Matija Zemljič | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1873-01-25)January 25, 1873 |
| Died | July 26, 1934(1934-07-26) (aged 61) |
| Occupations | Roman Catholic priest and poet |
Matija Zemljič (January 25, 1873 – July 26, 1934) was a Slovene Roman Catholic priest, poet, and translator.[1]
Matija Zemljič was born inPtujska Cesta[2] to a winegrower father, Franc Zemljič, and his wife Apolonia (née Klobasa). Soon after he was born, his family relocated toNorički Vrh.[2] Zemljič attended high school inMaribor from 1886 to 1893. He then studied theology in Maribor from 1893 to 1897, and he was ordained a priest in 1897.[1][2]
After numerous positions as a curate (inŠmartno pri Slovenj Gradcu,Vuzenica,Dobrna, and elsewhere), in 1905 Zemljič became the caretaker of the church atJurski Vrh. From 1906 to 1914 he was the parish priest there, and then until his death he was the parish priest inTomaž pri Ormožu.[1][2]
Zemljič already wrote religious-lyric poems as a seminarian and published them in various newspapers. In the manuscript journalLipica (1894) his poem"Oj, Triglav, moj dom" [sl] (Oh Triglav, My Home) was published under the pseudonym Slavin. It was later set to music byJakob Aljaž and published in hisSlovenska pesmarica II (1900), and it has become popular today. The text is not entirely original; Zemljič based it onLudwig Auerbach's [de] German patriotic poem "O Schwarzwald, o Heimat" (Oh, Black Forest, oh, Homeland).[3][4]
The wish expressed by the Lavantine bishopMihael Napotnik [sl] in his bookEinweihungsfeier der neuerbauten Pfarrkirche zur hl . Maria (Consecration Ceremony for the Newly Built Saint Mary's Parish Church) inspired Zemljič's translation of an old German medieval poem by the CarthusianBrother Philipp [de] of Žiče; he transcribed 10,133 of Philipp's verses into 11,272 Slovenian ones and also wrote a short introduction to the publication of the workKartuzijanskega brata Filipa Marijino življenje (The Carthusian Brother Philipp's Life of Mary).[1][2][5]