Ivan Stojanović (17 December 1829 – December 1900) was a Catholic priest from Dubrovnik. He wrote the book ''Dubrovačka Književnost'', published in 1900, arguing that the people of Dubrovnik were
Roman Catholic by religion, but by language Serbs. He was involved with the literary journal ''Slovinac''.
Early life
Ivan "Ivo" Stojanović was born in
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...
on 17 December 1829. He studied in Dubrovnik and
Zadar
Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...
. At an early age he decided to take orders, becoming a priest upon his graduation from the Zadar Roman Catholic Seminary in 1852. He spent a year in
Korčula
Korčula () is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. It has an area of , is long and on average wide, and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 15,522 inhabitants (2011) make it the second most populous Adriatic island after Krk. The populat ...
as a parish priest. After that he went to
Rijeka
Rijeka (;
Fiume ( fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...
where he spent thirty years.
In his lifetime he befriended many politicians and men of letters, including
Vlaho Getaldić
Vlaho Getaldić (also Biagio Ghetaldi; 22 December 1788 - 27 October 1872) was a Dalmatian writer, translator and politician from Dubrovnik.
Born in the Republic of Ragusa. He was the grand-nephew of the renowned Marin Getaldić, and descendant ...
, Luka Diego Sorkočević (grandson of the Dubrovnik composer) and Jozo Bunić. An admirer of
Dositej Obradović
Dositej Obradović ( sr-Cyrl, Доситеј Обрадовић, ; 17 February 1739 – 7 April 1811) was a Serbian writer, biographer, diarist, philosopher, pedagogue, educational reformer, linguist and the first minister of education of Se ...
, Stojanović was one of the leading members of the group of intellectuals who formed the
Serb-Catholic Circle of Dubrovnik. The chief dialogue of this movement, fostering inclusiveness for Italians and Serbs, was Dom Ivo Stojanović.
Career
His reputation rests on his ''Dubrovačka Književnost'' (History of Literature in Dubrovnik), published in 1900 by ''Srpska Dubrovačka Akademiska Omladina,''. He wrote papers on various literary subjects, including the writings of
St. Augustine
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...
,
Aristophanes
Aristophanes (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Ancient Greek comedy, comic playwright from Classical Athens, Athens. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. The majority of his surviving play ...
(''"The Clouds"''),
,
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (; ; 22 January 1729 – 15 February 1781) was a German philosopher, dramatist, publicist and art critic, and a representative of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the dev ...
,
Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright.
He was born i ...
,
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...
,
Denis Diderot
Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a prominent figure during th ...
(''"
Rameau's Nephew
''Rameau's Nephew, or the Second Satire'' (or The Nephew of Rameau, ) is an imaginary philosophical conversation by Denis Diderot, probably written between 1761 and 1774.
It was first published in 1805 in German translation by Goethe, but the F ...
"''),
Paul Louis Courier,
Petar II Petrović Njegoš Petar (, sr-Cyrl, Петар) is a South Slavic masculine given name, their variant of the Biblical name Petros cognate to Peter.
Derivative forms include Pero, Pejo, Pera, Perica, Petrica, Periša. Feminine equivalent is Petra.
People mon ...
, and
Edmondo De Amicis
Edmondo De Amicis (; 21 October 1846 – 11 March 1908) was an Italian novelist, journalist, poet, and short-story writer. His best-known book is the children's novel ''Heart''.
Early career
Born in Oneglia (today part of the city of Imperia), h ...
, his contemporary.
Stojanović translated a German historical book ''Geschichte des Freystaates Ragusa'' by
Johann Christian Engel (1770–1814) into Serbian under the title of ''Najnovijie povjest Dubrovačke Republike'' (Current History of the Republic of Dubrovnik), published in Dubrovnik by ''Srpsko Dubrovačke Štamparije A. Pasarića'', 1903.
As a priest, historian, and moralist, Stojanović divided his history of nineteenth-century Dubrovnik into three epochs: first, the fall and death of Dubrovnik; second, the state of that moral body after death; and the rise of Dubrovnik from the ashes.
Dubrovnik had been in decline even before 1808, due above all to the lessening of its role as intermediary in Balkan and Levantine trade, and to its shrinking merchant fleet in the Mediterranean.
Stojanović acted in the spirit of
Vuk Karadžić
Vuk Stefanović Karadžić ( sr-Cyrl, Вук Стефановић Караџић, ; 6 November 1787 (26 October OS)7 February 1864) was a Serbian philologist, anthropologist and linguist. He was one of the most important reformers of the moder ...
, who is commonly called the father of modern
Serbian culture
Serbian culture is a term that encompasses the Serbian art, artistic, Serbian cuisine, culinary, Serbian literature, literary, Music of Serbia, musical, Politics of Serbia, political and Serb traditions, social elements that are representati ...
.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stojanovic, Ivan
1829 births
1900 deaths
People from Dubrovnik
People from the Kingdom of Dalmatia
Serb-Catholic movement in Dubrovnik
Serbian writers
Book and manuscript collectors
Serbian Roman Catholic priests
19th-century Austrian Roman Catholic priests
Serbs of Croatia