Marin Barleti ( la, Marinus Barletius, it, Marino Barlezio; – ) was a
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
and
Catholic
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 ...
priest from
Shkodër
Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra) is the fifth-most-populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. The city sprawls across the Plain of Mbishkodra between the southern part of Lake Shkod ...
who was a humanist. He is considered the first Albanian historian because of his 1504
eyewitness account of the 1478
siege of Shkodra
The fourth siege of Shkodra of 1478–79 was a confrontation between the Ottoman Empire and the Venetians together with the League of Lezhe and other Albanians at Shkodra (Scutari in Italian) and its Rozafa Castle during the First Ottoman-V ...
. Barleti is better known for his second work, a biography on
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 ...
, translated into many languages in the 16th to the 20th centuries.
Life
Barleti was born and raised in Scutari (modern
Shkodra, Albania), then part of the
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...
. Although there is no debate whether Barleti was a native Shkodran or an Albanian in a geographical sense, scholars variously assert that he was of Italian (
DuCange,
Iorga), Dalmatian (
Giovio,
Czwittinger,
Fabricius), or Albanian (
Zeno
Zeno ( grc, Ζήνων) may refer to:
People
* Zeno (name), including a list of people and characters with the name
Philosophers
* Zeno of Elea (), philosopher, follower of Parmenides, known for his paradoxes
* Zeno of Citium (333 – 264 BC), ...
,
Fallmerayer,
Jireček) ethnic origin.
In his works Barleti repeatedly calls himself Shkodran ( la, Scodrensis), and then equates being Shkodran with being Epirote, a term used by early Albanian language authors as an
equivalent form of the ethnonym "Albanian".
In 1474, the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
besieged Shkodra and Barleti participated in the successful defense of the town, both in the first siege in 1474 and
the second in 1478. When Shkodra finally fell to the Ottomans in 1479, Barleti escaped to
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
where he would become a scholar of history, classical literature and the Latin language.
Soon after Barleti arrived in Venice, he was given a stall at the
Rialto
The Rialto is a central area of Venice, Italy, in the ''sestiere'' of San Polo. It is, and has been for many centuries, the financial and commercial heart of the city. Rialto is known for its prominent markets as well as for the monumental Ria ...
meat market as a temporary means of financial aid. In 1494 became a priest after his theological studies in Venice and Padova, and soon was appointed to serve at St. Stephen's Church in
Piovene.
Works
The Siege of Shkodra
Barleti's first work was ''
The Siege of Shkodra'' ( la, De obsidione Scodrensi, Venice, 1504). It was published several times in Latin and translated into Italian, Polish, French, Albanian, and English. Barleti wrote this work as an eyewitness. Of this work, acclaimed Albanian author
Ismail Kadare
Ismail Kadare (; spelled Ismaïl Kadaré in French; born on 28 January 1936) is an Albanian novelist, poet, essayist, screenwriter, and playwright. He is a leading international literary figure and intellectual. He focused on poetry until the pu ...
wrote that "if one were to search for a literary creation wholly worthy of the expression 'monumental work,' it would be hard to find a better example than ''The Siege of Shkodra''."
The History of Scanderbeg
Barleti's second and largest work was ''The history of the life and deeds of Scanderbeg, the Prince of Epirus'', ( la, Historia de vita et gestis Scanderbegi Epirotarvm principis) was published in 1504 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 ...
, and later in Rome between 1508 and 1510; (2nd ed.: Strasbourg, 1537; 3rd ed.: Frankfurt am Main, 1578; 4th ed.: Zagreb, 1743) and translated into German (1533), Italian (1554), Portuguese (1567), Polish (1569), French (1576), Spanish (1588), and English (1596). Unlike ''The Siege of Shkodra'', Barleti relied on the testimonies of others to produce this work. Barleti's books were published and printed by
Bernardino Vitali
Bernardino Vitali was an Albanian printer and publisher, active in Venice from 1494 to 1539. His printing workshop published more than 200 works of Venetian humanists in the first half of the 16th century.Tammaro De Marinis (1937)Bernardino dei Vi ...
in Venice and Rome.
''The History of Scanderbeg'' is considered an Albanian cultural treasure, vital to the formation of Albanian national self-consciousness. A traduction of this work of Barleti is in
slavonic, in the
Cetinje chronicle
The Cetinje Chronicle ( sr, Цетињски љетопис/Cetinjski ljetopis) is a collection of manuscripts (letters, documents, reports and poems) compiled by Vasilije Petrović who added some of his own writings to it. It contains 81 leaves ...
. A note at the end of this manuscript says, according to Martinovic (1962) that the author of the text is "Marin from
Shkodër
Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra) is the fifth-most-populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. The city sprawls across the Plain of Mbishkodra between the southern part of Lake Shkod ...
of Slavic origin".
Paolo Giovio
Paolo Giovio (also spelled ''Paulo Jovio''; Latin: ''Paulus Jovius''; 19 April 1483 – 11 December 1552) was an Italian physician, historian, biographer, and prelate.
Early life
Little is known about Giovio's youth. He was a native of Com ...
was the first historian to confound Barletius with another contemporary ''Marinus Scodrensis'',
Marino Becichemi Marino, Mariño or Maryino may refer to:
Places
* Marino, Lazio, a town in the province of Rome, Italy
* Marino, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide
** Marino Conservation Park
** Marino Rocks Greenway, a cycling route
** Marino Rocks railway ...
(1468-1526), professor of rhetorics and author of commentaries on classic literature. The confusion has been elucidated by
Thomas Reinesius and
Apostolo Zeno
Apostolo Zeno (11 December 1668 in Venice – 11 November 1750 in Venice) was a Venetian poet, librettist, journalist, and man of letters.
Early life
Apostolo Zeno was born in Venice to a colonial branch of the Zeno family, an ancient Venet ...
. While Barletius in his works calls himself "sacerdotis Scodrensis" (priest of Scodra), Becichemi professes himself married and a "father of boys", professor of Ragusa, Brescia, and Padua, neither of which applies to Barletius.
A Brief History of Lives of Popes and Emperors (disputed)
Barleti's third work is titled, ''A Brief History of Lives of Popes and Emperors'' ( la, Compendium vitarum pontificum et imperatorum, Venice, 1555).
Criticism
Barletius' work has inspired chroniclers like
Giammaria Biemmi and
Theodore Spandounes Theodore Spandounes ( el, Θεόδωρος Σπανδούνης, it, Teodoro Spandugino) was an early 16th-century Greek historian of noble Byzantine extraction, the son of exiles fleeing the Ottoman conquest of Byzantium who had settled in Venice ...
. It is still popular among romanticist and nationalist historians. Modern historical research on Skenderbeg relies more on archival records than on Barletius.
Barleti invented spurious correspondence between
Vladislav II of Wallachia
Vladislav II (died 20 August 1456) was a voivode of the principality of Wallachia, from 1447 to 1448, and again from 1448 to 1456. The way Vladislav II came to the throne is debatable. The most accepted view is that Vladislav assassinated Vl ...
and
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 ...
, wrongly assigning it to the year 1443 instead to the year of 1444.
Barleti also invented correspondence between Scanderbeg and Sultan Mehmed II to match his interpretations of events.
[
]
Memorials
The main public library of Shkodra and a publishing house have been named after Marin Barleti. Also, a university in Tirana, Albania has been established under his name.
See also
*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. Alb ...
*Culture of Albania
Albanian culture or the culture of Albanians ( ) is a term that embodies the artistic, culinary, literary, musical, political and social elements that are representative of Albanians. Albanian culture has been considerably shaped by the geography ...
*Bernardino Vitali
Bernardino Vitali was an Albanian printer and publisher, active in Venice from 1494 to 1539. His printing workshop published more than 200 works of Venetian humanists in the first half of the 16th century.Tammaro De Marinis (1937)Bernardino dei Vi ...
*Siege of Shkodra
The fourth siege of Shkodra of 1478–79 was a confrontation between the Ottoman Empire and the Venetians together with the League of Lezhe and other Albanians at Shkodra (Scutari in Italian) and its Rozafa Castle during the First Ottoman-V ...
References
Sources
Historia de vita et gestis Scanderbegi Epirotarum Principis
Treasure of the National Library of Albania displayed by The European Library
The European Library is an Internet service that allows access to the resources of 49 European national libraries and an increasing number of research libraries. Searching is free and delivers metadata records as well as digital objects, mostly ...
Historia de vita et gestis Scanderbegi Epirotarum Principis
Online digital version presented at World Digital Library
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barleti, Marin
1450s births
1510s deaths
16th-century Albanian historians
People from Shkodër
15th-century Albanian Roman Catholic priests
16th-century Albanian Roman Catholic priests
Venetian Albanians
Albanian humanists