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Lovro Šitović

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The Reverend
Lovro Šitović
OFM
Born
Hasan Sitovic

c. 1682
Ljubuški, Herzegovina, Ottoman Empire
Died28 February 1729(1729-02-28) (aged 46–47)
Šibenik, Dalmatia, Republic of Venice
Years activeEarly modern period
Known forAuthored Latin grammar for Croat students
Academic work
DisciplineGrammar
Main interests
Notable worksGrammatica Latino-Illyrica (1713)
InfluencedToma Babić,[1] Matija Antun Relković[2]
Signature
Lovro Šitović's signature

Lovro Šitović OFM (c. 1682 – 28 February 1729) was a Croatian and Bosnian-Herzegovinian Franciscan, grammarian and writer. In 1713, he published Grammatica Latino-Illyrica, the most influential Latin grammar among Croats of its time.

Šitović, a native of Ljubuški in the Ottoman Herzegovina, was born into a Muslim family and converted to Catholicism at a young age. He joined the Bosnian Franciscans, serving in the Venetian Dalmatia as a professor of philosophy and theology. Besides publishing Latin grammar, Šitović was a popular author widely read by Catholics, especially in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Early life

Šitović was born into a Muslim family as Hasan[clarification needed] in Ljubuški in the Ottoman Bosnia and Herzegovina,[3][4][5] in the early stages of the Morean War, fought between the neighbouring Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire.[5] One of the characteristics of the Morean War was the intrusion of the Christian hajduks from the Venetian Dalmatia into the adjacent Herzegovinian and Bosnian areas for plunder. During one of the intrusions, in either 1690 or 1694, the hajduk harambaša Šimun Talajić Delija kidnapped Šitović's father.[5] His father left Šitović to the hajduks as a pledge while he collected the ransom demanded.[3][5] While a hostage, Šitović learned how to read and write,[3] and developed sympathies for Christianity.[5] He was brought home when his father paid the ransom, but shortly after Šitović fled to return to his former captor Delija. Delija then took him to the Franciscan friary in Zaostrog, where Šitović was allowed to take residence and learned about Christianity.[6] On 2 February 1699, at the age of 17,[7] Šitović was christened by Fiar Ilija Mamić as Stipan.[6]

Franciscan Order

An image depicting the friary church in Makarska where Šitović taught philosophy from 1708 to 1715 and from 1724 to his death.
Friary church in Makarska where Šitović taught philosophy from 1708 to 1715 and from 1724 to his death.

Šitović became interested in living a consecrated life. He was sent to a novitiate in Našice in Slavonia, where, on 10 April 1701, he put on the Franciscan habit and chose Lovro as his religious name.[8] Šitović was then sent for education in Italy, where he stayed until 1708. While in Italy, he was ordained to the priesthood in 1707. After finishing his education, in 1708, Šitović became a philosophy professor and educator for the seminarians at the Makarska friary. When the philosophy studies were abolished in Makarska in 1715, Šitović was transferred to the Šibenik friary to teach theology. In 1718, Archbishop Stefano Cupilli of Split invited him to teach theology at the archdiocesan seminary in Split. In 1720, he was awarded the title of general lector and honorary definitor, or assistant, of the Franciscan Province of Bosnia. After philosophy studies were reintroduced in Makarska in 1724, Šitović returned to teach there.[9] During these years, Šitović risked his life during the Ottoman–Venetian War (1714–1718) and the Austro-Turkish War (1716–1718) by hearing soldiers' confessions, giving last rites to the dying, and burying the dead, especially during the defence of Sinj and liberation of Imotski. To reward him, Sebastiano Mocenigo, the provveditore general of Dalmatia, gave land near Sinj to his brother's wife and nephew, who had previously converted to Christianity.[10]

In 1723, Šitović became an examiner for professorships in philosophy and examiner of seminarians in theology before their priestly ordination in 1726.[clarification needed] The following year, in 1727, he was appointed an administrator of a Franciscan inn in Dorbo near Split. He died in Šibenik, while preaching there during Lent. Along with his fellow Franciscan Ardelio Della Bella, Šitović is considered to have been one of the greatest preachers of the time in southern Croatia.[10]

Works

Šitović was a Baroque author,[11] and wrote in the Shtokavian Ikavian dialect[12][13] becoming one of the most popular authors writing in the older period of Croatian literature.[14] He was widely read in the Ottoman Bosnia and Herzegovina.[15]

An image depicting a cover page of Grammatica Latino-Illyrica, 1st edition, 1718
Cover page of the first edition of Grammatica Latino-Illyrica, 1713

In 1713, Šitović published a Latin grammar Grammatica Latino-Illyrica in Venice, written for Illyrian schoolchildren,[16] using the Shtokavian dialect.[17] He referred to the language as Illyrian.[17][18] Šitović's grammar follows the tradition of Manuel Álvares.[1][3][16][17][19] The influence of Jakov Mikalja is noticeable in the usage of his terms and his model for creating new ones. Toma Babić had published his Prima grammaticae institutio pro tyronibus Illiricis accomodata in the previous year,[16] although its incompleteness was felt in the educational practice; so much so that Šitović, being unsatisfied with it, published his grammar in the very next year.[1][20] Šitović's grammar is more extensive[16][3] and became widely accepted.[16] Compared to Babić's, Šitović's grammar is richer in syntactic rules.[21] When publishing the second edition of his grammar in 1745, Babić used a lot of material from Šitović's grammar. [19] Šitović and Babić used Croatian as a metalanguage for the grammatical narrative when adapting Latin grammar into other languages; this is recognised as a significant innovation.[22]

Explaining his motivation for writing the grammar, Šitović wrote:

My dear and lovely reader, do not be surprised at this effort of mine, even if it is a small one, because when you understand the reason … It is already evident to you that many nations, that is, the French, the Spanish, the Italians, the Germans, the Hungarians, etc., learn grammar more easily than we Croats … because they print grammars translated into their language … because we do not have grammars translated into our language. Even though some grammar teachers [referring to Babić][23] have translated the declensions of names and conjugations of Croatian verbs … [24]

Grammatica Latino-Illyrica had two more editions, in 1742 and 1781.[3][21][25] Šitović's grammar was still in use more than a century after its publication[10][23] by many generations of Franciscans, young adults, adolescents, and children educated at the Franciscan friaries and parishes,[25] crossing the borders of his own Franciscan Bosnian Province.[23]

Šitović's other work,[7] Pisna od pakla (A song of hell), a song in five cantos,[26] was published in 1727 in Venice.[7] It was also written in Shtokavian dialect,[15] in "Croatian language and singing",[18][27] and dedicated to the "people who speak Croatian".[18][28] Šitović used ten-syllable verse, a model that would dominate folk and artistic literature in the following decades.[15][29] In this poem, Šitović decries folk songs, their un-Christian heroes, and their praise of love and wine. He urges the clergy to eradicate such songs and promote those calling for devotion and penitence.[30] Slobodan Prosperov Novak characterises it as a "vulgarised Divine Comedy, that was easily accessible to the people "in Bosnian backwoods".[15] Ivo Andrić wrote of it as Šitović's "most interesting work", however "frequently irregular and quite devoid of any beauty" it may be.[4] Pisna od pakla had another edition titled Pisma od pakla, published in the mid-18th century. The second edition has confused historians since it gives 1727 as its publication date, thus it was long assumed that the work only had one edition.[31]

Šitović's other works include Doctrina christiana et piae aliquot cantilenae (Christian doctrine and some pious hymns) published in 1713 in Venice,[3][10] Promišljanja i molitve (Reflections and prayers) published in 1734 in Buda,[10] and List nauka krstjanskog (A paper of the Christian teaching), published in 1752 in Venice.[3][7]

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c Stolac 2009, p. 111.
  2. ^ Despot 2009, p. 48.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Despot 2009, p. 49.
  4. ^ a b Andrić 1990, p. 49.
  5. ^ a b c d e Pavičić 2008, pp. 194–195.
  6. ^ a b Pavičić 2008, pp. 195–196.
  7. ^ a b c d Pavičić 2008, p. 194.
  8. ^ Pavičić 2008, p. 196.
  9. ^ Pavičić 2008, pp. 196–197.
  10. ^ a b c d e Pavičić 2008, p. 197.
  11. ^ Katičić 2009, p. 11.
  12. ^ Kuna 1990, p. 118.
  13. ^ Lisac 2014, pp. 178–179.
  14. ^ Meić 2014, p. 23.
  15. ^ a b c d Prosperov Novak 2003, p. 137.
  16. ^ a b c d e Horvat & Kramarić 2020, p. 98.
  17. ^ a b c Knežević 2007, p. 53.
  18. ^ a b c Fine 2010, p. 341.
  19. ^ a b Boban, Grubeša & Jurčić 2022, p. 47.
  20. ^ Boban, Grubeša & Jurčić 2022, p. 45.
  21. ^ a b Boban, Grubeša & Jurčić 2022, p. 41.
  22. ^ Horvat & Perić Gavrančić 2023, p. 138.
  23. ^ a b c Boban, Grubeša & Jurčić 2022, p. 46.
  24. ^ Marić 2021, p. 49: Moi Draghi, i mili Sctioce, nemoj se cudit ovomu momu, ako i malahnu trudu; jer kad razumisc razlog (...) Jurje tebi ocito, da mnozi narodi to jest, Franczezi, Spagnoli, Italianczi, Nimczi, Ungari etc. lascgne nauce Grammatiku, nego mi Hrvati (...) jerbo oni stampaju Grammatike u svoje vlastite jezike istomacene (...) jerbo mi neimamo Grammatikah u nasc jezik istomacenih. I premda jessu kojgodi Naucitegli Grammatike, istomacili Declitanitone Imenah, i Conjugatione Verabah harvaski...
  25. ^ a b Marić 2021, p. 46.
  26. ^ Meić 2020, p. 418.
  27. ^ Grčević 2009, p. 218: "i sloxi ú Harvatski jezik, i pivanye..."
  28. ^ Meić 2020, p. 418: "puku ki govori hrvatskim jezikom..."
  29. ^ Andrić 1990, p. 50.
  30. ^ Andrić 1990, pp. 49–50.
  31. ^ Grčević 2009, p. 217.

References

Books

  • Andrić, Ivo (1990). The Development of Spiritual Life in Bosnia Under the Influence of Turkish Rule. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press. ISBN 9780822382553.
  • Boban, Luciana; Grubeša, Josip; Jurčić, Jelena (2022). Polivalentnost latinskog jezika u Bosni i Hercegovini: Specifičnosti latiniteta u Hercegovini [Polyvalence of the Latin language in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Specificities of Latinity in Herzegovina] (in Croatian). Mostar: University of Mostar. ISBN 9789958162183.
  • Fine, John Van Antwerp Jr. (2010). When Ethnicity Did Not Matter in the Balkans: A Study of Identity in Pre-Nationalist Croatia, Dalmatia, and Slavonia in the Medieval and Early-Modern Periods. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 9780472025602.
  • Grčević, Mario (2009). "Izdanja Šitovićeve epske pjesme" [Editions of Šitović's epic poem]. In Knezović, Pavao (ed.). Zbornik radova sa znanstvenoga skupa "Lovro Šitović i njegovo doba", Šibenik - Skradin, 8.-9. svibnja 2008 [Proceedings from the scientific conference "Lovro Šitović and his era", Šibenik - Skradin, 8-9 May 2008] (in Croatian). Zagreb: Hrvatski studiji Sveučilišta u Zagrebu. ISBN 9789536682812.
  • Katičić, Radoslav (2009). "Kulturnopovijesne koordinate fra Lovre Šitovića" [Cultural and historical coordinates of Fr. Lovra Šitović]. In Knezović, Pavao (ed.). Zbornik radova sa znanstvenoga skupa "Lovro Šitović i njegovo doba", Šibenik - Skradin, 8.-9. svibnja 2008 [Proceedings from the scientific conference "Lovro Šitović and his era", Šibenik - Skradin, 8-9 May 2008] (in Croatian). Zagreb: Hrvatski studiji Sveučilišta u Zagrebu. ISBN 9789536682812.
  • Lisac, Josip (2014). "Šime Starčević i novoštokavski ikavski dijalekt" [Šime Starčević and the Novoštokavian Ikavian dialect]. In Vrcić-Mataija, Sanja; Grahovac-Pražić, Vesna (eds.). Šime Starčević i hrvatska kultura u 19. stoljeću: Zbornik radova sa znanstvenog skupa održanog u Gospiću 7. i 8. prosinca 2012 [Šime Starčević and Croatian culture in the 19th century: Proceedings from the scientific conference held in Gospić on 7 and 8 December 2012] (in Croatian). Mostar: Hercegovačka franjevačka provincija Uznesenja BDM. ISBN 9789958876301.
  • Meić, Perina (2014). Izazovi (hrvatska književnos u BiH i druge teme) [Challenges (Croatian literature in BiH and other topics)] (in Croatian). Zagreb-Sarajevo: Synopsis. ISBN 9789537968229.
  • Meić, Perina (2020). "Hrvatska književna tradicija u BiH - poetska veselka Koromana, pisci ljubuškog kraja" [Croatian literary tradition in Bosnia and Herzegovina – the poetics of Veselko Koromana, writers from the Ljubuški region]. In Jolić, Robert (ed.). Humački zbornik: radovi sa znanstvenog skupa povodom 150 godina od početka izgradnje franjevačkog samostana na Humcu (20. i 21. listopada 2017.) [Humac collection: papers from the scientific meeting on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the construction of the Franciscan friary in Humac (20 and 21 October 2017)] (in Croatian). Mostar: Hercegovačka franjevačka provincija Uznesenja BDM. ISBN 9789958876301.
  • Prosperov Novak, Slobodan (2003). Povijest hrvatske književnosti: Od Bašćanske ploče do danas [History of Croatian literature: From the Bašćanska tablet to the present day] (in Croatian). Zagreb: Golden marketing. ISBN 9532120335.
  • Stolac, Diana (2009). "Gramatika Lovre Šitovića u kontekstu hrvatske gramatikologije" [Lovro Šitović's grammar in the context of Croatian grammar]. In Knezović, Pavao (ed.). Zbornik radova sa znanstvenoga skupa "Lovro Šitović i njegovo doba", Šibenik - Skradin, 8.-9. svibnja 2008 [Proceedings from the scientific conference "Lovro Šitović and his era", Šibenik - Skradin, 8-9 May 2008] (in Croatian). Zagreb: Hrvatski studiji Sveučilišta u Zagrebu. ISBN 9789536682812.

Journals

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