Matija Mažuranic
Encyclopedia
Matija Mažuranić was a Croatian
writer.
Travelogue writer, brother of more noted Ivan
, the writer of Smrt Smail-age Čengića. He attended a German school in has native town, where he was trained to became a blacksmith
. Often he indulges into travels (Montenegro
, Serbia
), and exceptionally in a few occasions to Bosnia. In 1841 he is back to Novi, practising his craft and agriculture, but also with literature and cultural issues in general. In 1847 he ends up in Vienna
, in 1848 again in Bosnia (in Sarajevo
, at the court of Fazli-paša Šerifija), as if had been attracted by the Bosnia and the Orient
by some irresistible power. Preserved letters provide evidence that Matija was well aware that he was abandoning his wife and family, but he couldn't resist nevertheless. So, at the end of 1848, in a latter addressed to his brothers he says: "I don't know when I shall return home, for I have been, I'm afraid, created for this country. Turks are very fond of me for my prudence, they say, and rayah
grows ever more trust in me, and therefrom there is no other outcome but mitre
on the head or a stake in the arse". After Sarajevo, Matija goes even to Istanbul
(though the exact dates cannot be ascertained), and according to some legends even further, to Suez
and the Egypt
. At any case, in 1852 Matija is back to Novi, where he settles until growing ill in 1879. As a distinguished businessman and a wealthy citizen of his birth town, Matija seemed to have been destined to end uneasily, even when he decides the opposite: to commit to secluded life and peaceful work. Symptoms of mind degeneration have started to show, and he died at the sanatorium of a well-known psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing, near Graz
, on April 17, 1881.
Matija wrote the travelogue Pogled u Bosnu, which at the moment of appearance represents the pinnacle of Croatian literary art. By travelling in 1839 to Bosnia (from Karlovac
, Sisak
and Kostajnica
, over Belgrade
, on foot and horse, to Sarajevo, Travnik
, over Romanija
up to Zvornik
) - Mažuranić has in a vernacular way, with no external stimulus or literary influences, as a connoisseur of vernacular literary genius, managed to create a piece which can be read both as an adventure and as a realistic account of seen and experienced. The travelogue intermixes author's views on the relationships between the Ottoman Turks
and the Bosniaks, Islam
and Christianity
, with accounts of the customs of everyday life, images of vizier
courts of agas and pasha
s, but also of folk meyhane
s, contemplations on everyday life, love and death. All of it written in vigorous narrative tone and harmonious folk tongue.
This travelogue "pearl of Croatian prose", as it was termed by the critics, does not contain patriotic overtones or overemphasized utilitarian tendency, regardless of writer's remarks being of great deal of use to Croatian revivalists, especially to Ivan Mažuranić
when writing his famous epic. This way has Matija Mažuranić by means of this simple travelogue booklet, thanks to his sensation for pure, original folk tongue and expression, for primal realistic detail, but also for well-chosen description of the customs and relationships among people, for the legend
and the anecdote
- managed to impose himself as top-quality Croatian revival writer, achieving it exactly in the genre of travelogue, i.e. literary class sensing poetry
, essay
and critic
- setting path to further efforts of raising Croatian literature
to the level of real art.
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...
writer.
Travelogue writer, brother of more noted Ivan
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...
, the writer of Smrt Smail-age Čengića. He attended a German school in has native town, where he was trained to became a blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
. Often he indulges into travels (Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
), and exceptionally in a few occasions to Bosnia. In 1841 he is back to Novi, practising his craft and agriculture, but also with literature and cultural issues in general. In 1847 he ends up 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 1848 again in Bosnia (in Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
, at the court of Fazli-paša Šerifija), as if had been attracted by the Bosnia and the Orient
Orient
The Orient means "the East." It is a traditional designation for anything that belongs to the Eastern world or the Far East, in relation to Europe. In English it is a metonym that means various parts of Asia.- Derivation :...
by some irresistible power. Preserved letters provide evidence that Matija was well aware that he was abandoning his wife and family, but he couldn't resist nevertheless. So, at the end of 1848, in a latter addressed to his brothers he says: "I don't know when I shall return home, for I have been, I'm afraid, created for this country. Turks are very fond of me for my prudence, they say, and rayah
Rayah
A rayah or reaya was a member of the tax-paying lower class of Ottoman society, in contrast to the askeri and kul...
grows ever more trust in me, and therefrom there is no other outcome but mitre
Mitre
The mitre , also spelled miter, is a type of headwear now known as the traditional, ceremonial head-dress of bishops and certain abbots in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as in the Anglican Communion, some Lutheran churches, and also bishops and certain other clergy in the Eastern Orthodox...
on the head or a stake in the arse". After Sarajevo, Matija goes even to Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
(though the exact dates cannot be ascertained), and according to some legends even further, to Suez
Suez
Suez is a seaport city in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez , near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boundaries as Suez governorate. It has three harbors, Adabya, Ain Sokhna and Port Tawfiq, and extensive port facilities...
and the Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. At any case, in 1852 Matija is back to Novi, where he settles until growing ill in 1879. As a distinguished businessman and a wealthy citizen of his birth town, Matija seemed to have been destined to end uneasily, even when he decides the opposite: to commit to secluded life and peaceful work. Symptoms of mind degeneration have started to show, and he died at the sanatorium of a well-known psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing, near Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
, on April 17, 1881.
Matija wrote the travelogue Pogled u Bosnu, which at the moment of appearance represents the pinnacle of Croatian literary art. By travelling in 1839 to Bosnia (from Karlovac
Karlovac
Karlovac is a city and municipality in central Croatia. The city proper has a population of 49,082, while the municipality has a population of 59,395 inhabitants .Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County...
, Sisak
Sisak
Sisak is a city in central Croatia. The city's population in 2011 was 33,049, with a total of 49,699 in the administrative region and it is also the administrative centre of the Sisak-Moslavina county...
and Kostajnica
Kostajnica
Kostajnica can refer to:* Kostajnica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, a town on the right bank of river Una, in Bosnia* Hrvatska Kostajnica, a town on the left bank of river Una, in Croatia* Kostajnica , a village near Doboj, Bosnia and Herzegovina...
, over Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, on foot and horse, to Sarajevo, Travnik
Travnik
Travnik is a city and municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, 90 km west of Sarajevo. It is the capital of the Central Bosnia Canton, and is located in the Travnik Municipality. Travnik today has some 27,000 residents, with a metro population that is probably close to 70,000 people...
, over Romanija
Romanija
Romanija is a geographical region in eastern Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Main towns in the region include Pale, Sokolac, and Han Pijesak....
up to Zvornik
Zvornik
Zvornik is a city on the Drina river in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, located south of the town of Bijeljina in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The town Mali Zvornik lies directly across the river in Serbia, and not far north is Loznica.-History:Zvornik is first mentioned in 1410, although it was...
) - Mažuranić has in a vernacular way, with no external stimulus or literary influences, as a connoisseur of vernacular literary genius, managed to create a piece which can be read both as an adventure and as a realistic account of seen and experienced. The travelogue intermixes author's views on the relationships between the Ottoman Turks
Ottoman Turks
The Ottoman Turks were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı , from the house of Osman I The Ottoman...
and the Bosniaks, Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, with accounts of the customs of everyday life, images of vizier
Vizier
A vizier or in Arabic script ; ; sometimes spelled vazir, vizir, vasir, wazir, vesir, or vezir) is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in a Muslim government....
courts of agas and pasha
Pasha
Pasha or pascha, formerly bashaw, was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire political system, typically granted to governors, generals and dignitaries. As an honorary title, Pasha, in one of its various ranks, is equivalent to the British title of Lord, and was also one of the highest titles in...
s, but also of folk meyhane
Meyhane
A meyhane is a traditional restaurant or bar in historical Iran, Turkey and Balkans region. The word of meyhane comes from persian and the meaning is the place where people drink wine. "Meyhane" is composed of two Persian words: mey and hane .- History :History of meyhane starts from Byzantine...
s, contemplations on everyday life, love and death. All of it written in vigorous narrative tone and harmonious folk tongue.
This travelogue "pearl of Croatian prose", as it was termed by the critics, does not contain patriotic overtones or overemphasized utilitarian tendency, regardless of writer's remarks being of great deal of use to Croatian revivalists, especially to 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...
when writing his famous epic. This way has Matija Mažuranić by means of this simple travelogue booklet, thanks to his sensation for pure, original folk tongue and expression, for primal realistic detail, but also for well-chosen description of the customs and relationships among people, for the legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
and the anecdote
Anecdote
An anecdote is a short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person. It may be as brief as the setting and provocation of a bon mot. An anecdote is always presented as based on a real incident involving actual persons, whether famous or not, usually in an identifiable place...
- managed to impose himself as top-quality Croatian revival writer, achieving it exactly in the genre of travelogue, i.e. literary class sensing poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, essay
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
and critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
- setting path to further efforts of raising Croatian literature
Croatian literature
Croatian literature is a definition given to the compilation of novels, dramas, short stories, poems and other various work of written kind entirely attributed to the medieval and modern culture of the Croats and the Croatian language....
to the level of real art.
Works
- Pogled u Bosnu, ili kratak put u onu krajinu, učinjen 1839—40. po jednom domorodcu, Zagreb, 1842
- Izabrana djela, PSHK, b. 32, Zagreb, 1965