Pavao Ritter Vitezović (7 January 1652 – 20 January 1713) was a noted Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

n writer, historian, linguist and publisher.

Early life

Pavao Ritter Vitezović was born in Senj

Senj

Senj , German Zengg, Hungarian Zeng and Italian Segna) is the oldest town on the upper Adriatic, and it was founded in the time before the Romans some 3000 years ago on the hill Kuk. It was the center of the Illyrian tribe Iapydes. The current settlement is situated at the foot of the slopes Mala...

 to a family of a frontier soldier

Military Frontier

The Military Frontier was a borderland of Habsburg Austria and later the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, which acted as the cordon sanitaire against incursions from the Ottoman Empire...

. His father was descended from a German

Germans

The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

 immigrant from Alsace

Alsace

Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...

, and his mother was Croatian

Croats

Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...

. He finished six grades of the Jesuit gymnasium

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 Zagreb

Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...

 before moving to Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, where he stayed at the Illyrian College

Pontifical Croatian College of St. Jerome

The Pontifical Croatian College of St. Jerome, in Italian the Pontificio Collegio Croato Di San Girolamo a Roma, is a Roman Catholic college, church and a society in the city of Rome intended for the schooling of Croatian clerics. It is named after Saint Jerome...

, and met the renowned Ivan Lučić

Ivan Lucic

Johannes Lucius was a historian from Dalmatia. His greatest and most famous work is De regno Dalmatiae et Croatiae , which includes valuable historical sources, a bibliography and six historical maps....

. He then moved to the castle of Bogensperk

Bogenšperk Castle

Bogenšperk Castle is a 16th century castle located in the municipality of Šmartno pri Litiji in central Slovenia. It is best known for its association with the 17th-century historian Janez Vajkard Valvasor.- Architecture :...

  near Litija

Litija

Litija is a town and a municipality in central Slovenia. It is located in the valley of the river Sava, to the east of the capital Ljubljana. Traditionally, the area was situated on the border between the historical provinces of Carniola and Styria. Most of the municipality belonged to the...

 in Carniola

Carniola

Carniola was a historical region that comprised parts of what is now Slovenia. As part of Austria-Hungary, the region was a crown land officially known as the Duchy of Carniola until 1918. In 1849, the region was subdivided into Upper Carniola, Lower Carniola, and Inner Carniola...

, where Janez Vajkard Valvasor

Janez Vajkard Valvasor

Johann Weichard Freiherr von Valvasor or simply Valvasor was a Slovenian nobleman, scientist and polymath, and a fellow of the Royal Society in London.-Biography:...

 influenced him to start analysing his national history and geography. There he also learned German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

, how to print

Printing

Printing is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing....

 and how to etch

Etching

Etching is the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal...

.

Writings

In 1677 he wrote a treatise on the clan Gusići, published in 1681, the same year he wrote a number of poems for one Aleksandar Mikulić, a Zagreb canon

Canon (priest)

A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....

. As he developed a reputation of a learned man, his native town of Senj

Senj

Senj , German Zengg, Hungarian Zeng and Italian Segna) is the oldest town on the upper Adriatic, and it was founded in the time before the Romans some 3000 years ago on the hill Kuk. It was the center of the Illyrian tribe Iapydes. The current settlement is situated at the foot of the slopes Mala...

 elected him as their representative in the Hungarian

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...

 diet in Sopron

Sopron

In 1910 Sopron had 33,932 inhabitants . Religions: 64.1% Roman Catholic, 27.8% Lutheran, 6.6% Jewish, 1.2% Calvinist, 0.3% other. In 2001 the city had 56,125 inhabitants...

. On 19 April 1683, due to the efforts of Ritter Vitezović, the diet proclaimed a charter granting the town of Senj their ancient rights, protecting them from the local military commander captain Herberstein who had terrorised the citizens at the time.

Because of the Ottoman wars

Ottoman wars in Europe

The wars of the Ottoman Empire in Europe are also sometimes referred to as the Ottoman Wars or as Turkish Wars, particularly in older, European texts.- Rise :...

 he was enlisted and stationed in the Međimurje tabor (garrison) under ban

Ban (title)

Ban was a title used in several states in central and south-eastern Europe between the 7th century and the 20th century.-Etymology:The word ban has entered the English language probably as a borrowing from South Slavic ban, meaning "lord, master; ruler". The Slavic word is probably borrowed from...

 Nicholas Erdödy

Erdody

Erdődy is the name of a Hungarian noble family in the Kingdom of Hungary . The Habsburg Monarchy granted them the title Graf / Gräfin....

. In 1683, when the Great Turkish War

Great Turkish War

The Great Turkish War refers to a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and contemporary European powers, then joined into a Holy League, during the second half of the 17th century.-1667–1683:...

 started, he participated in the capture of the forts of Lendava

Lendava

Lendava is a town and a municipality in Slovenia in the region of Prekmurje. It is close to the border crossing with Hungary at Dolga vas-Rédics, and Hungarian is one of the official languages of the municipality, along with Slovene...

 and Szigetvar

Szigetvár

-History:The town's fortress was the setting of the Battle of Szigetvár in 1566. It was a sanjak centre at first in Budin Province , later in Kanije Province .There was already a bum in the marshland back in the Celtic and Roman times...

. After the war, ban Erdödy employed him as an officer of his court, where he also met Adam Zrinski

Adam Zrinski

Adam Zrinski , , was a Croatian count and officer in Habsburg Monarchy army service, a member of the Zrinski noble family.-Life:...

, the son of Nikola Zrinski. He was initially named the podžupan of Lika

Lika

Lika is a mountainous region in central Croatia, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by the Malovan pass...

 a purely honourable title with no actual significance. Croatian Parliament then named him as their representative in the Imperial

Habsburg Monarchy

The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...

 commission for the delimitation with Venice

Republic of Venice

The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

 and Turkey

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

, but despite his contribution, the borderlines were drawn against the Croatian interests, which greatly frustrated Ritter Vitezović.

During his work at the royal and imperial diets in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

 and 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...

, Vitezović met many dignitaries from Croatia, and at one point wished to return home to live in Zagreb. He found out that there was an abandoned printing house in the Bishop's Palace in the city. He asked his long time friend Aleksandar Mikulić, who had by that time become the bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

, to let him put it to use. He was soon in business, printing calendars and leaflets, and he appealed to the Croatian Parliament to give that printing house an official capacity. On 11 November 1694, the Parliament did indeed appoint him as the manager of the facility. He then proceeded to move it from the Vlaška street to his house on Grič, and then travelled to Vienna where he bought a new printing press

Printing press

A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...

 and everything else necessary for the printing of books. He named the new printing office the "Museum" (like Valvasor before him), and printed the first books in Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 and in Croatian

Croatian language

Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...

.

Works

In Latin:

• Apographum ex Joanne Lucio (1681)
• Nova Musa (1683)
• Anagrammaton liber primus (1687)
• Croatia rediviva (Revived Croatia, 1700)
• Stemmatographia sive armorum Illyricorum delineatio, descriptio et restitutio, 1701
• Stemmatographiae Illyricanae liber I. Editio nova auctior“ (Zagrabiae 1702)
• Plorantis Croatiae saecula duo (Two centuries of Croatia in mourning, 1703)
• Bossna captiva (Bosnia in captivity, 1712)

In Croatian:

• Odiljenje sigetsko (1684.)
• Priričnik aliti razliko mudrosti cvitje (1703.)
• Kronika aliti spomen vsega svieta vikov (1696.)