Градозиданије и сенокошеније – опште радне обавезе у средњовековној Србији
City building and haymaking – general work duties in medieval Serbia

Summary/Abstract: City-building and haymaking (gradozidanije and senokošenije) are part of general work duties, as well as ploughing and digging vineyards. City-building was an occasional obligation, especially during the Nemanjić era. These obligations included all farmers (merops, sokalnik, slaves), as well as craftsmen (masters). It was also an obligation of the city population. The building of the city meant the supply of stone for building and for burning lime, as well as simple construction work. The release of church people from this obligation was real because the church did not have its own cities. City-building sometimes includes the construction of houses and palaces, although this obligation is sometimes stated as a separate one. The obligation is unrestricted, and in the time of the despot Stefan, the release from it is limited in time, in one case it is valid for his life, and in the other only for five years. The obligation to build the city can also be seen as a kind of military obligation, which certainly included guarding the city (gradobljudenie), which is much less often found in diplomatic documents. Closely connected with it is the guard service, for which the guards received land. Haymaking was an unmeasured or timed work obligation and at that time it consisted of a day of mowing, a day of mulching and a day of planting hay (three working days). In addition to farmers, it was also an obligation of sedentary (villagesettled) Vlachs, and on some monastery estates, also lords subordinate to the monastery. In the case of haymaking, the ruler‘s release benefited the church (earthly lord) and did not represent a real relief for the dependent population, and where it was not measured (Saint Archangels) it represented aggravation for the settlers of the manor.

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