Andrija Zmajević (late July 1628,
PerastPerast is an old town in Boka Kotorska , Montenegro. It is situated a few km northwest of Kotor.- Geography & History :...
, Most Serene Republic of Venice-7 September 1694,
PerastPerast is an old town in Boka Kotorska , Montenegro. It is situated a few km northwest of Kotor.- Geography & History :...
,
Republic of VeniceThe Most Serene Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century AD until the year 1797...
) was a distinguished
SerbianSerbian is a South Slavic language, spoken chiefly in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, and in the Serbian diaspora...
BaroqueBaroque is an artistic style prevalent from the late 16th century to the early 18th century. The popularity and success of the Baroque style was encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church, which had decided at the time of the Council of Trent that the arts should communicate religious themes in...
poet and contributor to the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
from the
Bay of KotorThe Bay of Kotor in south-western Montenegro and south-eastern Croatia, is a winding bay on the Adriatic Sea. The bay, sometimes called Europe's southernmost fjord, is in fact a submerged river canyon of the disintegrated Bokelj River which used to run from the high mountain plateaus of Mount Orjen...
. He was also a prominent theologian and the
ArchbishopIn Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop. In many Christian Churches, this means that they lead a diocese of particular importance called an archdiocese, or in the Anglican Communion an Ecclesiastical Province, but this is not always the case. An archbishop is equivalent to a bishop in...
of
BarBar is a coastal town in Montenegro. It has a population of 13,719...
and "
Primate of the Serbian Kingdom".
The illustrious Zmajević family originates from the Njeguš
Old Montenegrin clanThe following is an overview of the Serbian clans in Montenegro, a general term referring to what are known as plemena and bratstva in Serbian...
: when the last members of the Crnojević dynasty left
MontenegroMontenegro , 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, Kosovo to the east and Albania to the south...
, Nikola Zmajević and his cousins Ivaniš and Vučeta moved to
KotorKotor is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a most secluded part of Gulf of Kotor...
.
Andrija Zmajević (late July 1628,
PerastPerast is an old town in Boka Kotorska , Montenegro. It is situated a few km northwest of Kotor.- Geography & History :...
, Most Serene Republic of Venice-7 September 1694,
PerastPerast is an old town in Boka Kotorska , Montenegro. It is situated a few km northwest of Kotor.- Geography & History :...
,
Republic of VeniceThe Most Serene Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century AD until the year 1797...
) was a distinguished
SerbianSerbian is a South Slavic language, spoken chiefly in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, and in the Serbian diaspora...
BaroqueBaroque is an artistic style prevalent from the late 16th century to the early 18th century. The popularity and success of the Baroque style was encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church, which had decided at the time of the Council of Trent that the arts should communicate religious themes in...
poet and contributor to the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
from the
Bay of KotorThe Bay of Kotor in south-western Montenegro and south-eastern Croatia, is a winding bay on the Adriatic Sea. The bay, sometimes called Europe's southernmost fjord, is in fact a submerged river canyon of the disintegrated Bokelj River which used to run from the high mountain plateaus of Mount Orjen...
. He was also a prominent theologian and the
ArchbishopIn Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop. In many Christian Churches, this means that they lead a diocese of particular importance called an archdiocese, or in the Anglican Communion an Ecclesiastical Province, but this is not always the case. An archbishop is equivalent to a bishop in...
of
BarBar is a coastal town in Montenegro. It has a population of 13,719...
and "
Primate of the Serbian Kingdom".
The illustrious Zmajević family originates from the Njeguš
Old Montenegrin clanThe following is an overview of the Serbian clans in Montenegro, a general term referring to what are known as plemena and bratstva in Serbian...
: when the last members of the Crnojević dynasty left
MontenegroMontenegro , 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, Kosovo to the east and Albania to the south...
, Nikola Zmajević and his cousins Ivaniš and Vučeta moved to
KotorKotor is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a most secluded part of Gulf of Kotor...
. Becoming appealed and somewhat wealthy, the family quickly abandoned
Serbian OrthodoxyThe Serbian Orthodox Church or the Church of Serbia is one of the autocephalous...
in favor of Roman Catholicism, with the three marrying Catholic Christian girls and having their children baptized in the Latin Rite. Andrija's father was Nikola Milutin Zmajević. After Andrija's birth in 1628, soon came Andrija's brothers, Ivan and Krsto. Krsto would become a very famous person, on more than one occasion the Captain of Perast. Andrija remained very akin towards his family origin throughout his life.
The Franciscans held an elementary school since 1638 in the private home of the Mazarović family. After attending this poor school for a short time, Andrija moved to
KotorKotor is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a most secluded part of Gulf of Kotor...
to earn some better education. As the first man of the Congregation for Propaganda of Faith he travels to Rome to their Institution "Urbino", where he earned a PhD in Philosophy and Theology. Andrija quickly raised to prominence in Rome. In July 1651 at the request of Jeronim Pastrić of
SplitSplit is the largest Dalmatian city, the second-largest urban centre in Croatia, and the seat of Split-Dalmatia County...
, he was accepted into the Brotherhood of Saint Geronimo along with eight other young priests, all of whom come from
DalmatiaDalmatia , is a region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea and is situated in modern Croatia. It spreads between the island of Rab in the northwest and the Bay of Kotor, in Montenegro, in the southeast...
. Andrija begins his literal career there, as a student. When the ex Swedish Queen Christine moved to Rome and paid an honorary visit to the College for Propagation of the Faith, Andrija was one the 42 young students that dedicated poems and speeches to her in 26 different languages.
On 15 April 1654 the Ottoman Turks from
HerzegovinaHerzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia-Herzegovina, comprising 11,419 sq km or around 22% of the total area of the present-day country. In other sources it comprises 12,276 sq km, this constitutes 24% of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
under the leadership of Mehmed-pasa Rizvanbegović assaulted Andrija's hometown Perast; his brother Krsto heroically defended the city. Andrija wrote a poem "
Boj peraški" (Battle of Perast) dedicated to celebrating this event. Some half a century ago the last remaining copy of this work was lost.
He returned to his home and became the abbot of the local monastery of St. George and the pastor of Perast (1656). In 1664 he became the vicar of
BudvaBudva is a coastal town in Montenegro. It has around 15,000 inhabitants, and is a centre of Budva municipality...
bishopric and in 1671 the titular archbishop of
BarBar is a coastal town in Montenegro. It has a population of 13,719...
and primate of the Kingdom of Serbia. As both Bar and the rest of Montenegro were under Ottoman control, Zmajević resided in Perast where he built a grand palace called
Biskupija ("Bishop's palace"). The palace was frescoed by his protegé, the talented local painter
Tripo KokoljaTripo Kokolja was a Montenegrian painter. His name is sometimes given as Trifun Kokoljić or Cocoglia. He is chiefly remembered today for introducing the still life and landscape painting into the art of the eastern Adriatic.Born in Perast, on the Bay of Kotor, Kokolja is believed to have...
.
Biskupija also contained one of the most significant libraries in the eastern Adriatic. He also supervised the building of the high bell tower of the parish church and of many other churches round the
Bay of KotorThe Bay of Kotor in south-western Montenegro and south-eastern Croatia, is a winding bay on the Adriatic Sea. The bay, sometimes called Europe's southernmost fjord, is in fact a submerged river canyon of the disintegrated Bokelj River which used to run from the high mountain plateaus of Mount Orjen...
(
Boka kotorska). Zmajević was interested as well in classical antiquities and collected Roman inscriptions and ruins. Although a high Catholic prelate Zmajević remained very tolerant and highly esteemed by both the Catholics and the Orthodox, among the latter by Arsenije Čarnojević, the Serbian
patriarchOriginally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy...
, also of the Njeguš clan.
He died in 1694 and was buried in the chapel by the palace that he erected.
He also collected epic and lyric folk songs and transcribed works of the poets of Dubrovnik, notably
GundulićIvan Franov Gundulić is the most celebrated Croatian Baroque poet from the Republic of Ragusa...
. His only published work, the song "Od pakla" ("Hell") saw the light of day in
VeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy, the capital of the region Veneto, a population of 271,367 . Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area . The city historically was an independent nation...
in 1727. All of his other works remained in manuscripts. He wrote:
- Hronika or Ljetopis crkveni (Church Annals or Church Chronicles) illustrated by himself and Tripo Kokolja
- Svadja Lazarevih kćeri, Brankovice i Miloševice ("The Quarrel of Lazar’s daughters, wife of Branko and wife of Miloš")
- Peraški boj ("The Battle of Perast").
- Slovinskoj Dubravi (Of Slavic Dubrovnik
||-||-||-||-||-||-||}Dubrovnik , is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast in the extreme south of Dalmatia, 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...
")
- Tripu Škuri ("Of Tripo Škura)
Zmajević wrote both in Cyrillic and in
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
scripts. Zmajević called the language in which he wrote "Slavic" (
slovinski). He justified his decision to write in "Serb letters" (Cyrillic script) since "the whole of our nation uses it" (
kojim se služi čitava naša nacija). His inspiration comes both from current events and from Serbian history and epic so that he often mentions
Nemanja-Given name:*Nemanja Čorović, Serbian footballer*Nemanja Gordić, Bosnian basketball player*Nemanja Jovanović, Serbian footballer*Nemanja Kojic, Serbian footballer*Nemanja Matić, Serbian footballer*Nemanja Milisavljević, Serbian footballer...
,
Miloš ObilićMiloš Obilić was a 14th-century Serbian knight in the service of Prince Lazar, ruler of Moravian Serbia. Little is known of the historical persona, but he features prominently in accounts of the Serbian defeat at the Battle of Kosovo as the legendary assassin of the Ottoman sultan Murad I...
and other historical and legendary figures.