Gjin is an Albanian male given name, clan, surname and onomastic element. As a name, it is usually held by Albanian Christians, as it is derived from the name of a saint, although the identity of this saint is unclear, as both theologists and linguists disagree on the relation of Saint Gjin to Saint Gjon (the latter of which is considered to be Saint John). [1]
The origin of the name "Gjin" is unclear, except for the fact that he is considered a Christian saint by Albanians. The Catholic clergy consider Shën Gjin (Saint Gjin) to be the same saint as Shën Gjon (Saint John) but the Christians of the Central Albanian Shpati region (who are Orthodox) [2] ) revere the two as separate saints [3] with two different saint days—21 May for Shën Gjon, but 24 June for Shën Gjin. [1] Linguists also are unsure etymologically about the derivation of Gjin, especially, once again, whether it has the same source as Gjon. [3] If Gjin does not have the same source as Gjon, it is difficult to find any Christian source of the name despite Gjin being considered a Christian saint among Albanians. [1] Krahe and Lambertz have theorized that Gjin is in fact a Christianization of a pre-Christian Albanian figure, arguing in particular that the original name of the figure in ancient times was Gentius before it was mutated over time. [3] [4] If so, Gjin could be not the only Albanian Christian saint with a non-Christian origin, as another saint is also thought to be of pre-Christian origin: Shën Premti which shares the origin of Premte, the Albanian word for Friday, and is thought to share the origin of the ancient goddess Prende, the Albanian equivalent of Roman Venus, Norse Freyja and Greek Aphrodite [5] [6] but was identified by the Catholic Church with the martyr Saint Anne. [6]
Albanians have historically coined place names using the names of saints, and Gjin is no exception. The following toponyms, among others, include Gjin as an onomastic element [7] and is noted in the regions of Tirana, Elbasan and Mirdita. [8]
The given name transferring into the toponym is also seen in the form of Gjin Aleksi's Mosque.
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Gjin is typically held as a given name by Albanian Christians, including these notable personalities:
Prende or Premte is the goddess of dawn, love, beauty, fertility, health and protector of women, in the Albanian pagan mythology. She is also called Afër-dita, an Albanian phrase meaning "near day", "the day is near", or "dawn", in association with the cult of the planet Venus, the morning and evening star. Her sacred day is Friday, named in Albanian after her: e premte, premtja. In Albanian mythology Prende appears as the daughter of Zojz, the Albanian sky and lightning god.
Finiq is a settlement, considered town or village, and municipality in Vlorë County, in southern Albania located 8 km from the Ionian Sea and 20 km north of the Greek border. It was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former communes Aliko, Dhivër, Livadhja, Mesopotam, and Finiq itself. It is inhabited by ethnic Greeks and is one of two municipalities in Albania in which Greeks form a majority, alongside Dropull. The seat of the municipality is the village Dermish. The total population is 10,529, in a total area of 444.28 km2.
The term Albanian Principalities refers to a number of principalities created in the Middle Ages in Albania and the surrounding regions in the western Balkans that were ruled by Albanian nobility. The 12th century marked the first Albanian principality, the Principality of Arbanon. It was later, however, in the 2nd half of the 14th century that these principalities became stronger, especially with the fall of the Serbian Empire after 1355. Some of these principalities were notably united in 1444 under the military alliance called League of Lezhë up to 1480 which defeated the Ottoman Empire in more than 28 battles. They covered modern day Albania,western and central Kosovo, Epirus, areas up to Corinth, western North Macedonia, southern Montenegro. The leaders of these principalities were some of the most noted Balkan figures in the 14th and 15th centuries such as Gjin Bua Shpata, Andrea II Muzaka, Gjon Zenebishi, Karl Topia, Andrea Gropa, Balsha family, Gjergj Arianiti, Gjon Kastrioti, Skanderbeg, Dukagjini family and Lek Dukagjini.
The Muzaka were a noble Albanian family that ruled over the region of Myzeqe in the Late Middle Ages. The Muzaka are also referred to by some authors as a tribe or a clan. The earliest historical document that mentions the Muzaka family is written by the Byzantine historian Anna Komnene. At the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th century members of the Muzaka family controlled a region between the rivers of Devoll and Vjosë. Some of them were loyal to the Byzantine Empire while some of them allied with Charles of Anjou who gave them impressive Byzantine-like titles in order to subdue them more easily. During a short period, Serbian Emperor Stefan Dušan occupied Albania including domains of Muzaka family but after Dušan's death they regained their former possessions. After the Battle of Savra in 1385 the territory of Albania came under the Ottoman Empire; they served the Ottomans until 1444 when Theodor Corona Musachi joined Skanderbeg's rebellion. When the Ottomans suppressed Skanderbeg's rebellion and captured the territory of Venetian Albania in the 15th century many members of the Muzaka family retreated to Italy. Those who stayed in Ottoman Albania lost their feudal rights, some converted to Islam and achieved high ranks in the Ottoman military and administrative hierarchy.
Holy Trinity Church of Lavdar, also known as the Holy Trinity Church of Tudas is a 15th century Albanian orthodox church built in the Byzantine style by the medieval Albanian noble family of Muzaka. It is located near the villages Lavdar and Tudas in the region of Opar in Korçë county, southeastern Albania. Noted for its distinguished architecture and frescoes, it was declared a Cultural Monument of Albania in 1963.
Vagalat is a village in the former commune of Livadhe, Vlorë County, southern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality of Finiq.
Vešala is a village in the municipality of Tetovo, North Macedonia. It is a village located in the Šar Mountains, some 11.9 kilometres away from the closest city Tetovo, 20 km away from Prizren and 1247 metres above sea level.
The Dukagjini were an Albanian noble family which ruled over an area of Northern Albania and Western Kosovo known as the Principality of Dukagjini in the 14th and 15th centuries. They may have been descendants of the earlier Progoni family, who founded the first Albanian state in recorded history, the Principality of Arbanon. The city of Lezhë was their most important holding.
The Spani were a noble Albanian family that emerged in the 14th century. They owned large estates in and around the fortified town of Drivasto and in neighbouring Scutari. During the late 15th century, a faction of the family settled in Venetian territories, primarily Venice itself and Dalmatia.
Gjon is an Albanian male given name, clan, surname and onomastic element.
Tanush is the Albanian variant of the Greek given name Athanasius, loaned from Latin. Where the fricative /θ/ becomes the stop /t/, this shows that the name passed through Latin before entering Albanian; the Greek-derived equivalent is the name and onomastic element Thanas. The Albanian definite form is Tanushi. In Latin, it was written Tanusius, while in Italian Tanussio and Tanusso. It may refer to:
Tanuševci is a village in the municipality of Čučer-Sandevo, Republic of North Macedonia.
Thanas is an Albanian and Ukrainian (Танас) given name and onomastic toponym element. The definite form is Thanasi. It is derived from the Greek Athanasios, with the Latin derived equivalent Tanush. Thanas is also considered to be a saint by Albanian Christians, under the name Thanas.
Gur i Bardhë is a village in the municipality of Klos, Albania.
Kranë is a village in Vlorë County, southern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality of Finiq. It is inhabited solely by Greeks.
Kostar is a village in Vlorë County, southern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality of Delvinë. it is inhabited by Greeks.
Gjini family was an Albanian noble family which was active in Albania Veneta in the 16th and 17th century who played a major role in social and military history of the southeastern Adriatic coast. The noble Mark Gjini belonged to the family.
Gruemiri is a small historical Albanian tribe (fis) in the former municipality of Gruemirë in the region of Malësia.
Nikollë Gazulli was a parish priest and Albanologist lexicographer with an interest in ethnography. He wrote the first onomastic dictionary of Albanian and is known as the co-founder of lexicography in the language along with Pano Tase, though Gazulli would be the last cleric to publish in the field within Albania’s borders. Linguist Aleksandër Xhuvani called him the "Father of Albanian toponymy, while Father Zef Pllumi called him “the greatest expert the [Gregj Fishta] Franciscan Library ever had [on staff]." Despite his contributions, he was held in damnatio memoriae by the People's Socialist Republic of Albania and therefore never mentioned in Albanological discourse during its rule.
Gjin Tanushi was a 13th-century Albanian nobleman who held lands in Ndërfandë, corresponding to the region of Mirdita in north-central Albania. He was also the progenitor of the Dukagjini family which ruled over an area of northern Albania and western Kosovo during the medieval period, their most important holding being that of Lezhë.
The third saint to be mentioned in connection with the Albanians is rather special because, strictly speaking, she does not really exist. Saint Veneranda, Albanian Shënepremte or Prende, known in Geg dialect as Prenne or Petka -- Greek Paraskevi, Ag. Paraskeuhv, Romanian Sfânta Paraschiva, was originally a pre-Christian deity and came to be identified by the Catholic Church with Saint Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary. In Albania, she is known at any rate as Saint Veneranda.