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Zvonimir KulundzicCroatian historian, publicist, bibliologist and historian of literature.
Date of Birth: 16.01.1911
Country:  Croatia |
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Hrvoje Čović, Croatian Historian and Publicist
Hrvoje Čović (1923-2006) was a Croatian historian, publicist, bibliographer, and historian of writing. His extensive research focused on prominent Croatian figures like Stjepan Radić, Antun Radić, Eugen Kvaternik, Mihovil Pavlek Mičkín, Slavko Kolar, and Miroslav Krleža. He also delved into Croatian culture and historiography, often approaching these topics with a factual yet emotional perspective. His publicistic writings addressed crucial issues facing Croatian society.
Academic Contributions
Čović authored a comprehensive work titled "History of Writing." He also edited literary collections of Mihovil Pavlek Mičkín (1968, 4 volumes), Slavko Kolar (1970 and 1971, 6 volumes), and Stjepan Radić's selected works entitled "Political Writings" (1971), which included Radić's autobiography, articles, speeches, and debates.
Controversy and His Legacy
Čović's groundbreaking work posited that the first printed book in Croatian, the Missal, was published in Kosinj, Lika, on February 22, 1483. His book "Kosinj - the Cradle of Slavic Southern Printing" supported this hypothesis, which remains subject to ongoing scientific debate. He also discovered the first prose work by Marko Marulić in Croatian, a translation of the medieval text "De imitatione Christi" entitled "Od naslidovanja Isukarstova" (1500). He published this discovery alongside Đuro De Rossi in 1989.
Due to his uncompromising nature, defiance of authority, and contempt for high-ranking officials, Čović earned the metaphor "Quercus croaticus incorruptibilis et indelebilis" ("Croatian oak, incorruptible and indestructible"), which became a mainstay in Croatian political discourse.
