Abstract:

This study seeks to interpret the genesis of various historical interpretations and theories regarding the role of the geography dubbed Kosovo. This article examines national myths, both historical and contemporary, in order to duly ascertain the development of historical paradigms. Contemporary historiography can be postulated to still benefit from patterns in relation to the Balkans, patterns that were accepted as all-encompassing and that defined the concept of nationhood during the 19th century. The conclusions from those assumptions often continue to directly affect contemporary political patterns and paradigms. Notwithstanding, all these factors should be examined critically and without presumptions, using the greatest possible historical objectivity. Furthermore, the Balkan region per se can also be emphasized to not occupy nor to have ever occupied a special position in global historiography; all patterns of historiographical interpretation must be checked using the generally recognized criteria of historical science. Within this scope, the attempt can certainly be made to interpret the unconscious perception of the Balkans as an antipode to the not always clearly definable historical self-reception of Central and Western Europe as a legacy of the concept historicism itself.

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