Mikša Pelegrinović (or Michiele Pelegrinovich) (c. 1500 – 26 December 1562) was a Croatian poet.

Biography

Pelegrinović was born around the year 1500 in the town of

Hvar Hvar (; Chakavian: ''Hvor'' or ''For''; ; ; ) is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, located off the Dalmatian coast, lying between the islands of Brač, Vis (island), Vis and Korčula. Approximately long, with a high east–west ridge of M ...

on the island of the same name. He came from a noble family originating in the Apulian town of

Barletta Barletta (; Salentino: ''Varrétte'' or ''Barlétte'') is a city and ''comune'' in Apulia, in southeastern Italy. Barletta is the '' capoluogo'', together with Andria and Trani, of the Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani. It has a population of a ...

and was a son of Marijan and Nikolica. He attended a

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

school in his town of birth and he studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

. In 1530, as a lesser nobleman he accepted the responsibilities of a Hvar defensor. In the same year, he became a

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 ...

n Notary and, at the end of 1538, he made his return to Hvar. On 5 February 1548, Pelegrinović was elected as a chancellor in the

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 ...

council. He travelled twice to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, in 1556 and 1557, probably to publish ''Jeđupka'' or his other works. It was at that time that he met Livija Martinušević, whom he married in 1558 and with whom he had a daughter, Julija, and a son, Julije. He lived in

until his death. Two days prior to his death, he dictated his Last Will before a notary.

Literary works

Pelegrinović's literary work is not very well known. It is certain that in 1527 he composed a miscellany of carnival songs, ''Jeđupka'', and in 1556 he wrote an

epistle An epistle (; ) is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as part of the scribal-school writing curriculum. The ...

addressed to the

Ragusa Ragusa may refer to: Places Croatia * Ragusa, Dalmatia, the historical name of the city of Dubrovnik * the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa * Ragusa Vecchia, historical Italian name of Cavtat, a t ...

n poet Sabo Bobaljević, written in

octosyllabic The octosyllable or octosyllabic verse is a line of verse with eight syllables. It is equivalent to tetrameter verse in trochees in languages with a stress accent. Its first occurrence is in a 10th-century Old French saint's legend, the '' Vie d ...

quatrain A quatrain is a type of stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four Line (poetry), lines. Existing in a variety of forms, the quatrain appears in poems from the poetic traditions of various ancient civilizations including Persia, Ancient India ...

s with a comical theme on curing old-age (). However, from the preserved writings of his contemporaries (

Nikola Nalješković Nikola Nalješković () (around 1500, Dubrovnik - 1587, Dubrovnik) was a Republic of Ragusa, Ragusan poet, playwright and scholar. He wrote poetry, romantic canzones, masques (carnival songs), epistles, pastoral plays, mythological plays, farce, ...

, Mavro Vetranović,

Petar Hektorović Petar Hektorović (1487 – 13 March 1572) was a Croatian writer and polymath. Hektorović, also known as Pietro Ettoreo or Piero Hettoreo, was born and died in Stari Grad, Hvar. He was a poet and collector of Hvar's fishermen songs, and ...

etc.) we know that Pelegrinović had written much more literary material. In 1525, the historian

Vinko Pribojević Vinko Pribojević ( mid-15th century – after 1532) was a Croatian writer and Dominican monk from the Republic of Venice, best known as one of the founders of the early pan-Slavic ideology. Life Pribojević was born on the island of Hvar, in ...

mentioned Pelegrinović in his speech on the origin of

Croats 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 ...

, when speaking of famous poets.

dedicated to Pelegrinović in 1528 his translation of

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

Remedia Amoris (also known as ''Love's Remedy'' or ''The Cure for Love''; ) is an 814-line poem in Latin by Roman poet Ovid. In this companion poem to '' The Art of Love'', Ovid offers advice and strategies to avoid being hurt by love feelings, or to fall out ...

(''Od lika ljubenoga'').

Works (editions)

*''Pjesme Nikole Nalješkovića, Andrije Čubranovića, Miše Pelegrinovića i Saba Mišetića Bobaljevića i Jegjupka neznana pjesnika'' (biographies written by Luka Zore and

Franjo Rački Franjo Rački (25 November 1828 – 13 February 1894) was a Croatian historian, politician, writer, and Catholic priest. He compiled important collections of old Croatian diplomatic and historical documents, wrote some pioneering historical works ...

; text for printing edited by Sebastijan Žepić), JAZU, Stari pisci hrvatski, book VIII., Zagreb, 1876 *''Mikša Pelegrinović: "Jejupka"'', Mogućnosti, XX., 1973, pp. 781–808 *''Počinje Jejupka gospodina Miše Pelegrinovića vlastelina hvarskoga'', Mogućnosti, XXI., 1974, pp. 684–710

Biography

Literary works

Works (editions)

References

Further reading