Andrija Zmajević ( cyrl, Андрија Змајевић; 6 June 1628 - 7 September 1694) was a Baroque poet, the Archbishop of Antivari and a

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Biography

Zmajević was born in

Perast Perast ( cnr, Пераст) is an old town in the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro. It is situated a few kilometres northwest of Kotor and is noted for its proximity to the islets of St. George and Our Lady of the Rocks. History According to the pr ...

, in the

Bay of Kotor The Bay of Kotor ( Montenegrin and Serbian: , Italian: ), also known as the Boka, is a winding bay of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Montenegro and the region of Montenegro concentrated around the bay. It is also the southernmost part of the hi ...

, at the time 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, ...

(now

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

) in late July 1628. The Zmajević family hailed from

Njeguši Njeguši ( cnr, Његуши) is a village in the Cetinje Municipality of southern Montenegro, located on the slopes of Mount Lovćen, within the Lovćen national park. It is part of the territory of Njeguši tribe. Demographics According to th ...

; when the last members of the Crnojević family left

Principality of Zeta The Principality of Zeta ( sr, Кнежевина Зета, Kneževina Zeta) is a historiographical name for a late medieval principality located in the southern parts of modern Montenegro and northern parts of modern Albania, around the Lake of ...

, Nikola Zmajević and his cousins Ivaniš and Vučeta moved to

Kotor Kotor ( Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative ...

. Becoming appealed and somewhat wealthy, the family quickly converted from Christian Orthodoxy in favor of Roman Catholicism.

Work

He also collected epic and lyric folk songs and transcribed works of the poets of Dubrovnik, notably Gundulić. His only published work, the song "Od pakla" ("Hell") saw the light of day in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

in 1727. Almost all of his other works remained in manuscripts. He wrote: #''Hronika'' or ''Ljetopis crkveni'' (Church Annals or Church Chronicles) illustrated by himself and his countryman Tripo Kokolja. #''Svadja Lazarevih kćeri, Brankovice i Miloševice'' ("The Quarrel of Lazar’s daughters, wife of Branko and wife of Miloš") #''Peraški boj'' ("The Battle of Perast"). #''Slovinskoj Dubravi'' (Of Slavic

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 ...

") #''Tripu Škuri'' ("Of Tripo Škura) Zmajević's 1675 Church Chronicle had recorded much secular history. Zmajević wrote both in Cyrillic and in

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 ...

scripts. Zmajević called the language in which he wrote "Slavic" (''slovinski''). He justified his decision to write in Cyrillic script since it was used by the " Illyrian" and overall Slavic world. Zmajević saw all the South Slavs as the same people and hoped for the Orthodox Serbs to be united in the Roman faith. He praised

Saint Sava Saint Sava ( sr, Свети Сава, Sveti Sava, ; Old Church Slavonic: ; gr, Άγιος Σάββας; 1169 or 1174 – 14 January 1236), known as the Enlightener, was a Serbian prince and Orthodox monk, the first Archbishop of the autocephalou ...

, while incorrectly depicting him as faithful to Rome.

Legacy

The Croatian Encyclopedia describes him as a 'Croatian archbishop and writer' and notes that his few remaining works are archived by HAZU.

References

Sources

* ''Prednjegoševsko doba'', Titograd 1963. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zmajevic, Andrija Serbian Roman Catholic priests 1628 births 1694 deaths Republic of Venice poets People from Perast Archbishops of Antivari Serbian male poets Montenegrin poets Montenegrin male writers Roman Catholic writers Venetian period in the history of Montenegro Venetian Slavs 17th-century Serbian writers 17th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Republic of Venice Montenegrin Roman Catholic archbishops