Pero Budmani
Encyclopedia
Pero Budmani like many intellectual Dubrovnik
, was a prominent member of the Serb-Catholic circle, linguist and philologist who bravely followed Vuk Stefanović Karadžić
's language reforms. He was a renowned polyglot (person)
who spoke most of the European languages, including Old Slavonic, Greek, Latin, and several Asiatic languages.
It is said that Budmani is the first person to have used the combined term Croatian
and Serbian
in a grammar book he wrote: Grammatica della lingua serbo-croata (Vienna, 1867). Serbs and Croats alike see the work of Vuk Karadžić and Ljudevit Gaj
in the first half of the nineteenth century as the key scholarly influence which established Serbo-Croat as a unified language. Budmani's grammar and the very existence of both Serbian and Croatian as living languages meant that nation building was possible for both. The Serbs would employ it in that role to break-out from the clutches of the Ottoman Turks and the Austrians. The Croats and others would soon follow suit.
Budmani, between 1868 and 1882, taught in the Gymnasium (high school) of his hometown. In 1883 he reached Zagreb
where he edited the Riječnik (Dictionary) of the former Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts (now the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
), based in Zagreb
, Croatia
, then part of Austria-Hungary
. He was also a corresponding member of both the Serbian Learned Society (inducted: January 24, 1871) and the Serbian Royal Academy (from January 23, 1888).
Pero Budmani was member the Municipal Council of Dubrovnik
with Medo Pucić
, Antun Fabris
, Ivo Kaznačić, Mato Vodopić
and Luko Zore
, and decided to be nominated to oversee the monument's construction in session of March 9, 1880, the Council adopted the proposition of the Dubrovnnik Youth of raising a monument to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the birth of Ivan Gundulić
. The mayor of the city at the time was Rafael "Rafo" Pucić. The unveiling of the Gundulić monument
in Dubrovnik took place on May 20, 1893.
In 1907 he returned to Italy to Castelferretti and lived there until 1913 years when he returned to his native Dubrovnik. But already the following year, seriously ill and embittered for the persecution suffered at the hands of the Austrian police (who considered him a dangerous subversive), Pero Budmani fled from home, reached Ancona and died there on December 27, 1914.
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...
, was a prominent member of the Serb-Catholic circle, linguist and philologist who bravely followed Vuk Stefanović Karadžić
Vuk Stefanovic Karadžic
Vuk Stefanović Karadžić was a Serbian philolog and linguist, the major reformer of the Serbian language, and deserves, perhaps, for his collections of songs, fairy tales, and riddles to be called the father of the study of Serbian folklore. He was the author of the first Serbian dictionary...
's language reforms. He was a renowned polyglot (person)
Polyglot (person)
A polyglot is someone with a high degree of proficiency in several languages. A bilingual person can speak two languages fluently, whereas a trilingual three; above that the term multilingual may be used.-Hyperpolyglot:...
who spoke most of the European languages, including Old Slavonic, Greek, Latin, and several Asiatic languages.
It is said that Budmani is the first person to have used the combined term Croatian
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...
and Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
in a grammar book he wrote: Grammatica della lingua serbo-croata (Vienna, 1867). Serbs and Croats alike see the work of Vuk Karadžić and Ljudevit Gaj
Ljudevit Gaj
Ljudevit Gaj was a Croatian linguist, politician, journalist and writer. He was one of the central figures of the Croatian national reformation, also known as the Illyrian Movement.-Origin:...
in the first half of the nineteenth century as the key scholarly influence which established Serbo-Croat as a unified language. Budmani's grammar and the very existence of both Serbian and Croatian as living languages meant that nation building was possible for both. The Serbs would employ it in that role to break-out from the clutches of the Ottoman Turks and the Austrians. The Croats and others would soon follow suit.
Budmani, between 1868 and 1882, taught in the Gymnasium (high school) of his hometown. In 1883 he reached 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...
where he edited the Riječnik (Dictionary) of the former Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts (now the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts is the national academy of Croatia. It was founded in 1866 as the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts , and was known by that name for most of its existence.- History :...
), based 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...
, 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 ...
, then part 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...
. He was also a corresponding member of both the Serbian Learned Society (inducted: January 24, 1871) and the Serbian Royal Academy (from January 23, 1888).
Pero Budmani was member the Municipal Council of Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...
with Medo Pucić
Medo Pucic
Medo Pucić, also known as Orsat Pucić, was a writer and politician from Dubrovnik, at the time in the Austro-Hungarian Kingdom of Dalmatia, who was the first Catholic native of Dubrovnik to declare himself a Serb, believing that the religion was irrelevant for ethnic affiliation, contrary to the...
, Antun Fabris
Antun Fabris
Antun Fabris , sometimes misspelled Anton, was a prominent Dalmatian Serb journalist and politician from Dubrovnik, Austria-Hungary. He was a Roman Catholic....
, Ivo Kaznačić, Mato Vodopić
Mato Vodopic
Mato Vodopić was the bishop of Dubrovnik from July 3, 1882 until his death in 1893, and wrote poems for some special occasions, and was a storyteller and collector of folk ballads...
and Luko Zore
Luko Zore
Luko Zore , Luko involved into a Serb-Catholic circle, with all the big intelectuals of the XIX cenrury in Dubrovnik and Montenegrin philologist and Slavist, and was one of the leading opposition fighting against the foreign forces of Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy in Dubrovnik.At that time...
, and decided to be nominated to oversee the monument's construction in session of March 9, 1880, the Council adopted the proposition of the Dubrovnnik Youth of raising a monument to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the birth of Ivan Gundulić
Ivan Gundulic
Ivan Franov Gundulić is the most celebrated Croatian Baroque poet from the Republic of Ragusa. His work embodies central characteristics of Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation: religious fervor, insistence on "vanity of this world" and zeal in opposition to "infidels." Gundulić's major...
. The mayor of the city at the time was Rafael "Rafo" Pucić. The unveiling of the Gundulić monument
Unveiling of the Gundulic monument
The unveiling of the Gundulić monument in Dubrovnik on May 20, 1893, was a symbolical event in the political history of Dubrovnik, since it brought to the surface the wider tensions between the Croats and the Serbs in the pre-World War I political struggles in the region.-The preparation:At its...
in Dubrovnik took place on May 20, 1893.
In 1907 he returned to Italy to Castelferretti and lived there until 1913 years when he returned to his native Dubrovnik. But already the following year, seriously ill and embittered for the persecution suffered at the hands of the Austrian police (who considered him a dangerous subversive), Pero Budmani fled from home, reached Ancona and died there on December 27, 1914.