View source for Danilo II (Archbishop of Serbs)

{{Short description|Archbishop of Serbs 1324 to 1337}}
{{Expand Serbian|Данило II (архиепископ српски)|topic=bio|date=April 2015}}
{{Infobox Saint
| honorific-prefix = [[Saint]]
| name = Danilo II<br>{{small|{{lang|sr|Данило II}}}}
| image = DaniloII.jpg
| canonized_by=[[Orthodox Church]]
| titles= Archbishop of All Serbia and [[Pomorje|Serbian Maritime Lands]]
| imagesize = 230
| honorific-suffix =  [[His Holiness]], [[Archbishop of Serbs]]
| misc = {{Infobox Christian leader|embed=yes
| type = 
| honorific-prefix = Saint
| alt = 
| caption = Saint Danilo II, fresco from [[Patriarchal Monastery of Peć]]
| church = [[Serbian Orthodox Church]]
| archdiocese = 
| province = 
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| see = [[Patriarchal Monastery of Peć|Monastery of Peć]]
| enthroned = 1324
| ended = 1337
| predecessor = [[Saint Nikodim I|Nikodim I]]
| opposed = 
| successor = [[Saint Joanikije II|Joanikije II]]
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| nationality = [[Serbs|Serb]]
| religion = [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern Orthodox Christian]]
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| feast_day = {{OldStyleDate|2 January||20 December}}
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| canonized_by = [[Serbian Orthodox Church]]
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}}

'''Danilo II''' ({{lang-sr-cyr|Данило II}}) was the [[Archbishop of Serbs]] 1324 to 1337, under the rule of Kings [[Stephen Uroš III]] (1321–1331) and [[Dušan the Mighty]] (1331–1355, crowned Emperor in 1345). As a Serbian monk, he was also a [[chronicler]], active in court and Church politics, holding the office during the zenith of the [[Nemanjić dynasty]]-era; he wrote many biographies which are considered part of the most notable [[List of medieval Serbian literature|medieval Serbian literature]]. He was proclaimed '''[[List of Serbian saints|Saint]] Danilo II''' (Свети Данило II) of the [[Serbian Orthodox Church]], and is celebrated on the same day as Saint [[Ignatius of Antioch]] on {{OldStyleDate|2 January||20 December}}.

==Life and work==
[[File:1330s fresco of Archbishop Danilo II with Prophet Daniel.jpg|thumb|left|Danilo II with Prophet Daniel]]
Born around 1270 in the [[župa]] of Pilot (present-day [[Pult]], in northern [[Albania]]),{{sfn|McDaniel|1980|p=38}} his given name has not been recorded, only that he belonged to a [[Serbian nobility|Serbian noble family]].{{sfn|McDaniel|1980|p=38}}{{sfn|Thomson|1993|p=103}} He was endowed with a fine intellect and a noble disposition; he had received an excellent education at the hands of the most learned men in [[Medieval Serbia]] and in [[Byzantium]]. After his education, he joined the court of the Serbian king [[Stefan Milutin]], which he left around 1300 to join the monastery of Končul on the [[Ibar (river)|Ibar]] river.{{sfn|McDaniel|1980|p=38}} After his novitiate, he went to [[Peć]] at the request of the Serbian archbishop [[Jevstatije II|Jevstatije]], where he was made a presbyter priest.{{sfn|McDaniel|1980|p=38-39}} After that, he progressed quickly in the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church: first as abbot of [[Hilandar]] ({{ca|1306–1311}}), then as bishop of [[Banjska Monastery|Banjska]] (1312–1315), and finally as archbishop from 1324 until his death in 1337.{{sfn|McDaniel|1980|p=39}} He died on 19 December 1337 and was buried in one of the churches he had built in the [[Patriarchate of Peć (monastery)|monastery of Peć]], Our Lady Hodegetria.{{sfn|Thomson|1993|p=106}}

Danilo wrote biographies of Serbian medieval kings and archbishops, including the biography of Jelena, the wife of King [[Stephen Uroš I of Serbia]] (1243–1276). His monumental work is referred to in the poetry of Serbian folklore as ''knjige starostavne'' (the ancient books) and ''knjige carostavne'' (the royal books). As a result of his work, many historical details concerning both the rulers of medieval Serbia and the members of the Nemanjić dynasty have been preserved.

==Legacy==
[[File:Monument of Serbian patriarch Danilo II.jpg|thumb|Monument dedicated to Danilo II in [[Raška, Serbia|Raška]]]]
He is included in [[The 100 most prominent Serbs]].

==See also==
* [[Jefimija]]
* [[Princess Milica of Serbia]]
* [[Stefan Lazarević]]
* [[Teodosije]]
* [[Domentijan]]
* [[Stefan Dušan]]
* [[Teodosije the Hilandarian]] (1246–1328), one of the most important Serbian writers in the Middle Ages
* [[Miroslav Gospel]]
* [[Gabriel the Hilandarian]]
* [[Danilo's anonymous pupil]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

* Translated and adapted from Serbian: https://www.rastko.rs/kosovo/pecarsija/ljudi/vl_sava-danilo_II_l.html

==Sources==
*{{cite web|author=Episkop šumadijski Sava|url=http://www.rastko.org.rs/kosovo/pecarsija/ljudi/vl_sava-danilo_II_l.html|title=Sveti Danilo II arhiepiskop srpski|year=2001|orig-year=1996|work=Srpski jerarsi od IX do XX veka|publisher=Projekat Rastko|language=sr|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402162500/http://www.rastko.org.rs/kosovo/pecarsija/ljudi/vl_sava-danilo_II_l.html|archive-date=2015-04-02}}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.politikin-zabavnik.rs/2009/2969/02.php |title=Архиепископ српски Данило II |last=Лопандић |first=Душко |date=2009 |publisher=Politikin zabavnik |language=sr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140604085315/http://www.politikin-zabavnik.rs/2009/2969/02.php |archive-date=2014-06-04 }}
*{{cite book|author=Justin Sp Popović|title=Žitija svetih|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FM5ZAAAAIAAJ|year=1976|publisher=Izdanje Manastire sv. Ćelije kod Valjeva|language=sr}}
*{{cite thesis |type=PhD |last=McDaniel|first=Gordon Lawrence |date=13 June 1980 |title=The "Lives of the Serbian Kings and Archbishops by Danilo II": Textual History and Criticism |publisher=University of Washington}}
*{{cite journal |last=Thomson |first=Francis J. |title=Archbishop Daniel II of Serbia Hierarch, Hagiographer, Saint. With Some Comments on the ''Vitae regum et archiepiscoporum Serbiae'' and the Cults of Mediaeval Serbian Saints |journal=Analecta Bollandiana |date=1993 |volume=111 |issue=1–2 |pages=103–134 |doi=10.1484/J.ABOL.4.03279 |url=https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/abs/10.1484/J.ABOL.4.03279|url-access=subscription }}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |author=Arhiepiskop Danilo i drugi |editor-last=Daničić |editor-first=Đuro |editor-link=Đuro Daničić |title=Životi kraljeva i arhiepiskopa srpskih |trans-title=Lives of Serbian kings and archbishops |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yXNw2mf_v0AC |year=1866 | publisher=Svetozar Galca |location=Zagreb |language=sr}}
*{{cite book |editor-last=Đurić |editor-first=Vojislav J. |title=Arhiepiskop Danilo II i njegovo doba. Međunarodni naučni skup povodom 650 godina od smrti. Decembar 1987 |trans-title=The Archbishop Danilo II and his era. International scientific symposium on the occasion of the 650th anniversary of his death. December 1987 |year=1991 |publisher=Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti |location=Belgrade |language=sr}}

{{Commons category}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-rel|eo}}
{{Succession box | before = [[Saint Nikodim I|Nikodim I]] | title = [[Archbishop of Serbs]] | years = 1324&ndash;1337 | after = [[Saint Joanikije II|Joanikije II]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{Serbian Orthodox leaders}}
{{Serbian Orthodox saints}}
{{Serbian literature}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danilo II}}
[[Category:Serbian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church]]
[[Category:Eastern Orthodox Christians from Serbia]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing]]
[[Category:Year of death missing]]
[[Category:14th-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:14th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops]]
[[Category:14th-century Serbian people]]
[[Category:Archbishops of Serbs]]
[[Category:Burials at the Patriarchate of Peć (monastery)]]