Voisava Kastrioti

Voisava
The Dream of Skanderbeg's Mother – Jörg Breu II 1533
Other names	Jella (Gjela),[1] Vojsava, Vojislava
Born	Polog, likely a reference to the Polog valley
Noble family	Kastrioti (by marriage)
Spouse(s)	Gjon Kastrioti ​ (m. 1390)​
Issue	Reposh Kastrioti Stanisha Kastrioti Kostandin Kastrioti Mara Kastrioti Gjergj Kastrioti Jelena Kastrioti Mamica Kastrioti Angelina Kastrioti Vlajka Kastrioti

Voisava was a noblewoman and wife of Gjon Kastrioti, an Albanian feudal lord from the House of Kastrioti. They had nine children together, one of whom was the Albanian national hero Gjergj Kastrioti, better known as Skanderbeg.[2]

Early life

The wife of Gjon Kastrioti is mentioned for the first time by Albanian authors Marin Barleti and Gjon Muzaka about 70–80 years after her death as Voisava. Both authors lived in the immediate generation after Skanderbeg's death and mention her origin as being in the Polog area. Barleti explicitly states that "Polog" stretched from the mountains of Mokra in Southern Albania, to Skopje.[3] It has also been argued that another Polog, closer to the town of Bitola in the plain of Pelagonia, may be the location of the Polog mentioned by Barleti.[4] The only archival reference to her name is a notary act from the archives of the Republic of Ragusa dated July 10, 1439, which names Gjon Kastrioti's widow Jella.[5]

Origin

The issue of the origin of Voisava has been a matter of debate among scholars. Based on a statement by Marin Barleti who described her father nobilissimus Tribalorum princeps (most noble prince of the Triballians) which was adopted in another form by Muzaka several theories have been proposed. As such, a number of scholars believe that Voisava was of South Slavic descent. A number of other historians propose that she came from the Albanian Muzaka family based on Gjon Muzaka's assertion that she was related to his family.[6] A modern theory interprets the reference to a nobilissimus Tribalorum princepsas referring a Serbian origin and some modern scholars consider her as coming from the Branković dynasty. Although there are no primary or archival sources that connect Voisava to the Branković. Other scholars interpret the same statement to be referring to a Bulgarian background.[7][8] The name Voisava is a feminine rendition of the Slavic name Vojislav from voj (war, struggle) and slava (fame, glory).[9][10][11][12] The name was in use among Albanian nobility; Karl Thopia and Gjergj Arianiti both had daughters named Voisava, indicating that the name did not have a particular ethnic affiliation in the region.[13]

Family

Voisava married the Albanian feudal landowner Gjon Kastrioti, who ruled in a region of Albania (dominus partium Albanie) which corresponds roughly to the areas between Mat and Dibër.[14][15] The marriage happened likely around 1390.[16] closely linked to Orthodoxy, as shown by the foundation of the so-called "Albanian Tower" (Serbian: Arbanaški pirg) in Hilandar and the monastic life of Gjon's son Reposh.[17][18] She bore 9 children to Gjon, four sons and five daughters:

• Reposh Kastrioti (fl. 1426–d. 1431), retired as an Orthodox monk in the Serbian monastery of Hilandar on Mount Athos. Reposh died and was buried in the monastery,[19][10] in King Stefan Milutin's narthex, beside the north wall,[20] his tomb bearing the inscription "duks ilirski" (Illyrian duke).[21]
• Stanisha (fl. 1426–d. 1445), commander who was sent by Gjon to help the Serbs against the Venetians during the Second Scutari War.[22]
• Konstandin (fl. 1426)
• Mara, married Stefan Crnojević, Lord of Zeta (r. 1451–65)
• Skanderbeg (Gjergj Kastrioti, 1405–1468), Albanian magnate and general; Ottoman subaşi of Krujë, sanjakbey of Dibra, later organizer of the League of Lezhë, and Neapolitan vassal as of 1451
• Jelena (or Jela), married Pavle Balšić[23] with whom she had, according to Noli, three sons.[24]
• Mamica, married Karl Muzakë Thopia on January 26th, 1445[23][25] with whom she had six children, four sons and two daughters.[26][27][28]
• Angelina, married Vladan Arianiti,[29] brother of Gjergj Arianiti.[30]
• Vlajka, married Gjin Muzaka,[23] secondly Stefan Strez Balšić[31] with whom she possibly had sons Ivan and Gojko.[32]

Early sources

The earliest works mentioning Voisava are:

• Marin Barleti, the Albanian-Venetian historian, wrote in his biography of Skanderbeg (published between 1508 and 1510), that her father was "a noble prince (or ruler) of the Triballi" (pater nobilissimus Triballorum princeps).[6]
• Gjon Muzaka, a member of the Albanian Muzaka family in Italy, mentioned her in his chronicle first as Visava Tribalda[33] and then as Voisava Tripalda, and says that she "came from a beautiful place".[34] Furthermore, Muzaka states that his mother's side is related to Voisava's father.[35] This led Fan Noli and Harry Hodgkinson to theorize that Voisava was a Muzaka. According to William Miller,[9] and Johann Georg von Hahn, the surname (Tripalda) added by Muzaka is a corruption, a derivative from Barleti's quote on the Triballi.[36]
• Andrea Angelo Comneno, a member of the Albanian Engjëlli family from Drisht mentioned her in his 1551 work titled "Genealogia d'imperatori romani et constantinopolitani et de regi prencipi et signori che da Isatio Angelo & Vespasiano imperatore suo nipote son discesi, per infino al presente anno 1551" links her to the Muzaka family. This medieval Italian text, preserved in the National Central Library of Florence, states: "Coi de Musachia ha generato Voissaua ch'hebbe Iuuam Castriotto signor di Croia et del conta do detto Emathia," meaning, "From the house of Muzaka descends Voisava, the wife of Gjon Kastrioti, Lord of Krujë and Count of Emathia (Mat)."[37]

In historiography

Albanian origin

• Johann Georg von Hahn (1811-1869), a German expert in Albanian studies, had several theses on the genealogy of Albanian noble families in Albanesische Studien (1854). In Reise durch die Gebiete von Drin und Wardar (1867/69), he theorized that if one of Vrana Konti's descendants held the title "Marchese di Tripalda," then Vrana and Voisava Tripalda might have been related by blood.[38]
• Fan Noli (1882–1965), an Albanian-American writer, in his 1947 biography of Skanderbeg, adopted the view that she came from the Muzaka family.[39]
• Harry Hodgkinson (1913–1994), a British writer and Balkans expert,[40] considered her a member of the Muzaka family as well.[41] Oliver Schmitt stated that Hodgkinson had done no archival research.[42]
• Boško Bojović, a Serbian medievalist with a research focus on the relations of the Kastrioti family to Mount Athos (Hilandar), considers her a member of the Muzaka family.[43]

Bulgarian origin

• Strashimir Dimitrov (1892–1960), a Bulgarian historian, stated that she was a daughter of a local Bulgarian lord (boyar) from Macedonia.[44]
• Tatomir Vukanović (1907–1997), a Serbian ethnologist, stated that she was of Slavic descent from the Polog region.[10]
• Kasëm Biçoku states that in Barleti's work, the term "Triballian" is used as a synonym for "Bulgarians". He notes that there is no archival evidence that Voisava was part of the Brankovic family.[8]

Serbian origin

• Karl Hopf (1832–1873), a German historian and expert in Byzantine studies, in Chroniques Greco-romanes (1873), concluded that she was the daughter of a Serbian lord from Polog.[45]
• William Miller (1864–1945), an English medievalist, criticized in his review the claim that Skanderbeg was purely Albanian. He pointed out that Skanderbeg's mother had a Slavic name and that the epithet 'Tripalda' is derived from 'Triballi', a term used by Byzantine historians for Serbs. Miller also questioned why Skanderbeg would donate villages to the Serbian monastery Hilandar on Mount Athos if "he had no connection to Serbia".[9]
• Vasil Zlatarski (1866–1935), a Bulgarian medievalist, mentioned her as the daughter of a Serbian nobleman.[46]
• Robert Elsie (1950–2017), a Canadian-born German Albanologist, mentioned her as a Slavic woman, related to the noble Serbian Brankovići family.[47]
• Oliver Schmitt, a professor of South-East European history at Vienna University, writes in his biography Skanderbeg: Der neue Alexander auf dem Balkan (2009) that she was likely a Serbian noblewoman, belonging to the Branković family and the daughter of Grgur Branković.[48]

Ambiguous origin

• Boban Petrovski, a Macedonian historian and author of Voisava Tribalda (2006), hesitantly concludes that there is a possibility that Voisava was of Slavic origin, most likely Serbian, as she may have been the daughter of a lord of the Triballians (Serbs) in Polog who ruled before the Ottoman conquest.[49] He had several theses on the ultimate identity of Voisava's father: "If the Branković family indeed governed Polog in the last decade of the 14th century, it arises the chance that Voisava was a daughter of Grgur Branković or even Vuk Branković."[50] However, he says, "the word "Tribalda" associated with Scanderbeg's mother's name does not necessarily mean ethnic determination, but could represent a state qualification, or could refer to his father's service to Stefan Lazarević, despot of medieval Serbia".[51]

References

1. Omari 2014, p. 31:l quadro si complica quando un documento notarile ragusano del 10 luglio 1439, a differenza delle cronache cinquecentesche basate sulle memorie, attribuisce alla vedova di Giovanni Kastrioti il nome Jella, anziché Voisava.
2. "Skanderbeg | Albanian hero". Encyclopedia Britannica. 13 January 2024.
3. Barletius, Marinus (1508). Historia De Vita Et Gestis Scanderbegi Epirotarvm Principis. p. 90v.
4. Omari 2014, p. 31
5. Omari 2014, p. 31:l quadro si complica quando un documento notarile ragusano del 10 luglio 1439, a differenza delle cronache cinquecentesche basate sulle memorie, attribuisce alla vedova di Giovanni Kastrioti il nome Jella, anziché Voisava.
6. Noli 1947, p. 189: "writes: "Uxori Voisavae nomen erat, non indignam eo viro, tum pater nobilissimus Tribalorum princeps ...""; Barletius, l. I, fo 2: "... Triballorum princeps"
7. Omari 2014, pp. 31–32.
8. Biçoku 2007, p. 28:Burimet e kësaj të dhëne dëshmojnë se i ati i saj ka qenë prej një dere “shumë fisnike dhe prijës i tribalëve” (sinonim i bullgarëve). Sipas një hipoteze të fundit, pa mbështetje burimore, Vojsava është konsideruar vajzë e familjes së njohur aristokrate Brankoviçi, që në atë kohë sundonte trevën e Kosovës së sotme e të Maqedonisë dhe Shkupin e kishte kryeqendër të saj. Martesa me Vojsavën, vajzën e prijësit të bullgarëve, dëshmon se në atë kohë Gjoni ka qenë sundimtar i fuqishëm dhe se në zotërim të familjes së tij ka pasur treva të gjera dhe qytete.
9. Miller, William, Reviews of books; JSTOR: The English Historical Review, Vol. 53, No. 209 (Jan., 1938), p. 129
10. Vukanović 1971.
11. Šimundić, Mate (1988). Rječnik osobnih imena (in Croatian). Zagreb: Matica hrvatska. p. 370. ISBN 9788640100373. VOISAVA
12. Jireček, Konstantin, Geschichte der Bulgaren (in German), vol. II, p. 368
13. Omari 2014, p. 31:Secondo Kristo Frashëri alcuni storici, per via del nome, considerano Voisava di famiglia slava, ma altri storici partendo dal fatto che gli albanesi abbiano utilizzato nomi stranieri con grande facilità (altri signori come Carlo Thopia e Giorgio Arianiti avevano figlie col nome Voisava) non definiscono la loro nazionalità né dal nome e né dal cognome
14. Ndreca, Ardian (2021). "Gjon Kastrioti në arkivat e murgjve serbë". exlibris.al. Letra në fjalë përfundon me një fjali, e cila, e vetme, na tregon shumë. Të gjithë ata që kanë studjuar sadopak rusisht në Shqipërinë e dikurshme do të jenë krejtësisht në gjendje ta kuptojnë atë: Милостію божіею іоаннь кастріоть господинь албанскіи. Shqip mund ta përkthejmë kështu: «Falë hirit të Zotit, Gjon Kastrioti zot arbëror.»" (The letter in question ends with a sentence which, alone, tells us a lot. All those who have studied even a little bit of Russian in ex-[Comunist] Albania will be perfectly able to understand it: Милостію божіею іоаннь кастріоть господинь албанскіи. We can translate it ... as follows: "By the grace of God, Gjon Kastrioti, Albanian lord)".
15. Korablev, B. (1915). Actes de Chilandar II. pp. 561–562. 6945 AM/1426 AD: Titre de donation de Jean Castriote d'Albanie et de ses fils: ...Милостію божіею іоаннь кастріоть господинь албанскіи (By the grace of God, Ioan Kastriot, Albanian lord).
16. Biçoku 2007, p. 28.
17. Schwarcz, Andreas; Soustal, Peter; Tcholakova, Antoaneta, eds. (2014). Das mittelalterliche Bulgarien, Byzanz und Europa. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 113. ISBN 9783643505910.
18. Šufflay, Milan (1925). Srbi i Arbanasi: njihova simbioza u srednjem vijeku. Seminar za arbanasku filologiju. pp. 94–95. U drugoj, bez datuma, iguman tog monastira prodaje pirg Sv. Gjurdja Ivanu Kastriotu i trima sinovima njegovim Repošu, Konstantinu i Djurdju za »šestdeset florina«. taj toranj Sv. Djurdja još danas nosi naziv »Arbanaski pirg«. Repoš... doista je pokopan u narteksu saborne crkve hilandarske. Natpis naziva ga »duks ilirski«.
19. Fischer, Bernd; Schmitt, O.J. (2022). A Concise History of Albania. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107662186. having donated a tower in the Serbian monastery [...] as a result, became known as the Albanian Tower.
20. Bogdanović, Dimitrije; Đurić, Vojislav J.; Medakovich, Dejan (1997). Chilandar. Monastery of Chilandar. p. 130. ISBN 9788674131053. Albanian tower still stands, though in ruined condition. While staying at Chilandar, one of his four sons, Reposh, died, and was buried in King Milutin's narthex, beside the north wall
21. Dragić Kijuk, Predrag R. (1992). Catena mundi: Srpska hronika na svetskim verigama. Ibarske novosti. p. 299. ISBN 9788663430709.
22. Noli 1947, p. 22: "This time he notified Venice that he was compelled to give his son as a hostage to the Despot of Serbia. As a matter of fact, he had sent his son Stanisha with an auxiliary corps to help the Serbians against the Venetians at Scutari.49".
23. Nicol, Donald M. (1997). Theodore Spandounes: On the Origins of the Ottoman Emperors. Cambridge University Press. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-521-58510-1.
24. Noli 1947, p. 208.
25. Noli, Fan Stylian (1945). George Castrioti Scanderbeg (1405-1468). Boston University Libraries. p. 124. ...This year of 1445 began with a wedding. Mamitza Castrioti, Scanderbeg's youngest sister, was married to Musachi Thopia. The wedding took place in Musachiana, between Croya and Durazzo, on January 26. All the chieftains of Albania were invited to attend...
26. Elsie, Robert (2003). Early Albania A Reader of Historical Texts, 11th-17th Centuries. Harrassowitz. p. 52. ISBN 978-3-4470-4783-8. ...and I have told you that Lord Scanderbeg broke up the marriage of the said Lord Musachi and Lady Zanfina Musachi, against the wishes of God and everyone and against the wishes of the children they had had, and forced him to marry his sister Lady Mamica. This lord had four sons and two daughters by his second wife. The sons turned Turk and the one daughter, Lady Yela, married Lord Andrew Musachi...
27. Pritchett Post, Susan E. (1998). Women in Modern Albania. the University of Virginia. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-7864-0468-1. ...Mamica Kastrioti was Skanderbeg's youngest sister. She was married to Muzak Topia, one of the princes of Albania in 1445...
28. Karl Hopf (1873). Chroniques Gréco-Romaines. Weidmann. p. 533.
29. Noli 1947, p. 189: "Angelina with Vladan Araniti".
30. Johann Samuel Ersch (1868). Allgemeine encyclopädie der wissenschaften und künste in alphabetischer folge von genannten schrifts bearbeitet und herausgegeben von J. S. Ersch und J. G. Gruber ... J. f. Gleditsch. p. 123. Angelina den Vladin Arianites KomnenoS, deS "Großen" Bruder
31. Noli 1947, p. 64: "Vlajka me Stefan Stres Balshën".
32. Gopčević, Spiridon (1914). Geschichte von Montenegro und Albanien (in German). Gotha: F.A. Perthes. p. 460. OCLC 9968504. Retrieved 29 March 2012. Bezüglich der Strez herrscht Verwirrung. Hopf macht Ivo und Gojko BalSid zu Söhnen des Stefan Strez, welcher Vlajka Kastriota geheiratet hätte und Sohn des Gjuragj Balšić gewesen wäre, eines Bastards des Gjuragj I.
33. Hopf 1873, p. 295

    E più sappiate ch' il Signor Giovanni Castrioto', padre del Signor Scanderbego, hebbe per moglie la Signora Visava Tribalda, con la quale fece quattro figli mascoli e cinque figlie femine.

34. Hopf 1873, p. 301

    ... la madre de detto Signor Scanderbeg, moglie del detto Signor Giovanni, hebbe nome Signora Voisava Tripalda e venne da bona parte

35. Hopf 1873, p. 301

    Acciò sappiate, in che modo c'era parente il Signor marchese della Tripalda, ve dico, che l'è per parte de donna

36. von Hahn 1867, p. 117:

    Skanderbeg's Mutter wird von dem Despoten einmal Visava Tribalda, ein andersmal Voisava Tripalda genannt ... Dieser Name mag vielleicht Anlass zu der sonderbaren Angabe des Barletius S. 4 gegeben haben, dass ihr Vater nobilissimus Tribalorum princeps gewesen sei.

37. Angelo Comneno, Andrea (1551). Genealogia d'imperatori romani et constantinopolitani et de regi prencipi et signori che da Isatio Angelo & Vespasiano imperatore suo nipote son discesi, per infino al presente anno 1551. National Central Library of Florence. p. 55. ...Coi de Musachia ha generato Voissaua ch'hebbe Iuuam Castriotto signor di Croia et del conta do detto Emathia...
38. von Hahn 1867, p. 121:

    Bedenkt man auf der andern Seite, dass Skanderbeg's Mutter eine geborene Tripalda war und ein Nachkomme des Wrana Conte den Titel Marchese di Tripalda führte, so erscheint selbst die Frage erlaubt, ob nicht etwa Wrana Conte ein Blutsverwandter von Skanderbeg's Mutter war.

39. Noli 1947, p. 189, note 33: "Në faqen 308, Muzaka na thotë se Vojsava ishte shqiptare nga familja e Muzakajve; Barleti "Vita", Libri I, faqe 1, shkruan "Bashkëshortja kishte emrin Voisavë, (grua) jo e padenjë për atë burër; i ati ishte një princ shumë fisnik i Tribalëve ".
40. James Pettifer (2008). "Obituary: Harry Hodgkinson". The Independent. London, United Kingdom. Retrieved 27 November 2010. throughout his life he fought for the Albanian cause and took up strong anti-Serb and anti-Bulgarian positions
41. Hodgkinson, Harry (24 December 2004). Scanderbeg: From Ottoman Captive to Albanian Hero. I. B. Tauris. p. 240. ISBN 978-1-85043-941-7.
42. Schmitt 2009, p. 8:

    ... Geländekundige, wie etwa ein britischer Geheimdienstoffizier des Zweiten Weltkriegs (H. Hodgkinson), wiederum, hatten keine Archivarbeiten betrieben.

43. Bojović 2020, p. 18:Sa mère Vojsava est issue de la famille des Muzaka, ses frères avaient pour nom Stanisa, Repos, Kostadin
44. Димитров, Страшимир: Георги Кастриоти-Скендербег и неговата освободителна борба, В: Г. Кастриоти Скендербег 1468-1968 г. София, сп. "Балкани", БАН, No2, 1970, стр. 11: "It is known that his mother, Voisava, was of Slavic-Bulgarian origin, "daughter of the lord of Polog, which is part of Macedonia and Bulgaria", says one anonymous Venetian chronicle..."
45. Hopf 1873, p. 533: "fille du seigneur (Serbe) de Polog".
46. Васил Николов Златарски (2005). България през XIV и XV век: Лекционен курс. Изток-Запад. ISBN 9789543211722. Иван Кастриот, храбър противник на турците, женен за Воислава, дъщерята на сръбския властител [daughter of a Serbian nobleman]
47. Robert Elsie (2012). A Biographical Dictionary of Albanian History. I.B.Tauris. p. 76. ISBN 978-1-78076-431-3.
48. Schmitt 2009, p. 29:

    Skanderbegs Mutter Voisava war wohl eine Südslawin, Tochter des Helm der reichen Ebene von Polog. Diese unterstand im ausgehenden 14. Jahrhundert einer Seitenlinie des großen serbischen Adelsgeschlechtes der Brankovići. Es ist zu vermuten, dass Grgur Branković als Voisavas Vater zu gelten hat.

49. Petrovski 2006, pp. 2, 3, 10.
50. Petrovski 2006, "Доколку ја прифатиме оваа варијанта, според која Бранковиките биле господари на/во Полог до почетког на последната деценија од XIV век, во тој случај произлегува дека Воисава била керка на Гргур или пак, можеби на Вук Бранковик.".
51. Petrovski 2006, p. 12

    Cependant, le mot « Tribalda », lié au nome de la mère de Scanderbeg, pas nécessairement signifie la détermination ethnique, mais ça pourrait présenter une qualification de l’Etat, ou porrait se referer au service de son père chez Volkachin le Roy et dauphin de l’Etat Serbe Médiéval.

Sources

• Biçoku, Kasëm (2007). "Peshkopata e Arbnit dhe Kastriotët [The bishopric of Arbni and the Kastriots]". Studime Historike. 03–04.
• von Hahn, Johann Georg (1867). Reise durch die Gebiete des Drin und Wardar: im Auftrage der K. Akademie der Wissenschaften unternommen im Jahre 1863 (in German). Vienna: Aus der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Hof- und Staatsdruckerei.
• Hopf, Karl (1873). Chroniques gréco-romanes: inédites ou peu connues, pub. avec notes et tables généalogiques. Bibliopoleion. pp. 301, 533. Dominicus alias Moncinus [genuit]: 1. Agnese Andre Angeli mater, & 2. Voisava Ivani uxorem. (Karl Hopf: Chroniques gréco-romanes inédites ou peu connues, Berlin, p. 308). Uxor is Latin for "wife, spouse". (appendix, Giovanni Musachi, Historia della casa Musachia)
• Noli, Fan Stilian (1947). George Castrioti Scanderbeg (1405–1468) (in Albanian). International Universities Press. OCLC 732882.
• Petrovski, Boban (2006). "Воисава Трибалда (Voisava Tribalda)" (PDF). makedonika.org (in Macedonian).
• Schmitt, Oliver Jens (2009). Skanderbeg: der neue Alexander auf dem Balkan (in German). Regensburg: Verlag Friedrich Pustet. ISBN 978-3-7917-2229-0.
• Vukanović, Tatomir P. (1971). "Словенска симбиоза породице Ђурђа Кастриота Скендербега". Врањски гласник (VII). Народни музеј Врање.
• Omari, Jeton (2014). Scanderbeg tra storia e storiografia [Skanderbeg between history and historiography] (PDF) (Thesis). University of Padua.
• Bojović, Boško (2020). "Byzance et les Slaves méridionaux : alliances dynastiques matrimoniales (Xe –XVe siècles) " (PDF). Revue des Études Sud-Est Européennes. LVIII (1–4).