Которска породица Мекша у средњем веку
The Mekša Kotor Family in the Middle Ages

Summary/Abstract: Based on mostly published and unpublished sources from the Kotor and Dubrovnik archives, the paper presents a noble family through four generations in Medieval Kotor. Members of the Mekša family did business in Kotor, Dubrovnik, and Serbia. They formed mixed trading societies with people from Kotor, traders from Zeta seaside towns, people from Dubrovnik, Venetians, and Serbs. Some of them were successful merchants, acquired wealth and reputation, and performed important social functions in Kotor. A particular biographical note is about the family's most prominent member, Marin Mekša, who was not matched by his heirs. He was a great and capable merchant. He traded in metals, primarily silver, salt, textile, and other goods. Marin Mekša earned large capital, which he invested in other business and in real estate (houses and land) in Kotor, Serbia, and Dubrovnik. Due to his trading skills, Marin Mekša acquired great reputation, and performed important diplomatic missions for the Serb state and for his native Kotor. He was King Dušan's emissary in Venice in 1332, where he negotiated on settling Kotor excessive debts with Venice merchants, and about repaying these debts in time. When not busy with trade and diplomacy, he resided in Kotor, and performed important social duties in the native city. Marin Mekša frequently served as a judge and as an auditor in Kotor.

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