Ndre Mjeda (20 November 18661 August 1937) was an

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

, poet, priest, rilindas, translator and writer of the Albanian Renaissance. He was a member of the

Mjeda family The Mjeda family (Italian: ''Miedia''), is a noble Albanian family which played a prominent role in the history of Albania and Kosovo in the 19th and early 20th century. History The progenitor of the family, Bardhi, settled in Shkodër from ...

. He was influenced by the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

writer Anton Xanoni and the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

poet Leonardo De Martino.

Life

From 1880 until 1887, Mjeda studied literature at the

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its ...

monastery of Porta Coeli, in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

, Spain,

rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...

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 ...

and Italian in Croatia at a Jesuit institution, at the

Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school (pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

in Rome, and at another Gregorian college in

Chieri Chieri (; pms, Cher) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont (Italy), located about southeast of Turin, by rail and by road. It borders the following municipalities: Baldissero Torinese, Pavarolo, Montaldo Torine ...

, Italy. During these studies, Mjeda began to write Albanian poetry. Some of his most famous poems include ''Vaji i Bylbylit'' (''The Nightingale's Lament'') (1887) and ''Vorri i Skanderbegut'' (''

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 ...

's grave''). Mjeda also taught music in

Cremona Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of th ...

, Italy, at the College of Marco Girolamo Vida from 1887 to 1891, and translated various religious literature. He published ''Jeta e sceitit sc' Gnon Berchmans'' (''The Life of St John Berchmans'') (1888), and ''T' perghjamit e Zojs Bekume'' (''Imitation of the Holy Virgin'') (1892), a translation from Spanish, ''Katekizmi i Madh'' (''The Great Catechism''), another translation, and ''Historia e Shejtë'' (''Sacred History''). Mjeda later on studied theology at the Jesuit college in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, and taught philosophy and

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...

, as well as served as a librarian at the Gregorian college in

Kraljevica Kraljevica (known as ''Porto Re'' in Italian and literally translated as "King's cove" in English) is a town in the Kvarner region of Croatia, located between Rijeka and Crikvenica, approximately thirty kilometers from Opatija and near the entran ...

, where he was also appointed professor of

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premises ...

and

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

. He was expelled in 1898 after a conflict between

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 ...

and the Vatican. In 1899, Mjeda, along with

Preng Doçi Preng Doçi (1846–1917), it, Primus Docci, was and Albanian political and religious figure and poet. He was a main contributor in the Albanian ''Bashkimi'' Alphabet. Life Preng Doçi was born in Paraspor neighborhood of Bulgër, a village ne ...

and

Gjergj Fishta Gjergj Fishta (; 23 October 187130 December 1940) was an Albanian Franciscan friar, poet, educator, politician, rilindas, translator and writer. He is regarded as one of the most influential Albanian writers of the 20th century due to his epic ...

founded the ''Shoqnia e bashkimit të gjuhës shqipe'' (

Society for the Unity of the Albanian Language Shoqnia e Bashkimit të Gjuhës Shqipe (Society for the Unity of the Albanian Language), usually known as the Shoqnia Bashkimi (The Union Society), or simply Bashkimi i Shkodrës (The Union of Shkodra) was a literary society founded in Shkodra, O ...

) literary society, usually known as the ''Shoqnia Bashkimi'' (The Union Society), or simply ''Bashkimi'' (The Union) of Shkodra for publishing Albanian language books. In 1901, Mjeda founded the '' Agimi'' (Dawn) Society in Shkodër. Mjeda devised the Agimi alphabet based on Latin characters following the principle of one letter for a sound and used diacritic marks for other peculiar sounds in the Albanian language. In

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

1902, Mjeda's alphabet was approved by the International Congress of the Orientalists and in May by most of the Catholic clergy in Shkodër. Books subsidized by Austria-Hungary were published in the Agimi Alphabet which rivaled the Bashkimi Alphabet for writing

. In 1908, Mjeda was a delegate at the Albanian alphabet

Congress of Monastir The Congress of Manastir ( sq, Kongresi i Manastirit) was an academic conference held in the city of Manastir (now Bitola) from November 14 to 22, 1908, with the goal of standardizing the Albanian alphabet. November 22 is now a commemorative da ...

representing the Agimi Society. Mjeda supported the Latin character Istanbul alphabet as it contained the principle of one letter, one sound and its Latin characters were also similar to the rival Bashkimi alphabet. Toward the late Ottoman period, Mjeda supported Austro-Hungarian intervention in Albanian affairs within the Ottoman Empire. Mjeda served as a member of the

Albanian Literary Commission The Albanian Literary Commission ( sq, Komisija Letrare Shqipe), also known as the Literary Commission of Shkodër, was a scholarly committee established in Shkodër, north Albania in 1916. It gathered major personalities of Albanian literature and ...

, in Shkodër, under the Austro-Hungarian administration, as well as a deputy in the National Assembly of Albania. He left politics after

Fan Noli Theofan Stilian Noli, known as Fan Noli (6 January 1882 – 13 March 1965), was an Albanian writer, scholar, diplomat, politician, historian, orator, Archbishop, Metropolitan and founder of the Albanian Orthodox Church and the Albanian Orthodox ...

's defeat, and the rise of King Zog. He then served as a parish priest in Kukël, and taught the

Albanian language Albanian ( endonym: or ) is an Indo-European language and an independent branch of that family of languages. It is spoken by the Albanians in the Balkans and by the Albanian diaspora, which is generally concentrated in the Americas, Europ ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

at the Jesuit college in Shkodër until his death.

References

External links

Biography at Albanianliterature.com

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mjeda, Ndre 1866 births 1937 deaths Activists of the Albanian National Awakening 20th-century Albanian Roman Catholic priests Albanian Catholic poets Albanian Jesuits Albanian male poets Albanian translators Albanian philologists Albanian male writers 19th-century Albanian Roman Catholic priests 19th-century Albanian poets 20th-century Albanian poets 20th-century Albanian politicians 19th-century Albanian writers 20th-century Albanian writers Romantic poets Ndre Pontifical Gregorian University alumni People from Shkodër People from Scutari vilayet

Life

See also

References

External links