Dhimitër Frëngu

Dhimitër Frëngu (1443-1525) was an Albanian scholar, soldier and Catholic priest. His foremost work is considerered to be Comentario de le cose de' Turchi, et del S. Georgio Scanderbeg, principe d' Epyro, a biography of the national hero of Albania Skanderbeg.

Life

Dhimitër Frëngu was born in Drivast, Venetian Empire (today in northern Albania) in 1443. Through his mother he was member of the noble family of Engjëlli and a cousin of Pal Engjëlli, the Archbishop of Durrës. At the age of sixteen he joined the armies of the League of Lezhë, while in 1466 he accompanied Skanderbeg, the leader of the League, in Rome as a scribe.^[1] In 1479 after the last city of the League of Lezhë was conquered by the Ottoman Empire he migrated to Italy, where he served as vicar until his death in Trevi in 1525.^[2]

Works

Frëngu's most important work is a biography of the national hero of Albania, Skanderbeg titled Comentario de le cose de' Turchi, et del S. Georgio Scanderbeg, principe d' Epyro. Frëngu's name is listed as Demetrio Franco, while it also includes a glossary of Albanian words. as an addendum. Some scholars consider Frëngu's work to be more critical towards foreign allies of the League of Lezhë than that of Marin Barleti, while others view it more as a summary of Barleti's biography than an original work.^[2] Some scholars in the past disputed Frëngu's authorship, because the first edition of the work had no authorship information.^[2] Originally published in Venice in 1545, in 1584 it was translated in Italian by Catholic priest Giovanni Maria Bonardo with the title Gli illustri e gloriosi gesti e vittoriose imprese fatte contro i Turchi dal Signor Don Georgio Castriotto detto Scanderbeg, principe d' Epiro.^[3][2]

Sources

1. ^ Shuteriqi, Dhimitër (1978) (in Albanian). Shkrimet shqipe në vitet 1332-1850. Rilindja. p. 42. http://books.google.com/books?ei=RSaWTbmyEoHsOZ_R2L8H&ct=result&id=beQGa12Pz7AC&dq=Dhimiter+frengu&q=embetha#search_anchor. Retrieved 1 April 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Prenushi, Mikel. "Dhimitër Frangu, Skanderbeg's historian and soldier". http://www.kulturserver-hamburg.de/home/shkodra/phoenix_05/phoenix_05_art11.html. Retrieved 1 April 2011. 
3. ^ Sarrocchi, Margherita; Russell, Rinaldina (2006-10-01). Scanderbeide: the heroic deeds of George Scanderberg, King of Epirus. University of Chicago Press. p. 24. ISBN 9780226735085. http://books.google.com/books?id=1D_HMofZIfoC&pg=PA24. Retrieved 1 April 2011.