Michal Miloslav Hodža
Encyclopedia
Michal Miloslav Hodža was a Slovak national revivalist, Protestant priest, poet
, linguist, and representative of the Slovakian national movement in 1840's as a member of "the trinity" Štúr
- Hurban
- Hodža. Michal Miloslav Hodža is also the uncle of the Czechoslovak
politician Milan Hodža
.
, Mošovce
and later, at gymnasiums in Banská Bystrica
and Rožňava
. In the years 1829–1832 he continued his studies, focusing on theology, at the Evangelical college in Prešov
. From 1832–1834 he continued to study theology at the Evangelical lyceum in Bratislava
. During his study in Bratislava he began to work for the Czechoslovak Language
and Literature Company. Also during his time at the lyceum, Hodža was a chairman's deputy of the same association. In the years 1834–1836 he worked as a tutor in Rakša
and Podrečany
. From 1834–1837 he continued his theological studies in Vienna
where he was ordained a priest in 1837. In the late 1830s he published in educational and didactic magazines such as Krasomil, Vedomil tatranský, Slovenské noviny and Slovenská včela. He was also a co-author of Prosbopis liptovského seniorátu whose purpose was to restore the Department of the Czechoslovak language and literature at the Bratislava lyceum. In 1840 he was made a Dean of Liptov seniorate and an envoy for district's convents. Only a year thereafter he became a member of the editorial staff of the evangelical magazine Spěvník. In 1842, Hodža settled in the parsonage in Liptovský Mikuláš
where he would stay with brief interruptions until 1866. In the same year he became a member of the deputation of Slovak evangelical scholars to the Austrian monarch. In the summer of 1843 Hodža met with Štúr
and Hurban
in the parsonage of Hlboké
village where he took part in the decision making process about the formation of the modern literary Slovak language and the publication of Slovak newspapers. A second meeting was held a year later, this time in Hodža's home at Liptovský Mikuláš
, which lasted from 26 August to 28 August 1844. At that meeting, the trio of Hurban, Štúr and Hodža founded a cultural and educational association, called the Tatrín, of which Hodža became the first chairman.
. During the meeting, and in the presence of Štúr
and Hurban
, all 14 articles of Demands of Slavak nation, which contained proposals to solve the status of Slovak nation within the scope of Hungary
, were approved of. After the proclamation of martial law, a direct response to the Demands, Hodža decided to leave for Prague
in order to avoid the police prosecution as his position as a leader within the revolution made him a prime target. While in Prague,Hodža actively participated in the negotiations at the Slavic congress and in the summer preparations of the Slovak armed uprising. He became a member of the firstSlovak National Council
and also became an active participant of the Slovak volunteer armed uprisings in the years 1848-1849. This involved the joining of the Austrian Emperor's troops though he did not agree with the policy of solving issues by means of an armed conflict. The armed approach was markedly more favored by both Štúr
and Hurban
.
and in the years 1849–1850 was a notary public of Liptov
county. He refused to support Hungarian side, which led to his decision to leave the office and proceed with the new actions in the national-revivalist campaign in the ecclesiastic, social and cultural field. This led to new conflicts and even to physical violence that Hodža had to face himself. In the years 1863–1867 he was one of the founding member and a committee member of Matica slovenská
. In 1866 became vicar of the evangelical church in Martin
. However, due to his participation in the so called 'patent' wars, which was the Emperor's regulation on the arrangement of Church matters, he was suspended and forced to leave his parsonage. From 1867 until his death he remained in exile in Cieszyn
, where he was dedicated only to his literary work. At the beginning of 1870 he fell ill and died shortly thereafter. He was buried in Cieszyn
, but in 1922 his remains were moved to Liptovský Mikuláš
.
, a major square in Bratislava
, the capital of Slovakia, is named after Hodža
.
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, linguist, and representative of the Slovakian national movement in 1840's as a member of "the trinity" Štúr
Ludovít Štúr
Ľudovít Štúr , known in his era as Ludevít Velislav Štúr, was the leader of the Slovak national revival in the 19th century, the author of the Slovak language standard eventually leading to the contemporary Slovak literary language...
- Hurban
Jozef Miloslav Hurban
Jozef Miloslav Hurban , pseudonyms Slavomil F. Kořennatý, Ľudovít Pavlovič, M. z Bohuslavíc, M...
- Hodža. Michal Miloslav Hodža is also the uncle of the Czechoslovak
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
politician Milan Hodža
Milan Hodža
Milan Hodža was a prominent Slovak politician and journalist, serving from 1935 to 1938 as the Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia and in December 1935 as the acting President of Czechoslovakia...
.
Life before the revolution
Michal Miloslav Hodža came from the a family of farmer-millers while his father was also a non-commissioned officer. Hodža studied in RakšaRakša
Rakša is a village and municipality in Turčianske Teplice District in the Žilina Region of northern central Slovakia.-Famous Residents:Michal Miloslav Hodža, the famous Slovak national revivalist, priest, poet and liguist was born on 22 September, 1811 in Rakša.-Geography:The municipality lies at...
, Mošovce
Mošovce
Mošovce is one of the largest villages in the historical region of Turiec, currently in the Turčianske Teplice District in the Žilina Region of northern Slovakia.-History:Many preserved historical buildings are the evidence of the 770 years of its existence...
and later, at gymnasiums in Banská Bystrica
Banská Bystrica
Banská Bystrica is a key city in central Slovakia located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica Mountains. With 81,281 inhabitants, Banská Bystrica is the sixth most populous municipality in Slovakia...
and Rožňava
Rožnava
Rožňava is a town in Slovakia, approximately 71 km by road from Košice in the Košice Region, and has a population of 19,120.The town is an economic and tourist center of the Gemer. Rožňava is now a popular tourist attraction with a beautiful historic town centre. The town is an episcopal seat...
. In the years 1829–1832 he continued his studies, focusing on theology, at the Evangelical college in Prešov
Prešov
Prešov Historically, the city has been known in German as Eperies , Eperjes in Hungarian, Fragopolis in Latin, Preszów in Polish, Peryeshis in Romany, Пряшев in Russian and Пряшів in Rusyn and Ukrainian.-Characteristics:The city is a showcase of Baroque, Rococo and Gothic...
. From 1832–1834 he continued to study theology at the Evangelical lyceum in Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
. During his study in Bratislava he began to work for the Czechoslovak Language
Czechoslovak language
The Czechoslovak language was a political sociolinguistic concept used in Czechoslovakia in 1920–1938 for the definition of the state language of the country which proclaimed its independence as the republic of two nations, Czechs and Slovaks.- Language legislation in the First Czechoslovak...
and Literature Company. Also during his time at the lyceum, Hodža was a chairman's deputy of the same association. In the years 1834–1836 he worked as a tutor in Rakša
Rakša
Rakša is a village and municipality in Turčianske Teplice District in the Žilina Region of northern central Slovakia.-Famous Residents:Michal Miloslav Hodža, the famous Slovak national revivalist, priest, poet and liguist was born on 22 September, 1811 in Rakša.-Geography:The municipality lies at...
and Podrečany
Podrecany
Podrečany is a village and municipality in the Lučenec District in the Banská Bystrica Region of Slovakia.-External links:*http://www.statistics.sk/mosmis/eng/run.html...
. From 1834–1837 he continued his theological studies 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...
where he was ordained a priest in 1837. In the late 1830s he published in educational and didactic magazines such as Krasomil, Vedomil tatranský, Slovenské noviny and Slovenská včela. He was also a co-author of Prosbopis liptovského seniorátu whose purpose was to restore the Department of the Czechoslovak language and literature at the Bratislava lyceum. In 1840 he was made a Dean of Liptov seniorate and an envoy for district's convents. Only a year thereafter he became a member of the editorial staff of the evangelical magazine Spěvník. In 1842, Hodža settled in the parsonage in Liptovský Mikuláš
Liptovský Mikuláš
Liptovský Mikuláš is a town in northern Slovakia, on the Váh River. It lies in the Liptov region, in Liptov Basin near the Low Tatra and Tatra mountains...
where he would stay with brief interruptions until 1866. In the same year he became a member of the deputation of Slovak evangelical scholars to the Austrian monarch. In the summer of 1843 Hodža met with Štúr
Ludovít Štúr
Ľudovít Štúr , known in his era as Ludevít Velislav Štúr, was the leader of the Slovak national revival in the 19th century, the author of the Slovak language standard eventually leading to the contemporary Slovak literary language...
and Hurban
Jozef Miloslav Hurban
Jozef Miloslav Hurban , pseudonyms Slavomil F. Kořennatý, Ľudovít Pavlovič, M. z Bohuslavíc, M...
in the parsonage of Hlboké
Hlboké
Hlboké, is a village and municipality in Senica District in the Trnava Region of western Slovakia.-History:In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1262. In 1843 the Štúr's Slovak language was codified in the village.-Geography:...
village where he took part in the decision making process about the formation of the modern literary Slovak language and the publication of Slovak newspapers. A second meeting was held a year later, this time in Hodža's home at Liptovský Mikuláš
Liptovský Mikuláš
Liptovský Mikuláš is a town in northern Slovakia, on the Váh River. It lies in the Liptov region, in Liptov Basin near the Low Tatra and Tatra mountains...
, which lasted from 26 August to 28 August 1844. At that meeting, the trio of Hurban, Štúr and Hodža founded a cultural and educational association, called the Tatrín, of which Hodža became the first chairman.
Revolution years
During the revolutionary period of 1848–1849, Hodža had participated with great merit in the meeting of patriots (10–12 May 1848) and organization thereof in Liptovský MikulášLiptovský Mikuláš
Liptovský Mikuláš is a town in northern Slovakia, on the Váh River. It lies in the Liptov region, in Liptov Basin near the Low Tatra and Tatra mountains...
. During the meeting, and in the presence of Štúr
Ludovít Štúr
Ľudovít Štúr , known in his era as Ludevít Velislav Štúr, was the leader of the Slovak national revival in the 19th century, the author of the Slovak language standard eventually leading to the contemporary Slovak literary language...
and Hurban
Jozef Miloslav Hurban
Jozef Miloslav Hurban , pseudonyms Slavomil F. Kořennatý, Ľudovít Pavlovič, M. z Bohuslavíc, M...
, all 14 articles of Demands of Slavak nation, which contained proposals to solve the status of Slovak nation within the scope of Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, were approved of. After the proclamation of martial law, a direct response to the Demands, Hodža decided to leave for Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
in order to avoid the police prosecution as his position as a leader within the revolution made him a prime target. While in Prague,Hodža actively participated in the negotiations at the Slavic congress and in the summer preparations of the Slovak armed uprising. He became a member of the firstSlovak National Council
Slovak National Council (1848-1849)
The Slovak National Council was a Slovak political body, which was created in Vienna on September 15-16, 1848 during the Revolutions of 1848...
and also became an active participant of the Slovak volunteer armed uprisings in the years 1848-1849. This involved the joining of the Austrian Emperor's troops though he did not agree with the policy of solving issues by means of an armed conflict. The armed approach was markedly more favored by both Štúr
Ludovít Štúr
Ľudovít Štúr , known in his era as Ludevít Velislav Štúr, was the leader of the Slovak national revival in the 19th century, the author of the Slovak language standard eventually leading to the contemporary Slovak literary language...
and Hurban
Jozef Miloslav Hurban
Jozef Miloslav Hurban , pseudonyms Slavomil F. Kořennatý, Ľudovít Pavlovič, M. z Bohuslavíc, M...
.
Years after revolution
After the defeat of the Hungarian rebellion he returned to Liptovský MikulášLiptovský Mikuláš
Liptovský Mikuláš is a town in northern Slovakia, on the Váh River. It lies in the Liptov region, in Liptov Basin near the Low Tatra and Tatra mountains...
and in the years 1849–1850 was a notary public of Liptov
Liptov
Liptó is the name of a historic administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is presently in northern Slovakia.-Geography:...
county. He refused to support Hungarian side, which led to his decision to leave the office and proceed with the new actions in the national-revivalist campaign in the ecclesiastic, social and cultural field. This led to new conflicts and even to physical violence that Hodža had to face himself. In the years 1863–1867 he was one of the founding member and a committee member of Matica slovenská
Matica slovenská
The Matica slovenská Mother) is Slovakia's public-law cultural and scientific institution focusing on topics around the Slovak nation. It is based in the city of Martin...
. In 1866 became vicar of the evangelical church in Martin
Martin, Slovakia
Martin is a city in northern Slovakia, situated on the Turiec river, between the Malá Fatra and Veľká Fatra mountains, near the city of Žilina. The population numbers approximately 58,000, which makes it the eighth largest city in Slovakia...
. However, due to his participation in the so called 'patent' wars, which was the Emperor's regulation on the arrangement of Church matters, he was suspended and forced to leave his parsonage. From 1867 until his death he remained in exile in Cieszyn
Cieszyn
Cieszyn is a border-town and the seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It has 36,109 inhabitants . Cieszyn lies on the Olza River, a tributary of the Oder river, opposite Český Těšín....
, where he was dedicated only to his literary work. At the beginning of 1870 he fell ill and died shortly thereafter. He was buried in Cieszyn
Cieszyn
Cieszyn is a border-town and the seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It has 36,109 inhabitants . Cieszyn lies on the Olza River, a tributary of the Oder river, opposite Český Těšín....
, but in 1922 his remains were moved to Liptovský Mikuláš
Liptovský Mikuláš
Liptovský Mikuláš is a town in northern Slovakia, on the Váh River. It lies in the Liptov region, in Liptov Basin near the Low Tatra and Tatra mountains...
.
Legacy
Hodžovo námestieHodžovo námestie
Hodžovo námestie is a major square in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. The square is located at the edge of Old Town, in front of the Slovak Presidential Palace, some 5 minutes walking distance from the historical city center...
, a major square in Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
, the capital of Slovakia, is named after Hodža
Hodžovo námestie
Hodžovo námestie is a major square in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. The square is located at the edge of Old Town, in front of the Slovak Presidential Palace, some 5 minutes walking distance from the historical city center...
.