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Ludovit Stur

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Ľudov? Št? (in his era called: Ľudev? Velislav Št?) was the leader of the Slovak national revival in the 19th century, the author of the present-day Slovak language standard (see 1843, 1844, 1845, 1846, 1851), an organizer of the Slovak volunteer campaigns during the 1848 Revolution in Hungary (see 1848 - 1849), a member of the Hungarian diet (see 1847-1848), politician, poet, journalist, publisher (see e. g. 1845), teacher (see e. g. 1836-1838, 1840-1843), philosopher and linguist.

Table of contents
1 The General Situation in Slovakia at Št?’s time (1830 – 1860)
2 Št??s life and work
3 Links:

The General Situation in Slovakia at Št?’s time (1830 – 1860)

The situation before Št?

Slovakia was a part of Hungary since the 11th century. At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, Slovaks were divided concerning the literary language to be used. The Catholic majority used Anton Bernolak’s language codified in the 1780?s based on the West-Slovak dialect, but most Protestants remained true to the Czech language used in Slovakia, together with Latin, since the 14th (foundation of the Prague University) / 15th century (period of Czech Hussites in Slovakia and of king Matthias Corvinus) / 16th century (Czech Protestants move to Slovakia). This situation did not change until the 1840’s, when Ludovit Stur (1815-1856), became the chief figure of the Slovak movement. At the same time, modern nations started to develop in Europe and Hungary. But the Magyars (i. e. ethnic Hungarians) favored the idea of a centralized state, although the Magyar population numbered less than half the total population of the Hungarian kingdom. This was unacceptable to other nations including the Slovaks, and they expressed their disapproval.

Št?’s group

In the 1830’s a new generation of Slovaks began to make themselves heard. They had grown up under the influence of the national movement at the Evangelic Lutheran Lyceum in Bratislava where the Czech-Slav Society (also called: Society for the Czechoslovak language and literature) had been founded in 1829. Initially, the society operated in accordance with the ideas of J? Kollar, a Protestant poet and linguist, supporter of Czech-Slovak unity and of the use of the Czech language. In the latter part of the decade, when Ludovit Stur came to the fore (see below), its activities intensified. In the true spirit of European romanticism these young Slovaks burned with the idea of national independence. The most prominent representatives of the new generation were, along with Ludovit Stur, Jozef Miloslav Hurban (1817-1888) and Michal Miloslav Hodža (1811-1870). Ludovit Stur expressed his philosophy in one sentence: “My country is my being, and every hour of my life shall be devoted to it.”. Stur, a Lutheran, was aware of the fact that Czech, the language of educated Lutherans, was not enough to carry out a national campaign, and that Slovaks, if they were ever to become autonomous and be an effective force against Magyarization, needed a language they could call their own. The central Slovak dialect was chosen as the basis of a literary language. Stur’s codification work was disapproved by J? Kollar and the Czechs who saw it as an act of Slovak withdrawal from the idea of a common Czecho-Slovak nation and a weakening of solidarity. But the majority of Slovak scholars, including the Catholics (using Bernol?’s codification until then), welcomed the notion of codification. The standard language thus became an important political tool.

The 1848/49 Revolution (March 1848 – August 1849) and its effects

Stur’s notions (autonomy of Slovakia in Hungary, a Slovak Diet, schools etc. ) came to fruition simultaneously with the 1848 Revolution in Hungary, which dealt with (1) the liberation of peasants from serfdom and (2) with national and ethnic issues. Hungarian revolutionaries called for Hungary’s separation from Vienna, but at the same time they wanted to see Hungary one nation with one language and one educational system. But the desires of the Magyars for a centralized Hungarian state ran contrary to the wishes of ethnic groups in Hungary, including Slovaks. Slovak and Hungarian revolutionary claims ran contradictory to each other. In the spring of 1848, Slovak leaders spread their ideas throughout Slovakia. Slovak nationalists, mainly in the progressive western and central Slovakia, joined them. In May, 1848, a huge public meeting gathered in Liptovsk?Mikul?#353;, where a pan-Slovak program, known as the Requirements of the Slovak Nation was proclaimed and accepted (see below). Ethnic Slovaks sought to back this revolutionary manifesto by force of arms. The provisional (revolutionary) Hungarian revolutionary government was not willing to accept the Requirements of the Slovak Nation and the situation developed into open hostility between Hungarian and Slovak revolutionaries. In September 1848, the Slovak National Council was established in Vienna and it forthwith proclaimed the secession of Slovakian territory from Hungary. The so-called September campaign (6000 volunteers) took place in western Slovakia. Slovak demands remained unfulfilled. Between November 1848 and April 1849 , the armed Slovaks helped the Habsburg king – along with imperial troops in present-day Hungary– to defeat Hungarians and their revolutionary government on Slovak territory (the so-called Winter Campaign or Volunteer Campaigns). In March 1849, Slovaks even temporarily managed to start to administrate Slovakia by Slovak people and they sent a petition (the March Petition) to the emperor. In the summer 1849, however, the Russians helped the Habsburg king to defeat the revolutionary Hungarians and in November, when the Slovaks were not needed anymore, the Slovak corps were dissolved in Bratislava. Then in December 1851, king Francis Joseph abolished the last vestiges of constitutionalism and began to rule as absolute master. Francis Joseph continued his centralistic policies. This came to be known as the period of neo-absolutism. Certain Slovak demands were met, however. In the Slovak counties of Hungary, Slovak was allowed for official communication and introduced in lower schools. J? Kollar, who became a professor at Vienna University, obtained permission to print Slovak newspapers and was appointed a court adviser

Št??s life and work

1831: He writes his first poems
1834 (January-September): He interrupts his studies temporarily because of serious lack of money and returns to Uhrovec, where he works as scribe with count Karol Zay
1834 (after September): He continues his studies, is active in the historical and literary circle of the Czech-Slav Society, is responsible for the correspondence with members of the Society, gives private lessons in the house of a merchant in Bratislava, teaches younger students at the Lyceum and establishes contact with important foreign and Czech scholars
1834 (December 17): He is elected secretary of the Czech-Slav Society at the Lyceum
1835 (May): He persuades Jozef Hurban to become involved in the Slovak national movement
1835: He is co-editor of the „Plody” (Fruits) almanac (a compilation of the best works of the members of the Czech-Slav Society, including poems of Št?), becomes vice-president of the Czech-Slav Society and teaches older students at the Lyceum history of the Slavs and their literatures
1836: He writes a letter to the important Czech historian František Palack? where he states that the Czech language used by the Protestants in Slovakia has become incomprehensible for the ordinary Slovaks and proposes the creation of a unified Czechoslovak language provided that the Czechs would be willing to use some Slovak words – just like Slovaks would officially accept some Czech words. But the Czech were absolutely not ready to accept this, so that Št? and his friends decided to introduce a completely new Slovak language standard instead (see 1843, 1844, 1851)
1836 (April 24): The famous trip to the Dev? castle (today a city part of Bratislava) of the members of the Slovak national movement takes place and is led by Št? as the vice-president of Czech-Slav Society. The beginning of the Št? group’s extensive efforts on behalf of national awareness are linked to this visit to the ruins of Devin castle woven about with legends of the past with reminders of Great Moravia. They swear here to be true to the national cause and decid to travel around Slovakia to drum up support for their ideas. At the castle, they also adopt additional Slavic names (e.g. Jozef Hurban became Jozef Miloslav Hurban and so on)
1837 (April): The Czech-Slav Society is prohibited due to student commotion having occurred at the Lyceum, so that one week later Št? founds the (official) Institute of the Czechoslovak language and literature, within which the activities of the Czech-Slav Society continue
1837: He continues to write articles for newspapers and journals (Tatranka, Hronka, Květy (Czech), Časopis česk?o musea, Danica (Croatian), Tygodnik literacki (Polish) etc.)
1838 - 1840: His poetic cycle “Dumky večern?#8221; (Evening thoughts, written in Czech) is being published in the Czech journal Květy

1839 (spring): He makes a long journey to the Upper and Lower Lausatia (in Germany, inhabited by Slavs), gets in touch with the Slavs there and writes the short travelogue “Cesta do Lužic vykonan?na jar 1839” (A journey to Lausatia made in the spring of 1839, written in Czech, published in the Czech journal Časopis česk?o musea) about the journey