Historiography of the surroundings and in Peć

Peć, the renowned center of the Serbian Patriarchate, was first mentioned as a settlement around 1202 and as a village in the county of Hvosno in 1220. The fortified monastery near Peć was initially, from the end of the 13th century to 1346, the seat of the "Hvosno episcopate" and the "Hvosno bishop," and later, until 1766 with some interruptions, the seat of the "great church archbishopric and patriarchate in Peć."

Saint Sava established an archbishopric in Hvosno, in the village of Studenica near Peć, hence this episcopate was also known as Studenica, distinct from Nemanja's Studenica, called Little Studenica. In a chrysobull of King Milutin towards the end of the 13th century, Lek and Pešt are mentioned as the Archbishop's. King Milutin (1282-1321) made Peć the center of ecclesiastical authority. He moved the seat of the head of the Serbian church, the independent Serbian archbishop, from Žiča to Peć. The Archbishop of Peć was proclaimed the Serbian Patriarch in 1346, and the Archbishopric of Peć became the Patriarchate of Peć, governing all Serbian Orthodox eparchies. The Patriarchate of Peć complex comprises several interconnected buildings: the Church of the Holy Apostles, the Church of St. Demetrios, and the Church of the Mother of God, with the small Church of St. Nicholas added.

The city then enjoyed many privileges from Serbian rulers and received many gifts from them and foreign dignitaries. It was distinguished by its rich and diverse economy and architecture. The city produced various goods, from food and clothing to high artistic value items. At that time, Peć had the finest craftsmen in filigree, blacksmiths, tailors, and other artisans. Special coins were minted for the head of the Serbian church, and silk was produced. Peć was known in the Middle Ages not only as a bishopric, metropolitan, and patriarchal seat but also as a lively trading place with a Dubrovnik colony. In the 14th century, Peć was visited by Dubrovnik and Kotor traders; local traders (from Peć) visited Kotor, where they concluded trade deals with the Venetians. The market was held next to the monastery, and jurisdiction over the Peć market and fairs was exercised by the Archbishop of Peć, later the Patriarch. Dubrovnik traders also visited the Peć fairs in the 15th century. In 1410, Đurađ Branković stayed in Peć with his mother Mara and brother Lazar.

The Patriarchate of Peć existed until the fall of Serbian independence on the Danube in 1459. Then the Turks abolished it, transferring its authority to the Archbishop of Ohrid. The Serbian Patriarchate was restored in 1557, again with its seat in Peć, but in 1776 the Turks abolished it again, placing the Serbian clergy under the administration of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople.

Even during the Turkish era, Peć was known throughout the Serbian world for the "Serbian Patriarchate of Peć." In 1450, Patriarch Nikodim wrote a charter in Peć for the Hilandar Monastery, which had property in Peć. In the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, the feudal family of Mahmud-begović is mentioned as the lord of Peć. According to a report by the Venetian providore dated February 10, 1690, one of them burnt Peć (castello Pech). Austrian reports of that time mention Peć (Peclia) with 130 villages in this region. According to a record, in 1720, the Patriarch of Peć "restored the town and with polatas," probably referring to the fortified monastery, damaged by Mahmud-begović. In the 18th century, Peć had, understandably, a Serbian Orthodox population. In 1736, the lord Petar Andrejević was mentioned in Peć.

Travel writers of the 19th century mention Peć as a notable town. For example, Ami Boué says that Peć had 2000 houses with 7000-8000 inhabitants, among whom a good part were Orthodox Serbs. The commercial importance of Peć at that time is reflected in the fact that the Patriarchate of Peć had over 960 shops. Around the same time as Boué, around 1838, Dr. Miller mentions Peć with 2400 houses and 12000 inhabitants.

The population engaged in silk production and agriculture. The most important field products were fruit and tobacco. According to Miller and Jukić, Peć had 12000 inhabitants. Although Peć was a known town during the Turkish era, its trade could not develop due to the well-known, widespread insecurity from the Albanians of this region "where everyone was a public brigand." The trade routes were also dangerous. Even in Boué's time, it took four dangerous days to travel from Peć to Skadar, illustratively, as this journey used to take 16 hours.

The five-century Turkish rule ended in 1912, during the First Balkan War. After 1918, Peć became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. From 1931, it was part of the Zeta Banovina, and from 1945 it was part of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, within Serbia and SFRY. For the cultural and artistic life of modern times in Peć, we observe a return to the interrupted traditions of domestic modernism, as well as an opening to contemporary traditions in the world.