Ivan Antunovic
Encyclopedia
Ivan Antunović was the bishop of Kalocsa, Hungary, Croatian
writer and one of the most prominent people among the Bunjevci
and Šokci of his time. Antunović's writings represented a retort to the policy of Magyarisation pursued by the authorities of Austria-Hungary
at the time and helped preserve the language and culture of the Bunjevci and Šokci.
, in Bács-Kiskun
, southern Hungary.
Antunović descended from an old noble family and studied in Kalocsa
, Subotica
, Pécs
and Szeged
. He graduated from the Roman Catholic seminary
in Kalocsa and in 1842 became the priest of the parish in the village of Bácsalmás
. He was versed in several languages and closely followed the world events at the time, especially in Croatia
where he befriended the members of the Illyrian movement
, including the likes of Josip Juraj Strossmayer
, Ivan Kukuljević, Franjo Rački
, Ivan Mažuranić
, Ilija Okrugić
, Juraj Dobrila
.
His entry into the public life happened in 1869 in Kalocsa
when he published Poziv Bunjevacah, Šokacah i Bošnjakah na utemeljenje jednog pučkog lista (A call to Bunjevci
, Šokci and Bosniaks
to establish a paper for the people). Soon he founded and edited the newspaper called Bunjevačke i šokačke novine (Bunjevci
and Šokci News) on March 19, 1870. In 1871, he added another paper for literary and linguistic matters called the Bunjevačka i šokačka vila. The Vila split off into a separate newspaper in 1873 (after the Novine stopped being published the year earlier), and continued to be published until September 18, 1876.
Bishop Antunović was widely recognized as the person who led the effort to assert his people in Vojvodina
during a time when the national revival (romantic nationalism
) of the Croats
and the Serbs
left the Bunjevci and Šokci somewhat stranded, as the Catholic minorities which were more inclined to become part of the Croatian nation in regions where the Orthodox Serbian nation was in the majority. At the same time, Antunović felt that the Bunjevci, Šokci, Serbs and Croats were all of the same ethnic origin and was a supporter of the Yugoslav
idea.
He persistenly working on the national awakening of Croat
subgroups Bunjevci
i Šokci, at the time heavily exposed to intensive assimilatory and decroatization policy. He once said: "Wherever were Serbs, there were... also Bunjevci and Šokci, or as we like to call ourselves today, Croats.".
He was the cousin of Miroljub (Franjo) Ante Evetović and Ivan Evetović (by their maternal side). He took Franjo Ante under his tutorship, so he could have education in Kalocsa, in Jesuit gymnasium, because, Franjo Ante turned to be excellent pupil. Although Franjo Ante wanted to join to Premostrateg order, on Antunović's pleading, Franjo Ante joined Franciscans.
and Tisa
, in the matters of nationality, religion, mind, citizen life and economy), printed in Vienna
in 1882. This book described his programme of encouraging the people to preserve their history and to establish a consciousness of their origin, language and faith, which he deemed essential for their survival against assimilation
. In the book he also emphasised the importance of a social reconstruction of the family in these communities, thereby developing a feeling of solidarity both within the family and between the families and indeed an entire nation, both the communities in Vojvodina and the main body of it in Croatia
.
His other works included the novel "Odmetnik" (published in Zagreb
in 1875, 293 pages), a romantic
novel subtitled poviestna pripoviedka (historical story) as the protagonist was based on the Bunjevac scientist Ignjat Martinović
(1755–1795), a professor of philosophy and mathematics in the Franciscan
monastery in Pest
, who abruptly left the Franciscan order and became a Jacobite (a group of revolutionary democrats, named after St. Jacob's Monastery in Paris) after being insulted by the members of the nobility who denied his scholarship because of his descent from a poor family.
He also left two large novel manuscripts about the life of Bačka
nobility in the first half of the 19th century, titled Posljednji Gizdarev (36 chapters, 357 pages), and Bariša Kitković (42 chapters, 451 page).
Antunović died in Kalocsa
, Bács-Kiskun at the age of 72.
One of the obituaries for Ivan Antunović said that he personally funded the education of 200 poor Bunjevac children.
In 1913, an association of Bunjevci and other Croatian university students in Budapest
was named "Antunović". The Catholic Institute for Culture, History and Spirituality, a religious-scientific-cultural institute of Croats from Subotica, is named "Ivan Antunović" in his honour.
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
writer and one of the most prominent people among the Bunjevci
Bunjevci
Bunjevci are a South Slavic community and ethnic group living mostly in the Bačka region of Serbia and southern Hungary...
and Šokci of his time. Antunović's writings represented a retort to the policy of Magyarisation pursued by the authorities of Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
at the time and helped preserve the language and culture of the Bunjevci and Šokci.
Biography
Antunović was born in the village of KunbajaKunbaja
Kunbaja is a village and municipality in Bács-Kiskun county, in the Southern Great Plain region of southern Hungary.The village name reflects the presence of Kumans in this region.-Geography:...
, in Bács-Kiskun
Bács-Kiskun
Bács-Kiskun is a county located in southern Hungary. It was created as a result of World War II, merging the pre war Bács-Bodrog and the southern parts of Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun counties. With an area of 8,445 km2, Bács-Kiskun is the largest county in the country. The terrain is mostly flat...
, southern Hungary.
Antunović descended from an old noble family and studied in Kalocsa
Kalocsa
Kalocsa is a town in Bács-Kiskun county, Hungary. It lies 88 miles south of Budapest. It is situated in a marshy but highly productive district, near the left bank of the Danube River. Historically it had greater political and economic importance than at present.Kalocsa is the Episcopal see...
, Subotica
Subotica
Subotica is a city and municipality in northern Serbia, in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina...
, Pécs
Pécs
Pécs is the fifth largest city of Hungary, located on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the south-west of the country, close to its border with Croatia. It is the administrative and economical centre of Baranya county...
and Szeged
Szeged
' is the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county town of Csongrád county. The University of Szeged is one of the most distinguished universities in Hungary....
. He graduated from the Roman Catholic seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
in Kalocsa and in 1842 became the priest of the parish in the village of Bácsalmás
Bácsalmás
Bácsalmás is a small town in southern Hungary in the region of Bácska close to the border with the Vojvodina region of Serbia, with a population of 7,694 people.- History :In the Middle Ages, the region came under the control of the Magyars who absorbed the Slavic and the...
. He was versed in several languages and closely followed the world events at the time, especially in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
where he befriended the members of the Illyrian movement
Illyrian movement
The Illyrian movement , also Croatian national revival , was a cultural and political campaign with roots in the early modern period, and revived by a group of young Croatian intellectuals during the first half of 19th century, around the years of 1835–1849...
, including the likes of Josip Juraj Strossmayer
Josip Juraj Strossmayer
Josip Juraj Strossmayer was a Croatian politician, Roman Catholic bishop and benefactor.-Early life and rise as a cleric:...
, Ivan Kukuljević, Franjo Rački
Franjo Racki
Franjo Rački was a Croatian historian, politician and writer. He compiled important collections of old Croatian diplomatic and historical documents, wrote some pioneering historical works, and was a key founder of the Yugoslavian Academy of Sciences and Arts.-Historian:Rački was born in Fužine,...
, Ivan Mažuranić
Ivan Mažuranic
Ivan Mažuranić was a Croatian poet, linguist and politician—probably the most important figure in Croatia's cultural life in the mid-19th century...
, Ilija Okrugić
Ilija Okrugic
Ilija Okrugić-Srijemac was a Croatian poet and play wright from Syrmia, one of members of Croatian national renaissance and a Catholic priest....
, Juraj Dobrila
Juraj Dobrila
Juraj Dobrila was a bishop and benefactor from Istria who advocated for greater national rights for Croats under Italian rule....
.
His entry into the public life happened in 1869 in Kalocsa
Kalocsa
Kalocsa is a town in Bács-Kiskun county, Hungary. It lies 88 miles south of Budapest. It is situated in a marshy but highly productive district, near the left bank of the Danube River. Historically it had greater political and economic importance than at present.Kalocsa is the Episcopal see...
when he published Poziv Bunjevacah, Šokacah i Bošnjakah na utemeljenje jednog pučkog lista (A call to Bunjevci
Bunjevci
Bunjevci are a South Slavic community and ethnic group living mostly in the Bačka region of Serbia and southern Hungary...
, Šokci and Bosniaks
Bosniaks (Croats in Hungary)
Bosniaks are a Croat population, living in various settlements in the historic region Baranja, in its Hungarian part. Bosniaks Croats should not be confused with Bosnian Muslims that mostly live in Bosnia and Herzegovina also called Bosniaks....
to establish a paper for the people). Soon he founded and edited the newspaper called Bunjevačke i šokačke novine (Bunjevci
Bunjevci
Bunjevci are a South Slavic community and ethnic group living mostly in the Bačka region of Serbia and southern Hungary...
and Šokci News) on March 19, 1870. In 1871, he added another paper for literary and linguistic matters called the Bunjevačka i šokačka vila. The Vila split off into a separate newspaper in 1873 (after the Novine stopped being published the year earlier), and continued to be published until September 18, 1876.
Bishop Antunović was widely recognized as the person who led the effort to assert his people in Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
during a time when the national revival (romantic nationalism
Romantic nationalism
Romantic nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs...
) of the Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
and the Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
left the Bunjevci and Šokci somewhat stranded, as the Catholic minorities which were more inclined to become part of the Croatian nation in regions where the Orthodox Serbian nation was in the majority. At the same time, Antunović felt that the Bunjevci, Šokci, Serbs and Croats were all of the same ethnic origin and was a supporter of the Yugoslav
Yugoslavs
Yugoslavs is a national designation used by a minority of South Slavs across the countries of the former Yugoslavia and in the diaspora...
idea.
He persistenly working on the national awakening of Croat
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
subgroups Bunjevci
Bunjevci
Bunjevci are a South Slavic community and ethnic group living mostly in the Bačka region of Serbia and southern Hungary...
i Šokci, at the time heavily exposed to intensive assimilatory and decroatization policy. He once said: "Wherever were Serbs, there were... also Bunjevci and Šokci, or as we like to call ourselves today, Croats.".
He was the cousin of Miroljub (Franjo) Ante Evetović and Ivan Evetović (by their maternal side). He took Franjo Ante under his tutorship, so he could have education in Kalocsa, in Jesuit gymnasium, because, Franjo Ante turned to be excellent pupil. Although Franjo Ante wanted to join to Premostrateg order, on Antunović's pleading, Franjo Ante joined Franciscans.
Literary work
The main work of Ivan Antunović was his treatise Razprava o podunavskih i potisanskih Bunjevcih i Šokcih u pogledu narodnom, vjerskom, umnom, građanskom i gospodarskom (Discussion of the Bunjevci and Šokci at the DanubeDanube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
and Tisa
Tisá
Tisá is a village and municipality in Ústí nad Labem District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic.The municipality covers an area of , and has a population of 786 ....
, in the matters of nationality, religion, mind, citizen life and economy), printed in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
in 1882. This book described his programme of encouraging the people to preserve their history and to establish a consciousness of their origin, language and faith, which he deemed essential for their survival against assimilation
Cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...
. In the book he also emphasised the importance of a social reconstruction of the family in these communities, thereby developing a feeling of solidarity both within the family and between the families and indeed an entire nation, both the communities in Vojvodina and the main body of it in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
.
His other works included the novel "Odmetnik" (published in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
in 1875, 293 pages), a romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
novel subtitled poviestna pripoviedka (historical story) as the protagonist was based on the Bunjevac scientist Ignjat Martinović
Ignác Martinovics
Ignác Martinovics was a philosopher, political adventurer, and a leader of the Hungarian Jacobin movement...
(1755–1795), a professor of philosophy and mathematics in the Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
monastery in Pest
Pest (city)
Pest is the eastern, mostly flat part of Budapest, Hungary, comprising about two thirds of the city's territory. It is divided from Buda, the other part of Budapest, by the Danube River. Among its most notable parts are the Inner City, including the Hungarian Parliament, Heroes' Square and...
, who abruptly left the Franciscan order and became a Jacobite (a group of revolutionary democrats, named after St. Jacob's Monastery in Paris) after being insulted by the members of the nobility who denied his scholarship because of his descent from a poor family.
He also left two large novel manuscripts about the life of Bačka
Backa
Bačka is a geographical area within the Pannonian plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east of which confluence is located near Titel...
nobility in the first half of the 19th century, titled Posljednji Gizdarev (36 chapters, 357 pages), and Bariša Kitković (42 chapters, 451 page).
Antunović died in Kalocsa
Kalocsa
Kalocsa is a town in Bács-Kiskun county, Hungary. It lies 88 miles south of Budapest. It is situated in a marshy but highly productive district, near the left bank of the Danube River. Historically it had greater political and economic importance than at present.Kalocsa is the Episcopal see...
, Bács-Kiskun at the age of 72.
One of the obituaries for Ivan Antunović said that he personally funded the education of 200 poor Bunjevac children.
In 1913, an association of Bunjevci and other Croatian university students in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
was named "Antunović". The Catholic Institute for Culture, History and Spirituality, a religious-scientific-cultural institute of Croats from Subotica, is named "Ivan Antunović" in his honour.
Works
- Poučne iskrice
- Slavjan
- Odmetnik
- Bog s čovjekom
- Naputak (a polemic against the NazareneNazareneNazarene may refer to:* Nazarene , a title applied to Jesus of Nazareth* Nazarene , a sect of 4th century Christianity described by Epiphanius* Church of the Nazarene, modern Christian Pentecostal denomination...
s) - Rasprava o podunavskih i potisanskih Bunjevcih i Šokcih u pogledu narodnom, vjerskom, umnom i gospodarskom
- The drunken mind speaks a Sober heart
Sources
- Milovan Miković: Iznad žita nebo, Subotica/Zagreb, 2003
- Matija Evetović: Život i rad biskupa Ivana Antunovića narodnog preporoditelja, Subotica, 1935
- Geza Kikić: Antologija proze bunjevačkih Hrvata, Matica Hrvatska, Zagreb, 1971
- Ante Sekulić: Hrvatska preporodna knjizevnost u Ugarskom Podunavlju do 1918., Zagreb, 1994
External links
- Knjiga Croatian writers from Hungary
- Knjiga Ivan Antunović: Slavjan
- Socijalna akademija Subotica: Svečano proslavljen dan biskupa Ivana Antunovića
- Radio-Vatican The abundance of social work of bishop Ivana Antunovića
- Article in "Zvonik" 190th anniversary
- Article in "Zvonik" Day of birth of bishop Ivan Antunović
- Vijenac
- Hrv. iseljenički zbornik 2004.