Stefan Prvovenčani (the First-Crowned, cca. 1165 - 1228), Serbian Prefect 1196 – 1217 and King 1217 - 1228, was the first crowned ruler of the Nemanjić dynasty. He was the middle son of the Grand Prefect Stefan Nemanja and the Great Duchess Anna. He inherited the throne in 1196, according to his father’s wish, who was the founder of the Nemanjić dynasty and the creator of the Serbian state. At the time of his entering the throne, he was married to Eudoxia, daughter of the Byzantine Emperor, Alexios III Angelos.
As the Grand Prefect of Raška, even under great external and internal pressure, he successfully maintained the independence of the country, and was crowned the King in 1217 by the Papal legate, which increased his reputation. After the crowning, Stefan referred to himself as „Stefan, by God’s grace, the first crowned (married) King of all Serbian lands and sea“. As the first of the Nemanjić dynasty to receive the royal wreath, he was named the „First-Crowned King“, and from that description came the name under which he is known today – Stefan Prvovenčani (the First-Crowned).
Serbia’s autonomy was completed when the Patriarch of Nikae gave autocephaly to the Serbian Church in 1219, and Sava (Rastko) Nemanjić, the younger brother of Stefan, became the first Serbian Archbishop. The monastery of Žiča, founded by Stefan Prvovenčani in 1207, became the first headquarters of the Serbian Archiepiscopacy, where latter kings were crowned and archbishops enthroned.
Stefan Prvovenčani also had a significant place in the formation of Serbian medieval literature. He wrote “The Life of St. Simeon“ (1216), a biographical work on the life and deeds of his father, Stefan Nemanja, as well as several charters characterized by a special narrative style.
At the end of his life, he received monastic tonsure, took the name Simon, and appointed his eldest son, Radoslav, as his successor.
Motif on the stamp: Stefan Prvovenčani, King, detail from the fresco in King Radoslav’s narthex, (1234), the Studenica Monastery. The motif for the first vignette: Stefan Prvovenčani as a Grand Prefect – a fragment of a painting from the entrance tower, the Studenica Monastery, 1208/9 (a fragment exhibited in the Monastery of Studenica’s treasury). The motif on the second vignette: The ring of Stefan Prvovenčani, XI – XII century, Monastery of Studenica’s treasury.
