Year of Marko Marulić, father of Croatian literature, kicks off

Marko Marulić statue in Zagreb (Photo credit: Fred Romero/CC BY 2.0)

ZAGREB,  6 Jan (Hina) – A ceremony marking the start of the Year of Marko Marulić and the 500th anniversary of death of this Renaissance poet regarded as the father of Croatian literature was held in Split on Friday.

The event was organised by the Ministry of Culture and Media and the Marulianum – Centre for Studies on Marko Marulić and his Humanist Circle.

In 2024, the 500th anniversary of Marulić’s death, many scientific and cultural events will be held on the contribution of the “father of Croatian literature”  to both Croatian and European culture and civilisation.

“During this year we will remember the legacy which Marulić bequeathed to Croatian and European culture and we will highlight the importance he had for our area,” Culture Minister Nona Obuljen Koržinek said today.

She mentioned an exhibition which the Museum of the City of Split will organise in April, and after that the exhibition will be also staged in other parts of Croatia.

Marko Marulić, a Croatian poet, lawyer, judge, and Renaissance humanist who coined the term “psychology”, was born in Split on 8 August 1450 and died in that Adriatic city on 5 January 1524.

In 1501, Marulić wrote “Judita”, which was the first Croatian epic poem written in that language. It was published in Venice in 1521. It was the bestseller of its time, translated into many languages. During Marulić’s life, it ran through as many as three printings in 18 months.

A thematic conference “Marko Marulić – 500 years later” was held at the National and University Library  (NSK) in Zagreb in November 2023 ahead of the 500th anniversary of Marulić’s death, and it focused on the “father of Croatian literature” from the perspective of language, literature and as a potential brand.

At the conference, experts pushed for for better branding of Marko Marulić in his anniversary year.

Illustrated page from the second edition of Judita written and illustrated by Marko Marulić, published in Zadar, May 1522 (Photo: Public Domain/CC)

NSK director Ivanka Stričević said that Marulić was known and respected throughout Europe, he had been read by many esteemed people, and the diversity of his oeuvre was one of the reasons that we always returned to him as scientists, artists and institutions in promoting his legacy.