Juraj Šižgorić ( or ''Sisgoritus'', ca. 1420/1445–1509) was a Croatian Latinist

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and priest from

Venetian Dalmatia Venetian Dalmatia () refers to the territories of Dalmatia under the rule of the Republic of Venice, mainly from the 15th to the 18th centuries. Dalmatia was first sold to Venice in 1409 but Venetian Dalmatia was not fully consolidated until 1420, ...

. He was the first

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

from

Šibenik Šibenik (), historically known as Sebenico (), is a historic town in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka (Croatia), Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is one of the oldest Croatia, Croatian self-governing cities ...

and the central personality of Šibenik's humanist circle and also one of the most important figures in 15th-century cultural life of the

Croatian people The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They also f ...

Life

There's not much information about Šižgorić's personal life. Born in a noble family which in the mid-14th century re-settled from old county of Luka in Northern Dalmatia to

Skradin Skradin is a small town in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia. It is located near the Krka (Croatia), Krka river and at the entrance to the Krka National Park, from Šibenik and from Split, Croatia, Split. The main attraction of the park, Slapo ...

and from there to Šibenik, as one of at least three brothers, he studied in

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

, Italy, where received PhD in

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

in 1471. When came back to home city, held the position of

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

in Diocese of Šibenik. In 1462, alongside noblemen Jakov Naplavić and Petar Tolimerić, was on a diplomatic visit to

Doge of Venice The Doge of Venice ( ) – in Italian, was the doge or highest role of authority within the Republic of Venice (697–1797). The word derives from the Latin , meaning 'leader', and Venetian Italian dialect for 'duke', highest official of the ...

, Pasquale Malipiero, who accepted their request and published a document confirming previous laws of Šibenik from 1413.

Marko Marulić Marko Marulić Splićanin (; ; 18 August 1450 – 5 January 1524), was a Croatian poet, lawyer, judge, and Renaissance humanist. He is the national poet of Croatia. According to George J. Gutsche, Marulić's epic poem '' Judita'' "is the first ...

in 1465–66 wrote a Latin epistle, enconium dedicated to Šižgorić. In his circle of home city friends was Ambroz Mihetić.

Works

* His ''Elegiarum et carminum libri tres'' ("Book of elegies and poems", Venice, 1477) is considered the first published

incunable An incunable or incunabulum (: incunables or incunabula, respectively) is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. The specific date is essentially arbitrary, but the ...

(book) by a Croatian poet. It includes 62 poems. * ''De diebus festis'' (calendar collection of poems). It also mentions Ottoman's attack on hinterland in 1468. * An untitled collection of Latin poems, dated to 1487, remained unpublished as a manuscript until 1962. * A historical-geographical discussion in prose ''De situ Illyriae et civitate Sibenici'' (1487). In it, most notably, mentions St.

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

and that the Italians are trying to "steal him" from the ''

Illyrians The Illyrians (, ; ) were a group of Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking people who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan populations, alon ...

''. In it is mentioned that along Jakov Naplavić/Naplavčić collected Croatian folk proverbs and translated them in Latin, but nothing was preserved of ''Dicteria illyrica''. * Unpublished threnody ''Prosopopeya edita per Georgium Sisgoreum Sibenicensem studentem Patauii''.

Life

Works

References

Further reading