Simon Rutar

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Simon Rutar

Simon Rutar (12 October 1851 – 3 May 1903) was a

Friuli Venezia Giulia and the Croatian counties of Istria and Primorsko-Goranska
.

Biography

Rutar was born in a peasant family in the

Gorizia and Gradisca (now in Slovenia
).

He attended the

archeology
.

During his years in Split, Rutar started publishing numerous articles on the local history of his native lands, especially the

Second State Gymnasium of Ljubljana
.

He died in the night between May 3 and May 4, when he was caught in a fire that burned down his house. Most of his personal archive was also destroyed in the fire. He was buried in St. Christopher's Cemetery in Ljubljana. In 1936, his tomb was transferred to the monumental

Navje
cemetery, in which prominent Slovenes are buried.

Work

Rutar was one of the first

feudal age to the late 18th century. He was however also interested in the habits and tradition of the peasant populations regardless their language and ethnicity, although he did concentrate on the two Slavic-speaking peoples in the area, the Slovenes and Croats. In his studies of the peasantry, he took advantage of his knowledge in philology, ethnography, and ethnology
.

He clearly rejected the

self-government
, which in those two regions had survived up to the late 18th century.

He also wrote books on the history of

Slovenska matica for a wider reading public. In them, Rutar incorporated a wide spectrum of subjects in the presentation of the regions, from geography, philology, and ethnography to geology and demography. He also wrote guidebooks and itineraries of Dalmatia
, as well as articles on the most various subjects in history and archeology.

Rutar was also a regular

Carolingian Duchy of Carinthia, from which all other provincies in Inner Austria
developed.

Personality and views

During his lifetime, Rutar was a popular writer. He was known for his simple, vigorous, and direct prose, as well as his predilections for clear statements and stalwart judgements. He did important work in popularizing history among Slovenes.

Differently from most Slovene public figures of the time, Rutar did not partake in any political activity, nor did he publicly profess any specific ideology. He regarded himself as a Slovene and Austrian patriot and clearly rejected

Catholic
journals and institutions.

Rutar was a close friend of the liberal catholic poet and priest Simon Gregorčič, a native of Vrsno, a village very close to Rutar's native Krn. After Rutar's death, Gregorčič composed a poem in his memory.

Rutar was regarded as a vigorous, straightforward man and a passionate scholar. In the last years of his life, his health worsened and prevented him to carry out his major projects. Much of his work has remained in sketches and the destruction of his personal archive and notes has prevented later scholars from making a definitive assessment of his opus.

Legacy

Rutar has been regarded as one of the first Slovene academic historians. He did not have any disciple to continue his work and was soon overshadowed by his fellow positivist historian

Carolingian period influenced the historians Josip Mal and later Jožko Šavli, while his study of the rural municipal self-government influenced the work of the renowned Slovenian legal historian Sergij Vilfan
.

Rutar's legacy is most strongly felt in his native Goriška region, where several streets, schools, and other public institutions bear his name.

Essential bibliography

  • Razmere med Slovenci in Langobardi ("The Relations between the Slovenes and the Lombards", 1875)
  • Domoznanstvo poknežene grofije Goriške in Gradiščanske ("Local History of the Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca", 1882)
  • Zgodovina Tolminskega, to je: zgodovinski dogodki sodnijskih okrajev Tolmin, Bolec in Cerkno ž njih prirodoznanskim in statističnim opisom ("The History of the Tolmin County, i.e.: Historical Events in the Judicial Districts of Tolmin, Bolec and Cerkno with a Geographical and Demographic Description", 1882)
  • Iz Bara v Podgorico: potopisna črtica ("From Bar to Podgorica: A Travelogue", 1891)
  • Poknežena grofija Goriška in Gradiščanska ("The Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca", 1892)
  • Guida di Spalato e Salona ("Guide to Split and
    Solin", with Frane Bulić
    , 1894)
  • Samosvoje mesto Trst in mejna grofija Istra ("The Self-Governing City of Trieste and the Margravate of Istria", 1896–97)
  • Beneška Slovenija: prirodoznanski in zgodovinski opis ("
    Venetian Slovenia: A Geographical and Historical Description", with Peter Podreka
    , 1899)
  • Römische Strassen und Befestigungen in Krain ("Roman Roads and Fortifications in Carniola", with Anton von Premerstein, 1899)
  • Dnevnik: 1869-1874 ("Personal Diary from 1869 to 1874", edited by Branko Marušič in 1974)

Sources

  • Bogo Grafenauer, Struktura in tehnika zgodovinske vede (Ljubljana: Philosophy faculty of the University of Ljubljana, 1980), 222-223.
  • Branko Marušič, "Simon Rutar: življenje in delo" in Simon Rutar, Zgodovinske črtice iz poknežene grofije goriško-gradiščanske (Nova Gorica: Založba Branko - Založništvo Jutro, 2001).
  • Boža Pleničar, "Bibliografija Simona Rutarja", in Goriški letnik 4/5 (1977–1978).
  • Branko Marušič, ed., Simon Rutar, Dnevnik (1869–1874) (Trieste - Nova Gorica, 1972).

External links

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