The Miladinov brothers (Bulgarian: Братя Миладинови, romanized: Bratya Miladinovi, Macedonian: Браќа Миладиновци, romanized: Brakja Miladinovci), Dimitar Miladinov (1810–1862) and Konstantin Miladinov (1830–1862), were Bulgarian poets, folklorists, and activists of the Bulgarian national movement in Ottoman Macedonia.[1][2][3] They are best known for their collection of folk songs called Bulgarian Folk Songs,[4][5] considered a milestone in Bulgarian literature,[6] the greatest literary work in the history of Bulgarian folklore studies and the genesis of folklore studies during the Bulgarian National Revival.[7][8] They also contributed to Bulgarian ethnography through their collection of folk material.[9] Their third brother Naum (1817–1897) helped compile this collection too. Konstantin Miladinov is also famous for his poem Taga za Yug (Grief for the South) which he wrote during his stay in Russia.
In North Macedonia, the Miladinov brothers are celebrated as Macedonians who laid the foundation of the Macedonian national awakening and literary tradition. Many of the Miladinov brothers' original works have been unavailable to the general public and only censored versions, and redacted copies of them have been published there.[10][11]
- ^ In the announcement by the Miladinov Brothers about the subscription for their collection called Bulgarian Folk Songs, published in Belgrade by Konstantin Miladinov on February 7, 1861 in the Bulgarian newspaper Dunavski Lebed, issue № 20, he wrote: "We started collecting folk songs six years ago from all parts of Western Bulgaria, i.e. Macedonia... as well as from Eastern Bulgaria. These folk songs will be supplemented with traditional rites of betrothal and match-making from Struga and Kukush; proverbs, riddles, legends and about 2,000 words which have become obsolete or differ from other dialects". For more see: D. Kossev et al., Macedonia, documents and materials, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, (in English) Sofia, 1978, p. 48.
- ^ "On 8 January 1861, K. Miladinov wrote to the Bulgarian weakener G. Rakovski to explain his use of the term ‘‘Bulgarian’’ in the title of his and his brother’s collection of Macedonian folk songs: ‘‘In the announcement I called Macedonia West Bulgaria (as it should be called) because in Vienna the Greeks treat us like sheep. They consider Macedonia a Greek land and cannot understand that [Macedonia] is not Greek.’’ Miladinov and other educated Macedonians worried that use of the Macedonian name would imply attachment to or identification with the Greek nation." For more see: Andrew Rossos, Macedonia and the Macedonians: A History, Hoover Institution Press, 2008, ISBN 0817948813, p. 84.
- ^ İpek Yosmaoğlu, Blood Ties: Religion, Violence and the Politics of Nationhood in Ottoman Macedonia, 1878–1908, Cornell University Press, 2013, ISBN 0801469791, pp. 72–73.
- ^ Nationalism, Globalization and Orthodoxy: the social origins of ethnic conflict in the Balkans, Victor Roudometof, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001, ISBN 0313319499, p. 144.
- ^ Language and National Identity in Greece, 1766-1976, Peter Mackridge, Oxford University Press, 2010, ISBN 019959905X, p. 189.
- ^ Larry Koroloff, The Miladinov Brothers: A Miscellany, Macedonian Historical Society of Canada, 1982, pp. 4-8; 12.
- ^ Charles A. Moser, A History of Bulgarian Literature 865–1944, Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, 2019, ISBN 9783110810608, p. 85.
- ^ Developing Cultural Identity in the Balkans: Convergence Vs Divergence, Raymond Detrez, Pieter Plas, Peter Lang, 2005, ISBN 9052012970, p. 179.
- ^ Janette Sampimon, Becoming Bulgarian: The articulation of Bulgarian identity in the nineteenth century in its international context: An intellectual history, Pegasus, 2006, ISBN 9061433118, pp. 22; 32-34.
- ^ Миладинова, М. 140 години "Български народни песни" от братя Миладинови. Отзвук и значение (in Bulgarian). сп. Македонски преглед, 2001, Македонският научен институт, бр. 4, стр. 5-21.
- ^ "ms0601". www.soros.org.mk. Archived from the original on 2012-04-05. Retrieved 2008-03-18.