Plorantis Croatiae saecula duo
File:Plorantis Croatiae saecula duo.jpg
Plorantis Croatiae saecula duo (English: "Two centuries of Croatia in mourning") is a poetical work by Pavao Ritter Vitezović, published in 1703 in Zagreb. As with many of Vitezović's works, it is written in Latin. The unusual structure of the work makes it difficult to classify, being variously described as a poeticized chronicle,[https://books.google.com/books?id=e_J5DwAAQBAJ&dq=Plorantis+Croatiae+saecula+duo&pg=PA392 Whose Love of Which Country?], Sandor Bene, pp. 392-393 historical epic, pseudo-autobiography,[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316580564_Plorantis_Croatiae_saecula_duo_Diskurzivne_adaptacije_i_performativne_funkcije_marijanskog_toposa Plorantis Croatiae saecula duo. Diskurzivne adaptacije i performativne funkcije marijanskog toposa], Zrinka Blažević, 2005 or allegory. Containing nearly 2000 lines of verse, the poem recounts the previous two hundred years of Ottoman Wars[https://books.google.com/books?id=5lFbDAAAQBAJ&dq=plorantis+croatiae+saecula+duo&pg=PA295 The Croatian-Slavonian Kingdom: 1526–1792], Stanko Guldescu pp. 295 being narrated in first person by a personified Croatia, who is presented as an allegory to the Catholic topos of the weeping mother (Stabat Mater). These events, including wars, plagues, famines, are given as a history of personal suffering to the personification, containing detailed psychosomatic elements. It is dedicated to the Austrian field marshal Johann Ferdinand Josef Herberstein.[https://www.enciklopedija.hr/clanak/herberstein-ivan-ferdinand-josip Herberstein, Ivan Ferdinand Josip], Hrvatska enciklopedija LZMK. Pristupljeno 25. lipnja 2016.
Reception
On the last three pages, Vitezović included three poems written by the Zagreb canons Petar Črnković, Franjo Josip Vernić and Franjo Kralj. These were written in honor of Vitezović and represent a valuable insight into contemporary reception of his work. They praise Vitezović as an equal to Virgil.{{Cite journal|url=http://www.matica.hr/kolo/561/dva-stoljeca-uplakane-hrvatske-pavla-rittera-vitezovica-28524/|title=Dva stoljeća uplakane Hrvatske Pavla Rittera Vitezovića|journal=Kolo|year=2018|volume=2018|issue=4|publisher=Matica hrvatska|language=hr|accessdate=4 April 2020}}
Zrinka Blažević of the University of Zagreb praised his work Two Centuries of Croatia in Mourning as among the best Croatian poetical works in Latin, containing great aesthetic qualities and an unusual narrative structure.