Pjetër Bogdani (1627 – 6 December 1689), known in Italian as ''Pietro Bogdano'', was the most original writer of early literature in

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...

. He was author of the

Cuneus Prophetarum ''Cuneus Prophetarum'' ( sq, Çeta e profetëve, en, The Band of the Prophets) is a philosophical, theological and scientific treatise written by Pjetër Bogdani, an Albanian philosopher, originally published in Padua in 1685 in Albanian and La ...

(''The Band of the Prophets''), 1685, the first prose work of substance written originally in ( Gheg) Albanian (i.e. not a translation). He organized a resistance against the Ottomans and a pro-Austrian movement in Kosovo in 1689 that included Muslim and Christian Albanians.

Life and work

He was born in the village of Gur in the area of Has, near

Prizren ) , settlement_type = Municipality and city , image_skyline = Prizren Collage.jpg , imagesize = 290px , image_caption = View of Prizren , image_alt = View of Prizren , image_flag ...

in 1627. Its exact location is unknown, but

Robert Elsie Robert Elsie (June 29, 1950 – October 2, 2017) was a Canadian-born German scholar who specialized in Albanian literature and folklore. Elsie was a writer, translator, interpreter, and specialist in Albanian studies, being the author of numerou ...

has proposed two modern day villages of Gjonaj and Breg Drini in Prizren area. Bogdani was educated in the traditions of the

Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

. His uncle Andrea Bogdani (c. 1600–1683) was Archbishop of Skopje and author of a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

-Albanian

grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes doma ...

, now lost. Bogdani is said to have received his initial schooling from the

Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

at Chiprovtsi in modern northwestern

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

and then studied at the Illyrian College of Loreto near

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...

, as had his predecessors Pjetër Budi and Frang Bardhi. From 1651 to 1654 he served as a parish priest in

Pult Pult or Pulat ( sq-definite, Pulti or Pulati), is a region in northern Albania. It is bordered by the Malësia Region to its north and by the Dukagjin Highlands to its east and its south. The region has traditionally been inhabited by the Plani ...

and from 1654 to 1656 studied at the College of the Propaganda Fide in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

where he graduated as a doctor of

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...

and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

. In 1656, he was named Bishop of Shkodra, a post he held for twenty-one years, and was also appointed Administrator of the Archdiocese of Antivari (

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar ( ...

) until 1671. During the most troubled years of the Ottoman - Austrian war, 1664–1669, he took refuge in the villages of Barbullush and Rjoll near Shkodra. A cave near Rjoll, in which he took refuge, still bears his name. Eventually, he was captured by the Ottomans and imprisoned in the fort of Shkodër. The bishop of Durrës, Shtjëfen Gaspëri later reported to the

Propaganda Fide Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

that he was rescued by the brothers Pepë and Nikollë Kastori. In 1677, he succeeded his uncle as Archbishop of Skopje and Administrator of Roman Catholic parishes in the Kingdom of Serbia. The Gashi and Krasniqja tribes were in frequent conflicts with one another until 1680, when Pjetër Bogdani managed to reconcile 24 blood feuds between the two tribes. His religious zeal and patriotic fervour kept him at odds with Ottoman forces, and in the atmosphere of war and confusion which reigned, he was obliged to flee to Ragusa, from where he continued on to

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

and

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, taking his manuscripts with him. In Padua he was cordially received by Cardinal Gregorio Barbarigo,

Bishop of Padua The Roman Catholic Diocese of Padua ( it, Diocesi di Padova; la, Dioecesis Patavina) is an episcopal see of the Catholic Church in Veneto, northern Italy. It was erected in the 3rd century.Barbarigo was responsible for the church affairs in the East and as such he had a keen interest in the cultures of the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is ...

, including Albania. The cardinal had also founded a printing press in Padua, the '' Tipografia del Seminario'', which served the needs of oriental languages and had fonts for

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

and Armenian. Barbarigo was thus well disposed, willing and able to assist Bogdani in the latter's historic undertaking.

After arranging for the publication of the ''Cuneus Prophetarum'', Bogdani returned to the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

in March 1686 and spent the next years promoting resistance to the armies of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

, in particular in

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a international recognition of Kosovo, partiall ...

. He and his

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

Toma Raspasani played a leading role in the pro-Austrian movement in Kosovo during the

Great Turkish War The Great Turkish War (german: Großer Türkenkrieg), also called the Wars of the Holy League ( tr, Kutsal İttifak Savaşları), was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Pola ...

. He contributed a force of 6,000 Albanian soldiers to the Austrian army which had arrived in

Pristina Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in District of Pristina, Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population o ...

and accompanied it to capture

Prizren ) , settlement_type = Municipality and city , image_skyline = Prizren Collage.jpg , imagesize = 290px , image_caption = View of Prizren , image_alt = View of Prizren , image_flag ...

. There, however, he and much of his army were met by another equally formidable adversary, the plague. Bogdani returned to Pristina but succumbed to the disease there in 6 December 1689. His nephew, Gjergj Bogdani, reported in 1698 that his uncle's remains were later exhumed by Turkish and

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

soldiers and fed to the dogs in the middle of the square in Pristina. So ended one of the great figures of early

Albanian culture Albanian culture or the culture of Albanians ( ) is a term that embodies the artistic, culinary, literary, musical, political and social elements that are representative of Albanians. Albanian culture has been considerably shaped by the geogra ...

, the writer often referred to as the father of Albanian

prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the fo ...

Poetry

It was in

in 1685 that the ''Cuneus Prophetarum'', his vast treatise on theology, was published in Albanian and Italian with the assistance of Cardinal Barbarigo. Bogdani had finished the Albanian version ten years earlier but was refused permission to publish it by the Propaganda Fide which ordered that the manuscript be translated first, no doubt to facilitate the work of the censor. The full title of the published version is:

''"Cvnevs prophetarvm de Christo salvatore mvndi et eivs evangelica veritate, italice et epirotice contexta, et in duas partes diuisa a Petro Bogdano Macedone, Sacr. Congr. de Prop. Fide alvmno, Philosophiae & Sacrae Theologiae Doctore, olim Episcopo Scodrensi & Administratore Antibarensi, nunc vero Archiepiscopo Scvporvm ac totivs regni Serviae Administratore"'' (The Band of the Prophets Concerning Christ, Saviour of the World and his Gospel Truth, edited in Italian and Epirotic and divided into two parts by Pjetër Bogdani of Macedonia, student of the Holy Congregation of the Propaganda Fide, doctor of philosophy and holy theology, formerly Bishop of Shkodra and Administrator of Antivari and now Archbishop of Skopje and Administrator of all the Kingdom of Serbia.)

Stained glass depiction of Pjetër Bogdani at the Cathedral of Saint Mother Teresa in Prishtina

The ''Cuneus Prophetarum'' was printed in the

Latin alphabet The Latin alphabet or Roman alphabet is the collection of letters originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered with the exception of extensions (such as diacritics), it used to write English and the ...

as used in Italian, with the addition of the same

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characters employed by Pjetër Budi and Frang Bardhi. Bogdani seems therefore to have had access to their works. During his studies at the College of the Propaganda Fide, he is known to have requested Albanian books from the college printer: "five copies of the Christian Doctrine and five Albanian dictionaries," most certainly the works of Budi and Bardhi. In a report to the Propaganda Fide in 1665, he also mentions a certain ''Euangelii in Albanese'' (''Gospels in Albanian'') of which he had heard, a possible reference to Buzuku's missal of 1555. The ''Cuneus Prophetarum'' was published in two parallel columns, one in Albanian and one in Italian, and is divided into two volumes, each with four sections (scala). The first volume, which is preceded by dedications and eulogies in Latin, Albanian,

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also * * * Old Serbian (disambiguation ...

and Italian, and includes two eight-line poems in Albanian, one by his cousin Luca Bogdani and one by Luca Summa, deals primarily with themes from the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

: i) How

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

created

man A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromo ...

, ii) The

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the ...

s and their metaphors concerning the coming of the

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

, iii) The lives of the prophets and their prophecies, iv) The songs of the ten Sibyls. The second volume, entitled ''De vita Jesu Christi salvatoris mundi'' (On the life of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

, saviour of the world), is devoted mostly to the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...

: i) The life of Jesus Christ, ii) The miracles of Jesus Christ, iii) The suffering and death of Jesus Christ, iv) The resurrection and second coming of Christ. This section includes a translation from the

Book of Daniel The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th century BC setting. Ostensibly "an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon", it combines a prophecy of history with an eschatology (a ...

, 9. 24–26, in eight languages: Latin, Greek, Armenian, Syriac, Hebrew, Arabic, Italian and Albanian, and is followed by a chapter on the life of the

Antichrist In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist refers to people prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus Christ and substitute themselves in Christ's place before the Second Coming. The term Antichrist (including one plural form)1 John ; . 2 John . ...

, by indices in Italian and Albanian and by a three-page appendix on the ''Antichità della Casa Bogdana'' (''Antiquity of the House of the Bogdanis''). The work was reprinted twice under the title ''L'infallibile verità della cattolica fede'', Venice 1691 and 1702 (''The infallible truth of the Catholic faith''). The ''Cuneus Prophetarum'' is considered to be the masterpiece of early

Albanian literature Albanian literature stretches back to the Middle Ages and comprises those literary texts and works written in Albanian. It may also refer to literature written by Albanians in Albania, Kosovo and the Albanian diaspora particularly in Italy. Al ...

and is the first work in Albanian of full artistic and literary quality. In scope, it covers philosophy, theology and

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence ...

(with digressions on

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...

and

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

). With its poetry and literary prose, it touches on questions of aesthetic and literary theory. It is a humanist work of the Baroque Age steeped in the philosophical traditions of

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...

St Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...

, and St Thomas Aquinas. Bogdani's fundamental philosophical aim is a knowledge of God, an unravelling of the problem of existence, for which he strives with reason and intellect. Bogdani's talents are certainly most evident in his prose. In his work we encounter for the first time what may be considered an Albanian literary language. As such, he may justly bear the title of father of Albanian prose. His modest religious poetry is, nonetheless, not devoid of interest. The corpus of his verse are the Songs of the Ten Sibyls (the Cumaean, Libyan, Delphic, Persian, Erythraean, Samian, Cumanian, Hellespontic, Phrygian, and Tiburtine), which are imbued with the Baroque penchant for religious themes and Biblical allusions.

Legacy

Pjetër Bogdani is depicted on the

obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ...

of the Albanian 1000

lekë The lek (; indefinite singular ''lek'', definite plural ''lekët'', indefinite plural ''lekë''; sign: Lekë in Albanian or Lek in English, sometimes L; code: ALL) is the currency of Albania. Historically, it was subdivided 100 ''qintars'' (; ...

banknote issued since 1996.Bank of Albania
Currency
Banknotes in circulation
. – Retrieved on 23 March 2009.

Notes

References

External links

Bogdani at the site Albanian Literature
including the first version of this biography and translated Bogdani's poetry in English.

(In Old Albanian)
DE VITA IESU CHRISTI, SALVATORIS MUNDI, ET EIUS EVANGELICA VERITATE, ITALICE ET EPIROTICE CONTEXTA, ... PETRO BOGDANO MACEDONE, SACR. CONGR. DE PROP. FIDE ALUMNO ... ARCHIEPISCOPO SCUPORUM AC TOTIUS REGNI SERVIAE, ... Edition PATAVII, 1685 .
In Latin and Albanian. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bogdani, Pjeter 1630 births 1689 deaths Albanians from the Ottoman Empire 17th-century Albanian writers Albanian Roman Catholic archbishops 17th-century deaths from plague (disease) Members of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples People from Prizren Kosovo Albanians Bishops of Skopje Bishops in the Ottoman Empire