Hans von Ungnad | |
|---|---|
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| Born | November 19, 1493 |
| Died | December 27, 1564(1564-12-27) (aged 71) |
| Other names | Ivan Ungnad |
| Occupation | 16th-centuryHabsburg nobleman |
Hans von Ungnad (1493–1564) was 16th-centuryHabsburg nobleman who was best known as founder of theSouth Slavic Bible Institute established to publish Protestant books translated to South Slavic languages.
In 1540 Ungnad had been appointed on the position of Captain General of Lower Austria (modern-day Slovenia),Croatia and other Habsburg estates.[1] The main threat to the territory he was responsible for was theOttoman Empire and its forces inOttoman Bosnia.[1] He believed that the best way to confront it was to spread theProtestantism to the very gates ofIstanbul.[2] In 1555 he refused to execute anti-Protestant measures requested byFerdinand I, resigned his position and opted for voluntary exile in Germany.[3]
TheSouth Slavic Bible Institute[4] (German:Südslawische Bibelanstalt)[5] was established in Urach (modern-dayBad Urach in Germany) in January 1561. Baron Ungnad was its owner and patron.[6] Ungnad was supported byChristoph, Duke of Württemberg, who allowed Ungnad to use his castle (former convent) of Amandenhof near Urach[7] as a seat of this institute.[8]
Baron Ungnad was interested in Protestantproselytism propagated byPrimož Trubar and attended the session of German theologians held in Tübingen in 1561.[7] At that occasion Ungnad, probably instructed by Duke Christoph, agreed that he would take responsibility for publishing Slavic books.[7]
Within the institute, Ungnad set up a press which he referred to as "the Slovene, Croatian and Cyrillic press" (German:Windische, Chrabatische und Cirulische Trukherey).[6] The manager and supervisor of the institute wasPrimož Trubar.[6] The books they printed at this press were planned to be used throughout the entire territory populated by South Slavs between theSoča River, theBlack Sea,[9] andConstantinople.[10] Until 1565 were published thirty titles with 25.000 copies. Today exist only 300 books. Translations of Bible texts were inspired by glagolitic tradition. Thirteen books were printed inglagolitic, nine inLatin, and eight inCyrillic script.[11] Trubar had idea to use their books to spread Protestantism among Croats and other South Slavs[12] and even among Muslims in Turkey.[13] For this task, Trubar engagedStjepan Konzul Istranin andAntun Dalmatin as translators forCroatian andSerbian.[14]
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