# The Mountain Wreath Published (1847)

URL: https://allhistories.com/montenegro/timeline/1847-the-mountain-wreath-published
Location: Vienna, Austria
Themes: Key Events

Petar II Petrović-Njegoš was not only a ruler but also the most important Montenegrin poet. His earlier works included the philosophical poem The Ray of the Microcosm (1845). He had been influenced by Serbian folk epic, by the language reforms of Vuk Karadžić and by European Romantic literature. Njegoš wrote while trying to unify the clans, build a state and resist the Ottomans, and his poetry reflected these concerns. In 1847 The Mountain Wreath (Gorski vijenac) was printed in Vienna. Written in the decasyllabic metre of folk epic, it is a verse drama set at the time of Metropolitan Danilo I and centred on the traditional extermination of Montenegrin converts to Islam. Through its characters it explores freedom, faith, duty and the cost of struggle against the Ottomans, and many of its lines became proverbial. The work is considered a classic of Serbian and Montenegrin literature and is widely studied in the former Yugoslav countries. Its portrayal of violence against Muslims has also been criticised, particularly after the wars of the 1990s, and its interpretation remains debated by scholars of differing views.

## Why it matters
The Mountain Wreath is the most celebrated work of Montenegrin literature and a contested text in modern Balkan memory.

Ruler at the Time: [Petar II Petrović-Njegoš](https://allhistories.com/montenegro/rulers/petar-ii)

Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (suzerain of Montenegro): Abdulmejid I
President of the Governing Senate of Montenegro and the Highlands: Pero Petrović-Njegoš (Independent)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — The Mountain Wreath](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mountain_Wreath)
- [Wikipedia — Petar II Petrović-Njegoš](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petar_II_Petrović-Njegoš)
- [Wikipedia — Prince-Bishopric (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince-Bishopric_of_Montenegro)