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The Miladinov brothers

The Miladinov Brothers (Bulgarian: Братя Миладинови; Macedonian: Браќа Миладиновци), Dimitar Miladinov (1810-1862) and Konstantin Miladinov (1830-1862), were Bulgarian poets (in Republic of Macedonia they are considered Macedonian) and folklorists from Macedonia, authors of the most important collection of Bulgarian folk songs in the 19th century, Bulgarian Folk Songs (1861). The collection includes a total of 665 songs and 23,559 verses.

Although the Miladinov Brothers always called the language in which they wrote Bulgarian, since the establishment of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia they have been regarded by some linguists as Macedonians contributing for the development of the Macedonian language. Bulgarian Folk Songs has been re-issued in the Republic of Macedonia under an edited name, Collection; the references to Macedonia in the foreword as "Western Bulgaria" have been removed, and other references to "Bulgaria" and "Bulgarian language" have been replaced with "Macedonia" and "Macedonian language", due to the fact that most of the songs in this collection are in dialects spoken in Macedonia.

In the 1980s, the original edition of the book was subjected to systematic acts of vandalism in Western libraries, often carried by Yugoslav expatriates and usually resulting in the tearing of the front cover. For this reason, the book may be borrowed only as a photocopy nowadays.

Text of the front cover

"Bulgarian Folk Songs collected by the Miladinov Brothers Dimitar and Konstantin and published by Konstantin in Zagreb at the printing house of A. Jakic, 1861"

The Macedonian State Archive in cooperation with the Soros Foundation in Macedonia displays a photocopy of the original book cover where the text does not state "Bulgarian Folk Songs", but simply "Folk Songs" (http://www.soros.org.mk/archive/G04/01/A04_01/sa2004.htm)

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Short biography of Dimitar Miladinov

Dimitar Miladinov
(1810-1862)

Dimitar Miladinov was born in Struga, present day in the Republic of Macedonia in 1810. His mother was Sultana (Tana) and father Risto Miladinov. Dimitar's mother was daughter of priest Joan from Magarevo, a village from the Bitola region, and his father was from Steblevo, bulgarian ethnoregion Golo brdo, today in Albania.

The Miladinov brothers house in Struga

In 1829, he stayed in the Saint Naum monastery in Ohrid to continue his education, and in 1830 he became a teacher in Ohrid. Meanwhile, his father died, and his brother was born - Konstantin Miladinov. The Miladinov family had eight children - six boys and two girls: Dimitar (the oldest), Atanas, Mate, Apostol, Naum, Konstantin, Ana and Krsta.

In 1832, he moved to Durres, Albania, working in the local trade chamber. From 1833 through 1836 he studied in Ioannina, preparing to become teacher. Eventually he returned to Ohrid and began teaching.

In 1836, he introduced a new teaching method in his classroom. He enriched the school programme with the inclusion of new subjects, such as philosophy, arithmetics, geography, Old Greek and Greek literature, Latin and French. Soon he became popular and respected among his students and peers. After two years, he left Ohrid and returned to Struga.

In the period of 1840 through 1842, he was a teacher in Kilkis, today in Greece. He became active in the town's social life, strongly opposing the phanariotes. Then he returned again to Ohrid. There he translated Bible texts in the Bulgarian language, considered in the Republic of Macedonia as Macedonian.

Konstantin Miladinov studied in Ioannina, the University of Athens and later in Russia. Dimitar Miladinov tried to introduce the Bulgarian language (as he called it) into the Greek school in Prilep in 1856 causing an angry reaction from the Greeks. He was accused of being a Russian agent spreading pan-Slavic ideas and was imprisoned in Constantinople later to be joined by his supporting brother Konstantin. In January of 1862 they both died in prison by typhus.