Ignjat Đurđević

Who was Ignjat Đurđević?

Ignjat Đurđević was a baroque poet and translator, best known for his long poem Uzdasi Mandaljene pokornice. Đurđević was born in Republic of Ragusa. His mother is of the Zlatarić family.

As a member of a rich and respectable family, he lived recklessly and often in debauchery. His love adventures cost him the position of the duke on Šipan. Because of his unrequited love towards a diklica from Dubrovnik and a libertine poem he wrote to her, Đurđević even had to leave the city for a while.

He was a tri-lingual poet with deep feelings, unrestrained by Catholic morals. His fiery Ljuvene pjesni are some of the best lyric poems from Dubrovnik, with influences of Bunić's verse. Suze Marunkove, Đurđević's poem about Marunko from the island of Mljet, who is sighing because of a beautiful djevičina Pavica, were obviously inspired by Derviš, written by his namesake Stijepan Đurđević. Still, Ignjat often manages to surpass Stijepan because of his freer style.

After more than twenty years of preparations, Đurđević printed Uzdasi Mandaljene pokornice in Venice in 1728, together with the cycle of Pjesni razlike. Magdalene is his most beautiful work, while Poems have exceptionally varied themes and forms. Experts in Croatian literature like Mihovil Kombol and Ivo Frangeš noticed that the themes and forms of Đurđević's Poems are similar to the poems of Fran Krsto Frankopan.