New Insights about St Michael’s Church in Ston

Crkva sv. Mihajla u Stonu važan je spomenik srednjovjekovne graditeljske baštine šireg dubrovačkog prostora i jedini je sigurno potvrđeni spomenik tzv. južnodalmatinskog jednobrodnog kupolnog tipa na prostoru nekadašnjeg Zahumlja. Podignuta je na vrhu uzvisine Gradac, tj. brdu sv. Mihajla (kota 107), na mjestu ranijeg utvrđenja. Na temelju analize arhitekture Sv. Mihajla, kao i pripadajuće mu kamene opreme nastojalo se ukazati da je crkva predromaničkog podrijetla. Također, predloženo je da je zvonik (zapadno zdanje) izgrađen zajedno sa crkvom, jer tlocrtna zamisao stonske građevine (odnos dužine i širine, neznatno istaknuta apsida), njezine male dimenzije, kao i vertikalna stratigrafija (zvonik, ali i kupola), upućuju na funkciju tog zdanja podignutog kao dvorske kapele. Po svemu sudeći, crkva je od vremena podizanja bila posvećena arhanđelu Mihovilu, budući da je štovanje tog nebeskog vojskovođe, kao zaštitnika vladara i njihovih vojnih pohoda, bilo osobito rašireno među vladajućim slojem u ranom srednjem vijeku, pa bi ta znakovita posveta bila u skladu s njezinom funkcijom. Vrijeme izgradnje vladarske kapele sv. Mihajla najvjerojatnije bi trebalo dovesti u vezu s prvim, povijesno zasvjedočenim i najvažnijim zahumskim vladarom u Stonu - knezom Mihajlom Viševićem (prije 910.- nakon 928.), kada Ston biva upravnim i crkvenim sjedištem te sklavinije. Na osnovu analize mlađeg sloja skulpture iz Sv. Mihajla (monumentalni prozorski okviri i ulomak s ljudskim licem) i zidnih oslika, moguće je pretpostaviti da je vladarska kapela bila znatnije i raskošnije opremljena oko sredine 11. stoljeća. Imajući u vidu povijesna vrela o onodobnom Stonu predloženo je da je za tu obnovu bio zaslužan Stefan Vojislav (prije 1018.-43./50.), rodonačelnik dinastije Vojislavljevića. Na tu pretpostavku bi upućivao podatak da je Vojislav, nakon pobjede nad Bizantom i njegovim saveznicima (među kojima je bio ugledni zahumski knez Ljutovit), osvojio prijestolnicu zahumskih vladara. Da je u njoj neko vrijeme i boravio potvrđuje vijest koju donosi bizantski pisac Kekavmen - da je bio toparh u Stonu i da je zarobio dubrovačkoga stratega. Stoga osvajanje Stona, kao i slavna pobjeda nad Bizantom, ali i Ljutovitom koji je predvodio savezničku vojsku, nameće se kao mogući razlog zašto je Stefan Vojislav obnovio stonsku crkvu, točnije zabilježio svoj vojni trijumf u vladarskoj kapeli poraženog zahumskog vladara. Spomenuta obnova stonske crkve najvjerojatnije se dogodila u razdoblju između 1042/43. i 1050. godine, odnosno nakon Vojislavove pobjede i njegove smrti.St Michael’s church in Ston is an important monument of medieval architectural heritage within a wider area of Dubrovnik and the only positively attested monument of the so-called southern Dalmatian single-nave dome type in the area of historical Zahumlje. The church stands on the top of the Gradac hill or St Michael’s Mount (107 m.a.s.l.), at the location of an earlier fortification. Based on an analysis of St Michael’s architecture, as well as its stone furnishing, the author has argued that the church is pre-Romaneseque in origin. It has also been suggested that the belfry (the structure to the west) was built together with the church, since the concept of the ground plan (the width-length ratio, the slightly protruding apse), its small dimensions, as well as its vertical stratigraphy (the belfry and the dome) indicate that it was constructed as a ruler’s chapel. It is most probable that the church was dedicated to Archangel Michael from the very beginning, as the cult of the heavenly host-leader as the patron saint of rulers and their military campaigns was widespread among the upper classes in the early Middle Ages. The time of construction should most probably be connected with the first historically attested and significant ruler of Ston – Duke Mihajlo Višević (before 910 – after 928), who raised Ston to an administrative and ecclesiastical centre of this Sclavinia. An analysis of the younger layer of sculpture in St Michael’s (the monumental window frames and a fragment with human face), as well as its murals, has suggested that the ruler’s chapel was furnished more richly around the mid-11th century. Considering the historical sources on Ston in this period, it has been suggested that its renovation took place at the initiative of Stefan Vojislav (before 1018 – 1043/1050), founder of the Vojislavljević dynasty. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that Vojislav, having defeated Byzantium and its allies (among them the distinguished Duke Ljutovit of Zahumlje) conquered the seat of Zahumlje’s rulers. It may be presumed that he spent some time there as well, since the Byzantine writer Kekaumenos mentions that Vojislav was a toparch in Ston and that he captured the strategos of Dubrovnik. Thus, the conquest of Ston, as well as the glorious victory over both Byzantium and Ljutovit leading the allied army, imposes itself as the probable reason why Stefan Vojislav renovated the church in Ston, namely in order to celebrate his military triumph in the chapel of the defeated ruler of Zahumlje. The reconstruction most probably took place between 1042/43 and 1050, after Vojislav’s victory and before his death