“The Karađorđevićs and Literature”, the first ever scientific gathering in Serbia dedicated to the Royal family’s role in the art of the written word, was opened on Monday, 3 November in the “Vuk Karadzic Foundation” Home in Belgrade. The solemn opening ceremony was attended by Mr. Predrag Markovic, Crown Council member, as the envoy of HRH Crown Prince Alexander, who wholeheartedly supported this important expert convention.
His Royal Highness is very sorry that he could not personally attend the solemn opening, as on the same day was also the anniversary of his father, King Peter II’s death, but is very happy that today, on the third day of the convention, participants and lecturers came to the home of the Royal family, the Royal Palace in Belgrade. Also, yesterday, TRH Hereditary Prince Philip and Princes Danica visited the scientific gathering in the “Vuk Karadzic Foundation” Home and greeted the participants, and today welcomed them in the Palace.
“It gives me great pleasure to see that, for the first time, the distinguished members of our academic community have gathered to study and discuss the presence and influence of the Karađorđević Royal Family in literature. The written word has always been a bridge between generations, preserving our nation’s history, ideals, and values. I am truly grateful to all the participants for recognising the importance of this topic and for their dedicated work in exploring it with scientific depth and respect for tradition”, stated HRH Crown Prince Alxander on this occasion.
Organiser of this expert meeting is The Institute of Literature and Art in Belgrade, Department of Folklore Studies. This is the first time ever that the topic of the Royal family of Serbia in literature is covered by a scientific community, and also a collection of scientific papers is issued that the eminent Professors and other lecturers prepared for this gathering.
As the organisers stated, the scientific conference “The Karađorđevićs and Literature” is organised with the aim of shedding light on the role and significance of the dynasty in the history of literature. The literature written by the Karađorđevićs, as well as the literature about the Karađorđevićs, represents an important segment of Court literature, which has long been ignored and marginalised in literary studies. The scientific conference primarily involves the engagement of scholars of literature and languages, folklore and oral history, but the analysis of literary and folklore materials (both documentary and fictional prose) also includes art historians, ethnologists, and musicologists, who, from the perspective of their professions, can contribute to a fuller understanding of literary texts.
Some of the main topics of the conference are: Karađorđevićs and verbal literature, Karađorđevićs – writers, Karađorđevićs – literary heroes, Karađorđevićs – drama heroes, Karađorđevići – film heroes, Karađorđevićs and the press, and many others.
The results of the scientific conference will be published in the scientific collection of papers “The Karađorđevićs and Literature”. After the collection “Obrenovići and literature” (editors Dragana Vukićević and Aleksandar Pejčić), only the publication of a collection dedicated to the Karađorđević dynasty would lay the foundations and a stable basis for further continuous studies of dynastic and court literature as an integral part of national histories of literature.
