The Kosovo myth is often seen as a critical supporting case for ethnosymbolist theory. Many theorists of nationalism and area scholars see this myth as either the direct continuation or creative reinterpretation of a long-standing epic and liturgical tradition among the Slavic Orthodox population in the Balkans. Using primary and secondary sources, this article traces how pre-modern cultural and communicative memories of Kosovo were transformed into a modern nationalist myth of the Serbs and, then, the Yugoslavs. It argues that cultural rupture and change rather than continuity or recurrence characterise the history of these scattered and ambivalent pre-modern legacies. The evidence shows that the medieval monastic texts and epics referring to the Kosovo battle cannot be considered as the ‘widespread ethnic memories’ necessary in ethnosymbolist theory. However, ethnosymbolist theory is multifaceted. The article's findings about the Kosovo myth suggest that scholars can adopt only a weak minimalist version of ethnosymbolism, which views this approach as a research programme or a focus of study rather than an explanatory theory. This version does not contradict modernist constructivism but aligns with the neo-Weberian tradition of longue durée research within it.

中文翻译：

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上面的“民族记忆”？南斯拉夫人的科索沃神话和极简主义的民族象征主义

科索沃神话通常被视为民族象征主义理论的重要支持案例。许多民族主义理论家和地区学者将这个神话视为巴尔干地区斯拉夫东正教人口中长期存在的史诗和礼仪传统的直接延续或创造性重新解释。本文利用一手和二手资料，追溯了科索沃的前现代文化和交流记忆如何转变为塞尔维亚人的现代民族主义神话，然后是南斯拉夫人。它认为，文化断裂和变化，而不是连续性或重复性，是这些分散和矛盾的前现代遗产的历史特征。证据表明，中世纪的僧侣文本和史诗中提到科索沃战役，不能被视为民族象征主义理论所必需的“广泛的民族记忆”。然而，民族象征主义理论是多方面的。这篇文章关于科索沃神话的发现表明，学者们只能采用弱民族象征主义的极简主义版本，将这种方法视为研究计划或研究重点，而不是解释性理论。这个版本并不与现代主义建构主义相矛盾，而是与其中长期研究的新韦伯传统保持一致。