Meshari (Albanian for "Missal") is the oldest published book in Albanian. The book was written by Gjon Buzuku, a Catholic cleric in 1555. The book contains 188 pages and is written in two columns. Meshari is the translation of the main parts of the Catholic Liturgy into Albanian. It contains the liturgies of the main religious holidays of the year, comments from the book of prayers, excerpts from the Bible as well as excerpts from the ritual and catechism. It was written to help Christians pray daily religious services. The only original known copy of this book currently is in the Library of the Vatican.
Meshari is written in the Gheg Albanian dialect and uses Latin alphabet, one letter (ћ) from Serbian Cyrillic, [1] with some modified letters. The book has a rich vocabulary and its orthography and grammatical forms seem to be well established, which is indicative of an earlier tradition in the writing of the Albanian language. The dialect used in Meshari was one of the main subjects of Selman Riza's works. [2]
Meshari was discovered in 1740 by Gjon Nikollë Kazazi, then lost and rediscovered in 1909. In 1930, the book was photocopied for the first time by Father Justin Rrota, who brought a copy to Albania. [3] In 1968 it was published with transliterations and comments by linguists.
Below is the first paragraph of the Meshari's epilogue, written by Buzuku:
I, John, son of Benedict Buzuku, having often considered that our language had in it nothing intelligible from the Holy Scriptures, wished for the sake of our people to attempt, as far as I was able, to enlighten the minds of those who understand, so that they may comprehend how great and powerful and forgiving our Lord is to those who love him with all their hearts. I beg of you from today on to go to church more often to hear the word of God. If you do this, may our Lord have mercy upon you. Those who have suffered up to now shall suffer no longer. May you be the elect of our Lord. He will be with you at all times if you pursue righteousness and avoid iniquity. By so doing, the Lord shall give you increase, for your harvest shall last until the vintage and the vintage shall last until the time of sowing. I, moreover, wish to finish my work if it please God. I began it in the year 1554 on the 12th day of August and finished it in the year 1555 on the 12th day of August. If perchance mistakes have been made in any part, I pray and beg of those who are more learned than I to correct them. For I should not be surprised if I have made mistakes, this being the very first work, great and difficult to render into our language. Those who printed it had great difficulty and thus could not fail to make mistakes, for I was not able to be with them all the time. Running a church, I had to serve in two places. And now I beg of you all to pray to the Lord on my behalf.
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1555.
The Albanian alphabet is a variant of the Latin alphabet used to write the Albanian language. It consists of 36 letters:
Gjon Buzuku was an Albanian Catholic priest who wrote the first known printed book in Albanian. Commonly referred to as the Missal, this book is considered an important monument of Albanian studies, being the oldest source for studying the Albanian language.
Iljaz Prokshi, born in 1949 in Kosovo, died 28 April 2007 in Pristina, was an ethnic Albanian writer and poet. His novels and poems covered wide range of ancient and medieval Albanian literary themes.
Skadarska Krajina, simply known as Krajina is a geographical region in southeastern Montenegro stretching from the southern coast of Lake Skadar to the mountain of Rumija, comprising several villages. It is inhabited almost entirely by Albanians. The area is divided between the municipalities of Bar and Ulcinj.
Gjon Kastrioti was an Albanian feudal lord from the House of Kastrioti and the father of future Albanian leader Gjergj Kastrioti. He governed the territory between the Cape of Rodon and Dibër and had at his disposal an army of 2,000 horsemen.
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 history of Bible translations into Albanian can be divided into early and modern translations.
The Zaharia family was an Albanian noble family, most prominent during the 14th and 15th century.
Koja Zaharia or Koja Zakaria was an Albanian nobleman and a member of the Zaharia family.
Nicholas Dukagjini was a 15th-century member of the Dukagjini family.
Peter Spani was an Albanian nobleman and Venetian pronoetes in the first half of the 15th century. His family's domains included territories around Shkodër (Scutari), Drisht (Drivasto) and western Kosovo. He ruled over Shala, Shosh, Nikaj-Mërtur (Lekbibaj) and Pult; the whole region under the Ottomans took his name, Petrişpan-ili. Between 1444 and 1455, Peter was a member of the League of Lezhë and after his death, the League took his territories.
Gojko Balšić or Gojko Balsha and his brothers George Strez and John were the lords of Misia, a coastal area from the White Drin towards the Adriatic. The brothers were members of the house of Balšić, which earlier held the Lordship of Zeta. They participated in founding the League of Lezhë, an alliance led by their maternal uncle Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg. Gojko supported Skanderbeg until the latter's death in 1468, and then continued to fight against the Ottomans within Venetian forces.
This timeline lists important events relevant to the life of the Albanian feudal lord and military commander Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg, widely known as Skanderbeg.
The Vullnetari were a volunteer militia of Albanians from Kosovo set up in 1941 by Italian forces after the successful invasion of Yugoslavia. They served as an auxiliary force for civilian control and protection of villages.
Gjon is an Albanian male given name, clan, surname and onomastic element.
The Moneta were a 15th-century noble family of Zeta, Serbian Despotate and Venetian Republic in the region of Scutari. They first served Zeta's Lord Balša III and Serbian despot Stefan Lazarević before they became pronoiars of the Venetian Republic in 1423. Their religion was Eastern Orthodox and they ruled the land between rivers Bojana and Drin. The most notable members of the Moneta family include Rajko Moneta, his wife Jelena and their three sons. First Rajko and then his sons participated in numerous military conflicts including the Second Scutari War, the Albanian–Venetian War (1447–1448) and the Ottoman sieges of Scutari, first in 1474 and then 1478/1479. After Scutari was captured by the Ottomans in 1479 Nicholas, one of the sons who became voivode of Scutari, went to Venice to join his wife and their five children who took refuge in Venice in 1478 before the last Ottoman siege of Scutari started.
Çun Mula (1818–1896) was the bajraktar ("flag-bearer") of the Hoti tribe and an Albanian freedom fighter. His family, the Lucgjonaj, descended from the Junçaj family of Hoti. According to the Code of Lekë Dukagjini, Çun Mula's family was put in charge of the Malësia tribes, leading them bravely and faithfully in the many wars against Montenegrin and Ottoman forces.
Constantine of Berat, known among Albanians as Kostandin Jermonak Berati or shortly Kostë Berati, was an Albanian writer and translator of the 18th century.
The Upper Reka Albanian dialect is a member of the wider northern Albanian Gheg dialect subgroup of the Albanian language spoken by northern Albanians. Speakers of the dialect are mainly located within the territory of the sub-region of Upper Reka in north-western North Macedonia. Due to the geographical isolation of the Upper Reka region, the Upper Reka dialect also developed linguistic peculiarities that differentiate it from other varieties of Albanian. Within the Gheg dialects, the Upper Reka dialect is classified as a Central Gheg dialect, along with the dialects of the Kruja, Mati and Dibra regions.
а пет ћириличких знакова за особене албанске гласове у првој албанској штампаној књизи, Мисалу Ђона Бузукуа из 1555...То су:: 1) ƹ /z, zh/... 2) c̨ /c/ ... 3) ћ /q, gj/... 4)ξ /th, dh/ – ...5) ɣ /u, у/ –....од ових знакова само је један (3) искључиво ћирилички ("ђерв" који је одлика само српске ћирилице,а нарочито босанске и средњевековне ћирилице далматинских католика)