Grgo Martić

Biography

He was born as Ljubomir Martić in the village of Rastovača, near Posušje, in the Eyalet of Bosnia, then a part of the Ottoman Empire. He studied philosophy in Zagreb before completing his theology degree in Stolni Biograd (now Székesfehérvár, Hungary). He was ordained in 1845 in Travnik.

He served for three years in Kreševo and Osova.

From 1851 to 1878, he served as a parish priest in Sarajevo before settling at the Franciscan monastery St. Catharine in Kreševo.

In his youth, he was a supporter of Illyrian movement as a nationalist and romanticist, before switching to a more moderate view.

Martić worked as a writer and translator, translating works of Homer, Tolstoy, and Goethe into the peoples vernacular language (narodni jezik). At the time of the Austro-Hungarian occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, he was politically active on behalf of the Catholics of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Influences and legacy

He opened a school in Kreševo in 1847 and a gymnasium in Sarajevo. His best-known literary work was Avengers (), an epic about the struggle against Ottoman rule. Martić made contributions to Albanian culture as well, influencing young Albanian writer Gjergj Fishta who attended Franciscan schools in Kreševo where he met Martić and Croatian writer Silvije Strahimir Kranjčević, who at that time also lived in Bosnia. Martić's work is included into both Bosnian-Herzegovinian and Croatian literary anthologies.

• His life has also been commemorated with a postage stamp from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Central place in Old Town of Sarajevo, in front of the Sarajevo Cathedral, bears the name of fra Grgo Martić.
• A monument in his honor is erected in front of a church in Posušje, while another is also erected in Zagreb. Also, two monuments were erected to Grgo Martić in Kreševo.
• A commemorative stone cross with a plaque stands in the village Rastovača noting his birthplace, his life and his work.

Literary works

• Slavodobitnica svijetlomu gospodaru Omer-paši (epic poem, 1852)
• Narodne pjesme bosanske i hercegovačke (with Ivan Frano Jukić), I (1858)
• Osvetnici, I-III (ep, 1861/65.), IV (1878.), V (1881.), VI (1881.), VII (1883)
• Početni zemljopis za katoličke učionice u Bosni (epic poem, 1884)
• Narodne pjesme o boju na Kosovu godine 1389. (1886)
• Obrana Biograda godine 1456. (ep, 1887)
• Pjesnička djela fra Grge Martića, 1-7 (1888)
• Pjesnička djela fra Grge Martića, I (1893)
• Zapamćenja/1829–1878, po kazivanju autorovu zabilježio janko Koharić (1906.)
• Izabrani spisi (1956)

References

References

1. Gavran, Fra Ignacije. "Fra Grgo Martić (1822 - 1905) (Putovi i putokazi II)".
2. (2021). "Martić, Grgo". Leksikografski zavod Miroslav Krleža.
3. "Fra Grgo Martić (1822-1905) biodata".
4. "Biography: O fra Grgi Martiću".
5. Slavko, Harni. (16 April 2009). "Bibliografski rad Ivana Franje Jukića i kraj kulturne povijesti. Bibliografije kao izvor za povijest knjige i kulturnu povijest".
6. Majdandžić-Gladić, mr.sc Snježana. (19 Nov 2019). "Fra Grgo Martić - bosanski Homer".
7. [http://www.slideshare.net/madopol/pater-gjergj-fishta-18711940 Pater Gjergj Fishta (1871-1940)], slideshare.net; accessed 24 October 2016.
8. "STAMP: Father Grgo Martić".
9. "Trg fra Grge Martića - Mapa Sarajeva - Navigator". Navigator - Mapa Sarajeva.
10. (22 December 2006). "Projekat sanacije i rekonstrukcije fasada na Trgu fra Grge Martića i u Štrosmajerovoj ulici". Kantonalni zavod za zaštitu kulturno-historijskog i prirodnog naslijeđa.
11. "Trg fra Grge Martića NN - address of the Katedrala Srca Isusova u Sarajevu – Katedrala Sarajevo". Katedrala Sarajevo.
12. (30 August 2023). "120 obljetnica smrti fra Grge Martića". imotska-krajina.hr.