Tobia Lionelli (1647 – 17 October 1714) was a Slovene–

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

preacher and writer in the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

period. His

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present context ...

s had a crucial role in the affirmation of Slovene as a language. He is also known by his

monastic name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should not be "foreign to ...

John Baptist of Sveti Križ in Vipava (; later Slovenized as ', ', or ').

Life

Lionelli was born to a Slovene mother and an Italian father in the town of Sveti Križ (now

Vipavski Križ Vipavski Križ (; ) is a settlement on a small hill in the Vipava Valley in the Municipality of Ajdovščina in the Littoral region of Slovenia. There is evidence of habitation on the hill in the pre-Roman period. The settlement was first mentioned ...

) in the

Vipava Valley The Vipava Valley (; , , ) is a valley in the Slovenian Littoral, roughly between the village of Podnanos to the east and the border with Italy to the west. The main towns are Ajdovščina and Vipava. Geography The narrow valley of the Vipav ...

County of Gorizia The County of Gorizia (, , , ), from 1365 Princely County of Gorizia, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. Originally mediate ''Vogts'' of the Patriarchs of Aquileia, the Counts of Gorizia (''Meinhardiner'') ruled over several fiefs in the are ...

. A recent theory conjectures that he was actually born as Ivan Hrobat, the illegitimate son of Katarina Hrobat and a nobleman of the Lanthieri family, and that the surname Lionelli was purchased to avoid embarrassment.Kmecl, Matjaž. 2005. ''A Short Cultural History of the Slovenes''. Ljubljana: Slovene PEN. He took the name "Joannes Baptista à Sancta Cruce Vippacensi" upon joining the

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. OFMCap) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFMObs, now OFM), the ...

in reference to his native town and probably also to the Spanish mystic St. John of the Cross. He served in various monasteries in the

Slovene Lands The Slovene lands or Slovenian lands ( or in short ) is the historical denomination for the territories in Central and Southern Europe where people primarily spoke Slovene. The Slovene lands were part of the Illyrian provinces, the Austrian Empi ...

, including the Capuchin monastery of St. Francis Assisi in his native town, and in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. Lionelli died in

Gorizia Gorizia (; ; , ; ; ) is a town and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, Region ...

, where he had spent the last years of his life.

Work

Lionelli wrote over 230 sermons, which he published in a series of five books entitled ' (The Holy Handbook). One of his best-known sermons is ' (On New Year's Day). The publication of these books was financed by members of the nobility and benefactors from within the Church. Lionelli's ''Sacrum promptuarium'' was published between 1691 and 1707. The first two volumes were published in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, the remaining three in

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

. They are written in the

Brda dialect The Brda dialect ( , ), or Gorizia Hills dialect, is a Slovene dialect spoken in the Gorizia Hills in Slovenia and Italy. It is known for extreme vowel reduction in final position. It borders the Natisone Valley dialect to the north and the Kar ...

of Slovene, with strong influence of the neighbouring

Inner Carniolan dialect The Inner Carniolan dialect ( , ) is a Slovene dialect very close to the Lower Carniolan dialect, but with more recent accent shifts. It is spoken in a relatively large area, extending from western Inner Carniola up to Trieste in Italy, also co ...

, with numerous Germanisms and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

quotations. The syntax presents a typical

Baroque style The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...

, with references to Classical tradition.

References

* Snoj, Marko (2006). ''Slovar jezika Janeza Svetokriškega'' (''Dela'', 49/7; 49/8). Ljubljana: Založba ZRC. 2 zv. .

External links

Joannes Baptiſta à S. Cruce Vippacenſi. 1691. ''Sacrum promptuarium'', Vol 2. Venice.Joannes Baptiſta à S. Cruce Vippacenſi. 1696. ''Sacrum promptuarium'', Vol 3. Ljubljana.Joannes Baptiſta à S. Cruce Vippacenſi. 1707. ''Sacrum promptuarium'', Vol 5. Ljubljana.Janez Svetokriški
A News Report by Jože Možina from a symposium on Janez Svetokriški. 1999. RTV Slovenia. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lionelli, Tobia 1647 births 1714 deaths 17th-century Slovenian Roman Catholic priests 18th-century Slovenian Roman Catholic priests Slovenian writers Slovenian people of Italian descent People from the Municipality of Ajdovščina Capuchins Sermon writers Baroque writers Slovenian Friars Minor