Barleti
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Marin Barleti (, ; – ) was a
historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...
,
humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...
and
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
priest from
Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra; historically known as Scodra or Scutari) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, fifth-most-populous city of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. Shkodër has been List of o ...
. He is considered the first Albanian historian because of his 1504 eyewitness account of the 1478
siege of Shkodra The siege of Shkodra () took place from May 1478 to April 1479 as a confrontation between the Ottoman Empire and the Venetians together with the League of Lezhë and other Albanians at Shkodra (Scutari in Italian) and its Rozafa Castle durin ...
. Barleti is better known for his second work, a biography on
Skanderbeg Gjergj Kastrioti (17 January 1468), commonly known as Skanderbeg, was an Albanians, Albanian Albanian nobility, feudal lord and military commander who led Skanderbeg's rebellion, a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, ...
, translated into many languages in the 16th to the 20th centuries.


Life

Barleti was born and raised in Scutari (modern Shkodra, Albania), then part of the
Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...
. Although there is no debate whether Barleti was a native Shkodran or an Albanian in a geographical sense, and although there is indirect evidence that he considered his mother tongue to be Albanian, alternatively to an Albanian ethnic origin (supported by
Zeno Zeno may refer to: People * Zeno (name), including a list of people and characters with the given name * Zeno (surname) Philosophers * Zeno of Elea (), philosopher, follower of Parmenides, known for his paradoxes * Zeno of Citium (333 – 264 B ...
, Fallmerayer, Jireček), some scholars have hypothesized an Italian ( DuCange, Iorga), or Dalmatian ( Giovio, Czwittinger,
Fabricius Fabricius (, ) is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *people from the Ancient Roman Fabricia gens, gens Fabricia: **Gaius Fabricius Luscinus, the first of the Fabricii to move to Rome * Johann Goldsmid (1587–1616), known by his ...
) ethnic origin. In his works Barleti repeatedly calls himself Shkodran (), and then equates being Shkodran with being Epirote, a term used by early Albanian language authors as an equivalent form of the ethnonym "Albanian". In an early version of the ''Siege of Shkodra'' which was found in 2018 and published in 2022, Barleti recalls that the local language which in another part he equates with Albanian is the language of his ancestors (''attavorum nostrum''). This is an indirect reference to Albanian being Barleti's mother tongue. According to linguist
Eqrem Çabej Eqrem Çabej (; 6 August 1908 – 13 August 1980) was an Albanian historical linguist and scholar who, through the publication of numerous studies gained a reputation as a key expert in research on Albanian language, literature, ethnology and l ...
, Barleti's surname can be derived from the original form ''Bardheci'', from Albanian
bardhë
' meaning 'white', with the suffix -''eci'', through the typical fluctuation between and ð that occurs in the dialect of North Geg Albanian, spoken around Shkodra, hence producing the form ''Barl(l)eci''. In 1474, the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
besieged Shkodra and Barleti participated in the successful defense of the town, both in the first siege in 1474 and the second in 1478. When Shkodra finally fell to the Ottomans in 1479, Barleti escaped to
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
where he would become a scholar of history, classical literature and the Latin language. Soon after Barleti arrived in Venice, he was given a stall at the
Rialto The Rialto is a central area of Venice, Italy, in the ''sestiere'' of San Polo. It is, and has been for many centuries, the financial and commercial heart of the city. Rialto is known for its prominent markets as well as for the monumental Ria ...
meat market as a temporary means of financial aid. In 1494 became a priest after his theological studies in Venice and Padova, and soon was appointed to serve at St. Stephen's Church in Piovene.


Works


The Siege of Shkodra

Barleti's first work was '' The Siege of Shkodra'' (, Venice, 1504). It was published several times in Latin and translated into Italian, Polish, French, Albanian, and English. Barleti wrote this work as an eyewitness. Of this work, acclaimed Albanian author
Ismail Kadare Ismail Kadare (; 28 January 1936 – 1 July 2024) was an Albanian novelist, poet, essayist, screenwriter and playwright. He was a leading international literary figure and intellectual, focusing on poetry until the publication of his first novel ...
wrote that "if one were to search for a literary creation wholly worthy of the expression 'monumental work,' it would be hard to find a better example than ''The Siege of Shkodra''." An early version of the final work was found in 2018 and published in 2022.


The History of Scanderbeg

Barleti's second and largest work was ''The history of the life and deeds of Scanderbeg, the Prince of Epirus'', () was published in 1504 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 ...
, and later in Rome between 1508 and 1510; (2nd ed.: Strasbourg, 1537; 3rd ed.: Frankfurt am Main, 1578; 4th ed.: Zagreb, 1743) and translated into German (1533), Italian (1554), Portuguese (1567), Polish (1569), French (1576), Spanish (1588), and English (1596). Unlike ''The Siege of Shkodra'', Barleti relied on the testimonies of others to produce this work. Barleti's books were published and printed by
Bernardino Vitali Bernardino Vitali was an Albanian printer and publisher, active in Venice from 1494 to 1539. His printing workshop published more than 200 works of Venetian humanists in the first half of the 16th century.Tammaro De Marinis (1937)Bernardino dei Vi ...
in Venice and Rome. ''The History of Scanderbeg'' is considered an Albanian cultural treasure, vital to the formation of Albanian national self-consciousness. A traduction of this work of Barleti is in slavonic, in the Cetinje chronicle. A note at the end of this manuscript says, according to Martinovic (1962) that the author of the text is "Marin from
Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra; historically known as Scodra or Scutari) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, fifth-most-populous city of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. Shkodër has been List of o ...
of Slavic origin".
Paolo Giovio Paolo Giovio (also spelled ''Paulo Jovio''; Latin: ''Paulus Jovius''; 19 April 1483 – 11 December 1552) was an Italian physician, historian, biographer, and prelate. Early life Little is known about Giovio's youth. He was a native of Co ...
was the first historian to confound Barletius with another contemporary ''Marinus Scodrensis'',
Marino Becichemi Marino, Mariño or Maryino may refer to: Places * Marino, Lazio, a town in the province of Rome, Italy * Marino, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide ** Marino Conservation Park ** Marino Rocks Greenway, a cycling route ** Marino Rocks railwa ...
(1468-1526), professor of rhetorics and author of commentaries on classic literature. The confusion has been elucidated by Thomas Reinesius and
Apostolo Zeno Apostolo Zeno (11 December 1668 – 11 November 1750) was a Venetian poet, librettist, journalist, and man of letters. Early life Apostolo Zeno was born in Venice to a Kingdom of Candia#Establishment_of_Venetian_rule, colonial branch of the ...
. While Barletius in his works calls himself "sacerdotis Scodrensis" (priest of Scodra), Becichemi professes himself married and a "father of boys", professor of Ragusa, Brescia, and Padua, neither of which applies to Barletius.


A Brief History of Lives of Popes and Emperors (disputed)

Barleti's third work is titled, ''A Brief History of Lives of Popes and Emperors'' (, Venice, 1555).


Criticism

Barletius' work has inspired chroniclers like Giammaria Biemmi and
Theodore Spandounes Theodore Spandounes (, ) was an early 16th-century Greek historian of noble Byzantine extraction; the son of exiles fleeing the Ottoman conquest of Byzantium who had settled in Venice, Italy. As a youth he stayed with relatives in Ottoman-ruled M ...
. It is still popular among romanticist and nationalist historians. Modern historical research on Skenderbeg relies more on archival records than on Barletius. Barleti invented spurious correspondence between
Vladislav II of Wallachia Vladislav II (died 20 August 1456) was a voivode of the principality of Wallachia, from 1447 to 1448, and again from 1448 to 1456. The way Vladislav II came to the throne is debatable. The most accepted view is that Vladislav assassinated Vl ...
and
Skanderbeg Gjergj Kastrioti (17 January 1468), commonly known as Skanderbeg, was an Albanians, Albanian Albanian nobility, feudal lord and military commander who led Skanderbeg's rebellion, a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, ...
, wrongly assigning it to the year 1443 instead to the year of 1444. Barleti also invented correspondence between Scanderbeg and Sultan Mehmed II to match his interpretations of events. The main public library of Shkodra and a publishing house have been named after Marin Barleti. Also, a university in Tirana, Albania has been established under his name.


See also

*
Albanian literature Albanian literature stretches back to the Middle Ages and comprises those literary texts and works written in Albanian language, Albanian. It may also refer to literature written by Albanians in Albania, Kosovo and the Albanian diaspora particul ...
*
Culture of Albania Albanian culture or the culture of Albanians ( ) is a term that embodies the Albanian art, artistic, Albanian cuisine, culinary, Albanian literature, literary, Music of Albania, musical, Politics of Albania, political and Traditions of Albania, ...
*
Bernardino Vitali Bernardino Vitali was an Albanian printer and publisher, active in Venice from 1494 to 1539. His printing workshop published more than 200 works of Venetian humanists in the first half of the 16th century.Tammaro De Marinis (1937)Bernardino dei Vi ...
*
Siege of Shkodra The siege of Shkodra () took place from May 1478 to April 1479 as a confrontation between the Ottoman Empire and the Venetians together with the League of Lezhë and other Albanians at Shkodra (Scutari in Italian) and its Rozafa Castle durin ...


References


Sources

* *


External links


Historia de vita et gestis Scanderbegi Epirotarum Principis
Treasure of the National Library of Albania displayed by
The European Library The European Library was an Internet service that allows access to the resources of 49 European national libraries and an increasing number of research libraries. Searching is free and delivers metadata records as well as digital objects, mostl ...

Historia de vita et gestis Scanderbegi Epirotarum Principis
Online digital version presented at World Digital Library * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barleti, Marin 1450s births 1510s deaths Albanian historians 16th-century historians People from Shkodër 15th-century Albanian Roman Catholic priests 16th-century Albanian Roman Catholic priests Venetian Albanians Albanian humanists