ABSTRACT
Chapter 6 examines Serbia's monument to the Kosovo heroes, Spomenik Kosovskim Junacima, as an adaptation of the Gloria Victis motif of heroic defeat. Sculpted by Paris-trained Đorđe Jovanović, the monument translated French commemorative aesthetics into a modern nationalist vision rooted in the 1389 Battle of Kosovo. Both the Obrenović and Karađorđević dynasties mobilized the Kosovo legend to legitimize authority, fusing medieval martyrdom with contemporary militarism and monarchy. At the same time, the monument's stylistic aff inity with French public sculpture reinforced Franco-Serbian diplomatic alignment before World War I. The chapter demonstrates how defeat functioned as a productive political resource, shaping national cohesion and international orientation rather than collective mourning.
