Pal Engjëlli
Pauli Angeli (Albanian: Pal Engjëlli, Latin: Paulus Angelus; 1416–1470) was an Albanian Roman Catholic cardinal, clergyman, scholar, and Archbishop of Durazzo[1] who in 1462 wrote the first known sentence retrieved so far in Albanian. Pauli Angeli is reported to have been a friend, co-worker and close counselor of Skanderbeg. As his envoy, he frequently traveled abroad, seeking for aid in the war against the Ottoman Empire.[2] Pal is the Northern Albanian version of Paul, and Engjëlli is the Albanian form of angel.
His Eminence Pauli Angeli | |
|---|---|
| Cardinal | |
 Pauli Angeli (centre in black robes) holding the baptismal formula in Albanian | |
| Native name | Pal Engjëlli |
| Church | Roman Catholic |
| Archdiocese | Durazzo |
| Metropolis | Durazzo |
| Appointed | 1459 |
| In office | 1460 |
| Orders | |
| Rank | Cardinal-Priest |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1416 |
| Died | 1470 |
| Nationality | Albanian |
| Denomination | Catholic |
Angeli managed to convince Lekë Dukagjini to leave Ottomans and later reconcile with Skanderbeg, and also to convince Skanderbeg to violate an armistice signed with the Ottomans.[3]
The Baptism Formula Document
The sentence was the baptismal formula in the Gheg Albanian (Albanian: Formula e pagëzimit): Un'te paghesont' pr'emenit t'Atit e t'Birit e t'Spertit Senit. (English: "I baptize thee in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.") and in the Tosk-based standard: Albanian: "'Unë të pagëzoj në emër të Atit, të Birit, e të Shpirtit të Shenjtë").[4]
The formula was found in a pastoral letter written in Latin by Angeli after his visit to the Church of Holy Trinity in Mat. The letter is dated 8 November 1462. The formula was meant to be used by Albanian priests to render the ritual understandable for people ignorant of Latin. Probably it was meant also to be used by Albanian people in the countryside, unable to take their children to be baptized to a church. The formula was approved by a synod in Mat, Albania, in 1462.[5]
The document containing the baptismal formula is held in the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Florence, Italy. It was discovered in 1915 by the Romanian scholar Nicolae Iorga.[6]
See also
References
- Newmark, Leonard; Philip Hubbard; Peter R. Prifti (1982). Standard Albanian: a reference grammar for students. Andrew Mellon Foundation. p. 3. ISBN 9780804711296. Retrieved 2010-05-28.
- Deuxième Conférence des études albanologiques: à l'occasion du 5e ... Vol. 1. 1969. p. 64. Retrieved 2010-05-28.
- Božić, Ivan (1979), Nemirno pomorje XV veka (in Serbian), Beograd: Srpska književna zadruga, p. 380, OCLC 5845972,
захваљујући помоћи драчког архиепископа Павла Анђела, који је успео да одвоји Леку од Турака и доцније измири са Скендербегом, а исто тако и да Скендербега наведе на прекид примирја са Турцима
- Janet Byron (1976). Selection among alternates in language standardization: the case of Albanian. Mouton. p. 36. ISBN 9789027975423. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
in Albanian is the short Catholic baptismal formula (Formula e pagëezimit) of 1462.2 The formula is in Geg, and written in Roman script; it occurs within a pastoral letter, itself in Latin, of the Archbishop of Durres, Pal Engjelli
- Anamali, Skënder (2002). Historia e popullit shqiptar në katër vëllime (in Albanian). Vol. I. Botimet Toena. p. 311. OCLC 52411919.
- Academia Republicii Socialiste România, Academia Republicii Populare Romîne (1971). "Revue Des Études Sud-est Européennes". 9: 102. Retrieved 2010-05-28.
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Sources
- Shala-Peli, Teuta (2014). Drishti në Mesjetë [Drisht in the Middle Ages] (Thesis). Academy of Sciences of Albania-Center of Albanological Studies.