The Mining Law of Despot Stefan

the Patriarchal Library in Sremski Karlovci, in the time of Patriarch Arsenije IV Jovanović Šakabenta (1698–1748).

The 16th-century copy, made around 1580, is kept in the Archive of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts under the signature Old Collection, no. 465. The manuscript contains 27 leaves, is written on paper, and has leather covers with a binding in the Oriental style. The beginning of the text is adorned with a miniature thought to depict a mining court collegium. The text is written in dark brown ink, while the ornaments and initials are in gold, blue and red.

The copy of Despot Stefan's Mining Code mentioned above consists of four thematic sections: at the beginning are the introductory words of the ruler himself, followed by the Mining Law in 52 articles, that is, 52 legal provisions regulating mining activity. This Law is followed by an excerpt from the Law of the City of Novo Brdo, in 23 articles; this is considered to represent the statute of the important mining center. The Code closes with an address by Despot Stefan, which is entitled "Preface of Emperor Stefan" and follows the end of the 23rd article. This document is one of the most important Serbian monuments of legal history from the Middle Ages.

In the preface to the text of the Law, Despot Stefan himself explained the historical and political circumstances in which this act came into being. The Despot looked back on his past and on his encounter with the "great lord" Bayezid. As he himself states, thanks to the help of God, the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos and of Saints Simeon and Sava, as well as the prayers of his father Saint Prince Lazar, he regained control of his fatherland and freed his land and the cities of his forebears from the rule of Sultan Bayezid. In his liberated fatherland he responded to the request of the miners of Novo Brdo, and at their petition he undertook the drafting of the Mining Law.

The closing words of Despot Stefan, that is, his afterword, entitled "Preface of Emperor Stefan," follow the excerpt from the Law of Novo Brdo and give official approval to the legal provisions, with the familiar formulations from the Despot's charters as well as an attempt to copy his signature. The date given at the end of the document is January 29, 1412.

The Mining Law of Despot Stefan Lazarević was first published in 1962 in Belgrade, in an edition by Academician Nikola Radojčić (1882–1964). The distinguished Serbian historian Sima Ćirković considered the discovery of this Law to be of exceptional importance for the study of medieval Serbian history. The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts entrusted the publication of this significant legal document to Radojčić, who had already earned a reputation as an expert on Serbian history of that period, having published numerous sources and studies on medieval Serbia.

Nikola Radojčić prepared a detailed introduction to the text of the Law, divided into three chapters: the first part speaks of Novo Brdo as an important mining settlement, the second is devoted to mining legislation in Serbia in the Middle Ages, and the third directly analyzes the