Milan Budimir ( sr-cyr, Милан Будимир; 2 November 1891 – 17 October 1975) was a distinguished
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
n
classical scholar
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
, professor, Serbian philosopher and Chair of the Department of Classical Philology.
Life
Budimir was born in
Mrkonjić Grad
Mrkonjić Grad ( sr-cyrl, Мркоњић Град, ) is a town and municipality located in the western part of Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in the region of Bosanska Krajina, between Banja Luka and Jajce. As ...
,
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
(now in
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Feder ...
,
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
). He was educated in
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
and studied Classical Philology at the
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...
, where he received his PhD in 1920. He was appointed the assistant the same year and soon the assistant professor at the Department of the
University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy
The University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy ( sr, Филозофски факултет Универзитета у Београду), established in 1838 within the Belgrade Higher School, is the oldest Faculty at the University of Belgrade ...
, than he was appointed Senior lecturer in 1928 and full professor in 1938. As the professor and the head of the Department of the Classical Philology, he worked until retirement in 1962, with interruptions during the German occupation in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
As a researcher of high rank, he was elected a corresponding member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Art in 1948 and became a regular member of the same Academy in 1955. Budimir died in Belgrade on 17 October 1975.
Milan Budimir did research in the field of classical philology in all its branches: history of classical languages, especially
Old Greek Old Greek is the Greek language as spoken from Late Antiquity (c. AD 400) to around AD 1500. Greek spoken during this period is usually split into:
*Late Greek (c. 400 – c. 800 AD)
*Medieval Greek (c. 800 – c. 1500 AD)
"Old Greek" (OG) is also ...
,
history of Old Greek and
Roman literature
Latin literature includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and other writings written in the Latin language. The beginning of formal Latin literature dates to 240 BC, when the first stage play in Latin was performed in Rome. Latin literature ...
. He also did research of the Old Balkan and
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic, spoken during the Ear ...
, the
history of religion
The history of religion refers to the written record of human religious feelings, thoughts, and ideas. This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,200 years ago (3200 BC). The prehistory of religion involves th ...
, the heritage of the classical period in Serbia and Balkans, especially in language, literature and
folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
, as well as the research in the field of
linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
.
He started and edited the Balkan magazine ''Revue internationale des Études balkaniques'' along with Petar Skok between the wars. Budimir was a founder and co-editor of the former main journal of Yugoslav philologists
The Living Classical Periods' with the most distinguished Yugoslav classical philologists.
The library of this blind scholar is at the Serbian Academy of Sciences and the Arts, Belgrade, where it is accorded a separate division among the special collection
The special library for the blind in Belgrade is named for Milan Budimir.
Currents of pre-Indo-European Researches
The scientific opus of Milan Budimir includes several hundreds of works, books, studies, treatises and articles which may be divided into five big groups.
The first group consists of the works dealing with the research of pre-classical languages and cultures in the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
,
Asia Minor
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
and the
Apennines
The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...
.
Milan Budimir's chief merit in this field relates to the gathering and explaining of the voluminous lexical material of the languages of the
pre-Greek
The Pre-Greek substrate (or Pre-Greek substratum) consists of the unknown pre-Indo-European language(s) spoken in prehistoric Greece before the coming of the Proto-Greek language in the Greek peninsula during the Bronze Age. It is possible that ...
Indo- Europeans, as well as to the establishing of the phonetic laws of these languages.
According to the literary tradition, these, pre- Greek ancients are called the
Pelasgians
The name Pelasgians ( grc, Πελασγοί, ''Pelasgoí'', singular: Πελασγός, ''Pelasgós'') was used by classical Greek writers to refer either to the predecessors of the Greeks, or to all the inhabitants of Greece before the emergenc ...
(Πελασγοί), but Milan Budimir calls them (Πελάσται), proceeding from the form Πελαστικέ (which appears in the scholias of
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
's ''
Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...
'' 16, 223), from the onomastic material in the field (Παλαιστή, toponym in
Epirus
sq, Epiri rup, Epiru
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = Historical region
, image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg
, map_alt =
, map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinrich ...
; Palaestinus, older name for
Strymon etc.), as well as from some common nouns proved by evidence (Πενέσται, name for the conquered population in classical
Thessaly
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...
; Πελάσται, name for the farmers bound to the land in
Attic
An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...
).
The second group consists of the works presenting the research concerning special relations between the
pre-Greek
The Pre-Greek substrate (or Pre-Greek substratum) consists of the unknown pre-Indo-European language(s) spoken in prehistoric Greece before the coming of the Proto-Greek language in the Greek peninsula during the Bronze Age. It is possible that ...
idioms and the
Slavonic languages
The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavs, Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic language, Proto ...
; more precisely, the ProtoSlavonic language.
The third group consists of the works dealing with the research of the general phonetic laws of the
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...
, especially of the languages in contact.
The fourth group consists of the works dealing with the research in the field of classical literature, with special emphasis on the pre-Greek origin of some literary genres and the European scene.
The fifth group consists of the works researching the cultural relations in the folklore of the
South Slavs
South Slavs are Slavic peoples who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austria, Hu ...
and the classical peoples; these works are in close connection with the second group of Budimir's works.
''(Currents of pre-Indo-European Researches - Source: Pelastian Proto-Slavonic Reletions According to the Researches of Milan Budinir by
Ljiljana Crepajac, PhD.)''
Selected works
Milan Budimir presented and published results of his research which entered the best-known dictionaries and reference books in more than two hundred articles, discussions, studies and books with the following being the most important (titles given in English do not necessarily mean that an actual English translation has been published):
*From the Classical and Contemporary Aloglotty (1933)
*On the
Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...
and its Poet (1940)
*''Grci i Pelasgi'' ("The Greeks and the Pelasgians"), Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences, Department of Literature and Language, book 2, Belgrade (1950)
*The Problem of Beech and Protoslav Homeland (1951)
*Pelasto - Slavica (1956)
*Die Sprache als Schopfoung und Entwicklung (1957)
*Protoslavica (1958)
*Zur psychologischen Einheit unserer Ilias (1963)
*From the Balkan Sources (1969)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Budimir, Milan
Serbian classical scholars
Linguists from Serbia
Historical linguists
Linguists of Indo-European languages
1891 births
1975 deaths
People from Mrkonjić Grad
University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy alumni
Linguists from Yugoslavia