Croatia marking the 500th anniversary of the passing of “the father of Croatian literature”
Marking the 500th anniversary of the death of Marko Marulić (1450-1524), often referred to as “the father of Croatian literature” and “the Croatian Dante”, the Government of the Republic of Croatia declared 2024 the Year of Marko Marulić. Holding valuable copies of Marulić’s works and safeguarding his cultural legacy, the National and University Library in Zagreb (NSK) is joining this nationwide campaign aimed at the promotion and popularisation of one of the greatest names of Croatia’s cultural heritage.
Marko Marulić, the most prominent Croatian writer of the 15th and 16th centuries and the author of the first epic in the Croatian language (Judita, 1521), died on 5 January 1524, leaving an indelible mark on Croatian culture as a humanist whose work reached far beyond literature and whose religious and moral writings in Latin brought him fame in the cultural circles of both Europe and the rest of the world. The national campaign marking the 500th anniversary of his passing will be launched on 5 January 2024 in Split, Marulić’s native city, which will host a special opening programme organised by the Croatian Ministry of Culture and Media, cultural and publishing association of the intellectuals of Split Književni krug Split and MARVLIANVM, a Split-based research centre focusing on Marulić’s heritage.
Marulić’s works among NSK treasures
The Library’s Manuscripts and Old Books Collection holds the 1522 edition of Judita (Judith), the most significant, groundbreaking work by Marulić, whose skilful adaptation in it of the biblical theme and use of the Croatian vernacular make it a relevant work of the European Renaissance, owing to which it has so far been translated into English, Hungarian, Italian, French and Lithuanian, and partially translated into Slovenian, Spanish, German, Czech and Esperanto.
Judita’s digitised version is available as part of the Library’s NSK Digital Collections website, which also offers access to the digital collection NSK created in 2018 with the support of the Croatian Ministry of Culture and Media to make widely available all Marulić’s works held by the Library (Digitalna zbirka djela Marka Marulića). Also created as a result of the 2018 project was the online exhibition spotlighting Marulić’s life and work available on the NSK Online Exhibitions website, in English, German and Croatian.
Also, as part of the international presentation of Croatia’s history and culture during Croatia’s presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2020, the Library, which acted as the presidency’s seat, organised the Marko Marulić – A European Humanist exhibition, which was put on across Lithuania and in Switzerland.
NSK to host 2024 conference on Marulić
The Library and the Croatian Language and Linguistics Institute are jointly organising a conference which will commemorate the great anniversary by juxtaposing the history of the Croatian language and the digital age (Povijest hrvatskoga jezika i digitalno doba – o 500. obljetnici smrti Marka Marulića). Scheduled to take place on 21 and 22 November 2024, the conference will be held in CroAtrium, the Library’s multimedia lab and heritage interpretation centre, whose main conference hall, bearing the name of the heroine of Marulić’s historic epic, Judita, will by all means be the ideal venue for the conference.