Slovenian "Queen"
In Carantania
Beautiful Vida
The Carantanian Lady
She had equal rights and was independent.
She was always well informed. There was nothing to stop her from fighting for her rights, her creativity, and her values.
Dr. Jožko Šavli

A friend of mine from Lublana, an attentive reader of Carantha, brought to my attention, that the Latin written historical document, called Conversio Bagoariorum et Carantanorum, mentions a female name in the list of rulers, who reigned Carantania after ca. 800 AD.

From this period, the document quotes the following Carantanian dukes: Priwizlauga, Cemicas, Ztoimar, and Etgar. In modern Slovenian, these names would be spelled Pribislavka, Semika, Stojmir and Edgar. But Pribislavka is a female name, and could only denote a duchess. Thus, Duchess Pribislavka was one of the reigning rulers of Carantania. A very sensation, a lady on the throne of early Carantania!

Yet, this is not at all impossible in distinction to the Germanic leges, known as the lex Salica, lex Bavariorum, or the lex Alamannorum etc., where succession passed on in the male line only. In early Carantania, the Slavica lex, as the Carantanian law was called, granted succession also  to the female line, which was considered normal. But the above mentioned Conversio was written in ca. 873 AD in Salzburg, at that time under Bavaria, where it was impossible to imagine a female ruler on the throne. In this area, one was thinking more in sense of the legal circumstances prevailing there. Apart from this, some decades after this document was written, no direct witnesses were left of the period in question. Only the names of Carantanian rulers remained preserved. But the name of the Carantanian duchess disappeared among the reigning dukes of that period.

Historians from Austria and Slovenia (Yugoslavia) followed strictly the spelling of names of dukes, who were registered in the aforesaid document, without being able to identify the Carantanian duchess. Nor did they introduce the Slavica lex to the public, which granted women equal rights with men. Of course, such a juridical fact was in diametrical opposition with their interpretation of history as prescribed by the pan-German and pan-Slav ideology.

In sense of the above mentioned ideologies, which prevailed in the Austrian Monarchy for the last decades, Slovenians were declared as "non historical" people, i.e., a people, who in their history were unable to form the foundation of a proper State. Their historical law was ignored, even though, it was of great importance to the National State in the early Middle Ages. Historians in present-day Austria still continue doing this very intensively.

The second ideology expressed its concrete form in the Yugo-Slav historical and political idea, which delivered the ideological basis for the founding of Yugoslavia at the end of the WW1. In sense of it, the centralistic regime of Belgrade denied true interpretation of Slovenian history, because it would have deviated too far from the general imposed historical image of the so-called Southern Slavs or "Yugoslavs". Thus, because the equivalence of rights for Carantanian (Slovenian) women, as layed out in the Carantanian law, was so very different from the historical tradition of Southern Slavs, historians simply omitted to mention this law . Slovenian universities and other academic institutions were financed by the Belgrade regime, therefore, they were constrained to explain history in sense of the hegemonistic Yugoslav (great-Serbian) ideology, and they are still doing so.
  
Slovenian "Queen"

In sense of the Slavica lex, a Slovenian lady possessed the juridical capacity as well as the capacity of action. Thus, she was qualified to be elected as the leader of the nation. In old Slovenian language, the elected leader was called a kral (the present-day spelling is "kralj"). The root of this etymon is Indo-European and means "elected", as the German (Vendic?) verb "kiesen" demonstrates; (cf. Duden Etymologie). In this instance, the equivalent Slovenian female etymon to kral is kraljica.  It is true, today the word "kral" means only a king, and "kraljica" is the queen, who appears as his consort.  But at one time, she also had the power to be the people's leader either on a national or regional level.   

Solid evidence is found in popular traditions. One of Slovenia's well preserved and favourite story is called Attila and the Slovenian Queen (Atila in slovenska kraljica). Attila was the king of the Huns, who, in 452 AD, destroyed the great city of Aquileia, in present-day Friuli (Italy), which included also one part of Slovenian territory. And so the story goes:

North of Cividale (Cedad, in Slovenian), there is a cavern called "Landarska jama". The entrance to it is nestled in the middle of a great steep rock, and, when the wooden footbridge leading to it, is removed, it is impossible to access the cavern. In the times, when Attila and his soldiers were devastating the country, people were looking for shelter in all possible posts. The Slovenian queen, Vida by name, and her folks found refuge in this cavern. Soon after they were beleaguered by the Huns. The siege lasted for a long time, and Vida was almost left without food. Then, she let throw the last bag of grain in front of the enemies and cried out, that there are still so many bags in the cavern as there are grains in this bag, which they should count. Attila and his soldiers, convinced that the end of the siege could not be foreseen, broke up camp and retreated.


The church of St. John the Baptist at the entrance to the cavern Landarska jama (drawing of Paolo Petricig) in the midst of a high cliff. After ancient tradition, this cavern sheltered the Slovenian "queen" Vida and her people from Attila and his Huns (ca. 450 AD).

Later, a church dedicated to St. John the Baptist (Sv. Ivan v Celè, in Slovenian, or S. Giovanni d' Antro, in Italian) was established at the entrance of this cavern. Vida, who plays the role of the "queen" (kraljica) in this story, was certainly not a real queen in the modern sense of the word; she rather was an elected female leader on the local level. The story itself bears witness to the fact, that the Slovenian people had already settled in this territory in around 451 AD, when Attila destroyed Aquileia, and not in 568 AD, as quoted by official historians. According to them the Slovenians followed the Lombards, who left Pannonia for Italy.

In the Late Antique, the great city of Aquileia was also an important Christian centre. Even though, it was destroyed by the Huns, its missionary activity was not interrupted. The bishops there bore the title "patriarch", because the city's first church community was founded by Apostle Marcus. In that period, Aquileia was not subjected to Rome, but to the ecclesiastical authority of Byzantium. There, after the Council of Ephesos, the veneration of St. Mary spread rapidly, whereas in the West this did not happen until the 12th century. In the East, St. Mary was called Panhagia, i.e., the most sacred, and Kyriotissa, the mother of heaven and earth.

The Christianization of Friuli and southern Carantania (the present-day Slovenia) was carried out from Aquileia in an early period, and at the same time spread also the veneration of St. Mary among the Carantanians - Slovenians. The cathedral of Carantania, founded already in ca. 753 AD by St. Modestus, the Apostle of the Carantanians, was consecrated to St. Mary. Until this day, it has been called Gospa Sveta (Maria in Solio, in Latin; or Maria Saal, in German). The term "Gospa Sveta" corresponds to Our Lady (in English), or Unsere Liebe Frau (in German), Notre Dame (in French) or Madonna (in Italian). Experts say, that such an early promulgation of Mary's veneration in Carantania has to be attributed to the great respect for womens' rights in Carantanian society. St. Mary became the protectress of Carantania. It is of interest, however, that she is also the protectress of the Republic of Venice, which originated from the same Venetic historical tradition.
  
In Carantania

From the times of early Carantania is the history of Slovenians closely connected with ladies of importance, albeit until now, it never has been researched from this point of view. First of all, a Slovenian lady could dispose of her properties, she could sell them or donate pieces of land etc. More over, she could also found institutions like parishes (churches) or monasteries. In sense of this capacity, St. Liharda (Hildegard, † 985), a countess from Kamen (Stein) in the Juna Valley, Carinthia, donated around 975, a piece of property and eight "Slovenian" farms to her son Albuin, Bishop of Brixen in Tyrol († 1006). She also founded a charitable institution, which remained preserved through the centuries, until the years after the WW1.

In ca. 1010, Countess Vigburg (Wichburg) founded the Benedictine monastery in St. George on Lake Längsee, north of today's St. Veit, in Carinthia (Austria). Her sister, Countess Adala, founded in ca. 1020 the monastery in Göß near Leoben (Liuben), in present-day Styria (Austria). Both ladies pertained to the Hartvik family, a line of the Aribonians. A third example is the monastery of Osoje (Ossiach), in 1024 AD, founded by Count Oci (Ottokars) and his consort Countess Irenburg, whose family is unknown.

St. Emma of Gurk - Krka

Painting from the beginning of the 17th century AD. She is dressed in the fashion of the then noble ladies. The painting is found at the chief altar of St. Emma's church close to Edelschrott, in the proximity of Voitsberg (Styria).

The records of the 11th century quote many properties, which were donated by Carantanian ladies to churches and parishes, and were in particular "entrusted" to Bishop Altwin of Brixen (1049 - 1097). More donations followed in the 12th century. But the most characteristic example of them all was St. Emma († 1045), the countess of Krka (Gurk Valley) in Carinthia, and the role she played in public life. After the death of her consort William and her two sons, William and Hartvik, she inherited her husband's family properties, apart from her own family estates. She was the richest lady in Carantania. However, she donated all her properties for the foundation of new parishes and useful institutions. She was the founder of the monastery for women in Krka (Gurk), in 1043. She, herself, entered the monastery and spent the rest of her life there. In 1072, another monastery was founded in Admont near Liezen (Luzin), upper Styria.

The founding of monasteries by noble ladies bears witness of the decisive role they played in the absorption of Christian spirituality and faith in the Carantania of that time. In sense of the Slavica lex, they had equal rights and enjoyed an important position in Carantanian society. From this period, many legends arose about Saints (in songs and poems). They have been an expression of great spirituality and religiousness among Carantanians - Slovenians. The legends are proof of all-surrounding love and benevolence, in sense of the Christian faith.

The echo of the religious and spiritual voice of Carantanians (Slovenians) reached even the parish priest Helmold in Plana (Plön), in remote Vagria, west of Lübeck (Lubice), who wrote in his chronicle the following words: "Karinthi... homines divino cultui dediti, nec est ulla gens honestior et cultu Dei et sacerdotum veneratione devotior " (Chronica Slavorum, ca. 1163). Translated: Carantanians (Slovenians)... people devoted to the divine veneration, and there are no people being more honest and pious in the veneration of God and respectful of the priests. And we must repeat: it were the Carantanian ladies and mothers who taught such great spirituality and benevolence to the people.

The aforesaid people's poems and songs, that deal with the experience of great religious feasts, like Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost, Holy Trinity, etc., are honouring St. Mary, Angel Guardian, and many Saints like Anna, Andrew, Anthony, Apolonia, Barbara, Blasius, Florian, John Baptist, Joseph, Catherine, Mark, Peter and Paul, Roch, Stephen, Valentine, All Saints... Their content is of standard value:  the goodness is finally rewarded, and the malice castigated. .
  
Beautiful Vida

Beautiful Vida, a drawing by A. Koželj (in Slovenian Ballads and Romances, Celovec 1912)

Yet, in the Slovenian people's songs there also appears another image of the Slovenian woman. It shows her as a sensible personality, full of sentiments and feebleness,  longing for a happy life. Today, such a point of view is nearly normal for a woman. But it was different for a woman in the severe times of the past. It is a question of the ballad called Lepa Vida (beautiful Vida), which originates from ca. 11th century BC, when the Arabs attacked several times the Adriatic coast. The contents of the ballad is, in short, as follows:

Young Vida had a husband, getting on in years, and a child. One day, she stood at the beach and washed diapers. Then, a coloured gentleman arrived in a bark and invited Vida to follow him to Spain, what Vida did. There, she dwelt at the court of the Spanish queen, who liked her very much. But Vida was not happy. She longed for home, for husband and for child, and she secretly cried and cried. She asked the moon, what her husband was doing? The moon said, that he went in his boat out on the sea searching for her. The sun said, that her child died. Vida could not endure her sadness any longer, and she died of a broken heart.

In Slovenian literature of the19th/20th century, several literates dealt with Vida's fate. In their works they would always put the question of Vida's guilt into a different perspective. But not one of them condemned her action, even if it was only a symbolic question. All writers respected Vida's deep sentiments and, above all, her deep longing for home, husband and child, after she succumbed her weakness.

Popular Slovenian lyrics present other female figures, like Mlada Breda (Young Breda) or Mlada Zora (Young Zora)... The Slovenian mythological king, Kralj Matjaž, who is also a hero in the battles with the Turks, takes a bride called Alencica. - The heroine figure of Miklova Zala has been preserved since the battles with the Turks. She was captured by the enemy and led off to Turkey. But she escaped prison and walked to her village on foot . She reached her home at the moment, when her fiancé Mirko was to be married to another girl.

In the 15th century, the figure of Barbara of Celje († 1451) is of importance among the Slovenian female nobility. She became Queen of Hungary and Empress. She was also very active on the political field, and she vehemently worked against the penetration of the Habsburg power toward East.

In the period of the Protestant Reformation, Slovenian women zealously defended the Catholic faith and Mary's veneration. Primož Trubar, the Slovenian Protestant Reformatory of the 16th century, who did not belief in St. Mary's apparitions, said that the pilgrimage to Sveta gora above Gorica was invented by women. Indeed, when women took it upon themselves to defend sacred places, there was no authority strong enough to stop them.

For example, the reigning Emperor Joseph II (1780 - 1790) gave order to stop all pilgrimages. The authorities even confiscated several valuables from the parish churches. In Kamen (Stein) - Carinthia, a parish priest followed the Emperor's order and was about to remove all valuables from St. Liharda's statue in the church. A crowd of women gathered in front of the parish and prevented him from doing so.


An example of a Slovenian ornament (drawing by Ivan Razboršek): rich on beauty and love symbols, created by Slovenian women. It must be considered as an expression of Slovenian cultural and national identity.

In the Romantic period of the 19th century, Slovenian ladies, who were skilled in fine crafts, created Slovenian ornaments, which must be considered a very expression of beauty and love. It is an expression of Slovenian cultural and national identity, which has no equal in the world.

In the 19th century, when the general thinking of the public was inspired by Romantic views, choirs with beautiful songs were formed in Slovenian churches. In particular, women were the most zealous among the church singers, and their soprano and alto contributed to a very deep experience of the divine services. The solemn masses for Christmas and Easter, and Mary's devotion in May remained in this way unforgettable in people's memory.


"Poletje" (Summer), oil-painting by Ivana Kobilica (1861 - 1926) of ca. 1890. In the 19th/20th century, she was the most prominent among Slovenian paintresses.

In the same century, in the period of the National Awakening, women collaborated in a beautiful fraternal spirit of modern Slovenian national feeling. They wrote and painted, and they elaborated the Slovenian ornament. The Art Gallery of Lublana has on exhibit splendid paintings of Ivana Kobilica (1861 - 1926), the most important Slovenian woman painter. Her works express an idyllic beauty, which only the sentiments of a female could have enchanted.

In the 20th century, ladies decisively collaborated in forming a modern cultural and national life of Slovenians: writers, paintresses, actrasses, and opera-singers... We quote only some names, who became internationally known, like the female writer Alma Karlin, the film actress Ita Rina, the ballet couple Pia and Pino Mlakar, and others.

Moreover, at the end of the 60s, several Slovenian girls won the "Miss Beauty" title: Miss Florida, Miss Surf Hawaii, Miss Australia, Miss Cleveland... But the media of Lublana (Slovenia), of that time, never published a single article about them. Thus, because of the rancour and aversion against Slovenians, the centralistic circles of Belgrade prohibited the publishing of globally known Slovenian beauty queens. Their successes evidently disturbed the great-Serbian nationalism and hegemonism.  

Indeed, the Slovenian (Carantanian) lady knew her values at all times. If the term "modern" in sociological sense means, that one is "open to new perceptions", then, in her case we have to acknowledge, that she has always been up-to-date.