Primož Trubar

Primož Trubar or Primus Truber () (1508 – 28 June 1586) was a Slovene Protestant Reformer of the Lutheran tradition, mostly known as the author of the first Slovene language printed book, the founder and the first superintendent of the Protestant Church of the Duchy of Carniola, and for consolidating the Slovenian language. Trubar introduced The Reformation in Slovenia, leading the Austrian Habsburgs to wage the Counter-Reformation, which a small Protestant community survived. Trubar is a key figure of Slovenian history and in many aspects a major historical personality.

Life and work

Trubar was born in the village of Rašica (now in the Municipality of Velike Lašče) in the Duchy of Carniola, then under the Habsburgs. In the years 1520–1521 he attended school in Rijeka, in 1522–1524 he continued his education in Salzburg. From there he went to Trieste under the tutorship of the Roman Catholic bishop Pietro Bonomo, where he got in touch with the Humanist writers, in particular Erasmus of Rotterdam. In 1527 the bishop Pietro Bonomo assigned Trubar a priest position in Loka pri Zidanem Mostu. In 1528 he enrolled at the University of Vienna, but did not complete his studies. In 1530 he returned to the Slovenian Lands and became a preacher in Ljubljana, where he lived up until 1565. While in Ljubljana, he lived in a house, on today's Fish Square (''Ribji trg''), in the oldest part of the city. Living in Ljubljana had profound impact on his work, he considered Ljubljana the capital of all Slovenes because of its central position in the heart of the Slovene lands and because its residents spoke Slovene as their first language, unlike several other towns in today's Slovenia. It is estimated that in Trubar's period around 70% of Ljubljana's 4000 inhabitants attended mass in Slovene. It was the language of Ljubljana that Trubar took as a foundation of what later became standard Slovene, with small addition of his native speech, that is Lower Carniolan dialect. Trubar considered Ljubljana's speech most suitable, since it sounded much more noble, than his own, simple dialect of his hometown Rašica. His decision to write in Ljubljana's variety was later adopted also by other Protestant writers, who also lived in Ljubljana during Trubar's time. He gradually leaned towards Protestantism and was expelled from Ljubljana in 1547.

In 1550, while a Protestant preacher in Rothenburg, he wrote the first two books in Slovene, '' Catechismus'' and '' Abecedarium'', which were then printed that year in Schwäbisch Hall by Peter Frentz. ''Catechismus'' also contained the first Slovene musical manuscript in print.

Altogether, Trubar authored 22 books in Slovene and two books in German. He was the first to translate parts of the Bible into Slovene. After the exhortation by Pier Paolo Vergerio, he translated the Gospel of Matthew in 1555 and until 1577 in three parts published the translation of the entire New Testament. In period between 1561 and 1565 Trubar was the manager and supervisor of the South Slavic Bible Institute. Eschatologically minded, he also endeavored to proselytize Muslims in Turkey with his books.

Trubar died in Derendingen, Holy Roman Empire (now part of the city of Tübingen, Germany), where he is also buried.

Commemoration

On June 4, 1952, the street ''Šentpeterska cesta'' in Ljubljana was renamed ''Trubarjeva cesta'' after Trubar. It is one of the oldest roads in the city, first mentioned in 1802, and starts in ''Prešernov trg'' (Prešeren Square), named after Slovenia's national poet. The street is currently known for its high concentration of ethnic restaurants.

In 1986, Slovene television produced a TV series, directed by Andrej Strojan with the screenplay written by Drago Jančar, in which Trubar was played by the Slovene actor Polde Bibič.

Trubar was commemorated on the 10 tolar banknote in 1992, and on the Slovene 1 euro coin in 2007. In 2008, the Government of Slovenia proclaimed the Year of Primož Trubar and the 500th anniversary of Truba