Medieval golden age in history textbooks from Yugoslav republics and their successors

Elementary school history textbooks for the grade dealing with the Middle Ages from the Yugoslav and post-Yugoslav republics were studied. The focus in each case was on domestic history. Particular focus was on national idealisation, particularly on the fabulation of a golden age. The treatment was both across the environments and time-wise. The patterns of nationalism differed: in Croatia and Serbia, national idealisation was present in both periods, in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Northern Macedonia, it appeared during the first period, and grew with time. In Montenegro, it was absent in the first period, but has appeared recently. In Slovenia, upon appearing in the first period, it withdrew in the second period. Kosovo textbooks in both periods were modest in substance and could not be considered to maintain the idea of a golden period. Hence, it was found that nationalism was present in most environments already under socialist Yugoslavia, but the dynamics of rise (and fall) varied. Ethnic essentialism is also present almost everywhere and in both periods. Nationalist fabulation could be expected in the second, nation-building period, after the Yugoslav break-up, but it was thriving already before in most cases, indicating there was space for nationalist proclivities during the Yugoslav period.