Yakiv Holovatsky or Yakov Golovatsky (, ; 17 October 1814 in Chepeli,

Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, also known as Austrian Galicia or colloquially Austrian Poland, was a constituent possession of the Habsburg monarchy in the historical region of Galicia (Eastern Europe), Galicia in Eastern Europe. The Cr ...

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

— 13 May 1888 in

Vilna Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

) was a noted Galician historian, literary scholar, ethnographer, linguist, bibliographer, lexicographer, poet and leader of Galician Russophiles. He was a member of the

Ruthenian Triad The Ruthenian Trinity ( Ruthenian: Руська троица; ) was a Galician literary group led by Markiian Shashkevych, Yakiv Holovatskyi, and Ivan Vahylevych, which began a national and cultural revival in the western Ukrainian lands in t ...

, one of the most influential Ukrainian literary groups in the Austrian Empire.

Biography

Holovatsky was born in Chepeli, to a family of a priest Fedir Holovatsky (Hlavatsky) whose heritage takes roots in the city of

Mykolaiv Mykolaiv ( ), also known as Nikolaev ( ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and a hromada (municipality) in southern Ukraine. Mykolaiv is the Administrative centre, administrative center of Mykolaiv Raion (Raions of Ukraine, district) and Myk ...

(today in

Lviv Oblast Lviv Oblast (, ), also referred to as Lvivshchyna (, ), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast in western Ukraine. The capital city, capital of the oblast is the city of Lviv. The current population is History Name The region is named ...

). Ivan Holovatsky, grandfather of Yakiv, was a szlachtycz of the Polish Prus

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

family and burg-minister of

. Yakiv's mother Fekla Yakymovych also was from the family of a priest in Tur, Zloczow powiat. He received his education in Lviv, where he later enrolled in the

Theological Seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and Christian theology, theology, generally to prepare them for ordinatio ...

at the

University of Lviv The Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (named after Ivan Franko, ) is a state-sponsored university in Lviv, Ukraine. Since 1940 the university is named after Ukrainian poet Ivan Franko. The university is the oldest institution of highe ...

. As a student he traversed Galicia,

Bukovina Bukovina or ; ; ; ; , ; see also other languages. is a historical region at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. It is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided betwe ...

, and

Transcarpathia Transcarpathia (, ) is a historical region on the border between Central and Eastern Europe, mostly located in western Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast. From the Hungarian Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin, conquest of the Carpathian Basin ...

collecting folk songs. In 1832, at

Lviv University The Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (named after Ivan Franko, ) is a state-sponsored university in Lviv, Ukraine. Since 1940 the university is named after Ukrainian poet Ivan Franko. The university is the oldest institution of highe ...

he formed the

(''Ruska Triitsia'') with

Markiyan Shashkevych Markiian Semenovych Shashkevych (; November 6, 1811 in Pidlyssia, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria – June 7, 1843 in Novosilky, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria) was a priest of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, a poet, a translator, and th ...

, and

Ivan Vahylevych Ivan Mykolaiovych Vahylevych (; born 2 September 1811 in Yasen, today in Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austrian Empire – died 10 May 1866 in Lviv, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria) was a Ukrainian Romantic poet, philologist, and ethno ...

, and played an important role in the

Ukrainian national revival The Ukrainian National Revival () took place during a period when the territory of modern Ukraine was divided between the Austrian Empire, the Kingdom of Hungary, and the Russian Empire after the partitions of Poland at the end of the 18th centur ...

in Galicia. The three published the first Halych almanac in the vernacular language, '' Rusalka Dnistrovaia'' (The Dniester Nymph, 1836), with included several of Holovatsky's poems. In 1946–47 he published ''Vinok rusynam na obzhynky'' (A Garland for Ruthenians at the Harvest Feast), an anthology of 20 Serbian songs in Ukrainian translation. In 1842 he became a

Greek Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...

priest and later received an appointment to the village of Mykytyntsi near

Kolomyia Kolomyia (, ), formerly known as Kolomea, is a city located on the Prut, Prut River in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast in the west of Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre of Kolomyia Raion, hosting the administration of Kolomyia urban hromada ...

. Due to the

Revolution of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

, he was appointed the first professor of Ruthenian ( Ukrainian)

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

, where he lectured from 1848 to 1867. Holovatsky served as

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

(rector magnificus) of the university from 1864 to 1866. When Austria began to support Galician Poles in political reaction, disillusioned and influenced by

Mikhail Pogodin Mikhail Petrovich Pogodin (; ) was a Russian historian and journalist who, jointly with Nikolay Ustryalov, dominated the national historiography between the death of Nikolay Karamzin in 1826 and the rise of Sergey Solovyov in the 1850s. He is ...

Pan-Slavist Pan-Slavism, a movement that took shape in the mid-19th century, is the political ideology concerned with promoting integrity and unity for the Slavic people. Its main impact occurred in the Balkans, where non-Slavic empires had ruled the South S ...

ideas, Holovatsky adopted a

Russophile Russophilia is the identification or solidarity with, appreciation of, or support for the country, people, language, and history of Russia. One who espouses Russophilia is called a russophile. Its antonym is Russophobia. In the 19th century, ...

attitude in the 1850s. Dismissed from the university for his views, in 1867 he moved to Russian-ruled Vilno (

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

) to head the

archaeographic commission The Archaeographic Commission (Археографическая комиссия) was set up in St. Petersburg in 1834 by Platon Shirinsky-Shikhmatov, Nikolay Gerasimovich Ustryalov, Nikolay Ustryalov, and Pavel Stroyev with the aim of publishing h ...

there. The most important work among his ethnographic and literary studies was ''Narodnye pesni Galitskoi i Ugorskoi Rusi'' (Folk Songs of Galician and Hungarian Ruthenia, 4 vv, 1878).

References

1814 births 1888 deaths Writers from Lviv Oblast Clergy from Lviv Oblast Ruthenian nobility Russophiles of Galicia Linguists from Ukraine Ukrainian male poets Ukrainian ethnographers Literary scholars People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Ukrainian Austro-Hungarians Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the Russian Empire Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Catholicism Ukrainian Eastern Catholic priests Academic staff of the University of Lviv University of Lviv alumni Kosice Academy alumni Budapest University alumni University of Lviv rectors Lviv Seminary alumni 19th-century poets Ukrainian writers in Polish Ruthenian Triad Linguists of Ukrainian {{Ukraine-bio-stub