Eastern Topics - Western Patterns in the Southern Slavic Enlightenment

This paper analyzes the Eastern topics - Western patterns relationship in the Southern Slavic Enlightenment. This is in fact related to just one aspect of common literary strategy among the Southern Slavs. Usually it is thought that there are no common elements between the Croatian and Serbian cultures. The research on the Eastern topics - Western patterns proves the contrary. The oriental topic gained popularity at the beginning of the 18th century and the fascination with this topic among the Southern Slavs appears to have been an alternation of interests in Chinese, Indian (or Egyptian) philosophies and cultures. M. A. Reljković, A. T. Blagojević, D. Obradović, P. Solarić are just some of the Southern Slavic educators who were attracted to these topics and consequently developed a respect for ancient wisdom, which was typical of the European Enlightenment, and in that way they followed the literary trends that where in vogue elsewhere at that time. Although some of these supposedly oriental sources were actually literary inventions and mystifications, the fact remains that it is through the study of the Eastern topics - Western patterns relationship that it is possible to observe one of the components of the common literary strategy of the Southern Slavs.