Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.21857/m16wjc6vp9
Personal Belongings of Hon. Anthony Matthew Kuhačević (1697-1772). A Contribution to Better Understanding of His Life Path and Literary Agency
Ivan Brlić
orcid.org/0000-0002-7009-2495
; Institut of Social Sciences “Ivo Pilar” – Filial in Gospić, Gospić, Croatia
Abstract
Anthony Matthew Kuhačević (Senj, 1697-Graz, 1772) is rightfully considered as one of the most well-known personalities from Senj. As a town’s representative, and later also as a man of letters, he greatly put the culture and literature of Senj and Croatia in general in debt to himself. As a political prisoner, he spent in his prison cell twenty-six years to die finally from exhaustion and old age in Graz 76 years old. The article points to hitherto unclear information on the causes of Kuhačević’s detention, because there is no clear evidence that he participated in the Uprising of Brinje and Lika. Also, there are chronological discrepancies regarding alleged accusation of Bishop George Ćolić against Anthony Kuhačević. The only credible cause for the arrest is the role of unruly town attorney of Senj. His literary activity intensified with coming to his prison cell. The prison as space and inspiration strengthened his mind and faith and simultaneously encouraged him for more and more strong investment of scholarship and belief for progress of people and social community. Furthermore, imprisonment strengthened his relationship towards his sister Claire Vudragović and relatives, priests Luke and Francis Kuhačević. The article presents archival sources on the objects used by Kuhačević in prison and left after his death and documents on legal fight of Claire Vudragović for brother’s inheritance. These sources confirm thinking of some scholars, which claimed that Anthony Kuhačević was an educated poet who was persona non grata in his times, but whose works contain instructive and modern themes and as such are worthy of research attention by modern scholars.
Keywords
Senj; Anthony Matthew Kuhačević; prison literature; archival sources; Claire Vudragović; military history
Hrčak ID:
195443
URI
Publication date:
29.12.2017.
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