The Perast manuscript () is a manuscript written around 1700 which contains the earliest records of the heroic songs in decasyllable verse ().
The origin of the songs recorded in Perast manuscript is not the end of the 17th century because they must have had long development before they were recorded. The Perast manuscript contains eight bugarà ¡tica songs and one drama. The topic of four bugarà ¡tica and drama is the Battle of Kosovo, while others tell other historical events, like of Bajo Pivljanin.
The oral folk poetry was very popular in Kotor bay and during the 18th century, people began recording them. Some of their manuscripts survived until modern days, many of unknown authorship. Therefore, besides the Perast manuscript known as BaloviÃÂs manuscript, many other 18th century manuscripts written in Perast survived until modern-days, most notable of them being manuscript written in 1775. This manuscript is known as MazaroviÃÂ's manuscript. It does not contain bugarà ¡tica but ten-syllable verse songs which are other versions of bugarà ¡tica songs from the earlier manuscript.
The scholars disagree about the origin and chronology of songs found in the Perast manuscript.
Its original has not been preserved. The manuscript was found by SreÃÂko VuloviÃÂ in the house of a noble Perast family Smecchia. Since the manuscript did not have the cover page with the name of author or authors of its text, they remained unknown.
According to Maja Boà ¡koviÃÂ-Stulli, the manuscript which contains bugarà ¡tica songs was found in the house of BaloviÃÂ, while the manuscript with ten-syllable verse songs was found in the house of Mazaroviàfamily.
VuloviÃÂ speculated that the author of the play about the Battle of Kosovo was Serbian primate and archbishop Andrija ZmajeviÃÂ or probably Nikola BuroviÃÂ who authored larger part of the manuscript and this hypothesis was accepted by many other authors. Some authors insist that manuscript belongs to unknown collector rejecting the possibility that it was ZmajeviÃÂ. According to analysis of the handwriting performed by Gracija BrajkoviÃÂ, the author of manuscript was Nikola BuroviÃÂ.
The manuscript written by Mazaroviàhas the year of its creation, 1775, written on it. According to Svetozar KoljeviÃÂ, the person who wrote the manuscript with bugarà ¡tica. Koljeviàalso emphasize that none of the songs from the 1775 manuscript with ten-syllable verse songs are bugarà ¡tica. The 1775 manuscript was written in Latin script with most of its songs being versions of bugarà ¡tica found in earlier Perast manuscript Still, Valtazar Bogià ¡iàbelieved that Mazaroviàdid not record ten-syllable verse songs on the basis of bugarà ¡tica songs from an earlier manuscript, but in some other, possibly even older, manuscript. Mazaroviàcertainly has not authored or recorded from oral poetry any of the songs he recorded in 1775 manuscript. He only transcribed them from already existing records.
In this manuscript from Boka Kotorska eight songs are presented in two versions: like bugarà ¡tica and in ten-syllable verse. One bugarà ¡tica is very similar to drama. Four bugarà ¡ticas are about Battle of Kosovo. One bugarà ¡tica which is similar to drama and another which more resembles the song, describe Miloà ¡ Obiliàboth referring to his last name as KoviljiÃÂ. The similar mistake about the year of the Battle of Kosovo led to conclusion that they are linked to each other. In drama and one bugarà ¡tica song, Miloà ¡ Obiliàwas described as stepping onto sultan's neck.
One bugarà ¡tica describes ill fate of Nikola of Perast who was accused by some girl from Paà ¡troviÃÂi for raping her, so twelve armed men from Paà ¡troviÃÂi killed him before all of them were killed to. Another bugarà ¡tica describes the pirate attack on Perast galley near Durazzo. One bugarà ¡tica describes clash between the citizens of Perast with the Ottomans from Risan trying to capture women from Perast.
The Perast manuscript contains three songs about Bajo Pivljanin which are actually old motives applied on Bajo and Perast.
Nobody have ever published all of the songs from Baloviàversion of the Perast manuscript. Only 9 bugarà ¡tica were published.
This play does not have short title, but rather long one: âÂÂHere begins the battle of Prince Lazar and the evil purpose of Miloà ¡ Kobiliàand of the traitor Vuk Brankoviàand the nine Jugoviàbrothers at Kosovo field on June 24, 1343.âÂÂ. The author of this play deprived the Kosovo legend of its overtones connected to Serbian Orthodoxy and gave it more general Christian ones instead of the particular national tale.
Besides Perast manuscripts of MazaroviÃÂ, there were many other similar manuscripts, smaller and usually of lower importance. Three of such manuscripts came from family of BaloviÃÂ. One of them, sometimes referred to as BaloviÃÂs manuscript, contains 24 folk poems including 9 bugarà ¡tica, all of them thematically connected with Kotor Bay.
In Dubrovnik, a copy of the Perast Navigation Instructions manuscript is held in the archives.