Yugoslavia

YUGOSLAVIA. - A state of southern Europe comprising the central and northwestern parts of the Balkan region, with the addition of more or less extensive strips of the neighboring Alpine, sub-Alpine and Pannonian zones.

I. GEOGRAPHY

The Federativna Narodna Republika Jugoslavija (F. N. R. J.) is made up of 6 Republics, of which Serbia contains two autonomous provinces: Voivodina and Kosovo-Metohija. The official statistics of 15 March 1948 are as follows:

	Federal Republics and Autonomous Regions	Area in km²	Population		Capital (and its population in 1000s of inhabitants).
		absolute (in 1000s of inhab., gen. March 1948)	relative (femma a lima)
Serbia	55903	4134	74	Belgrade (388)
Voivodina	22302	1662	74	Novi Sad (77)
Kosovo-Metohija	10561	727	69	Priština (20)
Croatia	56485	3749	66	Zagreb (290)
Slovenia	20445	1389	68	Ljubljana (121)
Bosnia-Herzegovina	51348	2562	49	Sarajevo (118)
Macedonia	36790	1152	32	Skoplje (91)
Montenegro	13967	377	27	Titovgrad (12)
F. N. R. J.	267801	15752	61

Yugoslavia comprises territories that differ greatly in their physical, climatic, phytogeographic characteristics, etc., and in their economic value: the harsh limestone (karstic) massifs of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina contrast with the fertile plains along the Danube and its tributaries, just as the wooded outermost Alpine spurs have nothing in common with the basins of the Vardar and the Morava, where small gorges alternate with narrow ravines; the Adriatic coastline, fringed with islands and rich in ports, occupies a place apart in the country, but is cut off from the interior by the high wall of the Dinaric Alps. More than 4/5 of the country is occupied by mountains and hills, where settlement remains rather sparse; the rest by valley floors and lowlands, predominantly in the northern and north-eastern sectors. Over 3/4 of the territory drains into the Danube; a continental character also brought out by the climate, which on the whole presents strong temperature ranges, with winters the more rigorous, summers the hotter and precipitation the less abundant the closer one approaches the Pannonian basin. In this case too the coastal strip and Istria stand out from the rest of Yugoslavia for their more or less frankly Mediterranean character.

The population, according to the official statistics (15.8 million inhabitants), is far from homogeneous: besides the 4 fundamental Slavic groups, Serbs (41.5%), Croats (24%), Slovenes (9%), Macedonians (5.1%, ethnically Bulgarians), the statistics also list two further Slavic groups, the Orthodox Montenegrins (2.7%) and the Muslims of Bosnia-Herzegovina (5.1%), of whom the former are ethnically Serbs and the latter Croats. The minorities (12.6%) are as follows: Albanians (4%), Hungarians (3.1%), Vlachs (in Serbia: 0.7%), Turks (0.6%), Italians (0.5%), Slovaks (0.5%), Gypsies (0.5%), Romanians (in Voivodina, 0.4%), Bulgarians (0.4%), Germans (0.4%), Czechs (0.2%), Ukrainians (0.2%), Russians (0.1%), Jews (0.04%), Poles (0.03%), etc. The proportion of foreign-born peoples decreased after 1945, especially because of the mass expulsion of the Germans, but increased as regards the Italians with the annexation of Istria to Yugoslavia. Of the cities, only 5 exceed 100,000 inhabitants (besides those listed in the table, Subotica, which has 113,000) and barely another 7 exceed 50,000 inhabitants.

A little less than 1/3 of Yugoslavia is covered with forests (Carniola, Styria, Slavonia, the Dinaric region, Bosnia), converted to approximately the same extent into arable land (30.8%) and for about 1/4 covered with natural meadows and pastures. Agriculture, livestock raising and forestry are the prevailing occupations of the population. The first yields cereals (more maize than wheat), potatoes, fruit (plums and apples), wine (Dalmatia) and products destined for industry (tobacco, sugar beet, hemp, hops, etc.), and the second is no less varied, with sheep predominating (6.4 million head), pigs (2.8) and cattle (2.5). The forests (7.8 million ha.) represent another conspicuous source of income, feeding a whole series of flourishing industries (sawmills, paper mills, furniture factories, distilleries, etc.). Among mineral resources, coal, iron (Bosnia) and copper (Serbia) predominate, but petroleum (Croatia and Montenegro) is not lacking, nor lead, zinc, bauxite, manganese, etc. The hydroelectric potential is also conspicuous. Industry, still disproportionate to the country's potential, has made notable progress, especially in the metallurgical-mechanical field; the most active branches are those that process food products. Communications too (11,200 km. of railways) await a decisive impulse that would bring out the value of the country's excellent position at the crossroads of the great N.-S. routes (Pannonia-Morava-Aegean) and E.-W. routes (Sava-Danube).

Giuseppe Caraci

II. HISTORY

Upon the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Sabor (the Croatian Diet), by the act of 29 Oct. 1918, dissolved the historical relations and juridical ties that until then bound Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia to Austria and Hungary, proclaiming over the respective territory the State of the Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. A group of politicians, the Narodno Vijeće, availing itself of a delegation from the Sabor that was not entirely constitutional and parliamentary, brought about the union of the new State with Serbia and with Montenegro (1 Dec. 1918) under the dynasty of the Karageorgević.

The new formation, named the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (S.H.S.), was then internationally recognized by the Treaty of Versailles, notwithstanding the protest sent by the Croatian people to the Peace Conference. The drafting and promulgation of the Vidovdan Constitution (28 June 1921) failed to reconcile the initial Serbo-Croatian antagonism, which instead went on growing. Alongside the claims of the Macedonians and the Montenegrins, the Croats, seeing the commitments solemnly undertaken by the Serbs violated (declaration of Corfu of 20 July 1917), felt disappointed in their age-old religious and national aspirations and continued to reject the idea of state coexistence with the Serbs. The Slovenes, by contrast, were less hostile to collaboration with the Serbs. The Croatian leader Stjepan Radić sought to bring the question onto its true ground, that is, before the League of Nations. The lack of understanding on the part of international circles drove him in 1925 to attempt collaboration with Belgrade. On 20 June 1928 a Serbian deputy shot down two Croatian deputies with a revolver in Parliament and wounded Radić, who subsequently died (8 Aug.). There followed the abrogation of the Constitution, the name of the State was changed to J., and King Alexander established a dictatorial regime (1929). After the King was killed at Marseilles (9 Oct. 1934), the regency was assumed by Prince Paul. In March 1941, following the coup d'état of General Simović, directed against the Tripartite Pact, the crown prince Peter was proclaimed king. In Apr. 1941 the collapse of the Yugoslav army before the armies of the Axis and the insurrection of the Croats led to the political and juridical disintegration of J. The artificial organism dissolved into its constituent elements. The Croats restored the independent State of Croatia. After the Second World War the head of the Yugoslav Communist Party, J. Broz Tito, proclaimed on 29 Nov. 1945 the Yugoslav Federal People's Republic (F. N. R. J.). The currents hostile to communism were in part suppressed in the course of the partisan struggle, in part reduced to silence after the end of the war. In the course of 1948 the Yugoslav communist regime entered into sharp conflict with the Cominform and with the government of the U.S.S.R., which exerted strong pressure on J. to reduce it to obedience. The clash between the U.S.S.R. and J. pushed the latter to draw closer, in the sphere of foreign policy, to the Western powers, without however deviating, in the sphere of domestic policy, from the fundamental lines of all the communist regimes of Eastern Europe.

For the history prior to 1918, v. CROAZIA; MACEDONIA; MONTENEGRO; SERBIA; SLOVENIA.

Stefano Sakač

III. LEGAL CONDITIONS OF THE CHURCH

With the founding of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (1918), the problem arose of the Catholics who constituted almost forty percent of the entire population. Negotiations with the Holy See were begun as early as 1922, in order to reach the conclusion of a Concordat, which was signed only on July 25, 1935 by the then cardinal Secretary of State Pacelli and the Yugoslav minister of Justice and Cults Auer. In the face of the opposition of the so-called Orthodox Church, however, the Yugoslav government did not proceed to ratify the Concordat itself. The juridical condition of the Church in the Yugoslav federal Republic is outlined in art. 25 of the Constitution, in force since 1946, which says: "Freedom of conscience and religious freedom are guaranteed to citizens." The Church (and not only the Catholic one is meant) is separated from the State. Religious communities, whose teaching does not oppose the Constitution, are free to exercise their religious functions and to celebrate their worship. Religious schools intended for the formation of priests are authorized, but remain under the general control of the State. Every abuse of the Church and of religion for political ends, every political organization on a religious basis is forbidden. The State may materially assist religious communities.

In reality, the principle of religious freedom, affirmed in the article, must be understood within the complex of the other constitutional provisions, which in various ways conflict with it, and above all must be interpreted in the light of the facts. These prove evidently that the regime of separation, proclaimed in the constitutional Charter, has been transformed, from the very beginnings of the new Republic, into a regime of persecution.

The personal freedom of ecclesiastics and religious is continually threatened and violated. Sensational were the trial and the condemnation to forced labor of the archbishop of Zagreb, Msgr. A. Stepinac, in Oct. 1946. But if he is the most illustrious victim, he is not the only one. The bishop of Mostar, Msgr. P. Čule, was also condemned to prison. The bishop of Ljubljana, Msgr. Gr. Rožman, and the archbishop of Sarajevo, Msgr. G. Šarid, exiles from their homeland, cannot reach their sees. The apostolic administrator of Banja Luka, Msgr. Čekada, has been expelled from the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina, in which that episcopal see is located. The other bishops, now reduced to eight from the nineteen they were, are systematically prevented in their contacts with the faithful. In the first months of 1950 the number of arrested priests exceeded 400.

In addition to this, the government authorities interfere in the internal life of the Church, claiming, for example, to enter into the matter of the appointment of bishops and the provision of all ecclesiastical offices. In many dioceses the parish registers have been confiscated, and the authorities refuse to give certificates of baptism, of marriage, etc., even if they serve within the borders of the Republic. A large part of the major and minor seminaries have been occupied or confiscated. The government has supported or even inspired secessionist movements among the clergy, such as the Promoter Secretariat of the Slovenian Priests, adherents of the Liberation Front, whose official bulletin the Holy See has condemned.

Very grave is the condition of religious teaching. In the state schools religious instruction is formally abolished in the upper classes, and practically suppressed in the lower ones. Between 1945 and 1947 all Catholic elementary and secondary schools were moreover suppressed. Grave is the condition of the Catholic press, whose printing presses have all been confiscated.

Catholic associations no longer exist; they were suppressed by the bishops themselves, as soon as it was learned that the OZNA (secret police) had the order to compile the lists of the members of Catholic societies, which appeared as a clear sign of persecution. Likewise the Catholic charitable works, including the meritorious Caritas of Zagreb, have been suppressed. Very many nuns have been expelled from hospitals and care institutions, often of their own property.

Already on Sept. 20, 1945, in a collective letter to the faithful, the bishops lamented, among other things, the forced expropriation of the Church's possessions, without any compensation. The application of the agrarian reform to ecclesiastical properties in the years 1945-46, accompanied by the suppression of every government stipend or municipal contribution, has impoverished the parishes to the point of making the sustenance of the priests difficult, and the reconstruction of the churches damaged or destroyed during the war impossible, or even only of supplying them with the sacred furnishings looted or lost. Seminaries, insofar as they were not suppressed, and episcopal residences have been reduced to the harshest indigence. Enormous taxes are sometimes imposed on ecclesiastical buildings and properties, so as to make payment impossible; whence the pretext for driving out priests and religious and confiscating the few remaining goods. The confiscation of religious houses has continued without pause in the course of these years.

As regards the freedom of worship itself, it should be remembered that many churches have been closed or transformed into people's houses. In Herzegovina the Catholic inhabitants have been violently deported from their villages, where the churches were destroyed, to be transferred to regions inhabited by the heterodox, in which no church exists and without the priests being allowed to follow their own faithful. Moreover, because of the killing, imprisonment and exile of many priests, the exercise of worship has become impossible in a great number of churches, especially in Croatia.

The sacrament of Matrimony does not escape the anti-religious pressure. In the Yugoslav federal Republic civil marriage is obligatory, and only after it is it lawful to perform the religious rite. It is not rare that the contracting parties, after the civil marriage, are induced not to perform the religious one under the insinuation and open threat that the regime could not have confidence in one who insisted on wanting the sacred ceremony. The other Sacraments too, Baptism and Confirmation, and assistance to the sick are the object of this intimidating campaign.

The Yugoslav federal Republic is the only one, among the nations of Eastern Europe under the communist regime, that maintains diplomatic relations with the Holy See.

Pietro Palazzini

IV. ECCLESIASTICAL ORGANIZATION

The ecclesiastical organization of J. comprises 21 dioceses, of which the list is given here according to the Annuario pontificio of 1951:

1. Immediately subject

Archdioceses: Antivari, Bar; Belgrado, Beograd; Zara. Dioceses: Cattaro, Kotor; Fiume; Lavant, Maribor, Marburg; Lesina, Hvar; Lubiana, Ljubljana, Laibach; Ragusa,

Dubrovnik; Scopia, Skoplje, Üsküb; Sebenico, Šibenik; Spalato, Splits; Macarsca, Makarska; Veglia, Krk.

2. Metropolitan

a) Vrhbosna, Sarajevo, with the suffragans: Banjaluka, Mostar (with the united title of Duvno) and with the administration of the united sees of Marcana and Trebigne; b) Zagabria, Zagreb, Agram, with the suffragans: Crisio, Križevci, Körös, Kreutz (for Catholics of the Byzantine rite), Segna, Senj, Zengg, with the perpetual administration of Modrussa, Sirmio, Srijem (with the united title of Bosnia, Diakovar, Djakovo).

3. Bishoprics

Parenzo and Pola (united sees) is a suffragan of Gorizia and Gradisca in Italy.

4. Apostolic administrations

Bačka; Yugoslav Banat.

V. LITURGY

In Yugoslavia there existed and still persist several liturgical differences, concerning the rites themselves and the sacred languages. Besides the Byzantine-Slavic rite, in use — with ethnic and liturgical variants — among the dissident "Orthodox" and the Greek Catholics, and also among the Roman Catholics, especially Croats, there are found not a few liturgical peculiarities and varieties. The majority of Croats belong to the Roman-Latin rite, but already from the times of Sts. Cyril (d. 869) and Methodius (d. 885) the Roman-Slavic or Glagolitic rite also took root among them, spreading, through the centuries, with varying fortune and intensity almost everywhere where Catholic Croats lived.

In the Roman-Slavic rite the ceremonies of the Roman rite are performed in the Croatian recension of the Old Church Slavonic language, written in Glagolitic letters (v. GLAGOLITICA, SCRITTURA). At present this rite is practiced in the dioceses of Segna and Veglia (except the Cathedral), in many parishes of the Dalmatian dioceses and in the Croatian province of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis. In the final protocol of the Concordat with Yugoslavia of 25 July 1935, the Holy See confirmed the use of Glagolitic "in the extent and forms recognized by the pontiffs Leo XIII and Pius X" and "did not oppose" the possibility that the bishops might permit its extension "in parishes of Slavic language... wherever this corresponds to the unanimous desire of the faithful." The Concordat, however, was not ratified. Pius XI approved (9 March 1927) the new edition of the Roman-Slavic Missal in Latin characters; only in the canon is the old Glagolitic script also preserved. Glagolitic priests recite the Roman Breviary in Latin.

As for the Roman-Latin rite, the following peculiarities are to be noted: 1) the diocese of Zagreb had from its beginnings (1904) until 1800 its own proper rite, with interesting liturgical books; some remnants of the rite still endure here and there; 2) from time immemorial in several Croatian dioceses the Epistle and the Gospel were sung in Croatian at solemn Masses, and moreover the Croatian version of the Roman Ritual was in use, translated by B. Kašić and, in 1640, published by the S. Congregation of Propaganda Fide. Benedict XV (17 Apr. 1921) permitted these two liturgical uses to be extended to all the Croatian and Slovenian dioceses. The new official Croatian version of the Roman Ritual appeared at Zagreb (1929) and the Slovenian one at Ljubljana (1932).

Stefano Sakać

VI. LITERATURE

1. Croatian literature

From its very origins Croatian civilization received a Christian imprint that shaped its entire national and political-cultural physiognomy; therefore literature too, as part of its general culture, mirrors the religious sentiment deeply rooted in the soul of the people.

The beginnings of literature among the Croats are linked to the activity of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, who in the 9th century invented the Slavic (Glagolitic) script and conferred literary dignity upon an ancient Macedonian dialect, generally called Old Church Slavonic. The activity of the Slavic apostles was continued among the South Slavs by their disciples when they were expelled from Moravia. Other contemporary influences, especially for early Croatian literature, probably came from Macedonia through present-day Montenegro (the Croat V. Jagić, a famous Slavist [1838-1923], dealt in particular with the Cyrillo-Methodian questions, and his works are fundamental for these problems). The transition from Old Church Slavonic to the Croatian national language began to be felt as early as the 12th century; various prayer manuals were soon translated into the pure popular language. The Baška inscription (Baščanska ploča, ca. 1100) is perhaps the oldest monument of the Croatian national language.

Contemporaneously with this activity of translations, the first anonymous Croatian versifiers appear.

It should be noted that Croatian literature up to the literary revival is written in three dialects: Čakavian, Kajkavian and Štokavian (the three Croatian dialects are characterized by the interrogative pronoun "what": ča, kaj and što), and that it therefore has a regional character (the Croatian littoral with Istria, Dalmatia, Ragusa, Bosnia, Slavonia, northern Croatia). To religious poetry, written mostly in the Čakavian dialect and in Latin characters, is linked the Dalmatian-Ragusan period of Croatian literature and then that of the other regions. For its development three factors above all are decisive: the heritage of Croatian-Glagolitic literature, popular poetry and foreign influences, predominantly Italian and classical. One of the most interesting figures of this period is Marko Marulić of Split (1450-1524), philosopher, poet, theologian, painter, historian, a typical representative of an authentic Christian universality. His Judith marks the birth of artistic Croatian literature; it is an epic work of a heroic-religious character, inspired by the defense of the Christian world against the Turks. Moreover, under the name Marcus Marullus, he wrote several works in Latin, with which he went beyond the modest confines of his homeland: the poet's greatest effort is directed at teaching the Christian virtues.

Although the poets of the 16th century approach the joys of worldly life in their pastoral compositions (P. Zoranić, The Mountains; P. Hektorović, The Fishing), in their poems (N. Nalješković) and in their dramas (M. Držić, Dundo Maroje; A. Lučić, The Slave Girl), nevertheless they not only temper the somewhat light conception they have of life with a patriotic and social conscience, but, overcoming their own amorous disappointments, they ultimately spiritualize their poetry, turning to the infinite divine goodness.

The most remarkable writer of this time is the Benedictine Mavro Vetranović (1482-1576), who in his ecclesiastical dramas, religious poems and especially in the poem Piligrin deals with didactic-moral themes, allegorically explaining the Christian truths and the mysteries of the faith.

The subjects most often treated in Croatian literature of the Catholic restoration were the vanity of earthly life and the process that the sinner must undergo to obtain lost Grace. Particularly suitable examples for such themes were the prodigal son of the Bible (M. Magdalenić), the penitent Magdalene (S. Djordjić), the penitential psalms (S. Budinić), the four last things (G. Jurjević) and the Christian virtues in general (Kavanjin and others). The other poets of this era intensify the nationalizing work of consciousness, language and literature (B. Kašić, Jesuit and the writer of the first Croatian grammar [1604], J. Mikalja) and preach Crusades against the Turks (Vl. Menčetić, P. Zrinjski). But the Catholic restoration, alongside the program traced by the Council of Trent — aiming to imprint all public and private life with the Christian vision — had also imposed on the Croats the difficult task of bringing the Orthodox Balkans, and possibly the whole Russian East, closer to the Roman Church, and in this way uniting all Slavs in a single Catholic family; thus was born an abundant literature dealing with the Eastern question (J. Križanić, A. Kanižić). But the one who best personified this period is Ivan Gundulić (1588-1638 of Ragusa), the greatest poet of old Croatian literature; he composed works of deep religious inspiration pervaded by the sentiment of the nullity of worldly joys (Lament of the Prodigal Son), by the vanity of earthly glory and by the struggle against the Turks (Osman), surpassing all his predecessors and contemporaries with his spontaneous inspiration and vigorous dedication, enlivened by the dynamism of the sincerity of feeling. In this noble contest the Franciscans of Bosnia, Slavonia and Dalmatia particularly distinguished themselves (S. Matijević, P. Posilović, L. Ibršimović, I. Bandulović, I. Ančić), writers of works of Christian edification, among whom the first place is occupied by: Friar Matija Divković (1563-1631), with his popular tales of a didactic-religious character, written in pure popular language, aiming to keep alive the faith of the ancestors during the painful period of Turkish slavery; Friar Andrea Kašić-Miošić (1704-1760), poet and philosopher, who, in a well-conceived collection of popularizing poems, sought to give a golden legend of the heroism of the Slavic peoples (first of all the Croats) in their centuries-long struggle against the Crescent.

The Croatian literary and politico-cultural rebirth, already promoted by P. R. Vitezović, historian and poet (1652-1713), and completed in the first half of the 19th century through the work of T. Brezovački, P. Štos, I. Derkos, J. Drašković and L. Gaj, aiming to fuse the various provincial literatures and to establish the national unity of all the Croatian ethnic regions (Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia, Baška), thus laying the foundations of modern and contemporary Croatian artistic literature, was a movement consonant with Christian principles. The poet who best interpreted this organic program for the attainment of a vigorous spiritual community of his people was Ivan Mažuranić (1814-90), author of the heroic poem The Death of Smail-aga Čengić, a true jewel of Croatian literature; it is a poem wholly permeated with the most vivid religious sentiment: its author saw in Christianity the solution of metaphysical, moral and social problems. Among the great contemporaries of Mažuranić (D. Demetar, A. Nemčić, S. Vraz, M. Bogović, L. Botić, G. Martić), P. Preradović excelled for depth of thought and feeling and for the plasticity of his style; in the poem The First Men he expressed his philosophical-religious ideas, and in his other poems he developed his patriotism into Pan-Slavism, in order to arrive — according to his optimistic vision — at universal Christian brotherhood. The creator of the Croatian historical novel, A. Šenoa (1838-81), although he sometimes substitutes romantic fantasy for the pure Christian creed, nevertheless remained attached to the traditional faith of his forefathers, enthusing over ideal figures of priests and exalting religion as the guardian of truth and of the humanitarian spirit. After Šenoa's death, there follows a pleiad of notable Croatian realists, who offer a varied and interesting panorama of their homeland: Ka. S. Gjalski, called the Croatian Turgenev, describes the lesser nobility of his native province; E. Kuničić and V. Novak, realists and romantics at the same time, narrate the struggles between the morally pure life of the local civil homeland and the dangerous spreading of political passions and anti-national germs; J. Kozarac, a keen observer, is preoccupied with the moral torpor of rich and fertile Slavonia; A. Kovačić and J. Leskovar depict the life of the urban and rural bourgeois classes. Among the Muslim writers, Safvet beg Basagić and Edhem Mulabdić stand out. At the end of the 19th century there rises the rebellious figure of S. S. Kranjčević (1865-1908): this restless poet of universal sorrow who has opened the way «beyond good and evil» is still in a certain sense a Christian spirit. After the poetry of liberty of Harambašić, the artistry of Matoš and Vidrić, the dramas and novels of Ogrizović, Begović, Vojnović, Šimunović, Krleža and Cesarec, characterized by religious indifference, as well as by an ardent nationalism (or by socialism), there asserted themselves in the first decades of the 20th century Bishop A. Mahnić and the literary critics Lj. Maraković and P. Grgec, in order to stem the anti-religious currents, founding journals (Hrvatska Straža, Lečić, Hrvatska Prosvjeta) and mobilizing numerous young Croatian writers, with the aim of strengthening the Catholic spirit in all spheres of national life. Gjuro Arnold, who in the struggle between the «moderns» and the «conservatives» openly declares himself in favor of a Christian culture, is a poet who stands out for the spontaneity of his affective lyric; to the same group belongs the priest

J. Hranilović, a poet of simple and sincere feelings, to which a clear versification corresponds. A convert, Marin Sabić, although a product of the school of Kranjčević, later passes over to mysticism: his sincerity is moving, especially when he sings of quiet family life. Religious and patriotic feelings are at the center of the poetry of the Croatian bishop I. E. Šarić, who draws inspiration from biblical, classical and popular motifs. The greatest representative of contemporary Croatian poetry, Vladimir Nazor (1876-1949), a most prolific and many-sided poet, in opposition to «decadence» in literature, exalts the healthy energies of his forebears (Slavic Legends) and, after having given a halo to Croatian history (The Croatian Kings), he passes on to scrutinize his own spiritual world, ending by drawing inspiration from a clear Christian sentiment in the search for Franciscan humility. His political and literary collaboration with communism in the last years of his life (1942-49) can hardly be reconciled with the ideological conceptions upheld in his earlier works. In contrast with the vital poetry of Nazor, more calm, cordial and suggestive is D. Domjanić, who wrote in the sweet dialect of his native country delicate and musical poems, expressing the pure and simple faith of his fellow countrymen. Equal to Nazor in his artistic qualities, a profound analyst, M. Cihlar Nehajev (1880-1931) expressed in the monumental psychological novel The Wolves an elevated word on the mission of Croatia. A writer of witty aphorisms and ingenious sketches is F. Mažuranić. The representative of the modern novel of Catholic inspiration was V. Deželić senior. He wished, somewhat like Sienkiewicz, to exalt the heroic and Christian past, dedicating his activity besides to the Christian education of youth. He is followed by M. Kovačević, author of realistic novels of sound vigor, and by two literary critics inspired by Brunetière: C. Jakša and A. Petravić. Full of mystical ardor and better than all his contemporaries, perfect in form and biblical in content, is the priest I. Poljak, to whom the expansive poet-priest M. Pavelić draws near, masterfully combining the mystical element with the patriotic one. The impressionist current is represented by F. Galović, poet of the fields and woods. Moreover G. Kostelnik, D. Dujmušić, B. Škarica, F. Rožić, A. Čičić, P. Tvrtković are all poets of great importance in modern literature, but Z. Šprajcer surpasses them all with the melancholy harmonies of his poems full of longing for heavenly joys. All melody is the poetry of L. Knežević, serene and sincere that of J. Benac and of fra Bono Zec. Of flowing verse and spontaneous inspiration are the songs of T. Alaupović, who with Christian tolerance invites the Bosnian Croats of different religious confessions to concord. Delicate in body as in soul, Djuro Sudeta has left extremely suggestive verses; seraphically he loved life and transformed the regret of having to leave it soon into the joyous vision of eternal youth.

Contemporary lyric poetry is characterized by an intimate recollection and by the primacy of the spiritual element (T. Ujević, Lj. Wiesner, A. B. Šimić, V. Majer, V. Vlaisavljević, O. Delorko, A. Bonifačić, D. Cesarić, G. Krklec, S. Trontl, D. Tadjianović, F. Alfirević, N. Šop, A. Kokić, C. Škarpa, I. Horvat, I. Lendić, V. Kos and numerous others).

Contemporary Croatian prose seeks its own expression in a clear and constructive vision of the world, analyzing the psychological side and the problems of the country. As for drama, its development is linked to the founding of the national theater of Zagreb, for whose organization and function great credit is due to S. Miletić and A. Šenoa. The names of greatest prominence in the dramatic field are first of all I. Vojnović (Dubravačka Trilogija), then M. Begović and M. Krleža; alongside these mention should be made of M. Ogrizović (Hasanaginica), A. Muratbegović and others. The modern novella of Catholic inspiration is represented by V. Violić, V. Blažinčić, L. Katić, A. Matasović, N. Subotić, J. Andrić, but above all by fra E. Matić (pseud. Narcis Jenko), vigorous in conception, sure in conducting the action and a master of style. Beautiful pages on the life of the poet and saint of Assisi were left by the Franciscan soul of I. Kršnjavi, while V. Deželić junior takes as the subject of his novels the lives of Cyril and Methodius and St. Jerome, wishing to demonstrate the traditional attachment of the Croats to the Christian civilization of Rome. In the modern Croatian novel certain women also stand out: J. Truhelka, who introduces an autobiographical note into her works dedicated to the Christian education of youth; Š. Jurkić, an excellent talent from Bosnia, who has won over the female world with her novels and her legends of exquisite beauty and delicacy, enlivened by a high conception of moral and Christian principles; S. Košutić, a sensitive soul of fine taste, who with a wholly particular grace sees the highest goal of personal activity in intimate recollection with God; I. Brlić Mažuranić, who has left the best stories for children in all of Croatian literature. The realistic and psychological novella is cultivated by A. Nametak, V. Kaleb, L. Perković, and the novel by A. Bonifačić, Z. Remeta, M. Švel, E. Čolaković, S. Kolar, A. Nizeteo. But Mile Budak (1889-1945) surpasses all contemporary prose writers for his elemental creative force, for the richness of his language and for his contemplation of human existence within the perspective of eternal light.

Croatian literary life after its rebirth in the 19th century is closely tied to national institutions: Matica Hrvatska (1842), Jugoslavenska Akademija (1867), Društvo sv. Jeronima (1868), Društvo Hrvatskih Književnika and a few others. The principal literary journals: Hrvatska Kolo (review), Vienac, Savremenik, Hrvatska Prosvjeta, Hrvatska Revija. Among the best-known critics and historians literary figures include: M. Reščar, B. Vodnik, F. Fancev, B. Livadić, M. Nehajev, M. Kombol, A. Haler, A. Barac, Lj. Moraković.

2. Serbian literature

While the Croats oriented themselves toward Western-Catholic culture, the Serbs adhered to Orthodox-Byzantine civilization; they adopted the Cyrillic alphabet as their national script and retained the Old Slavic language in their literary production, which until the 18th century remained tied to the Church, so that literature became religious culture. Serbian literature begins with Sava Nemanjić (d. 1235), the founder of the autocephalous Serbian Church, who wrote a warm biography of his father Stephen. The Serbian religious and cultural life of this period is in general an expression of old Byzantine Orthodoxy, and literary production is reduced to the imitation of Sava in the composition of arid biographies of national "saints," of chronicles, translations and transcriptions of sacred texts.

Humanism and the Renaissance had no repercussion in Serbia and were ignored. Only the European Enlightenment, with the learned adventurer D. Obradović (1742-1811), would mark a turning point in Serbian culture and literature; he wrote various works of intellectual edification and left a highly interesting autobiography full of humanity and evangelical love. However, Church Slavonic was still retained in the poems of two good moralists, J. Vujić and L. Mušić, who regarded literature as a means of instruction. It would fall to Vuk S. Karadžić (1787-1864), a brilliant autodidact and famous collector of folk poetry, to banish from literature the old and hallowed (but by then incomprehensible) Slavic language and replace it with the living popular language; to consolidate it, he wrote a grammar for it, composed a dictionary, and translated the New Testament into it. In the spirit of Vuk's linguistic reform and in the spirit of Romanticism, which favored a particular Serbianness, P. P. Njegoš (d. 1851) composed his masterpiece and epic poem The Mountain Wreath, in which he described in a splendid manner the "St. Bartholomew's Night" of the Muslim Montenegrins. Less profound, but more spontaneous and warm-hearted, is B. Radičević, a lyric poet in his soul and under the inspiration of folk poetry, who created charming student songs, not devoid of a dark melancholy. In the lyrical and patriotic poetry of G. Jakšić are mirrored the poet's fiery nature and susceptibility. The best-known lyric poet of Serbian Romanticism is Z. J. Jovanović (1833-1904), a poet of delicate sensibility, profound intuition and easy word, who particularly succeeded in expressing the joys and sorrows of family life; his poems for children are no less appreciated.

The leader of Serbian realism, J. Ignjatović, is an ironic but indifferent observer of life; his novels with a social background lack depth of analysis in spiritual conflicts. He is followed by K. Trifković, a writer of highly successful humorous comedies, and M. Glišić, the creator of the realistic short story and a strenuous defender of patriarchal morality. A realist and romantic at the same time, L. Lazarović left few novellas, but among the most beautiful in Serbian literature; they are written in a perfect form and colored with a delicate lyricism. J. Veselinović also idealizes healthy and honest rustic life. Through numerous novellas and a humorous novel, S. Matavulj describes the Montenegrin and Belgrade world. Among the Serbian realists who look with jealous enthusiasm upon the old forms of life consecrated by tradition, lashing with mordant irony and satire the new progressive ideas, is included the greatest Serbian humorist, S. Sremac. S. Ranković, a realist and pessimist, with an elevated conception of the psychological novel, describes provincial life without closing his eyes to the moral and social evils it contains within itself. Without broad breaths, but serene and immediate, S. Čorović distinguished himself in his novellas as an excellent portrayer of national types and characters. M. Uskoković, of a sensitive nature and characterized by a typically Slavic sentimentalism, treated with success characters taken from the modern Serbian intellectual world. But as the most original and representative narrator of Serbian realism, B. Stanković (1876-1927) is to be remembered; born on the border of the Greek, Turkish and Slavic worlds, he succeeded in pouring into his characters all the defects and virtues deriving from the crossing of these different racial elements, in a predominant erotic note. P. Kočić was also an excellent storyteller, who had particular success in political and social satires. I. Ćipiko, enthusiastic about primitive life and an admirer of wild nature, describes with poetic lyricism the elemental forces of nature and of man. B. Nušić tried his talent in the most varied literary genres, but in the end — and excellently — he established himself in comedy. The reformer of modern Serbian poetry, V. Ilić, in love with classical beauties, introduces personal intimacy and elegance of form into his melodious poems, thereby freeing Serbian poetry from its excessive attachment to folk poetry. The Serbian nationalist A. Šantić became the most popular modern bard not only with his patriotic poems with a social and Christian background, but especially as a poet of nostalgic chords for youth that passes carrying with it the optimism and idealism of life. Two Serbian poets who assimilated the art of the West, turning their backs on the predominant Russian influence, were J. Dučić and M. Rakić.

3. Croatian and Serbian folk poetry

The pride of Serbian and Croatian literature is its very rich epic and lyric folk poetry. Although many elements are common to it, there is nevertheless a Croatian folk poetry (written in all three dialects) and a Serbian folk poetry. The first to inform European literary circles about it was Abbot Alberto Fortis in his Viaggio in Dalmazia (1774), who published the Croatian text and the Italian translation of the beautiful ballad Hasanaginica (The Wife of Hasan-aga), of Croatian origin (ikavian dialect group). A certain number were translated into Italian by N. Tommaseo in his anthology Canti toscani, corsi, greci, illirici (Venice 1841). Published in part in the 19th century, these songs immediately made the rounds of the world; indeed, after the classical poems of antiquity, nothing more spontaneous had perhaps ever been seen. The candor of the popular lyric poems finds only some analogy with certain passages of the Greek anthology. The general epic theme of the struggle against the Turks did not, however, give rise to a true and proper epic, ordered and complete, but to a series of separate songs, which celebrate the individual moments of this centuries-long struggle and are to be grouped according to their subject and principal characters into various cycles. Among the cycles of Serbian folk poetry, the most beautiful and most widespread is the one that deals with the Battle of Kosovo. The songs of the cycle of Kraljević Marko are all of frank and powerful inspiration, wild and gentle at the same time. His actions are informed by the ideas and feelings of his people, whose vices and virtues he possesses to a high degree. The songs whose subject is the deeds of the hajduks are imbued with a mixture of humanity and violence, of generous loyalty and bold deceits. It is the richest of all the cycles; particularly distinguished among them are those poems that sing the romantic-heroic exploits of the Uskoks of Senj (Segna), then those dedicated to the famous warrior Mijat Tomić and to Sibinjanin Janko.

The most complete collections are those of V. Karadžić, "Srpske Narodne Pjesme," 9 vols., Belgrade 1891 ff.; and those published by Matica Hrvatska under the title "Hrvatske Narodne Pjesme," 10 vols., Zagreb 1896 ff.

Franjo Trogrančić

4. Slovene literature

The culture of the Slovenes is closely connected with their Christianization ization. The first Christian missionaries among the Slovenes were, however, foreigners. The first written Slovene documents are the so-called Freising Monuments (971-1025 A.D.). They comprise a general formula of confession that was recited aloud by the priest during the sermon and that the people repeated, a sermon on sin and penance, and a formula of public general confession.

The second written Slovenian document belongs to the first half of the 15th century (Manuscript of Stična). Two other important Slovenian manuscripts, connected with the liturgy, date from the 15th century: the first is called the Manuscript of Celovec, after the place where it is preserved (Celovec is the Slovenian name of Klagenfurt); the second is the Manuscript of Cividale.

In the 16th century Luther's reform also reached the Slovenes. The Protestants did not care about the development of the Slovene language, but rather about the spread of their religion.

Primož Trubar (1508-86), a pupil of the bishop of Trieste Pietro Bonomo, was the main propagator of Protestantism among the Slovenes. In 1551 he published the first two Slovene books: the Abecedarium and the Catechismus. The books were printed in Gothic type. In 1555 Trubar reprinted the two books in Latin type. His subsequent output as well is religious in character.

Trubar wanted to give the Slovenes the greatest possible number of texts and perhaps for this reason did not pay too much attention to their form. Greater importance was instead given to form by a writer of broader vision and greater sensitivity: such was Sebastian Krej (1538-67). In 1566 he published his Bible for children. In the following year his Slovenian Postilla appeared, with which he contributed notably to an improvement in Slovenian orthography. Krej's linguistic reforms were given their full value in the most important work of the Protestant period: in Dalmatin's Bible. Jurji Dalmatin was born around 1547 and died in 1589. In 1576 he published his first work, Passion, to which he added a sermon translated from the German and a poem on the Passion. In 1578 he completed the translation of Holy Scripture. The entire Bible, which is his most important work, was published in 1584.

From this period the Slovenes have only one Catholic work, namely the Catholic Catechism, translated by Leonhard Pachernecker. The book was printed in 1574 in Graz.

Despite the intense cultural activity of the Protestants, Catholicism was too deeply rooted among the people to be uprooted. A notable figure in the Slovene Catholic field is the bishop of Ljubljana, Tomaž Hren (1560-1630). The Jesuit Janez Čandik composed the book

Gospels and Epistles, which came out in 1613. Janez Svetokrižki (Johannes a Sancta Cruce, 1645-1714) was a learned and renowned preacher, and great crowds listened to him. Finally, in the first half of the 18th century numerous Slovene priests devoted themselves to literary activity.

The end of the 18th century revived Slovenian literary life with its revolutionary events.

Il monaco p. Marko Pohlin (1735-1801) è degno di nota per la intensa attività letteraria. Tra i suoi lavori di carattere religioso si ricordano il Libro di preghiere e I

Lenten Sunday Gospels. Pohlin is also important for several of his grammatical works. He lays the foundations of secular Slovene poetry. Mention should also be made of Pohlin's monastic companion, Fr. Janez Damascen (in the world Feliks Dev, 1732-86).

Noteworthy is the literary work of the Jesuit Ožbalt Gutsman (1727-90), for his grammatical activity and for his sermons. To this period also belongs the first Slovenian playwright Anton Tomaž Linhart (1756-95), who wrote the comedy The giorno felice o Matiček si sposa, ispirata a Beaumarchais, ma piena di tipiche scene della vita campagnola slovena.

Leaving aside a few other names, mention should be made of the first poet of the Slovenian Renaissance, the Franciscan Father Valentin Vodnik (1758-1819), a publicist of merit. The Happy Carniolan, Rebirth of My Countrymen, My Monument, etc. are among his most notable poems. Historically important are the poems: Illyria Reborn and Illyria Redeemed.

In the 19th century the Slovenes adapted ever more to European culture. Indeed, in the climate of Romanticism the first poet of truly European stature emerged, France Prešeren. The first Romantics were still enthusiastic mainly about scientific research. It is therefore entirely natural that at the outset a linguist should predominate, namely Jernej Kopitar (1780-1844). He studied law and devoted himself to Slavic studies in Vienna. His first work is a grammar on a scientific basis: Grammar of the Slavic Language in Carniola, Carinthia and Styria, published in 1808 and 1809. The result of his research in the field of Old Church Slavonic is also noteworthy.

Part of the Slovenes lived during this period under French administration, in the so-called Illyria. It was then precisely that the Slovene language obtained free expansion in elementary and secondary schools. The other Slovenes, on the other hand, lived under Austria, which, wishing to win their sympathies, had established in 1811 the chair of Slovene at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Graz.

After a demanding series of grammars, dictionaries and linguistic studies, which emerged in the climate of the literary revival and of early Romanticism, the young generation began to turn its interest ever more toward poetry. In 1830 an anthology of poems entitled Ape slovena [The Slovene Bee] appeared. The anthology was published a second time in 1831, then again in 1832, 1834 and 1848. The editor and contributor of the anthology was Miha Kastelić (1796-1868), librarian of the Library of the Lyceum of Ljubljana. Among the principal contributors to the anthology Ape slovena was Matija Čop (1797-1835), thoroughly versed in the European literatures. But the greatest personality of the anthology was precisely the poet Francè Prešeren (b. in 1800 at Vrba in Upper Carniola, d. at Kranj in 1849). An accent autobiographical accent is presented by the love sonnets: Dei nostri padri, Sopra il sole, etc., which echo Petrarch's sonnets. The disappointment and sorrow experienced by the poet in the years when he came into contact with the harsh reality of life found expression in the immortal sonnets of sorrow: nostalgia for his beloved native village, fear of the dark future, an unequal struggle with adverse destiny, the desire for death. The second part of Prešeren's work begins with the printing of the Serto dei sonetti nell'Ilyrisches Blatt in 1834. With the garland of sonnets Slovene poetry was enriched by a true masterpiece. To honor the memory of his deceased friend Čop the poet wrote Il Battesimo presso la Saviaca. The work comprises an introduction in tercets (79 verses) and the rest in stanzas (424 verses) and recalls the Christianization of the Slovenes. From unrequited love the poet passes to treating of his poetic mission (Al poeta). Other imperishable poems of his are: Il marinaio, Madre illegittima, etc.

Prešeren was too original and new a spirit to be fully understood by his contemporaries; nevertheless the succeeding generations of poets have more or less drawn upon his work.

What Prešeren did for Slovene poetry was accomplished by his contemporary Anton Martin Slomšek (1800-62), who founded in 1851 the society «Družba Sv. Mohorja»: several of his poems are of popular inspiration.

1848 is a very important date in Slovene literary and political history. With the fall of Metternich's absolutism the censorship ceased. Many cultural associations arose and the technical-professional newspaper Notizie agricole ed artigiane saw the light. Being the only Slovene newspaper in existence, the Notizie began to publish literary, linguistic, ethnological, historical articles as well, etc. Among the contributors, mention is made of Jovan Vesel-Koseski (1798-1884), the priest Franc Svetličić (1814-81), Miroslav Vilhar (1818-71), and Luca Jeran (1818-96), a priest who wished to initiate a Slovene literature of clearly Catholic orientation.

Mention is also made of L. Toman (1827-70), who sings of liberty, the homeland and God, of Franc Cegnar (1826-91) who, among other things, translated Schiller's dramas into Slovene, of Matija Valjavec (1831-97) who wrote poetry under the strong influence of folk songs and wrote some of the most beautiful Slovene legends and fables. Janez Trdina was a critic, narrator and collector of folklore material. Anton Janežič (1828-69) was a man of letters who contributed notably to the Slovene national awakening.

The young generation meanwhile became more and more demanding in its national and cultural claims, while the «old ones» were instinctively more conservative and therefore contented themselves with expressing their views, loyal to the maxim «everything for religion, for the homeland and for the emperor». In literature the young rejected utilitarianism and the pedagogical tone, demanding a pure art, a severe and combative criticism in national questions. The head of this youthful current in the literary world was Fran Levstik (1831-87), who established himself as a narrator, placing himself in a certain sense at the head of Slovene literary life.

Levstik exercised a great influence on the literary circle of the so-called «Vajevci». Noteworthy among these is Simon Jenko (1835-69); his love poetry is delicate, his patriotic poems are full of sincerity; he is above all the poet of sorrow who rises to implore help and consolation from God. His poetic collection closes with an epic cycle (Tesoro, Sera d'inverno, etc.). His poem Avanti has become the Slovene national anthem. Fran Erjavec (1834-87) is a fine observer of nature. Among his tales are remembered: Il terribile burrone o il figliolo adottivo del boscaiolo, Non è tutto oro ciò che lucica. Josip Stritar (1836-1923) is one of the most remarkable personalities in Slovene literature, especially as a critic; he was the editor of the first exclusively literary newspaper Zvon (1870, 1876 to 1880). He educated the young generation. As a writer he oscillated between romanticism and realism. Among his tales is remembered Il signor Mirodolski, a kind of Goldsmith's parson Wakefield transplanted onto Slovene soil.

Josip Jurčič (1844-81) is the classic of the Slovene folk tale. His writing Serata fra i cacciatori al ghiro characterizes the romantic-realistic tendency in Slovene literature. His tales were subsequently interwoven with historical motifs (Il castello di Rojinje, Il soldato del monastero, etc.). His novel Il decimo fratello is also remembered, as well as the drama Veronika da Desenice.

In the second half of the 19th century the discord between the young and the old Slovene generation sharpens and in a certain sense two literary currents are formed; but between the two currents there are points of intersection, as with the priest and poet Simon Gregorčič (v.). The young men of letters founded in 1881 the review Ljubljanski Zvon (The Bell of Ljubljana). Almost simultaneously the review Dom in Svet (The House and the World, 1888-1945) began to be published in Ljubljana, a newspaper intended for the people, but which later began to compete with the Ljubljanski Zvon. In this period the activity of two publishing organizations is very intense: the Mokovjeva družba (Society of St. Hermagoras), founded by Bishop Martin Slomšek, and the Slovenska matica (Ape slovena) with its excellent yearbooks of historical, philological and cultural studies.

The successor of Janežič and Stritar as organizer of Slovene literary life is Frančišek Levec (1864-1916). Of Janko Kersnik (1852-97), the Lettere domenicali, the Riflessioni di Quaresima, La gente di Lutero, Morte in campagna, I due assessori, etc., are remembered.

Ivan Tavčar (1851-1925), a liberal, felt especially attracted by the Lutheran period, which serves him as a background in the work Vita vitae meae (1882). He also found a source of inspiration in his native environment. In the novel Cuori morti Tavčar describes contemporary society. Tavčar's best artistic abilities are found in his two last works: Fiori d'autunno (1917) and La cronaca di Vistoko (1919). He also wrote many novellas, tales and essays. Fran Detela (1850-1926) is the author of realistic tales, novels, satires and comedies. Fran Govekar (1871-1949) forms the bridge of passage from realism to naturalism in Slovene literature. His major works are Sull'abisse and the novel Alba. Anton Aškerc (1856-1912) is the greatest Slovene epic poet. Of him are remembered Ballate e romanze and the Poesie nuove.

Also worthy of note is the poet and priest Anton Medved (1869-1910), an excellent lyric and dramatic poet. He belonged to the group of Catholic poets who contributed to the literary review Dom in svet. To the same group belongs also the priest Mihael Opeka (1871-1936). Many of his poems arose under the influence of his stay in Rome. Then the priest J. E. Krek (1865-1917) is remembered. His best tales are: Dalla vita nuova and Le tre sorelle.

Slovene literature received a great impulse from the group of the so-called Slovenska moderna, whose leading exponents are: Ivan Cankar, Oton Župancič, Dragotin Kette and Josip Murn-Aleksandrov. The work of Cankar (1876-1918) is identified with the affirmation of Slovene literature on a truly European level. With him the Slovene language attained remarkable expressive vigor. A writer preoccupied with modern social problems, an enemy of all hypocrisy, he emancipated himself ever more from every narrow content-based approach and felt national and religious values to an increasing degree. From this point on it would be impossible to cite all the most notable names of Slovene literature. O. Župancič, the greatest modern Slovene poet, who echoes in a highly original manner certain notes common to Western lyric poetry of the early twentieth century, felt deeply the fascination of youthful memories and the bitterness of life. D. Kette and J. Murn-Aleksandrov were two lyric poets of the highest value, who died at a young age. Among the most notable exponents of modern Slovene literature one may further recall, among very many others, V. Molé, in whose work a return to classical taste takes shape; St. Majcen, playwright, poet and narrator; the expressionist J. Lovrenčič; the narrators I. Pregelj and F. Bevk, as well as Izidor Cankar, a critic of notable value; in M. Kranjec and T. Seliškar a naturalistic, materialistic and social orientation is evident. In the decades between the two world wars the number of translations from foreign literatures increased notably. The war years interrupted this happy cultural development. Under the new regime established in J. literature too has been increasingly subjected — as in the other countries of Eastern Europe — to the pressure of the ideology now dominant.

VII. ART

In the regions that make up the Yugoslav state, artistic manifestations assumed very different aspects in the past, according to political vicissitudes and geographical position.

The very close relations that the art of the Dalmatian coast had with Italy, and particularly with Venice, have been treated separately (v. DALMAZIA, arte).

1. Croatian art

The centuries-long development of Croatian art can be followed by dividing and studying it according to three main zones: Dalmatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Pannonian Croatia between the Sava and Drava rivers.

Bosnia-Herzegovina was in the past, from the artistic standpoint, poorer; nevertheless, numerous remains of early Christian basilicas are to be noted (e.g., Zenica) and, alongside these, very many funerary monuments, called steći or mramori, from the period preceding the Turkish occupation.

In Pannonian Croatia, after the coming and the Baptism of the Croats, art developed in various forms over several centuries, under the influence of the Catholic West. Artistic monuments before the Gothic period are scanty, above all because of the political turmoil of the era and the continuous wars against the Ottoman invader. Romanesque remains and remains from the period of the ornamental interlace decoration characteristic of the age of the Croatian dynasty (9th-11th centuries) are found in various parts. Of the primitive cathedral of Zagreb (late 11th century) no traces remain, these having disappeared entirely. The Gothic period created several monuments of great value, among them the Cistercian abbey of Topusko, the church of St. Mark in Zagreb, restored to its former splendor in 1937, and numerous other churches (Lepoglava, Remete, Crikvenica, etc.). The Renaissance passed without leaving lasting traces, and so the Baroque follows the Gothic without transitions. From this period are the church of St. Catherine in Zagreb (17th century) and many parish and convent churches; worthy of note is that of Belec. Much later Croatia too went through a period of unhappy Neoclassicism, to which Bishop Strossmajer reacted, among others, by indicating, after long studies, the monumental cathedral of Djákovo, where he happily fused the Romanesque with the Byzantine, a symbol of the union between the Catholic West and the Orthodox East. Also noteworthy from this period is the cathedral of Sarajevo (architect Vancaš).

Among the ancient paintings, the frescoes of the cathedral of Zagreb (13th century) stand out, and among the more recent ones those of the churches of Belec and Hrašćina (painters: L. Margrot, B. Bobić and the most accomplished J. Ranger). The transition from the ancient to the modern is represented by the painters V. Karas (d. 1858) and F. Quiquerez (d. 1893). There follow painters of worth such as V. Bukovac (1855-1922), an excellent portraitist, C. Medović (1859-1920), known for his seascapes and his historical and religious subjects, B. Čikoš (1864-1931), of academic manner, O. Iveković (d. 1932), with historical subjects, I. Tišov (d. 1924), with rustic motifs, M. Cl. Crnčić (d. 1930), a skilled landscape painter, as well as F. Kovačević (d. 1929), and S. Raška (d. 1906). With more modern concepts and technique, J. Račić (d. 1908) and M. Kraljević (d. 1913) later established themselves, both cut off prematurely, to whom V. Bečić (1886-1950) may also be added.

Several contemporary Croatian painters have established themselves positively even beyond the borders of their homeland, exhibiting with success in the various European capitals. To be noted are the most eminent: E. Vidović, J. Kljaković (his are the splendid musicians on the northern façade of the College of St. Jerome in Rome), T. Kouman, M. Uzelac, Lj. Babić, K. Hegedušić, J. Miše, O. Mujadžić, and then the even younger ones with very modern tendencies: Režek, Tiljak, Šimunović, Parać, Motika, Likan, Kopić, Crnobori, Plančić, Postružnik, Šimat, Dučmelić, etc.

In sculpture, after I. Rendić (1849-1932), the Nestor of modern Croatian sculpture, there follow several sculptors of strong stature, such as R. Frangeš-Mihanović, R. Valdec, I. Kerdić, T. Rosandić, F. Kršinić, A. Augustinčić, but above all of them rises the great figure of Ivan Meštrović (b. 1883), sculptor and architect of world fame.

In the field of modern Croatian architecture, worthy of note is V. Kovačić, whose best work is the church of St. Blaise in Zagreb.

In Croatian music, first of all the very rich musical folklore stands out, collected with great care by various musicians (F. Kuhać, V. Žganec, B. Širola, I. Matečić). Since 1827 Croatia has had its Conservatory in Zagreb, and since 1846 its Opera House. Since 1906 the journal of sacred music Sveta Cecilija has been published. Among the best Croatian musicians are enumerated: Lukačić (16th century), V. Lisinski (d. 1854), composer of the first Croatian opera Ljubav i zloba, performed in Zagreb in 1846, F. Pintarić, I. Zajc, author of some of the most popular Croatian operas, Bersa, Odak, Lučić, J. Gotovac, author of the most renowned modern Croatian opera ("Ero", The bridegroom fallen from heaven), performed in almost all the capitals, K. Baranović, B. Papandopulo, K. Kolb and others.

2. Slovenian art

In Slovenia the first artistic monuments, beyond those of the Roman period, date from the 10th century. These have a primitive character, as, for example, the so-called Vojvodski prestol ("Ducal throne") in Carinthia. This character is maintained until the beginning of the Gothic; an exception is the Cistercian basilica of Stična. The period

The Gothic period is marked by monuments of great value, for example, the church of the Minorites at Ptuj (Petrovium), unfortunately destroyed today. From the same period, artistic churches remain in various parts of Slovenia (Crngrob); however, the true development of Slovenian art occurred only during the Baroque, of which almost the entire city of Ljubljana offers a magnificent example, with its majestic cathedral and many other churches and palaces. In the age of Neoclassicism a period of decline is observed, lasting until the second half of the nineteenth century, when a revival in the artistic field in general is recorded. The best-known names of this period are: Fabiani, a follower of Viennese Secessionism, and J. Plečnik, a distinguished architect and modern leader of the school, appreciated also abroad (restoration of the Hradčany in Prague).

In Slovenian painting and sculpture as well, a development is observed that moves from the primitive toward ever more artistic forms. Already in the second half of the fourteenth century the Slovenian painter I. Akvila of Radgona painted religious pictures of value for the churches of his region. With the Baroque, Slovenian painting reached its full development, to which the famous Layer school of Kranj contributed a great deal, with frescoes and canvases scattered throughout Slovenia. With the national awakening of the nineteenth century came the artistic one as well, with more modern directions through the work of A. Ažbe (1862-1905) and R. Jakopič, who is the foremost exponent of Slovenian artistic activity in the twentieth century. Among the moderns the best known are: Jama, I. Grohar, and a long array of young artists, Š. Šantel, T. Kralj, B. Jakac, M. Maleš, Vidmar N. and D., Trstenjak, and others.

Sculpture kept pace with sacred architecture. Among the sculptors of recent decades, L. Gangl and I. Zajec are well known, along with many disciples of the Croatian Meštrović, such as Loboda, Gorše, Dolinar, the Kralj brothers and T. Kos.

Slovenian music is rich as well. Slovenian national songs please by their liveliness and warmth. The Slovenian composer J. Petelin (Gallus, 16th century) stands on a par with his contemporaries. For several decades there has also existed a Ljubljana Opera Theater, with a highly esteemed orchestra. Among the musicians, mention should be made of Garbić, Hajdrich, Ipavec, Jenko, Aljaš, Hladnik, Hribar, and the priests Satner, Premrl, Kimovec, etc.

3. Serbian art

In Serbia (Rascia, Macedonia) the greatest artistic flowering in the Middle Ages coincides with the political power under the Nemanjić dynasty. The region, situated on the border of the Byzantine world, is dominated by that culture, not without Western infiltrations through the Dalmatian coast. The numerous monastic buildings that arose there between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries show very strong Eastern influences, especially in Macedonia, where in the iconography of the churches the Byzantine cruciform type with five domes prevails (church of Staro Nagoričane, 1312-13); these influences are lesser in Rascia, where the longitudinal plan is more frequent (monastery of Studenica, end of the twelfth century; church of Žiča, early thirteenth century; church of Gračanica, completed before 1321, in imitation of the church of the Holy Apostles in Thessalonica) and where Western forms prevail in the church of Visoki Dečani, built by a friar, Vito of Kotor, in 1327. The various influences, however, are elaborated with particular characteristics: of compactness of masses, despite the iconographic complications, and of greater upward thrust, through the firm imposition of the domes on square bases. Sculpture was entirely subordinated to architecture, being limited to the decoration of ornamental bands with interlace, animals and human heads; here too Byzantine influences prevail in the zone closest to Macedonia.

Of exceptional importance are the documentary records of the painting of this period, some of which, discovered about twenty-five years ago by Okunev, have shed new light on the knowledge of Byzantine-Slavic culture. The cycles of frescoes of the monasteries of Mileševa (1236) and Sopoćani (ca. 1250), for their lively impressionistic technique and for the dramatic animation of the scenes, skillfully composed with a sure sense of space, are linked to that Neo-Hellenistic movement which already in the twelfth century spread from Macedonia (convent of Nerez) to the center of Russia (Vladimir). A crescendo of dramatic intensity is found in other frescoes of the fourteenth century (at Gračanica, frescoes with illustrations of the liturgical calendar; at Staro Nagoričane, of 1317, where the signature of the Greek Eutychios is found; at Markov Manastir, where local artists render those characteristics with popular vigor); while the older ones of the convents of Studenica and Žiča (twelfth century) reflect instead the traditional orientation of the age of the Komnenoi.

This splendid flowering is cut short by the fall of Serbian independence in the battle of Kosovo (1389), which is followed by the long Turkish domination. Painting, having taken refuge in the convents, became a traditional craft; the architecture of the new rulers, who had intense building activity and left in Macedonia (Skopje, minarets of Sultan Murad, of 1430, and of Gazi Isa Beg, of 1476) and in Bosnia (Sarajevo, the so-called Bey's mosque, of 1529) some of the most important Islamic monuments of Europe, has no relation to local forms.

The first attempts at a rapprochement with European art in Serbia began in the north, in the region of Vojvodina, at the end of the eighteenth century, and became more pronounced in the nineteenth century together with the movements for political independence. Neoclassicism and Romanticism penetrated from the West without leaving notable works, and without a school with local characteristics being established. The best known among modern painters, U. Predić, painted religious subjects and portraits. A very renowned portraitist was also P. Jovanović. At the end of the nineteenth century N. Petrović, B. Popović, Glišić, Stefanović and Lj. Ivanović, an etcher, established themselves. Among the sculptors, Ubavčić, Jovanović and Roksandić are worthy of mention. After the First World War a great influence was exerted by the Paris school, which manifested itself especially in P. Dobrović and M. Milunović. Before the Second World War, Šumanović, Ličenovski, Martinovski, Bijelić, Radović distinguished themselves, and among contemporary architects especially Brašovan, Milić, Zloković, Kojić.

In the musical field, in the nineteenth century, Stanković and Mokranjac distinguished themselves, as composers and collectors of folk songs. Among the best known contemporaries are P. Konjović, Hristić, Paunović, Manajlović, Tajčević.

Emma Zocca.

VIII. SCHOOL SYSTEM

Yugoslav education is directed by six Ministries of Public Education, located in Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia. These aim to completely eliminate illiteracy through vocational courses, people's universities and special courses for illiterates, of whom 4,806 are in Bosnia-Herzegovina and 2,109 in Macedonia.

The teaching of Marxism is compulsory in all Yugoslav schools and constitutes the basis of education. The Yugoslav Constitution takes into account the rights of ethnic minority groups, allowing them to found "ethnic minority schools."

Yugoslav education is divided into Serbian, Slovenian, Croatian, Montenegrin, Macedonian and Bosnian-Herzegovinian and is compulsory, free and based on the principle of coeducation.

Preschool education comprises 413 nursery schools; school education comprises 9,920 elementary schools, 2,903 middle schools, 87 teacher-training schools, 265 scientific-track lyceums, 321 agricultural schools, 29 industrial technical institutes and 125 vocational middle schools. Post-school education comprises the "schools for apprentices," which are compulsory for industrial workers. These schools hold "courses for work innovators" and "courses for shock workers." Higher education is provided in the Universities of Belgrade, Zagreb, Ljubljana, Sarajevo, Subotica and Skoplje, in the 2 higher schools of pedagogy, in 2 academies of fine arts, in the Academy of Music, in the School of Commercial Sciences and in the State Conservatory.

The education of the Catholic secular clergy takes place in 10 major seminaries and 12 minor seminaries; the education of the Catholic clergy of the Slavic rite takes place in the Seminary-boarding school of Zagreb. - See plates XXXIX-XL.

Miroslav Stumpf