Tobia Lionelli (1647 – 17 October 1714) was a
Slovene–
Italian preacher and writer in the
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
period. His
sermons had a crucial role in the affirmation of Slovene as a language.
He is also known by his
monastic name John Baptist of Sveti Križ in Vipava ( la, Joannes Baptista à Sancta Cruce Vippacensi; later
Slovenized as ', ', or ').
Life
Lionelli was born to a Slovene mother and an Italian father in the town of Sveti Križ (now
Vipavski Križ
Vipavski Križ (; it, Santa Croce di Aidussina) is a settlement on a small hill in the Vipava Valley in the Municipality of Ajdovščina in the Littoral region of Slovenia. There is evidence of habitation on the hill in the pre-Roman period. The s ...
) in the
Vipava Valley,
County of Gorizia. A recent theory conjectures that he was actually born as Ivan Hrobat, the illegitimate son of Katarina Hrobat and a nobleman of the Lanthieri family, and that the surname Lionelli was purchased to avoid embarrassment.
[Kmecl, Matjaž. 2005. ''A Short Cultural History of the Slovenes''. Ljubljana: Slovene PEN.]
He took the name "Joannes Baptista à Sancta Cruce Vippacensi" upon joining the
Order of Friars Minor Capuchin
The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM ...
in reference to his native town and probably also to the Spanish mystic
St. John of the Cross
John of the Cross, OCD ( es, link=no, Juan de la Cruz; la, Ioannes a Cruce; born Juan de Yepes y Álvarez; 24 June 1542 – 14 December 1591) was a Spanish Catholic priest, mystic, and a Carmelite friar of converso origin. He is a major figu ...
. He served in various monasteries in the
Slovene Lands, including the Capuchin monastery of St. Francis Assisi in his native town, and in
Croatia. Lionelli died in
Gorizia, where he had spent the last years of his life.
Work
Lionelli wrote over 230 sermons, which he published in a series of five books entitled ' (The Holy Handbook).
One of his best-known sermons is ' (On New Year's Day). The publication of these books was financed by members of the nobility and benefactors from within the Church.
Lionelli's ''Sacrum promptuarium'' was published between 1691 and 1707.
The first two volumes were published 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 ...
, the remaining three in
Ljubljana. They are written in the
Brda dialect of Slovene, with strong influence of the neighbouring
Inner Carniolan dialect, with numerous
Germanisms and
Latin quotations. The syntax presents a typical
Baroque style, with references to Classical tradition.
References
*
Snoj, Marko (2006). ''Slovar jezika Janeza Svetokriškega'' (''Dela'', 49/7; 49/8). Ljubljana: Založba ZRC. 2 zv. .
External links
Joannes Baptiſta à S. Cruce Vippacenſi. 1691. ''Sacrum promptuarium'', Vol 2. Venice.Joannes Baptiſta à S. Cruce Vippacenſi. 1696. ''Sacrum promptuarium'', Vol 3. Ljubljana.Joannes Baptiſta à S. Cruce Vippacenſi. 1707. ''Sacrum promptuarium'', Vol 5. Ljubljana.Janez Svetokriški
A News Report by Jože Možina from a symposium on Janez Svetokriški. 1999. RTV Slovenia.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lionelli, Tobia
1647 births
1714 deaths
17th-century Slovenian Roman Catholic priests
18th-century Slovenian Roman Catholic priests
Slovenian writers
Slovenian people of Italian descent
People from the Municipality of Ajdovščina
Capuchins
Sermon writers
Baroque writers
Slovenian Friars Minor