Simo Matavulj
| Simo Matavulj | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
14 September 1852 Šibenik, Dalmatia, Austrian Empire |
| Died | 20 February 1908 (aged 55) Belgrade, Kingdom of Serbia |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Language | Serbian |
| Ethnicity | Serb |
| Period | Realism |
| Genre | Satire |
| Subject | Dalmatian people |
Simo Matavulj (Serbian: Симо Матавуљ, 14 September 1852 – 20 February 1908) was a Serbian novelist, a representative of lyric realism, especially in short prose. He is best known for employing his skill in holding up to ridicule the peculiar foibles of the Dalmatian folk. He was an honorary member of the Matica srpska of Novi Sad; president of the Society of Writers and Artists of Serbia; member of the Serbian Royal Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU); and president of the Serbian Literary Society.
Simo Matavulj was born in Šibenik in Dalmatia, Austrian Empire (now Croatia), on 14 September 1852, to a Serbian merchant family. He went to Italian and Serbian grammar schools and graduated from a Šibenik gymnasium (high school). After his father died he went to live and study with his uncle Seraphim, the abbot (iguman) of the Serbian Orthodox Krupa monastery in Dalmatia. He was initially educated for the church, but chose not to take orders, and after four years left for Zadar's Illyric Teacher's College, from which he graduated in 1871. He was a considerable linguist by then and knew Serbian, Italian, Old Slavonic, and some Greek and Latin.
Thereafter he taught in Serbian villages and towns in northern Dalmatia, particularly in Đevrske and Islam Grčki, near the castle of the Janković family, built by Stojan Janković, Serdar of Kotar. His descendent, polyglot Ilija "Deda" Janković, who lived in the castle with Jelena, his wife, took Matavulj as his personal secretary. Janković had a vast collection of books in his private library and gave Matavulj the freedom to use it at any time of day or night. When Matavulj's benefactor and language teacher suddenly died, Matavulj wrote a poem and gave a eulogy at Janković's funeral:
I lost a valuable teacher who gave me his great wisdom, drop by drop, and opened my obscure soul, so that I may speak among honest people. He is the one I owe a debt to.
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