- Ivan Mažuranić
Ivan Mažuranić (1814-1890) was a
Croatia n poet, linguist and politician—probably the most important figure in Croatia's cultural life in the mid-19th century.Mažuranić was born into a well-to-do
yeoman family in a region found today in northern coastalCroatia . He became a man of many abilities: he spoke 9 languages and was well versed in astronomy and mathematics.His realistic assessment of strengths and weaknesses of Croatia's position between the hammer of
Austria n bureaucracy and the anvil of Hungarian expansionist nationalism served his country invaluably in times of political turmoil. Mažuranić is best remembered for the "triple accomplishment"—contributions in economics, linguistics, and poetry.The picture of Ivan Mažuranić appears on the 100 kuna banknote.
Politics and economy
Mažuranić was the first Croatian ban not to hail from old nobility, as he was born a commoner. He accomplished the Croatian transition from a semifeudal legal and economic system to a modern civil society similar to those emerging in other countries in
central Europe . Mažuranić has modernized Croatia's educational system by forming public schools network and reducing the importance of denominational schools; a process seen by some later Serbian ideologues as an intentional blow to the integrity of Serbdom in Croatian lands. Others consider this to have been a necessary step in modernization and secularization of Croatian society.Linguistics
His linguistic work is remarkable for its enormous influence. Mažuranić's "
German-Illyrian/Croatian Dictionary ", 1842 (coauthored with Josip Užarević) is at the very heart of modern Croatian civilization, since in this 40,000-entry dictionary the principal author Mažuranić had coined words that have become commonplace in standard Croatian—for instance, Croatian words for bank accountancy, rhinoceros, sculptor, ice-cream, market economy, high treason or metropolis. He was much more than "language-recorder"; "language-shaper" would be a better description.Poetry
But, in his native land, Mažuranić is above all the beloved poet of "Smrt Smail age Čengića"—"Death of Smail aga Čengić", 1845. This epic poem is full of memorable verses that have become embedded in the national memory of his people, who cherished it as the treasure of a "
Homer ic" wisdom praising such epic virtues as fortitude, fidelity and justice.The tale is based on an assault in
Montenegro , when a petty local Muslim tyrant was killed, as an act ofvendetta , in an ambush set byMontenegrins . Mažuranić's poetry transformed a rather prosaic act of tribal revenge into a hymn celebrating the struggle for freedom—acted out under the hostile forces of fatality.Ljutit aga mrko gleda
Gdje se silom divit mora
Silan arslan gorskom mišu.The angry aga glumly glances
As he, the mighty lion, is forced
To admire the mountain mouse.Following in the steps of Croatian poets like Kačić and Ivan Gundulić (his chief national influence, whose main epic "Osman" Mažuranić completed), Mažuranić closed the era of
Romanticism and of classicepic poetry inCroatian literature .External links
* [http://www.montenegrina.net/pages/pages1/istorija/cg_u_xix_vijeku/smail_aga_cengic_mit_i_stvarnost.htm Čedo Baćović : SMAIL-AGA ČENGIĆ - MIT I STVARNOST - in Serbian]
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