both earthly and spiritual powers, also making the hero look taller. The neighing of Skanderbeg's horse caused terror among his enemies.
At the dawn of the 20th century, the figure of Skanderbeg as the Albanian national hero took another dimension through the appearance of pretenders to the throne who claimed his descent. Being aware of the myth of Skanderbeg, many pretenders on the Albanian throne, like the German nobleman Wilhelm of Wied and several European adventurers, named themselves and their descendants after Skanderbeg. Both Zogu and Enver Hoxha presented themselves as heirs of Skanderbeg. One of the important reasons for the regime of Enver Hoxha to emphasize the interest in Skanderbeg's period was to justify the building of a totalitarian dictatorship. Albanian historians intensively mythologized Skanderbeg during communist regime to give legitimacy to the policy of the government.
The main components of various interpretations of the picture of Skanderbeg are still present, except that communist ideological components installed by Hoxha's regime have been replaced by nationalist ones. In some historical and commercial publications, Adem Jashari (1955—1998) is portrayed as the new Albanian national hero in a historical succession of Skanderbeg.
Transformation of Skanderbeg into a national symbol served both national cohesion and as an argument for Albania's cultural affinity to Europe because the national narrative of Skanderbeg symbolized the sacrifice of the Albanians in "defending Europe from Asiatic hordes". Pro-European public discourse in modern Albania uses the Myth of Skanderbeg as evidence of Albania's European identity.
Consequences
Since Skanderbeg occupies the central place in Albanian national myths, it complicates his critical analysis by the historians. Those who performed a critical analysis of Skanderbeg, as Vienna historian Oliver Jens Schmitt did, would quickly be accused of committing sacrilege and sullying the Albanian national honor. There is a danger of emphasis on Skanderbeg's struggle as symbol of the unitary state because it no longer refers to the territory of the Republic of Albania, but to the whole of the Albanian area of settlement in the Balkans. The myth of Skanderbeg represents the main ingredient of the debate about future aspirations of the Albanian nation.
Scientific research of the Myth of Skanderbeg
Myth of Skanderbeg was included in the program of the following academic conferences:
The key question in scientific research of the Myth of Skanderbeg is not its historical basis, or whether it has one at all, but the investigation of its meanings and purposes.