Ivan Tomko Mrnavić

Ivan Tomko Mrnavić (; 1580–1637) was a Croatian Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Bosnia (1631–1635), and an author of reliable historical works and also forgeries with dubious reliability.

Biography

Mrnavić was born in Šibenik in Venetian Dalmatia to a Catholic family on 7 February 1580. His father immigrated there from the Ottoman Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He was educated at a local seminary, and later graduated in theology and philosophy from the Jesuit Roman College in Rome in 1603. Upon returning home, he became a diocesan priest. In 1606, he was appointed as canon and bishop's attorney in Šibenik. Pope Urban VIII unsuccessfully tried to appoint him as bishop, but the Venetian authorities objected because he was a Morlach, and a "pupil of the Jesuit sect". Later, in 1627, the pope sent him as canon and archdeacon to Zagreb in Croatia. In 1631, Mrnavić was appointed a titular bishop of Bosnia.

Mrnavić spent much of his life in Rome. He was a five-time chancellor of the College of St. Jerome, in a period between 1615 and 1635. As of 1622, he worked for the Congregation for the Propagation of Faith as an advisor for the holy books in Croatian (Illyrian). As the Holy See's representative, Mrnavič travelled through Dalmatia, Croatia, Hungary and Poland, including Ottoman Bosnia and Herzegovina and other Ottoman territories.

His historical works have low value and often were forgeries, including Discorso dell' priorato della Wrana (1609), Vita Justiniani (1619), Vita Berislavi Bosnensis episcopi Vesprimensis Dalmatiae, Croatiae, Slavoniae Bosnaeque bani (1620, plagiarism of Antun Vrančić's work on Petar Berislavić), and some value has his documentary description of Bosnia (1627).

His literary works were written in Croatian, in the Chakavian dialect, including drama Osmanšćica (1631) and poem Život Magdalene od knezov Zirova plemena Budrišića (1626).

Through forgeries and false genealogies, Mrnavić also tried to relate his family to the Serbian Royal Nemanjić dynasty and Mrnjavčević family.

He claimed that Skanderbeg, the national hero of Albania, was of Slav origin, which prompted Frang Bardhi to write a biography on Skanderbeg published in Venice in 1636 as a polemic against him, defending the Albanian identity of Skanderbeg.

Episcopal succession While bishop, Marnavich was the principal co-consecrator of: Octavio Asinari, Bishop of Ivrea (1634); and Nicolaus de Georgiis (Zorzi), Bishop of Hvar (1635).

Works His works written in Latin include: Vita beati Augustini (Augustin Kažotić) Vita Berislavi (Petar Berislavić) 1620 Vita s. Sabbae (Saint Sava), Rome, 1630–31

His works written in the Chakavian dialect of Croatian language include include: Život Margarite blažene divice, kćeri Bele, kralja ugarskoga i hrvatskoga, 1613, translated from Italian Žalosnoskazje Krispa Cezara, 1614 - translated from Latin, tragedy of Bernarda Stefoni Život Magdalene od knezov Žirova, Rome 1626, Biblical-religious epic, translated to Italian, celebrating the union of asceticism and anti-Turkish sentiment Potuženje pokornika, songs on the death of Jesus, half of the poem is translated from a song written in Latin by Sannazar Osmanšćica, drama written in 1631