Milorad Medini in the literary magazin »Glasnik Matice Dalmatinske«

Abstract

Literary historian Milorad Medini published In 1903. in the Zadar — literal magazin Glasnik Matice dalmatinske — an article about the Dubrovnik poet Paskoje Antun Kazali (1815—1894). In the same issue of the magazine he published also an article which was polemic in character and was related to Medini's book entitled History of Croatian Literature in Dalmatia and Dubrovnik. I, 16th century, Zagreb, 1902. Medini was of the opinion that Kazali despite some of his short-comings was unduly neglected since as no other poet in Dubrovnik mirrored the life and the time accurately. Although Medini exaggerated Kazali's value one couldn’t dismiss Medini’s remarkable evaluation of the quality of life and works of the unhappy and distracted »man of letters«. The second article by Medini was a replica to negative judgements expressed by Branko Drechsler, Radivoje Vrhovec and Tihomir Ostojić related to Medini's interpretations of the history of Dubrovnik and Dalmatian literature in the 16th century. Two different opinions about the study of the literary history and literature have thus been voiced. Specially disputable were the very beginnings prior to the beginnings proper of the Croatian literature as well as the physical and cultural links between the parts of the »dispersed homeland«. Tomo Matić fits perfectly into the dispute-context about Medini's book. Made appeared in the same issue of the Glasnik Matice dalmatinske with his book review supporting Medini’s activities and conclusions he had reached in his book, he even sided with the opinions of the Dubrovnik historian, held his interpretations and conclusions to be right. Nevertheless he underlined some disputable points in the literary history which definitely opened up new possibilities for the novel diachronic researches.