Janko Matúška
Encyclopedia
Janko Matúška was a Slovak poet
, activist, occasional playwright, and clerk of the court. He is best known as the author of the Slovak national anthem, Nad Tatrou sa blýska
("Lightning Over the Tatras").
, Kingdom of Hungary
(today Dolný Kubín
, Slovakia
). He began to attend school there, then probably at the Gömör Gymnázium, and finally he studied at the prestigious Bratislava
(Pozsony) Lutheran Lýceum (preparatory high school and college) where he took courses in the Institute of Czechoslovak Language
and Literature while majoring in theology. Ľudovít Štúr
, the only professor teaching courses offered by the institute at that time, was fired in December 1843 under pressure from the kingdom's authorities, who objected to his pro-Slovak activism. 23-year-old Janko Matúška wrote "Lightning Over the Tatras" when he and other students were agitated about the subsequent repeated denials of their appeals to the school board to reverse Štúr's dismissal. About two dozen students, including Matúška, decided to leave the lýceum in protest in March 1844. Matúška went to take his final exams at the Lutheran gymnázium
in Tisovec
(Tiszolc). He lived in Árva
for most of his adult life. He stopped writing after the Revolutions of 1848
. He worked in government offices after 1850, and was Clerk of the County Court in Dolný Kubín (Alsókubin) from 1870 to 1875. He died the day after his 56th birthday and was buried in Dolný Kubín (Alsókubin).
by Adam Mickiewicz
.
Slovaks
The Slovaks, Slovak people, or Slovakians are a West Slavic people that primarily inhabit Slovakia and speak the Slovak language, which is closely related to the Czech language.Most Slovaks today live within the borders of the independent Slovakia...
, activist, occasional playwright, and clerk of the court. He is best known as the author of the Slovak national anthem, Nad Tatrou sa blýska
Nad Tatrou sa blýska
Nad Tatrou sa blýska is the national anthem of Slovakia. The origins of the anthem are in the Central European activism of the 19th century. Its main themes are a storm over the Tatra mountains that symbolized danger to the Slovaks, and a desire for a resolution of the threat...
("Lightning Over the Tatras").
Life
Janko Matúška was born into a craftsman's family in AlsókubinDolný Kubín
Dolný Kubín is a town in northern Slovakia in the Žilina Region. It is the historical capital of the Orava region.-Geography:Dolný Kubín lies at an altitude of above sea level and covers an area of ....
, Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
(today Dolný Kubín
Dolný Kubín
Dolný Kubín is a town in northern Slovakia in the Žilina Region. It is the historical capital of the Orava region.-Geography:Dolný Kubín lies at an altitude of above sea level and covers an area of ....
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
). He began to attend school there, then probably at the Gömör Gymnázium, and finally he studied at the prestigious Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
(Pozsony) Lutheran Lýceum (preparatory high school and college) where he took courses in the Institute of Czechoslovak Language
Czechoslovak language
The Czechoslovak language was a political sociolinguistic concept used in Czechoslovakia in 1920–1938 for the definition of the state language of the country which proclaimed its independence as the republic of two nations, Czechs and Slovaks.- Language legislation in the First Czechoslovak...
and Literature while majoring in theology. Ľudovít Štúr
Ludovít Štúr
Ľudovít Štúr , known in his era as Ludevít Velislav Štúr, was the leader of the Slovak national revival in the 19th century, the author of the Slovak language standard eventually leading to the contemporary Slovak literary language...
, the only professor teaching courses offered by the institute at that time, was fired in December 1843 under pressure from the kingdom's authorities, who objected to his pro-Slovak activism. 23-year-old Janko Matúška wrote "Lightning Over the Tatras" when he and other students were agitated about the subsequent repeated denials of their appeals to the school board to reverse Štúr's dismissal. About two dozen students, including Matúška, decided to leave the lýceum in protest in March 1844. Matúška went to take his final exams at the Lutheran gymnázium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
in Tisovec
Tisovec
Tisovec is a town in central Slovakia. Its current population is approximately 4,000.- Location and landscape :Tisovec is situated in the valley of the river Rimava, at the foots of the Muránska planina plateau. The landscape there gives the impression of a small town in the mountains...
(Tiszolc). He lived in Árva
Orava (region)
Orava is the traditional name of a region situated in northern Slovakia and partially also in southern Poland . It encompasses the territory of the former Árva county.-History:...
for most of his adult life. He stopped writing after the Revolutions of 1848
Revolutions of 1848
The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. It was the first Europe-wide collapse of traditional authority, but within a year reactionary...
. He worked in government offices after 1850, and was Clerk of the County Court in Dolný Kubín (Alsókubin) from 1870 to 1875. He died the day after his 56th birthday and was buried in Dolný Kubín (Alsókubin).
Works
He started writing at the lýceum. He focused on poetry, especially ballads and fables. He also wrote some prose and drama and translated from Polish, for instance DziadyDziady (poem)
Dziady is a poetic drama by the Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz. It is considered one of the great works of European Romanticism. To George Sand and George Brandes, Dziady was a supreme realization of Romantic drama theory, to be ranked with such works as Goethe's Faust and Byron's Manfred.The...
by Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Bernard Mickiewicz ) was a Polish poet, publisher and political writer of the Romantic period. One of the primary representatives of the Polish Romanticism era, a national poet of Poland, he is seen as one of Poland's Three Bards and the greatest poet in all of Polish literature...
.
Poetry
- 1844 - Nad Tatrou sa blýska
- Púchovská skala
- Svätý zákon
- Hrdoš
- Sokolíček plavý
- Preletel sokolík nad tichým Dunajom
- Slepý starec
- Po dolinách
- Vzdychy spod Lysice
- Kozia skala
Selections and collections
- 1921 - Janka Matúšku Zobrané spisy básnické
- 1971 - Piesne a báje, selection from poetry, prose and drama