Coat of arms Name Vuk Kosaca Religion Orthodox Christianity | Died 1359
"northern Serbia" Family Kosaca | |
Holding(s) left of the Drina, around Rogatica | ||
Vuk (Serbian Cyrillic: Вук; 1317–1359) was a Serbian vojvoda (general) that served Emperor Stefan Dušan (r. 1331–55). Vuk was the progenitor of the Kosača family, later influential in the Kingdom of Bosnia in the late 14th- and first half of the 15th century.
According to Ragusan chronicler Mavro Orbini (1563–1614), Vuk, also called Hran (Хран), was born in 1317, the son of an unnamed knez ("count", comes) from Rudine. Some historiographical works call Vuk with the family name – Vuk Kosača (Вук Косача). After an incident during a hunt, in which Branko Rastislalić lost his life, Vuk fled first to the Kingdom of Hungary, then joined (or returned to) the court of Emperor Stefan Dušan. Vuk was responsible for Branko's death (some time after 1351) after a conflict arose on the hunting trip of the two families, who both had possessions in Podrinje. Reconciled with the relatives of Branko, Vuk returned to Serbia. Vuk distinguished himself in the military of Emperor Dušan, and was awarded Rudine, a spacious province. According to G. Tomović the possessions were located around Rogatica (now in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina). A member of the Rastislalić family took revenge by murdering Vuk in Rudine in 1359. Vuk's son, Vlatko (fl. 1388–d. 1392), was a celebrated military commander in the service of Bosnian king Tvrtko I. He also had another son, Hranja, who is known from other sources. The family later amassed power and held what is today Herzegovina.