Бела Црква Каранска

Ktetors

The portraits of the ktetor, Prefect Petar Brajan and his family, are positioned in the northern part of the western wall of naos, while on the other, opposing wall there are the portraits of the Serbs from the history of the Nemanjić dynasty: St. Simeon Nemanja, St. Sava, King Milutin and the then ruler King Dušan with his wife Jelena. King Dušan is on the south and Queen Jelena on the western wall. Prefect Brajan, his wife, the youngest daughter, and another daughter are painted on the north wall, while the other two daughters are represented on the western wall, left to the entrance to the church.

Details of the founder’s clothing, photo: Marko Stamatović

The vestments of Petar Brajan, his wife and the daughter are very solemn. The newest analyses show that Prefect Brajan wears on top of the lower, basic dress – a new, lavishing ceremonial kaftan (a Mongolian one, so-called deel, type 1) which was very common in XIII and XIV century throughout Asia.
This kaftan has a special cut, riding slit, narrow hanging sleeves with trims along the rims, and is adorned by the details specific for the clothing of the Serbian noblemen.

The kaftan is tightened by a lavishing belt with hand-hammered iron elements (buckle), and with the tucked embroidered handkerchief. Amongst the motifs of the embellishments of the outer dress there is – apart from the grapevine motif – a bird phoenix. The clothing of the three adult daughters of Prefect Brajan is very similar and differs only in the motifs of the fabric of the dress and the overcoat, and these are the variants of the twisted floral vines. The lower dress is buttoned high up the neck, and the overcoats are of bell-like form, with golden-silvery trims. All three adult daughters have kind of a veil with crowns and earrings on their heads. Petar Brajan’s wife Struja wears on her head kind of crown-like form with a veil, earrings and so-called čepac (a shawl-like piece of linen fabric which falls in form of ruching from the top of the head and is twisted around the neck) and kruseler (medieval headwear for women) pointing out that she is a married woman, and is vested in a kaftan.

The youngest daughter is painted with her hair tied up, without a veil, with a coja head piece on her head adorned by three motifs looking like the flower iris. The clothes and the postures of the ktetors painted in a dignified line show the status of the Serbian nobility in the period of rule of King Dušan and the identity of this family.

Moreover, newer research suggest that it is the very specificity of the clothes that shows that Prefect Brajan was member of the hired troops of elite warriors (Mongols, Alans or most likely Kumans) who – from the period of rule of King Milutin – formed personal guards of the Serbian ruler. For their special merits they were awarded by high-rank titles and were fully assimilated into the noblemen circles in the Serbian state. The portraits of the Serbian rulers facing the line of ktetors confirm the stated facts and the legitimacy of the authority of Prefect Brajan.

Boy, detail of the procession of portraits of rulers,
photo: Marko Stamatović

Along with the portraits of the then rulers – King Dušan and Queen Jelena – there is also a painting of a boy who is tall up to the thighs of King Dušan and who was identified by  certain researcher as little prince Uroš.

However, newer studies suggest that the representation of the boy who is not marked by nimbus and does not wear a crown – cannot be identified either with Uroš or with Simeon Siniša, but more likely with the son of Prefect Brajan. The little figure on the southern wall of the west bay holds in his right hand a cross-shaped sceptre or a candle-holder, which was customary for the nobles “arhontopula“ accompanying the ruler.

Therefore, it is possible that the little son of Prefect Brajan was pictured in his father’s endowment as the royal courtier, along with the ruler; that would not be something unusual, as the children of Dubrovnik and of Serbian noblemen were taken to the court of King Dušan so as to learn from the young age about royal protocols. This argument aligns with the dating of the Karan church fresco painting somewhere between 1332 and 1337, meaning after Dušan’s marriage to Jelena, and before birth of their son Uroš.

Another particularly interesting fact is that Queen Jelena is painted in Karan church with a unique insignia – thorakion – the sign of royal dignity usual for the Byzantine court, which was accepted on the Serbian court during King Dušan’s rule.

As the most deserving person for the erection of the church, Prefect Petar Brajan, standing in the ktetor line positioned opposite to the wall with the portraits of the Nemanjić family, holds in his hand a model of the White Church of Karan and extends it in the direction of the Most Holy Mother of God, accompanied by his wife Struja and his daughter. The inscription states “Ktetor Petar named Prefect Brajan along with his wife and his child“. Behind him there are four female figures and a figure of a child. Out of the inscription it is known that his baptismal name was Petar, and that Brajan was his worldly name. The youngest child of Prefect Brajan in the line, next Petar’s wife Struja and the three adult daughters, judging by the remnants of the earrings seen on the painting – seems to have been a girl as well.

Next to the main ktetor, Prefect Petar Brajan, there are two preserved portraits of two priests in the altar space, on the north side of the altar apse, in the lower  zone, below of the representation of the Liturgy served by the fathers. These are unique representations of two priests, with an inscription: “Praying act of the servant of God, Priest Georgije, called Medoša“. Obviously, that is a painting of the Priest Georgije Medoša and of another priest whose name cannot be read from the unpreserved, illegible inscription.

Presbyter Georgije Medos with another priest,
photo: Marko Stamatović

These two paintings belong to the rare examples of medieval portrayal of clergy in Serbian art. The formulation „praying act“ would imply that these two priests had their merits in the construction and fresco painting of the church, which is how they deserved their portraits to be painted in the church. Georgije Medoš wears phelonion and epitrachelion, and holds a Gospel with his both hands, in front of him and partakes in Liturgy serving.

The ktetor portrait of the elderly nun immersed in praying on her knees (proskynesis) next to the legs of the Most Holy Mother of God with Three Hands on the fresco-painted masonry iconostasis is also regarded as a rare and very important example of this kind of the female ktetors portraits.

This line of ktetor portraits makes the White Church of Karan one of the most significant Serbian endowments of the first half of XIV century.

Archaeological findings of medieval tombs

drawings: find in grave 1, parts of a cap found in grave 1 (drawing: Marko Bračić)

The White Church was examined in archaeological terms from 21 October to 4 November 1975. Several tombs were discovered at the time, which shows that the intention of the founder was to make the Church of the Annunciation to be some kind of funeral church, a graveyard church. In the entire church – in the altar, nave and narthex – under the wooden floor the tombstones and grave slabs were found made of  black stone, slate, used as spolias. The stone floor was set most likely in 1932, when the nartex was built.

The foundations of the church are 1 m deep. In the upper layer of soil right beneath the floor there were damaged remnants of graves – which testifies that this layer was dug over, while somewhat deeper, at the depth of 1.4 m – intact skeletons of the deceased were found, buried with hands crossed on the chest or on the belly (rarely positioned next to the body). In the nave of the church four graves were found inserted in the exposed part of the foundations, while in the altar space, in the upper part, the tombs were leaned to the foundations. Below the ktetor composition on the north and west walls a tomb was found at the depth of 1.2 m and in it an intact skeleton, with impeccably preserved jaw bone and remnants of a hat on the head. Next to this skeleton, parts of an older skeleton were found, which could point to a kind of blood relation: father-son or grandfather-grandson. The findings of the hat in the tomb are very rare and thus significant. The hat was a worldly one, sawn from six parts, with a segment covering the ears and the nape. The textile  is silk, golden-woven fabric, probably from the first half of XV century, and was adorned by motifs of a palmette and vine with a net. 

The archaeologists concluded that the person with the hat on the head was buried in the tomb within the period of end-XIV to end-XV century, which means that was not Prefect Brajan, but his relative. Prefect Brajan could perhaps be identified with the findings of the older skull and the remnants of the older skeleton.

Below the rulers’ composition on the south and west walls there is a part of the tomb floor preserved, but the skeletons are not intact, complete. The north and south tombs located in the east bay of the nave are severely damaged, with scattered elements. In the altar space, next to the south part of the foundations, there was an intact skeleton found at the depth of 1.1 m. Above the intact skeletons, medieval stone tomb stones were found, most likely from mid-XV century. In the altar some remnants of priest vestments were found in the form of small fragments (golden-woven brocade, bells, buttons), and some church vessels (candle-light glass, spear top, incense holder’s chain). Preservation and restoration works concerning  architecture and fresco painting were completed in 1980.