Stevan Vladislav Kaćanski - "Stari Bard" ( Srbobran,

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

, 19 December 1828 -

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynast ...

, 4 May 1890) was a popular Serbian

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

of the second half of the 19th century at the most turbulent time in Europe during the

Revolutions of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

in general and the

Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire The revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire took place from March 1848 to November 1849. Much of the revolutionary activity had a nationalism, nationalist character: the Austrian Empire, ruled from Vienna, included ethnic Germans, Hungarians, ...

in particular Most of his poems were inspired by the poetic dream of Serbian liberation and unification. Today he is considered Serbia's

national poet A national poet or national bard is a poet held by tradition and popular acclaim to represent the identity, beliefs and principles of a particular national culture. The national poet as culture hero is a long-standing symbol, to be distinguished ...

, who was one of the key figures of the Serb Revolution of 1848. He is best known as the author of ''Noćnica'', which is said to have inspired the Serbs to seek independence from the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

though within the territories of the

Biography

Stevan Vladislav Kaćanski was born into a respectable family, in Srbobran, in

Bačka Bačka ( sr-Cyrl, Бачка, ) or Bácska (), is a geographical and historical area within the Pannonian Plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east. It is divided between Serbia and Hungary. ...

. His parents were Trifon and Julijana, inhabitants of Srbobran. The family got its surname from the village of

Kać Kać () is a suburban settlement of the city of Novi Sad, Serbia. The town had a population of 11,612 in the 2011 census. Name In Serbo-Croatian, the town is known as ''Kać'' or Каћ, in Hungarian as ''Káty'', and in German as ''Katsch''. ...

, from where they moved at the end of the 18th century. Originally from

Herzegovina Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical Regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia (reg ...

, their last name was Vladisavljević, which is why Kaćanski always put it in front of his last name, or signed it only as Vladislav. He finished primary school in Varadin and Srbobran, and started high school in

Sremski Karlovci Sremski Karlovci ( sr-Cyrl, Сремски Карловци, ) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka Districtautonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Danube, from Novi Sad. According to the 202 ...

and finished in

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

with the support from his uncle Sergije Kaćanski who later became bishop of the Eparchy of Gornji Karlovac, a very learned man and one of the most distinguished

cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

s there. Already in high school, Kaćanski began writing patriotic songs and became the president of the literary association of Serbs in the Szeged high school. After high school, he enrolled at the Faculty of Philosophy in Pest, but left it very quickly and went on to study law at Jegra (

). His studies were interrupted by the Serb Revolution of 1848-1849.{{cite web , title = Birth of Serbian Anthems (9): Serbian Marseillaise , url = http://www.vesti-online.com/Vesti/Srbija/209882/Radanje-srpskih-himni-9-Srpska-Marseljeza-, work=vesti-online.com, publisher="Vesti "d.o.o. , accessdate = 14 November 2013 , author = M. Djordjevic , location = Belgrade , date = 13 March 2012{{cite web , title = Katalog Napokretnih kulturnih dobara na područje grada Beograda - Kuća Stevana Kaćanskog , url=http://beogradskonasledje.rs/kd/zavod/stari_grad/kuca_stevana_kacanskog.html , work = Kulturna dobra Beograda , publisher = Službeni list grada Beograda , accessdate = 12 November 2013 , location = Belgrade Thanks to his determination and clarity, he quickly gained the trust of the national champions with his poems. With the help of uncle, the

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the populat ...

bishop of Gornji Karlovac, Kaćanski was elected to the

delegation Delegation is the process of distributing and entrusting work to another person.Schermerhorn, J., Davidson, P., Poole, D., Woods, P., Simon, A., & McBarron, E. (2017). ''Management'' (6th ed., pp. 282–286). Brisbane: John Wiley & Sons Australia. ...

, which 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 ...

negotiated with

Josip Jelačić Count Josip Jelačić von Bužim (16 October 180120 May 1859; also spelled ''Jellachich'', ''Jellačić'' or ''Jellasics''; ; ) was a Croatian lieutenant field marshal in the Imperial Austrian Army and politician. He was the Ban of Croatia betw ...

on a joint struggle against nationalist goals of the

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848, also known in Hungary as Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many Revolutions of 1848, European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in ...

. He took part in the defense of Srbobran, in the battles near

Bačko Gradište Bačko Gradište ( sr-Cyrl, Бачко Градиште, ; , ; ) is a village located in the Bečej municipality, in the South Bačka District of Serbia. It is situated in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The village is ethnically mixed an ...

and

. He became famous with the patriotic song "Noćnica".

Works

* ''Skupljene pesme'' (Collected Poems) * ''Od Balkana do Adrije'' (From the Balkans to Adria){{Cite web, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VMCjPgAACAAJ&q=%22Stevan+Vladislav+Ka%C4%87anski%22, title = (Od Balkana do Adrije): Pesme, last1 = Kaćanski, first1 = Stevan Vladislav, year = 1913 * ''Grahov laz''{{Cite book, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LXZpAAAAMAAJ&q=Stevan+Vladislav+Ka%C4%87anski:+grahov+laz, title=Tokovi istorije: časopis Instituta za noviju istoriju Srbije, date=1997, publisher=INIS., language=bs * ''Narodni zbor'' * ''Ljuba Nenadović'' (amanet sa neba)'''' * ''Kralj Nikola''

References

* translated and adapted from Riznica srpska
Stevan Vladislav Kaćanski (1829—1890)
{{Reflist {{Authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaćanski, Stevan 1828 births 1890 deaths People from Srbobran People from Sremski Karlovci People from Szeged 19th-century Serbian poets Serbian revolutionaries Rebels from Austria-Hungary Writers from Belgrade Emigrants from the Austrian Empire