Josip Runjanin | |
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Јосиф Руњанин | |
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| Born | Josif Runjanin (1821-12-08)8 December 1821 |
| Died | 20 January 1878(1878-01-20) (aged 56) |
| Occupations |
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| Spouse | Otilija Peraković |
| Children | 1 |
| Awards | •Military Long Service Crosses for Officers (1st Class) •War Medal 1873 |
Josip Runjanin (8 December 1821 – 20 January 1878), bornJosif Runjanin (Serbian Cyrillic:Јосиф Руњанин), was an Austrian career military officer, politician and composer ofSerb origin best known for composing the melody of theCroatiannational anthem,Lijepa naša domovino ("Our Beautiful Homeland"), in 1846.
Runjanin received his education inVinkovci and later inSremski Karlovci. As a young man, he served in theImperial Austrian Army as a cadet in the town ofGlina, along theMilitary Frontier with theOttoman Empire. While serving in Glina, Runjanin attained the rank of captain and became proficient in playing thepiano. He is known to have composed only a handful of works, most famously the musical accompaniment toAntun Mihanović's patriotic poemHorvatska domovina ("Croatian Homeland"). The piece, under the titleLijepa naša domovino, was selected by popular acclaim as the anthem of the Croatian people at an economic exhibition inZagreb in 1891. One of itsstanzas was eventually integrated into the national anthem of theKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and the piece later served as the national anthem of several Croatian polities, including that of modern-day Croatia.
A veteran of theSecond andThird Italian War of Independence, Runjanin ultimately attained the rank ofcolonel, and served for two years in theCroatian Parliament beginning in 1865. Following his retirement from military service in 1876, he relocated toNovi Sad, where he died, penniless, two years later at the age of 56. Several schools in Croatia bear his name, including the Elementary Music School of Josip Runjanin in Vinkovci.
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Runjanin was born in the town ofVinkovci, in what was then theAustrian Empire, on 8 December 1821 to Ignjatije and Sofija Runjanin.[1] He was an ethnicSerb,[2][3][4] and was baptized in theEastern OrthodoxChurch of Pentecost in Vinkovci on 12 December [O.S. 30 November] 1821.[1] Runjanin's baptismal record documents hisgiven name asJosif, the Serb variant ofJoseph. His name is often incorrectly spelledJosip, theCroat variant of the name.[4] Runjanin's family traced its origins to the village ofRunjani, nearLoznica, before fleeing to the Austrian Empire to escape theOttomans.[5] His father was amilitary engineer, and his grandfather was an Eastern Orthodox priest serving parishes inKuzmin andŠid.[6]
Runjanin completed most of hisprimary andsecondary education in Vinkovci. In 1837, he relocated toSremski Karlovci to complete his fifth and final year of secondary school. He was a diligent student and excelled academically. He entered theImperial Austrian Army on 26 December 1838, as a recruit of the Third Border Infantry Regiment inOgulin, on theMilitary Frontier with the Ottoman Empire. Runjanin's relocation to Ogulin appears to have been motivated by his desire to join his father, who was then serving as an officer in the regiment. On 1 August 1839, the young Runjanin was promoted to the rank of regimentalcadet, and on 1 May 1840, he was transferred to the Tenth Border Infantry Regiment inGlina; his brothers, Petar and Stefan, were also cadets. Runjanin's father was transferred to Glina around the same time, and the scholar Igor Mrkalj speculates that he had taken his son with him. In Glina, Runjanin's father became active in the Glina Illyrian Circle, a local branch of the Pan-Slavic cultural organizationMatica ilirska, alongside the famed military commanderJosip Jelačić, the poetsPetar Preradović,Ivan Trnski andOgnjeslav Utješenović, and the clericJosip Marić [hr].[7][a]
The next two years proved to be a very turbulent period in Runjanin's life. His mother died on 22 November 1847, and the following year, he was mobilized to help quell theRevolutions of 1848 in the Italian states, serving with distinction. On 16 January 1848, he was promoted to the rank ofsecond lieutenant; on 1 May, to first lieutenant; and on 16 September,senior lieutenant. On 1 September 1849, he was promoted tocaptain, second class, and on 8 April 1857, to captain, first class. Two years later, he was mobilized to fight for Austria in theSecond Italian War of Independence.[8] On 21 July 1861, a certain "Captain Runjanin" organized a torch-light procession through the town ofTopusko to commemorate the visit of the Serbian linguistic reformerVuk Karadžić. The event caused great consternation amongst localHabsburg officials, who regarded it as an act of subversion, and led to several of the officers who organized the event either being transferred or having their pay docked. It is unclear whether Runjanin was the "Captain Runjanin" in question.[9]
In 1864, at the age of 43, Runjanin married Otilija Peraković, the daughter of retired captain Toma Peraković. On 27 May 1865, he was one of four representatives of the First Banate Regiment elected to theCroatian Parliament. Although none of the four are known to have delivered speeches in the legislature, they did cast votes on at least one occasion. Runjanin was promoted to the rank of major on 24 April 1866, and shortly thereafter, he was mobilized to take part in another military conflict in Italy, which would come to be known as theThird Italian War of Independence. His parliamentary mandate ended after the Parliament was dissolved in 1867. The following year, Runjanin's wife gave birth to a daughter named Wilhelmina.[10]
On 16 July 1868, Runjanin was transferred to the Ninth Border Infantry Regiment inSremska Mitrovica. Shortly thereafter, his wife fell ill and relocated toGraz to recover and be closer to her parents, taking their daughter with her. On 10 September 1870, Runjanin was transferred once again, this time to the 68th Infantry Regiment in Carlsburg. He served there until 26 April 1871, when he was promoted to the rank oflieutenant colonel and transferred to the 31st Infantry Regiment in Hermannstadt (modern-daySibiu,Romania). On 1 November 1872, he requested a transfer and a leave of absence. After a year-long absence, he was transferred to the 16th Infantry Regiment inBjelovar on 1 November 1873. On 20 April 1875, he was appointed reserve commander, and went into retirement the following year, on 1 April 1876.[10] Over the course of his career, he had received theMilitary Long Service Crosses for Officers (1st Class) and theWar Medal 1873.[11]
Runjanin's father died on 10 November 1876, and he subsequently settled inNovi Sad, dying there ofdropsy on 20 January 1878.[b] Despite a generous militarypension, Runjanin was impoverished at the time of his death. His funeral took place two days later at the Eastern Orthodox cemetery next to Novi Sad's Church of the Dormition, and afterwards, his belongings were sold at auction for a little over 20florin.[11]
Runjanin belonged to the group of so-called "Illyrian composers", whom the scholars Robert A. Kann and Zdeněk V. David describe as "gifted amateurs, at best trained by the choirmaster at the local cathedral."[12] He was not a particularly prolific composer, leaving behind only a handful of works.[13] In 1844, he composed the melody to the songLjubimo te naša diko ("We Love You, Our Pride"), whose lyrics had been written by Ivan Trnski in honour of Josip Jelačić.[14]
Runjanin's most famous composition was the melody of what would become the Croatiannational anthem,Lijepa naša domovino ("Our Beautiful Homeland"). He is traditionally reputed to have composed the melody in Glina, on thepiano of a merchant named Petar Peleš, in 1846. Prior to thebreakup of Yugoslavia, this piano was kept at a branch ofZagreb'sCroatian History Museum called the Museum of Serbs in Croatia.[13] It is now on permanent display at the Museum of the Peasants' Revolt inGornja Stubica. However, the fact that the piano was crafted in 1860—some fourteen years after Runjanin composed his melody—undermines the notion that it was composed using this particular instrument.[15] The lyrics to the piece had originally been written more than a decade earlier by the lawyerAntun Mihanović, as part of a poem entitledHorvatska Domovina ("Croatian Homeland").[16][c] In composing the melody, Runjanin was heavily inspired by theariaO sole più ratto fromGaetano Donizetti's operaLucia di Lammermoor.[13] It is unclear whether Runjanin selected the fourstanzas from the fourteen in Mihanović's original poem, though according to the scholars Aleksandar Pavković and Christopher Kelen, "it is certain that ... Mihanović ... did not make the selection." They continue, "It is unlikely that he even knew the selection had been made or that his poem had been transformed into a song."[16] Aharmony based on Runjanin's composition was developed by Josip Vendl later that year, and in 1861, it wasarranged for choir byVatroslav Lichtenegger.[13]
Several sources also attribute to Runjanin the melody of the Serbian patriotic songRado ide Srbin u vojnike ("The Serb Gladly Joins the Army"), whose lyrics had been written by a cleric fromPančevo namedVasa Živković.[13][17][d] The piece's fourth section later inspired a portion ofPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky'sSlavonic March, which was composed amidst theSerbian–Ottoman Wars of 1876–1878 and drew heavy inspiration from Serbian folk music.[20]
In 1891,Lijepa naša domovino was selected by popular acclamation as the national anthem of the Croatian people at an exhibition of the Croatian–Slavonian Economic Association in Zagreb, where it was performed by a choir of 700 singers. Other candidates at the time includedBože živi byPetar Preradović andHrvatska himna by thelibrettistHugo Badalić.[21] In 1905, the Association of Croatian Singing Societies sent a proposal for the Parliament to proclaim it the national anthem, but they never considered the proposal. Following the creation of theKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in December 1918, the first stanza ofLijepa naša domovino was made the second stanza of thenew state's composite national anthem.[e] After the creation of theAxispuppet state known as theIndependent State of Croatia in April 1941, thefascistUstaše regime selectedLijepa naša domovino as its national anthem. Conversely, thecommunist-ledCroatian Partisans also used it as their own, unofficial anthem. In 1972, it was declared the anthem of theSocialist Republic of Croatia, and retained this status after Croatia'sdeclaration of independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.[22]
The music historian Catherine Baker cites Runjanin as "one of the strongest connections between the Serb and Croat peoples".[17] There are several schools in Croatia named after him, most notably the Elementary Music School of Josip Runjanin in Vinkovci.[23] In April 2021, ahead of the 200th anniversary of Runjanin's birth, the Institute for the Development of Relations Between Croatia and Serbia announced it would launch an initiative to restore and maintain Runjanin's gravestone. A similar inter-governmental initiative had been launched by the City of Zagreb in 2002, but fell apart after the Croatian side failed to secure the cooperation of Novi Sad's municipal government.[24] In October 2024, a Serb cultural centre named after Runjanin was inaugurated in Glina by several members of the Croatian Parliament and a representative of Croatianprime ministerAndrej Plenković.[25]
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