Junije (Džono) Palmotić, (also ''Giunio'' in Italian or ''Junius Palmotta'' in Latin) (1606 - 1657) was a
Croatian baroque writer, poet and dramatist from the
Republic of Ragusa
hr, Sloboda se ne prodaje za sve zlato svijeta it, La libertà non si vende nemmeno per tutto l'oro del mondo"Liberty is not sold for all the gold in the world"
, population_estimate = 90 000 in the XVI Century
, currency = ...
. He was a member of the
Palmotić noble family.
Early life
Palmotić was born in 1606 in Ragusa (
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...
, now
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
), the son of Juraj Palmotić (Giorgio Palmotta) and Ursula née Gradić (Orsola Gradi). His parents belonged to the notable
patrician
Patrician may refer to:
* Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage
* Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...
families of
Palmotić and
Gradić (Gradi in Italian), respectively. Through his mother, he was related to
Ivan Gundulić
Dživo Franov Gundulić ( it, Gianfrancesco Gondola; 8 January 1589 – 8 December 1638), better known today as Ivan Gundulić, was the most prominent Baroque poet from the Republic of Ragusa (now in Croatia). He is regarded as the Croatian nati ...
. He had an older brother Džore and younger Ivan, who died young in his childhood.
Education
Little is known about his schooling, but he may have attended city school as it was mandatory for male nobles. It is known that he attended a private school opened in 1619 by the Jesuits and whose lecturers included, in the next few generations,
Ivan Gradić,
Ignjat Tudišević,
Marin Gundulić,
Ivan Dražić and
Bartol Kašić
Bartol Kašić ( la, Bartholomaeus Cassius, it, Bartolomeo Cassio; August 15, 1575 – December 28, 1650) was a Jesuit clergyman and grammarian during the Counter-Reformation, who wrote the first Illyrian grammar and translated the Bible and th ...
. As Palmotić's teachers in that school,
Stjepan Gradić
Stjepan Gradić, also known as Stefano Gradi (Latin: Stephanus Gradius; 6 March 1613 – 2 May 1683) was a philosopher, scientist and a patrician of the Republic of Ragusa.
Biography
Stijepo's parents were Miho Gradi (Gradić) and Marija Benessa ...
especially mentions Ignjat
Tudišević and a
Sienese
Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...
Italian,
Camillo Gori.
Career
Aged 18, he became a member of the Great Council in the
Republic of Ragusa
hr, Sloboda se ne prodaje za sve zlato svijeta it, La libertà non si vende nemmeno per tutto l'oro del mondo"Liberty is not sold for all the gold in the world"
, population_estimate = 90 000 in the XVI Century
, currency = ...
. He began to write while still young, writing in continuation of the tradition of
Ivan Gundulić
Dživo Franov Gundulić ( it, Gianfrancesco Gondola; 8 January 1589 – 8 December 1638), better known today as Ivan Gundulić, was the most prominent Baroque poet from the Republic of Ragusa (now in Croatia). He is regarded as the Croatian nati ...
inspired by
Ovid
Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...
,
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 ...
,
Tasso
TASSO (Two Arm Spectrometer SOlenoid) was a particle detector at the PETRA particle accelerator at the German national laboratory DESY. The TASSO collaboration is best known for having discovered the gluon, the mediator of the strong interaction an ...
and
Ariosto
Ludovico Ariosto (; 8 September 1474 – 6 July 1533) was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic ''Orlando Furioso'' (1516). The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's ''Orlando Innamorato'', describes the ...
. Although influenced by the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
literary tradition, Palmotić wrote in his native
Croatian language
Croatian (; ' ) is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian pluricentric language used by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina, and other neighboring countries. It is the official ...
, as well as translating libretti from Italian. He also translated the ''Christias di Girolamo Vida'', the ''Christiade'', an 'Illyrian' poem in 24 verses, that was posthumously published in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
in 1670.
Although his
poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
was melodramatic and dealt primarily with
mythological
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...
topics, his drama focused on contemporary
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...
, particularly the life of the aristocracy. In one of his songs he demonstrates his knowledge of the
Serbian epic poetry
Serbian epic poetry ( sr, Српске епске народне песме, Srpske epske narodne pesme) is a form of epic poetry created by Serbs originating in today's Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia. The ...
mentioning its heroes like:
Lazar of Serbia
Lazar Hrebeljanović ( sr-cyr, Лазар Хребељановић; ca. 1329 – 15 June 1389) was a medieval Serbian ruler who created the largest and most powerful state on the territory of the disintegrated Serbian Empire. Lazar's state, ...
,
Miloš Obilić
Miloš Obilić ( sr-cyr, Милош Обилић, ) was a legendary Serbian knight who is reputed to have been in the service of Prince Lazar during the Ottoman invasion of Serbia in the late 14th century. He is not mentioned in contemporary sou ...
,
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 ...
, Sekula,
Mihajlo Svilojević
Mihajlo Svilojević ( sr, Михајло Свилојевић), sometimes crni ban Mihail, is a hero of Serbian epic poetry based on the historical figure of Michael Szilágyi.
Background
In 1459, the Ottomans conquered the Serbian Despotate an ...
,
Vuk Grgurević
Vuk Grgurević Branković ( sr-cyrl, Вук Гргуревић Бранковић; ca. 1439 – April 16, 1485) was a Serbian nobleman who was the titular despot of Serbia from 1471 until his death in 1485. He inherited the title of '' despot'' ( ...
and
John Hunyadi
John Hunyadi (, , , ; 1406 – 11 August 1456) was a leading Hungarian military and political figure in Central and Southeastern Europe during the 15th century. According to most contemporary sources, he was the member of a noble family of ...
.
His nephew
Stjepan Gradić
Stjepan Gradić, also known as Stefano Gradi (Latin: Stephanus Gradius; 6 March 1613 – 2 May 1683) was a philosopher, scientist and a patrician of the Republic of Ragusa.
Biography
Stijepo's parents were Miho Gradi (Gradić) and Marija Benessa ...
, ambassador and Vatican librarian, wrote about his life, supplying precious material to future biographers. Alongside
Vinko Pribojević
Vinko Pribojević ( la, Vincentius Priboevius mid-15th century – after 1532) was a Venetian Slavic historian and ideologue, best known as one of the founders of the early pan-Slavic ideology.
Life
Pribojević was born on the island of Hvar, i ...
and
Juraj Križanić
Juraj Križanić (c. 1618 – 12 September 1683), also known as Jurij Križanič or Yuriy Krizhanich (russian: Юрий Крижанич), was a Croatian Catholic missionary who is often regarded as the earliest recorded pan-Slavist. His ideal, of ...
, he was an early pioneer of the ideas of
Slavic unity.
Jakobson, Roman; ''Selected Writings''
pub. Walter de Gruyter, 1981 p. 79
Legacy
All the works of Palmotić were published by the end of the 19th century by the Croatian Cultural Association
Croatian may refer to:
*Croatia
*Croatian language
*Croatian people
*Croatians (demonym)
See also
*
*
* Croatan (disambiguation)
* Croatia (disambiguation)
* Croatoan (disambiguation)
* Hrvatski (disambiguation)
* Hrvatsko (disambiguation)
* Se ...
.
A street in Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
bears his name.
Works
Palmotić's notable works include:
* ''Pavlimir'', drama. Narratives connected with the founding of Dubrovnik inspired his Pavlimir. This is a sort of Ragusan "Aeneid," Pavlimir corresponding to Aeneas. He comes from abroad, founds the city of Dubrovnik, marries the beautiful Margareta, whom he discovers there, and becomes otac slovenskog naroda (the father of the Slavonic people).
* ''Captislava'', drama. The main character is the daughter of the King of Captat (Cavtat
Cavtat (, it, Ragusa Vecchia, lit=Old Ragusa) is a village in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia. It is on the Adriatic Sea coast south of Dubrovnik and is the centre of the Konavle municipality.
History
Antiquity
The original city was ...
or ''Epidaurum''). She is in love with the Hungarian prince, Gradimir, but the father wants her to marry a Serbian prince. A nymph helps her in this cabal, and she elopes with the Hungarian prince, while her sister marries the Serbian prince. Chief roles are played by ghosts and nymphs.
* ''Bisernica'', drama. It is virtually the continuation of the Captislava, and almost all important roles are played by ''vilenice'' (nymphs) and ''vilenici'' (dragons).
* ''Danica'', drama. A dramatized episode from Ariosto's "Orlando Furioso" (IV-VI), transplanted and acclimatized to the Bosnian and Ragusan soil. Danica is the enslaved daughter of the Bosnian king, Ostoja. She was saved by the Ragusan knight Matijas, who later became the ban of Croatia. Some motifs of this play are akin to Shakespeare's comedy ''Much Ado About Nothing''.
* ''Christiade'' ("dedicated to the queen Cristina from Sweden", hr, Kristijada)
* ''Atalanta'', opera with music by Lambert Courtoys the Younger (1629)
In addition to his four important dramas (''Pavlimir'', ''Danica'', ''Bisernica'' and ''Captislava'') in which Palmotta celebrated the exploits of Slavic heroes, he wrote several imitations based on Latin and Italian sources. Thus the material for his Allina was taken from Ariosto, and for the Armida from Tasso. The mythological play Atalanta is based on Ovid's "Metamorphoses" (bk. X).
Annotations
References
Sources
*
*
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmotic, Junije
1606 births
1657 deaths
Ragusan writers
17th-century Croatian poets
17th-century Croatian people
Croatian dramatists and playwrights
Ragusan poets
Croatian male poets
17th-century male writers
Baroque writers
17th-century Croatian nobility