СРПСКЕ НОВИНЕ ИЗ ТРОЈЕДНИЦЕ О HRVATSKIM NARODNIM PJESMAMA МАТИЦЕ ХРВАТСКЕ (1896/7)

Abstract

SERBIAN NEWSPAPERS FROM THE TRIUNE KINGDOM ON CROATIAN
FOLK SONGS OF MATICA HRVATSKA (1896-1897)
In 1896 and 1897 Matica hrvatska published Croatian Folk Songs, in two books containing epic poetry. The Serbian public from the territory of Croatia and Dalmatia unanimously condemned this publishing venture, believing with good reason that those books contained only Serbian poems, named as Croatian, which in their opinion was untrue. These views could mostly be heard in Serbian newspapers from these areas (Srbobran, Dubrovnik, Srpski glas) where Serbian intellectuals presented opposing arguments for several years, sometimes moving the discussion from the cultural to the political field, because they believed that it is the intention to destroy the Serbian identity. The attempt to appropriate the Serbian national treasure by the Croats was supposed to supplement what was missing in the Croatian tradition, because in the 19th century folk poetry, especially epic one, was crucial for the creation of national identity. The discussion was very bitter, because it followed the discussion about the name of the Serbian language, without which this issue cannot be fully understood.