Antun Kanižlić (20 November 1699, Požega – 24 August 1777, Požega) was a

Croat The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

ian

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

and poet.

Biography

Antun Kanižlić was born on 20 November, 1699 in Požega. After finishing the gymnasium in Požega, he continued his education in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

. He acted as a teacher for a few years in Zagreb and

Varaždin Varaždin ( or ; , also known by #Name, alternative names) is a city in Northern Croatia, north-east of Zagreb. The total population is 46,946, with 38,839 in the city settlement itself (2011). The city is best known for its baroque buildings, ...

before continuing his education in theology in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

and

Trnava Trnava (, , ; , also known by other #Names and etymology, alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of the Trnava Region and the Trnava District. It is the seat o ...

. In 1721 and 1722, when he was supervising the pupil's theatre in the collegium in Zagreb, he directed and likely wrote drama pieces ''Pro Deo et Rege, sive Croatiae semper in Deum fides, fidelitasque pro domo Austriae'' (For God and the King, or Croatia's faith always in God, and loyalty to the house of Austria) and ''Exilium Melancholiae ex Utopia'' (The Exile of Melancholy from Utopia). He then became a preacher active in Zagreb, Požega,

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

, Petrovaradin and

. From 1752 until his death, he resided in his native Požega. He is the author of a wide array of religious and didactic books, partly original, partly translated which he wrote as his age was advancing. The most popular one M''ala i svakomu potribna bogoslovica to jest nauk kerstjanski'' (1773), was issued five times. These religious works often contain sections written in verse, most notable poems being ''Pripovijest o mladiću Urbanu'' (Story of young Urban) and ''Pisma od svetoga Alojzija'' (Letters of Saint Alosius), notable for their Baroque depiction of divine love, both were published in ''Primogući i sardce nadvladajući uzroci'' (Zagreb, 1760). His most prominent work ''Sveta Rožalija'' (written c. 1759, published posthumously in 1780,

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

), an epic poem covering the life of Saint Rosalia, makes Kanižlić one of the most representative writers of

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

Slavonia Slavonia (; ) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria County, Istria, one of the four Regions of Croatia, historical regions of Croatia. Located in the Pannonian Plain and taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with f ...

. The poem was highly praised, among others, by poet and aesthetics theorist Matija Petar Katančić in his ''De poesi illyrica'' (1817). He died on 24 August 1777.

Works

* ''Obilato duhovno mliko. Pritiskano u Zagrebu po Antunu Reineru Hervatskoga Kralyestva pritiskaru'', 1754 * ''Bogolyubstvo na poʃctenye svetoga Francescka Saverie, Druxbe Isusove. Pritiskano u Trnavi'', 1759. * ''Utocsiscte Blaxenoj Divici Marii ugodno, i prietno a nami velle koriʃtno, i potribito. Na posctenye Gospe Almascke, Majke od Utocsiscta nazvane. U Mnecih, pritiskano od Antona Bassanesa,'' 1759. * ''Mala i svakomu potribna bogoslovica. Pritiskana u Ternavi'' (1760, 1762), 1764, 1766, 1773 *
Primoguchi i sardce nadvladajuchi uzroci. Pritiskano u Zagrebu, od Cajetana Franc. Härl
'' 1760 * ''Bogolyubnost molitvena, na poctenye Prisvete Troice jedinoga Boga, Blaxene Divice Marie, i svetih, s-razlicsitimih naucih, i iʃtomacsenyem svetih obicsajah cerkvenih. Pritiskana u Ternavi,'' 1766

Published posthumously

* ''Kamen pravi smutnye velike illiti Pocsetak, i uzrok istiniti rastavlyenya Cerkve istocsne od Zapadne. U Osiku kod Ivana Martina Divalta,'' 1780. * ''Sveta Rožalija'', full title ''Sveta Rožalija Panormitanska divica nakićena i ispivana po Antunu Kanižliću Požežaninu'' * ''Kamen pravi, smutnje velike''

References

External links

KANIŽLIĆ, Antun
at lzmk.hr

Antun Kanižlić
on Croatian Encyclopedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Kanizlic, Antun 1699 births 1777 deaths 18th-century Croatian poets Habsburg Croats People from Požega, Croatia Croatian male poets Croatian Baroque writers