The Figure of Baron Ernst Gideon von Laudon in Late 18th and early 19th Century Serbian Literature
The Figure of Baron Ernst Gideon von Laudon in Late 18th and early 19th Century Serbian Literature

Summary/Abstract: Baron Ernst Gideon von Laudon (1717–1790) was widely regarded in his lifetime as one of the greatest and most gifted Austrian military commanders. A cunning strategist, he was praised by his peers, superiors, and even adversaries as a master of the so-called “small war” offensive warfare and celebrates as a “father” among his soldiers (Soldatenvater). Through his battlefield exploits, especially those during the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763) and the Austro-Turkish war (1788–1791), he became immortalized in various works of art and literature. This was particularly so among the Serbs, who placed high hopes in liberation from Turkish rule after Laudon achieved several famous victories during military campaigns in 1788 and 1789. These triumphs included Laudon’s conquest of the strategically important strongholds of Dubica, Novi (both 1788), Gradiška and finally Belgrade (1789). Laudon was perceived among the Serbs as a hero and the herald of their freedom. As such, he became a prominent figure and recurring character in Serbian literature, not only in epic folk poems by anonymous authors, but also in the writings of the most learned and notable Serbs of the late 18th and early 19th century, including Dositej Obradović, Jovan Rajić and Vuk Stefanović Karadžić.

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