⭐ 15: The Bible, First Slovenian-Language Edition

The Bible, Jurij Dalmatin, 1584, Wittenberg

ʽDalmatin's Bible is the most important work of Slovenian Protestant literature and the result of a movement that left an indelible mark on the 16th century, its results, however, have been enjoyed even today. It is not known whether the Slovenian language would have survived if it had not been for Trubar, Bohorič and Dalmatin, what is certain, however, is that the first Slovenian translation of the entire Bible is one of the main cornerstones of Slovenian identity.
The Bible: That Is, the Entire Holy Scripture of the Old and the New Testament, Translated into Slovene by Jurij Dalmatinʼ was printed in 1583 (with the year 1584 on it), in Wittenberg, Germany. It was printed in 1,500 copies, of which an estimated 78 copies have been preserved until present day, 36 in Slovenia and 42 elsewhere.
 

For heritage enthusiasts:

The ʽSlovenian Bibleʼ project was an extremely challenging one. However, Dalmatin's work on translating the Bible without any tools, accompanied by constant persecution and fight for survival in the turbulent 16th century marked by peasant uprisings, Ottoman incursions and various epidemics was nevertheless successful. In the 21st century, it is difficult to imagine what the life of our remarkable ancestors was like – the two individuals that played an especially important role for the Posavje region being Adam Bohorič (c. 1520–1598) and Jurij Dalmatin (c. 1547–1589) – everyone, however, is well aware of the significance of their work and life. Reformation Day is celebrated annually on 31 October and in gratitude and remembrance for the reformers' work this day is a public holiday in the Republic of Slovenia.
In addition to the actual work, the authors of the Slovenian edition of the Bible also had to secure the funds for its publication, which were provided by Provincial Assemblies of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola. On 22 April 1583, Dalmatin and his colleagues set out for Wittenberg, Germany.
After a decade of hard and dedicated work, 1,500 copies of the Bible were printed in Wittenberg in 1583 (with the year 1584 on it) on good-quality paper. In 1584, the Bible was transported to the territory of the present-day Slovenia, i.e. Styria, Carinthia and Carniola, using a somewhat interesting means of transport, i.e. it was transported mostly in barrels.
  
About the translator who fulfilled the Protestant Reformers' main aspiration and task
Jurij Dalmatin was born circa 1547 in Krško, where he spent the first 18 years of his life, getting schooled at the ʽBohorič Schoolʼ. In 1565, he started the Latin school in Bebenhausen, Germany, where he was taken by Primož Trubar, who kept a close eye on his studies and work. In 1569, he received his master's degree from the University of Tübingen in Germany and was awarded the Tiffern Fund scholarship.
In 1571, he visited his parents in Krško, who, as reported by Dalmatin himself in a letter, were unable to help him much, and were thus ʽreplacedʼ by Primož Trubar in this respect. Dalmatin thanked Trubar repeatedly in various ways, referring to him as his foster father. He wrote the following in a letter dated 17 June 1569 in Tübingen, addressed to the Carniolan provincial estates as a request for financial aid in obtaining a master's degree: "Finally, I was unable to oppose Mr. Primož Trubar and his efforts to convince me of this matter to the best of his abilities, for he is a man I hold in highest esteem, the great initiator of my studies, whom I feel the deepest respect for as my foster father owing to his incredible altruistic affection. (Rajhman 1997: 47)
Dalmatin was ordained in Stuttgart in June 1572 and then had various jobs. In July 1572, the Carniolan provincial estates invited him to Ljubljana as a preacher, and in 1574 he was appointed the supervisor of the estate school. In 1580, he became a member of the church council and an official visitator. Between 1574 and 1585, he was also a preacher in the village of Begunje na Gorenjskem, and in the 1585–1589 period, he served as a priest in Ljubljana and in Škocjan near Turjak.
He married Barbara, a legitimate daughter of burgher Blaž Jauntaller from Ljubljana and his first wife Helena; all six of their children died before Dalmatin, who passed away on 31 August 1589 in Ljubljana. He was buried in the Protestant cemetery at the Church of St. Peter in Ljubljana. The funeral was conducted by Trubar's son Felicijan. Dalmatin's wife Barbara died not long after him.
 
Two sculptures of Jurij Dalmatin created in the 21th century

Jurij Dalmatin, Meritorious Citizens' Park, Krško, 2006	Trubar, Bohorič and Dalmatin, Jurij Dalmatin Memorial Park, Krško, 2009
The bust of Jurij Dalmatin was sculpted by the academy-trained sculptor Vladimira Štoviček (1934–2012), who lived and worked in the village of Leskovec pri Krškem. Until her retirement, she was an art teacher and an artist who worked on her creations in a studio next to the Šrajbarski Turn Castle. Her father, Vladimir Štoviček, had also worked at the studio, which is thus characterised by the works of two generations of a family of sculptors. Without anything to base her work on or any descriptions of Dalmatin's appearance, the artist relied on the eternal beauty ideal of a young man who, with his steady gaze directed at his future, indicates Dalmatin's aspiration for education and work that gave meaning to his life.	Vojko Pogačar (1950) created the monumental sculptural portraits of the three men that played the most important roles in Protestantism in Slovenia. Primož Trubar, as the founder of the Protestant movement and author of the first Slovenian printed book, is holding the Catechism, Adam Bohorič is looking at a grammar, and Jurij Dalmatin is holding the Bible, his arms high up in the air. The sculptures are complemented by an inscription at the foot of the sculptures and carefully designed glass benches next to it. The creation of the park called the Jurij Dalmatin Memorial Park in Krško (opposite the Jurij Dalmatin Primary School) with a monumental sculpture is one of the highlights of contemporary public-space design in the Posavje region and Slovenia.

For more information see:

• Černelič Krošelj Alenka: Sledi Adama Bohoriča in Jurija Dalmatina v Krškem. V: Adam Bohorič, Jurij Dalmatin in Krško, Alenka Černelič Krošelj (ur.), Krško: Valvasorjev raziskovalni center Krško, 2006, str. 53—97.
• Pogačar Vojko (ur.): Krške identitete: genealogija spominskega parka Jurija Dalmatina, posvečenega utemeljiteljem naše pisane besede, Maribor: Interesansa, 2009. 
• Rajhman Jože: Pisma slovenskih protestantov = Briefe der slowenischen Protestanten, Ljubljana: SAZU, 1997.

 Prepared by: Alenka Černelič Krošelj 

 
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