Shtjefën Konstantin Gjeçov-Kryeziu or Stjepan Gečević (12 July 1874 – 14 October 1929) was an

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' refe ...

, nationalist, ethnologist, and folklorist from

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

. He is regarded as the father of

Albanian folklore Albanian folklore is the folk tradition of the Albanian people. Albanian traditions have been orally transmitted – through memory systems that have survived intact into modern times – down the generations and are still very much alive in the mo ...

studies.

Life

Gjeçovi was born on 12 July 1874 (some sources mention 3 October 1873) in

Janjevo Janjevo () or Janjevë (in Albanian) is a village or small town in the Lipjan municipality in eastern Kosovo. The settlement has a long history, having been mentioned for the first time in 1303 as a Catholic parish. The town was prior to the Ko ...

, Prizren Vilayet,

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

(now

). He was educated by the

Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

(under control of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

) and moved to

Ottoman Albania Ottoman Albania was a period in History of Albania, Albanian history within the Ottoman Empire, from the Ottoman conquest in the late 15th century to the Albanian Declaration of Independence, Albanian declaration of Independence and official s ...

in 1896, having become a priest, and spent the years between 1905 and 1920 among the Albanian highland tribes, collecting oral literature, tribal law, archaeology and folklore. Gjeçovi was also an important collector of the ''

Albanian Songs of the Frontier Warriors 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 ...

''. An Albanian patriot and a diligent researcher on everything related to the Albanian past, he was loathed by the Serbian population and the local authorities. He was shot on 14 October 1929, in the village of Zym near

Gjakovë Gjakova or Đakovica, ) and Đakovica ( sr-Cyrl, Ђаковица, ) is the sixth largest city of Kosovo and seat of the Gjakova Municipality and the Gjakova District. According to the 2024 census, the municipality of Gjakova has 78,699 inhabit ...

(at the time part of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

) while serving as the local priest and teacher by a

Serbian nationalist Serbian nationalism asserts that Serbs are a nation and promotes the cultural and political unity of Serbs. It is an ethnic nationalism, originally arising in the context of the general rise of nationalism in the Balkans under Ottoman rule, ...

. Father Pashk Bardhi, in his biography (foreword of the Kanun) describes his death with these words: There are monuments in his honour at Zym, as well as in Janjevo, along with the house he was born and raised becoming his museum. His grave is in the Karashëngjergj village not far from Zym, and is a place of pilgrimage. Several schools in Kosovo and Albania bear his name. "Traces of Gjeçovi" (), is a yearly event held in his birthplace Janjevo since 2000, to memorialize and promote his work and legacy.

Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit

Gjeçovi collected and wrote ''

Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the Ottoman sultan between 1520 and his death in 1566. Under his adminis ...

'', a set of traditional Albanian

customary law A legal custom is the established pattern of behavior within a particular social setting. A claim can be carried out in defense of "what has always been done and accepted by law". Customary law (also, consuetudinary or unofficial law) exists wher ...

s that was published in 1933. Although researchers of history and customs of Albania usually refer to Gjeçovi's text of the Kanun as the only existing version which is uncontested and written by

Lekë Dukagjini Lekë III Dukagjini (1410–1481), mostly known as Lekë Dukagjini, was a 15th-century member of the Albanian nobility, from the Dukagjini family. A contemporary of Skanderbeg, Dukagjini is known for the '' Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit'', a code of ...

, it was actually incorrect. The text of the Kanun, often contested and with many different interpretations, was only named after Dukagjini. The customary laws were not static in period between 15th and 20th century and one of the main reasons for Gjeçovi's work on the Kanun was to adapt it to correspond with the changes in the society of Albania.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gjecovi, Shtjefen 1874 births 1929 deaths Albanian Franciscans People from Lipjan People murdered in Yugoslavia Deaths by firearm in Yugoslavia Assassinated Albanian people Albanian nationalists Albanian folklorists Albanian ethnographers Kosovan Roman Catholics 20th-century Albanian scientists 20th-century Albanian Roman Catholic priests People assassinated in the 20th century

Life

Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit

See also

References