Among Croatian Latinists and writers in Croatian a central place is occupied by Marko Marulic, who is the “father of Croatian literature” (born in Split, 1450-1524). He was the most famous spiritual writer of his time in Europe, and also the first who defined and used the notion of psychology, which is today in current use. Source His book De institutione bene vivendi (six volumes, 64 chapters), published in Venice in 1506, had fifteen editions until 1686 and was translated…
The court of the king Mathias Korvin was a strong European humanistic center, to which the Croats gave a deep imprint. Thus the tutor of Mathias Korvin was Ivan Vitez (1405-1472), a Croatian Latinist, who also had the merit to open the University of Bratislava (capital of Slovakia) and the Academy and library of Budim (part of today’s Budapest). He was a cardinal and occupied the position of the king’s chancellor. In his speech in Vienna he asked for help…
Jannus Pannonius (1431-1472), a Latin poet and humanist at the court of Mathias Korvin and a Croatian ban (viceroy), was famous in his time. He was born in a small village near Aljmas on the river Danube (the area that during the Serbian aggression in 1991/92 suffered indescribable atrocities) and died in Medvedgrad near Zagreb.
Antun Vrancic (lat Antonius Verantius, hungarized name Antal Verancsics, born in Sibenik in 1504) studied in Padova, Vienna and Krakow. After spending almost 20 years as a secretary and diplomat at the court of Ivan Zapolja, he continued his career at the court of Ferdinand I Habsburg in 1549. As the king’s envoy he had a delicate task to negotiate with the Turks (he spent altogether 6 years as a diplomat in Turkey). Together with a Flamish diplomat Busbeck he…
One of the oldest secular dramas in Europe is `The Slave’, written by Hanibal Lucic (born in Hvar, 1485-1553), a Croatian writer. In 1612 a municipal theatre in Hvar (on the island Hvar) was built up. It was the first communal theatre in Europe (i.e. the first theatre in a closed building).
Croatian language was taught in all church Universities in the 17th century as one of six world languages: Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Arabian, Caldean (Aramaic), Illyric (Croatian). The decree ordering to learn these languages was issued by Pope Urban VIII in 1623, and it was decided that Croatian should be lectured at least for two years as compulsory subject at the following universities: University of Bologna, University of Padova, University of Vienna, University of Ingolstadt, University of Köln, University of Louvain,…
One of the well known Latinists was Rajmund Kunic (1719-1794), who translated the Iliade from Greek into Latin in 1776 (the first edition in Rome, second edition in Venice in 1784). His translation is even today generally regarded as the best one in the world. Kunic was a member of the Accademia dell’Arcadia in Rome.
Benedikt Stay-Stojkovic (1714-1801) was a famous Latin poet, a member of Accademia dell’Arcadia. He studied in Dubrovnik and Rome, and was a professor at Sapienza. He wrote two extensive epics: “Philosophiae versibus traditiae libri VI” (Six books of versified philosophy), published in Venice in 1744. It contains 10,249 hexameters, in which he presented Descart’s philosophy. Second enlarged ed. was published in Rome, comprising 11,229 hexameters. “Philosophiae recentioris…versibus traditiae libri X”, was devoted to Newton’s scientific and philosophical views, published in…
One of the most outstanding Croatian scientists in history was Rugjer Boskovic (1711-1787), also brilliant Latinist poet. He wrote an extensive scientific poem De solis et lunae defectibus (On Solar and Lunar Eclipse), published in London in 1760. It contains 5570 Latin verses, and was dedicated to the Royal Society of England whose member he was. In the title one can read “Father R. Boskovic, of the Jesuit Order”, although at that time it was forbidden for Jesuits to live…
Brne Zamanja (Bernardus Zamagne, 1735-1820) was born in Dubrovnik. He lectured rhethoric in Rome, Livorno, Siena, and Greek language and literature in Milano. His translations into Latin comprise Greek classics and Croatian authors (Gundulic) and Croatian folk poetry. For more information see Marianna D. Birnbaum: Humanists in a Shatterd World: Croatian and Hungarian Latinity in the Sixteenth Century, 433 p., UCLA Slavic Studies, Volume 15, 1986. “Here the author investigates a group of sixteenth-century Hungarian and Croatian Latinists, their vicissitudinous…