Viticulture in Medieval Marina Štetić University of Belgrade SRA 2017-2 The research for my doctoral dissertation: Viticulture in Medieval Serbia was carried out in the State Archives in () with the support of the SRA program. This research concerned the study of various processes and phenomena related to viticulture in the Serbian coastal countries in the hinterland of Dubrovnik (Trebinje and Hum) and wine trade between Dubrovnik and Serbia in the Middle Ages. In today's rich wine-growing of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which were parts of medieval Serbia, viticulture has been cultivated since the Middle Ages – Trebinje and Konavli (Trebinje country), as well as the peninsula Pelješac the Neretva valley (parts of medieval Hum). It is a very interesting and an important way in which Dubrovnik spread its territory. Since the early Middle Ages, the inhabitants of Dubrovnik have expanded their territory by planting vineyards on parts of Serbian countries. Dubrovnik municipality paid taxes to Serbian rulers and county mayors of Hum for the vineyards in parts of Trebinje and Hum, which was called mogoriš (lat. margarisium, malgarisium). While part of the tax was abolished by the Serbian king Vladislav (1234-1243), the vineyards in areas of Hum were paid by 1450 for sure. During the Middle Ages, the Republic of Dubrovnik managed to acquire coastal regions of medieval Serbia and Bosnia, which, in addition to strategic importance, were also very rich in vineyards (Peljesac peninsula 1333, coast of Slano 1399, Konavli 1427). The most important conclusions of the research relate to wine trade between Dubrovnik and medieval Serbian countries. Due to the soil configuration, the vineyards were almost the only natural wealth of Dubrovnik, which implied hyperproduction of wine and the need for its export to the neighboring regions. Consequently, Dubrovnik had one of the most important roles in the wine trade in the Mediterranean, especially since the 14th century, when viticulture became an extremely important economic branch of other European countries, primarily France and Italy. The main trading places in Serbia were cities and squares on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea (Drijeva, Kotor, Ulcinj, St. Srđ), as well as the squares in the inland (Brskovo), which represented important sites on the main trade routes to the inland of medieval Serbia and Bosnia. Trade between Dubrovnik and Serbia was regulated in 1186, and one of the most important squares was the market called Drijeva, on Neretva river in Hum. During the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries Dubrovnik merchants sold large quantities of Dubrovnik wine on this square, as well as wine from Ston and Pelješac, wine from the islands of Lastovo, Šipan, Mljet, Korčula, Brač and from Italian cities - Orton, Apulia, Venice, Recanate, etc. On the important road, which led from the medieval Serbian country Zeta ( today) to Prizren in Metohija (a rich trading town with a strong Dubrovnik colony) there were important squares where wine trade was also carried out. Through the square of St. Srđ on the Bojanа river, wine was imported from italian town of Ortona. Due to the large wine production and the obvious market needs, according to the decision of the Small Council of Dubrovnik of 1303, every Dubrovnik citizen who would rent a Serbian customs on the Drim market had to export an annual 3000 buckets of wine 1 (nearly 66.000 liters). Dubrovnik protected its production by banning the import of foreign wines while there were domestic wine supplies. However, war devastation and the consequences of plague sometimes caused lack of wine in

1 Reformationes - 3.VII 1303; Monumenta Ragusina V, 55 the territory of the Republic of Dubrovnik, so in the 14th century there were cases of import of wine from Trebinje, while in the 15th century the wine was smuggled from Trebinje, , Dračevica, Sutorina (areas in country Trebinje), and Popovo (parish in Hum), which was then sold in Dubrovnik's taverns. One of the reasons why my research has become more interesting and complete is the fact that Dubrovnik's historical sources also provide an insight in the everyday culture of wine drinking in the coastal countries of the Adriatic during the Middle Ages. The wine was considered food, making it an integral part of everyday nutrition. For exemple, the production of wine with honey was allowed only for personal consumption. In the maritime trade, a certain quantity of wines for crew members was mandatory on the ships. The masters who built and repaired the churches, and worked in the ports, received daily wine money. Wine was consumed intensively in numerous taverns in Dubrovnik and Kotor, while Malvasia, a sort of white wine, which was imported to Dubrovnik only by means of a special permit, was used for medical purposes. This type of white wine, the Dubrovnik Rector gladly sent both to Serbian and Bosnian rulers as a precious gift. In addition, the documents testify about the vineyards in the territory of Dubrovnik, which were property of inhabitants of some distant Serbian cities (for example, Kotor). It would be, therefore, interesting to further explore the ways of acquiring, holding and processing such a property. There is some information about the types of wine in the historical sources of the Dubrovnik archive. One can find out that grape tamjanika (moscatelli) was cultivated on the territory of Dubrovnik at the beginning of the 14th century. A vinea trebiana (probably transported from Italy) was cultivated especially in the first half of the 15th century, while appreciated malvasia was not produced in the Serbian regions until the end of the 15th century. Whereas white wine was more appreciated, red wine was considered as a healthier drink that could have improve personal health. Interestingly enough, Croatian historian and archivist dr Ivo Orešković offered me a cooperation in writing a monograph on the Dubrovnik Malvasia, which also requires research on the possibility that it may be an autochthonous Dubrovnik variety of this famous sort of wine. Further analysis of the collected documents should reconstruct the relations between medieval Dubrovnik and Serbia in the field of viticulture from various aspects, which will be precisely presented in my doctorate, highlighting the importance of viticulture in parts of the Balkans from the earliest times.