Miladinov Brothers – guardians of Bulgarian spirituality In Bulgarian

The Miladinov brothers are not only apostles of the Bulgarian spiritual awakening in Macedonia through education in their native language, but also with their collection Bulgarian Folk Songs (published in Zagreb in 1861 with the financial assistance of the prominent Croatian cultural and public figure Bishop Josip Strossmayer) they set the beginning of Bulgarian folkloristics. 

In the name of the Bulgarian spiritual and political awakening, the brothers Dimitar Miladinov and Konstantin Miladinov gave up all the benefits that the career of educated and capable Hellenic teachers would bring them, enjoying the generous patronage of the Phanariot spiritual power, and took the thorny path of national awakeners. 

On this path, instead of affluence, they would suffer constant deprivation, instead of fame and praise – denunciations and persecutions, and finally instead of recognition – imprisonment and death… Not without connection with the need to counteract foreign assimilationist aspirations was the emergence of the idea of compiling Bulgarian Folk Songs – the largest folklore collection, the fruit of the Miladinovs’ love for their father’s land and their admiration for the creative genius of the Bulgarians, which created high artistic paragons of folk poetry. 

With this work they set the real, great beginning of Bulgarian folkloristics during the Revival period.