Janko Matúška (10 January 1821 – 11 January 1877) was an ethnic
Slovak poet, activist, occasional playwright, and clerk of the court in the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
. He is best known as the author of the Slovak national anthem, "
Nad Tatrou sa blýska
"" (; , "Above Tatras it is lightening") is the national anthem of Slovakia. The origins of it are in the Central European activism of the 19th century. Its main themes are a storm over the Tatra mountains that symbolized danger to the Slovaks, ...
" ("Lightning over the
Tatras"), based on the melody of a Slovak folk song, "
Kopala studienku
Kopala studienku is a Slovak folk song whose melody has served as the basis for Slovakia's national anthem, "Nad Tatrou sa blýska
"" (; , "Above Tatras it is lightening") is the national anthem of Slovakia. The origins of it are in the Cen ...
".
Life
Janko Matúška was born into a craftsman's family in
Dolný Kubín
Dolný Kubín (; also known by other names) is a town in northern Slovakia in the Žilina Region. It is the historical capital and the largest settlement of the Orava region.
Names
The name is derived from the archaic Slovak word meaning a "gla ...
, then part of the Kingdom of Hungary.
He began to attend school there, then probably at the ''Gymnázium'' of
Gemer (Sajógömör) and finally he studied at the prestigious Lutheran
Lyceum of
Pressburg
Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...
(preparatory high school and college) where he took courses in the Institute of Czechoslovak Language and Literature while majoring in theology.
Ľudovít Štúr, the only professor teaching courses offered by the institute at that time, was fired in December 1843 under pressure from the kingdom's authorities, who
objected to his pro-Slovak activism. 23-year-old Janko Matúška wrote "Lightning over the Tatras" when he and other students were agitated about the subsequent repeated denials of their appeals to the school board to reverse Štúr's dismissal.
About two dozen students, including Matúška, decided to leave the ''lýceum'' in protest in March 1844. Matúška went to take his final exams at the Lutheran ''
gymnázium'' in
Tisovec
Tisovec ( hu, Tiszolc, german: Theissholz or ''Theissholcz'', Latin: ''Taxovia'') is a town in central Slovakia. Its population is around 4,000.
Location and landscape
Tisovec is situated in the valley of the river Rimava, at the foot of th ...
(Tiszolc). He lived in
Orava (Árva) for most of his adult life, and stopped writing after the
Hungarian Revolution of 1848. He worked in government offices after 1850, and was Clerk of the County Court in Dolný Kubín from 1870 to 1875. He died the day after his 56th birthday and was buried in Dolný Kubín.
Works
He started writing at the lyceum. He focused on poetry, especially ballads and fables. He also wrote some prose and drama and translated from Polish, for instance ''
Dziady'' by
Adam Mickiewicz.
Poetry
* 1844 - ''Nad Tatrou sa blýska''
* ''Púchovská skala''
* ''Svätý zákon''
* ''Hrdoš''
* ''Sokolíček plavý''
* ''Preletel sokolík nad tichým Dunajom''
* ''Slepý starec''
* ''Po dolinách''
* ''Vzdychy spod Lysice''
* ''Kozia skala''
Prose
* ''Zhoda liptovská'' (novella)
Selections and collections
* 1921 - ''Janka Matúšku Zobrané spisy básnické''
* 1971 - ''Piesne a báje'', selection from poetry, prose and drama
Drama
* 1846 - ''Siroty''
References
External links
*
Janko Matúška at Osobnosti.sk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matuska, Janko
1821 births
1877 deaths
People from Dolný Kubín
Slovak poets
National anthem writers