Stefan Stefanović ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Стефановић; 1807–1828) was a Serbian writer and playwright who is best remembered for the popular play about Stefan Uroš V of Serbia.

Biography

Stefan Stefanović, who lived and worked in

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

and

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, is said to have been only nineteen years of age when he wrote the 1826 tragic drama "Death of Stefan Uroš V the Last Serbian Tsar", which would place his birth about the year 1807. He was

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 ...

's disciple. He wrote an ''"Ode to Vuk Karadžić"'' in the same reformed language that Vuk was advocating, and had it published in ''Srpski Letopis'' in 1826. Stefanović read German authors in the original language and translated them into modern Serbian. He was an ardent admirer of

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 ...

. He preferred a life of study and writing to the military service in which his peers were distinguished. He basically lived all his life in Novi Sad where he was born and Pest, Hungary, where he studied. There his time was also spent in literary pursuits, however short it turned out to be. His drama, ''"Death of Uroš V the Last Serbian Tsar"'', was inspired by Serbian Patriarch Pajsije I Janjevac (1614–1647) who wrote the biography of the last Serbian emperor, Uroš, and composed a service to him. Stefanović's drama about the life and death of the last Serbian tsar —

Stefan Uroš V Saint Stefan Uroš V ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош V, ; 13362/4 December 1371), known in historiography and folk tradition as Uroš the Weak (), was the Emperor of the Serbs, second Emperor (Tsar#Serbia, Tsar) of the Serbian Empire (1355–13 ...

of Serbia — was frequently performed and it was popular at the time. It is assumed that such a theatrical performance must have been the source of inspiration for the painting of the scene subject by Serbian artist Novak Radonić in 1857. Stefan Stefanović died in 1828, in Novi Sad, afflicted with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. He was 21. On his tombstone, his sister gave the date of birth and death: "1807–1828."

Notes

References

* * * http://www.equilibrium.rs/knjiga/A-03505/smrt-urosa-petog-tragedija-u-pet-cinova {{DEFAULTSORT:Stefan Stefanovic 1807 births 1828 deaths Writers from Novi Sad 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in the Austrian Empire Dramatists and playwrights from the Austrian Empire