Frang Bardhi ( Latin: ''Franciscus Blancus'', it, Francesco Bianchi, 1606–1643) was an
Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
Catholic bishop and writer. Bardhi is best known as an author of the early eras of
Albanian literature
Albanian literature stretches back to the Middle Ages and comprises those literary texts and works written in Albanian. It may also refer to literature written by Albanians in Albania, Kosovo and the Albanian diaspora particularly in Italy. Alba ...
. He served as
Bishop of Sapë
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
(1635–1644). ''(in Latin)''
Life
Bardhi was born in
Kallmet
Kallmet is a former municipality in the Lezhë County, northwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Lezhë. The population at the 2011 census was 4,118.Nënshat
Nënshat is a settlement in the former Hajmel municipality, Shkodër County, northern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Vau i Dejës
Vau i Dejës (), English: Deja's Ford, is a town and a municipalit ...
in the northern Albanian Zadrima region near Lezhë. He came from a family consisting of many figures high in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church and state officials or military commanders of the Republic of Venice. His uncle was Bishop of Sapa and Sarda. He studied theology in Italy. On 17 December 1635, Francesco Bianchi was appointed during the papacy of
Pope Urban VIII
Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As po ...
as
Bishop of Sapë
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
. On 30 March 1636, he was
consecrated
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
bishop by
Ciriaco Rocci
Ciriaco Rocci (August 8, 1582 – September 25, 1651) was an Italian Catholic Cardinal and papal Apostolic Nuncio to Switzerland and Holy Roman Empire.
Life
Rocci was born on 8 August 1582 in Rome and studied law before entering the service of ...
Giovanni Battista Altieri
Giambattista Altieri or Giovanni Battista Altieri (20 June 1589 – 26 November 1654) was an Italian Catholic Cardinal.
Early life
Giambattista Altieri was born 20 June 1589 in Rome, the son of Lorenzo Altieri and Victoria Delphini, a V ...
Ottavio Broglia
Ottavio Broglia or Otavio Brolia (died October 1647) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Asti (1624–1647).
Biography
On 11 March 1624, Ottavio Broglia was appointed during the papacy of Pope Urban VIII as Bishop of Asti.
On ...
,
Bishop of Asti
The Diocese of Asti ( la, Dioecesis Astensis) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Piedmont, northern Italy, centered in the city of Asti. It has been a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Turin since 1515.
, serving as
co-consecrators
A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop.
The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...
.
Bardhi is remembered as the author of the first Albanian dictionary ''Dictionarium latino-epiroticum'' (Latin-Albanian dictionary) published in Rome in 1635, comprising 5,640 entries. Its appendix contains a list of 113 proverbs, phrases, and idioms, some of which are translations from other languages into Albanian with the vast majority being collected from the
Albanian folklore
Albanian folk beliefs ( sq, Besimet folklorike shqiptare) comprise the beliefs expressed in the customs, rituals, myths, legends and tales of the Albanian people. The elements of Albanian mythology are of Paleo-Balkanic origin and almost all o ...
.
Bardhi also wrote a biography of
George Kastrioti Skanderbeg
, reign = 28 November 1443 – 17 January 1468
, predecessor = Gjon Kastrioti
, successor = Gjon Kastrioti II
, spouse = Donika Arianiti
, issue = Gjon Kastrioti II
, royal house = Kastrioti
, father ...
, called ''
The Apology of Scanderbeg
''The Apology of Scanderbeg'' is a work of Frang Bardhi, published at Venice in 1636, in Latin. Its complete title is ''Georgius Castriottus Epirensis vulgo Scanderbegh, Epirotarum Princeps fortissimus ac invictissimus suis et Patriae restitutus'' ...
'' published in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
in 1636. The Apology of Scanderbeg was a polemic against Slavic Catholic priest
Ivan Tomko Mrnavić
Giovanni Thomas Marnavich or Joannes Thomas Marnavich or Ivan Tomko Mrnavić (born 1579; died 1635 or 1637 or 1639) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Bosnia (1631–1639) Bardhi also complained that the Albanian language "was being lost and degenerating" under the blows of foreign occupiers, and in order to preserve it he saw himself contributing to the missing of rising the national pride between Albanians.
From 1637 on, Bardhi submitted reports in Italian and Latin to the Congregation of the Propaganda Fide in Rome which contain a mine of information about his diocese, about political developments, about Albanian customs and about the structure and position of the Catholic Church in Ottoman-occupied Albania.
Gjon Buzuku
Gjon Buzuku (15 March 1499 – 9 October 1577) was an Albanian Catholic priest who wrote the first known printed book in Albanian.
Gjon Buzuku according to the elders wrote the Missal in the village of Brisk Posht in the Shestan - Krajë region, c ...