Antun Kalac (27 December 1849 – 13 May 1919) was a Croatian poet, writer, playwright,
literary translator
Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...
Istria
Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...
n people. He was also a
Catholic priest
The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...
.
Early life
Kalac was born in the village of Žbrlini in the region of Pazin, where he attended elementary school, followed by lower grammar school with the
Franciscans
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
. He attended high school in
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...
before studying at a seminary in
Gorizia
Gorizia (; sl, Gorica , colloquially 'old Gorizia' to distinguish it from Nova Gorica; fur, label= Standard Friulian, Gurize, fur, label= Southeastern Friulian, Guriza; vec, label= Bisiacco, Gorisia; german: Görz ; obsolete English ''Gorit ...
and Trieste.
In Trieste, he came into contact with a group of Croatian intellectuals associated with the magazine ''
Naša Sloga Naša sloga, was the first newspaper in Istria in Croatian.
The newspaper began to be published in Trieste on June 1, 1870, as a four-page small-format biweekly until 1884, from 1884 to 1900 as a weekly. In the meantime, in 1899, they moved from ...
''.
Career
Kalac became a priest in Pazin in 1875 and was a chaplain there until 1882. He supported the Croatian people through his work and came into conflict with Italian political supporters. Since the diocese of Trieste, which at that time included Pazin and other parts of central Istria, was headed by the Istrian revivalist Bishop Juraj Dobrila, Kalac was able to continue his work in the region. In 1882, he was transferred to
Buzet
Buzet (; la, Piquentum; it, Pinguente) is a town in Istria, west Croatia, population 6,133 (2011).
Demographics
In 2011 the total municipal population was 6,133 people, distributed in the following settlements (with population shown in parenth ...
as pastor and dean. In 1906, he returned to Pazin and took an appointment as prefect and dean. His Croatian revivalist work was well-received. He promoted Croatian education and defended the national rights of Croats in Istria. As a result of his work, he was constantly attacked by the ruling elite.
Kalac was well known for his position as a defender and protector of the Croatian national spirit during the
Italianization
Italianization ( it, italianizzazione; hr, talijanizacija; french: italianisation; sl, poitaljančevanje; german: Italianisierung; el, Ιταλοποίηση) is the spread of Italian culture, language and identity by way of integration or a ...
of Istria. Because he was a high-ranking priest within the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, he did not hold the most prominent positions in civic associations, but his contribution to these circles was still significant.
Kalac also contributed to the development of Croatian poetic expression in
Istria
Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...
during the 19th and 20th centuries. He published about a hundred songs in ''
Naša sloga Naša sloga, was the first newspaper in Istria in Croatian.
The newspaper began to be published in Trieste on June 1, 1870, as a four-page small-format biweekly until 1884, from 1884 to 1900 as a weekly. In the meantime, in 1899, they moved from ...
'', often under the pseudonym Nadan Zorin. He also published prose and wrote plays. His songs reflected his commitment to Croatia; one song in particular, "Predobri Bože", was once considered the anthem of Istrian Croats. He translated literary works from various languages into Croatian, including
Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friendsh ...
's "
Song of the Bell
The "Song of the Bell" (German: "Das Lied von der Glocke", also translated as "The Lay of the Bell") is a poem that the German poet Friedrich Schiller published in 1798. It is one of the most famous poems of German literature and with 430 lines ...
" and
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...
's '' Eclogues''.
He was also the editor of a memorial book published on the 100th anniversary (1912) of the birth of the Croatian revivalist Bishop
Juraj Dobrila
Juraj (Giorgio) Dobrila (16 March 1812 – 13 January 1882) was a Catholic bishop and benefactor from Istria who advocated for greater national rights for Croats and also Slovenes in Istria under Austrian rule.
Biography
Dobrila was born in the ...
Mirjana Strčić Mirjana (; ) is a Slavic feminine given name meaning ′'' mir''′ ("peace, world, prestige, area, space"). The name is widespread throughout Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia.
Mirjana is possibly a form of Mi ...
: Antun Kalac – hrvatski narodni preporoditelj i pjesnik Grad Pula
Nova Istra
A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...
, časopis za književnost, kulturološke i društvene teme. Prilozi o zavičaju. Crkva sv. Nikole u Pazinu (I) – Pazinska prepozitura i prepoziti. Piše Josip Šiklić, Pazin.
*
Vjekoslav Spinčić
Vjekoslav Spinčić (23 October 1848 – 27 May 1933) was a Croats, Croatian politician from Istria.
Born in Spinčići near Kastav, he studied theology in Gorizia and Trieste, and was ordained a priest in 1872. Afterwards, he continued stud ...
, Crtice iz hrvatske književne kulture Istre, Zagreb 1926.
*Vjekoslav Kalac, Antun Kalac – istarski pjesnik rodoljub, Istarska Danica 1973.
*
Božo Milanović
Msgr. Božo Milanović (Kringa, October 10, 1890 - Pazin, December 28, 1980 ), was a Croatian priest, theologian and politician from Istria, and, along with Antonio Santino, one of the greatest anti-fascists of Istria.Josip Bratulić, Antun Kalac, pjesnik Istre, u: A. Kalac – Pjesme, Pazin 1992.
*M. Strčić, Pjesničko djelo Antuna Kalca, u: Temelji književne epohe, Svećenici u hrvatskom narodnom preporodu Istre i kvarnerskih otoka, Pazin 1994.
*Boris Biletić, Antun Kalac i njegov hrvatski prepjev Rapicijeve poeme »Histria«, Umjetnost riječi, 2002., 1–2