Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 21.djvu/716

Rh There is a good edition by Danehich, to whom we are indebted for a valuable lexicon of Old Nervian. (8) The Rodosloff or Lives of Hervian kings and archbishops, compiled by Archbishop Daniel ( 1888), contains the live of Kings Radoslaff, Vladislaff, Urosh, Dragutin, Queen Helen, Milutis, A. After his death the work was continued by an anonymous writer. The style of these pro ductions is dry sul tasteless. They are written in Paleoslavonic mixed with Herbams. Hilfording has commented with great severity on their bombastle and panegyrical style, the most com plimentary quiets being splin to many sovereigns whose carers were stained with crimes (4) The Ife of Stephen, murnamed "De chanski," from the monastery Dashani which he founded, written by Gregory Tablak, hegoumen of the same monastery. (b) In 1869 we have the Code of Laws (Zakonik) of Stephen Dushan, which has been previously mentioned; it is the earliest specimen of Marvian legislation, and has come down in several manuscripts, hoing first published by Raich in his History at the close of the 18th century. Mine that time other editions have appeared, the two most important being those of Miklonich and Novakovich. Necond Period. To this epoch, which may be muld to commence with the 16th century, belong some of the Horvian chronicles, the yelopla Koprivnichld and others, dry and tedious compilations; ballade. The 16th century w also the outburst of the literature of Ragusa (no below). The Nervian ballads have obtained a European celebrity, and must have existed from very early times. Nicephorus Gregoras, who in 1828 26 came to Stephon Urush IV. as ambassador from the Hy antine emperor Andronicus, noticed that some Sorbs attached to his suite sang tragie songs celebrating the great exploits of thoir untional heroes. As M. pin remarks in his History of Blavonic 1.iteratury, this shows the existence of a national oplo among the Norbs before the battle of Kosovo. In the description of an embassy went from Vienna to Constantinople in 1581 a certain Kuriposhich, by birth a Slovene, speaks of hearing songs sung in honour of Milosh who slow Sultan Murad. The first attempt at collecting them was made by the Franciscan mouk Andrew Kadid-Miollid, a Dalmatian, who died in 1788. His work was published at Venice in 1756 under the title of Rangovor Upodní Naroda Slovinskoga (Recreations of the Slavonie People), Some of the ploces included in this volume were written by Mioäld himself, and he made many alterations in the old ones. This, however, was quite in the spirit of the nga in which he lived. Wo find extracts from Sorvian ballads in some of the Dalmatian poets of the 16th century. In 1704 they were alluded to in the 'wels of the abbo Fortis, and were finally collected by Vuk Stephanovich Karajioh and published at Leipale in 1824 under the title Aarodne Srpske pesme (Popular Norvian Nong), Some of them were afterwards translated into German by Thorn von Jacob and into English by Bowring and Lord Lytton. The versions of the last two possess but little morit. It would be imponatble in a short notice like the present to discuss the contents of these remarkable ballads. To the majority of readers the eyele which treats of Knez Lasar and his fate at the battle of Kosovo will prove the most interesting. Besides historical persons introduced in the ballads there in the half-mythical hero Marco Kralovich, who, like the Russian Ilya Murometa, han many of the characteristion of a supernatural beings His victories, chiefly over Turks and Magyar are narrated in the most bombastic phraseology, At last he dies in battles but the belief prevails that he remains concealed till he shall appear on some future occasion to rescue his people from their oppssons Almost as mysterious as the hero helf in him how Sharate, who was presented to him by a vila or fairy. After the death of Vuk Stephanovich (1864) a supple. mentary volume was published by his widow, which her husband had lot prepared for the press Style Narodne Pesme i Here govine (Popular Servian Songs from Horgovina, Vienna, 1866), A good collection of songs of the Montenegrins (Barnogortai) was fed at Leipsic in 1887 by Milutinovich. There has also appeared a little volume of Servian national songs from Bonis, collected by Holub stranovich in 1887. Since then volumes of Serriau popular poetry by Ravacherich and Ristich have appeared. plays and, besides translating the Hecuba of Euripides, wrote several mysteries, in the style of the religious plays once so popular throughout Europe; of these the Sacrifice of Abraham is the best. His poem entitled Italy is remarkable for the warn affection it expresses for the country of his education. Peter Hektorević (1486- 1572) was a rich proprietor of the island of Zara, and is worth mentioning as having shown a taste for the national poetry of his country. He has introduced some songs in his Ribanje i Ribarsko Prigovoranje (Fishing and a Dialogue of Fishermen). Very cele- brated in its time was the Jegjupka or Gipsy of Andrew Cubranović (1500.1669), who was originally a silversmith. His poem of the Gipsy in said to have been evoked in the following manner. Cubranović was on one occasion following a young lady and urging his suit when she turned round and said scornfully in Italian to her attendant, in the hearing of the poet, "Che vuole da me questo Zingaro 1" ("What does this Gipsy want with me ?"). The despised lover took up the word of reproach and wrote a poem in which ho introduced a Gipsy prophesying to a company of ladies their various fortunes and concluding with an expostulation to the hard-hearted beauty for her obduracy. Schafarik speaks of this piece with great enthusiasm and calls it "a truly splendid flower in the garden of the Illyrian Muses." The Russian critic Pipin supposes, with great probability, that the poem was written as a sort of masquerade for the carnival. It enjoyed considerable popularity and was frequently imitated. A similar story is said to have suggested the Dervise (Dervish) of Stjepo Gučotid, in which the author represents himself as a Turkish dorvish. These two pieces are elegant productions in the Italian manner. Nicholas Nulješković (1510-1587) was a native of Ragusa and author of several pastoral plays in the stylo then so much in vogue throughout Europe. Of the same description are the productions of Marino Držid (1520-1580), of whom his contemporaries praised "il puro, vago, o dolco canto." Mention may also be made of Dinko Ranjina and Mauro Orbini (d. 1014). Another celebrated poot was Dominco Zlatarid (1556-1607), who, besides translating the Electra of Sophocles, produced a version of the Aminta of Tasso and has left sovoral minor pieces. The chief of the Ragusan poets, however, was Ivan Gundulić (sometimes called by his Italian name of Gondola). Very few facts are known of his life; but he died in 1658 agod fifty, having discharged several important public offices. His death, says Schafarik, was not too carly for his fame but too early for literature and the glory and prosperity of his country. He himself published but little, and many of his writings perished in the earthquake in 1667, after which Ragusa never regained her former prospority. The so-called Petrarchan school of Illyrian poetry fanguished after this and wasted its energy on elegant trifles. Dalmatian poete of the 18th and 19th centuries have not mado any considerable figure. The Osman of Gundulić, on which his fame rests, is an epic in twelve books, and was written to cele- brate the victory of the Poles under Chodkiewicz over the Turks and Tatars in 1022 at Chocim (Khotiu). Schafarik praises Gundulić for the richness of his imagination, the lofty tone of his verse, and its porfoctly constructed rhythm. We are willing to allow that Osman possessos considerable spirit and that the versification is melodious, but on the whole it seems a tedious poem. The short quatrains in which it is written lack the true epic dignity. Leaving the Dalmatians, the only writer worthy of mention among the Serbs is George Brankovich (1645-1711), the last despot, who con- piled a History of Servia till the end of the 17th Century, which has been edited by Chedomil Miyatovich, ambassador from the court of Servia to St James's (1886) From this period till the close of the 18th century there is no Servian literature: the spirit of the people seems to have been crushed out of them by Austrian persecutors on the one hand and by Turkish on the other. Till the reign of Milosh Obrenovich in the 19th century hardly a Servian printed book was to be seen. The works of Yuri Krizhanich, who, although a Serb, wrote in Russian, are mentioned under Russia (p. 105) Third Period (from 1750)-The spark of nationality was still burning among the Serbs, in spite of their degradation, and men During this period Slavonie literature reached a high pitch of were found to fan it. Such a man was Raich (1720-1801), a Raic culture in the little city of Ragusa, called in Slavonio Dubrovnik. thorough patriot. He was born in Slavonia, a province of Austria During the 18th, 16th, and 17th centuries this city, now in a state inhabited by Serbs, the son of poor parents, but he had all the of devy, was a kind of Slavonie Athens Th the influence of enthusiasm for learning that animated the Russian Lomonosoff, Italian literature was added the culture introduced by the crowla whom he very much resembled. Thus we find him making his of harmed Greek Chalovcondylan Lasuria and others who war on foot from his native town to Kied, where he was received found reflege within its walls after the fall of Constantinople into the ecclesiastical seminary and devoted himself to theology. w and the tyre drama seem to have been the general pro After apending three years at Kieff, he betook himself to Moscow. ductions of the mow noteworthy authors. The influence of Meeting, on his return to his native country, with a cold reception Italian in jeneptible throughout. The first writer of eminence from those whom he had expected to foster his studies, he went wa Hannibal Land a very popular pet in his day, author of lore back to Russia, and while at Kieff resolved to write the history of mga drama Ades (The Female Slave), and translations pub the Sorrian nation. Knowing that the Slavonic monasteries in lished Rist by his min Anthony at Venice in 1556, and reprinted Karopean Turkey contained many unpublished manuscripts (num by Dr Gaj at Agram in 1847. A very interesting poem by this bera of which have since perished in the wars which have devastated Author of the city of Dubrovnik (ag) Another the country or have been destroyed by the Greeks), he visited Com writer of comaklerable reputation was Nichola Vetrani Carstantinople and many other parts of that empire in order to collect (148) who afterwards became a monk and lived as a hermit materials. On his return to Austria he took up his abode at one of the islands on the Daluntian coast. He has left several Neusats on the Danube (also long the headquarters of Schafarik