Most Reverend Giovanni Thomas Marnavich | |
---|---|
Bishop of Bosnia | |
![]() Cover of the 1631 book Osmanchica authored by Mrnavić | |
Church | Catholic Church |
Diocese | Diocese of Bosnia |
In office | 1631–1639 |
Successor | Thomas Marnavich |
Orders | |
Consecration | 23 November 1631 by Luigi Caetani |
Personal details | |
Born | 1579 |
Died | 1635 or 1637 or 1639 Republic of Venice |
Giovanni Thomas Marnavich or Joannes Thomas Marnavich or Ivan Tomko Mrnavić (1579–1635 or 1637 or 1639) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Bosnia (1631–1639)[1][2][3] and an author of historical works.[4] He was the author of several forgeries, with the most famous being that of the Life of Justinian.[4] He also wrote a book on the Life of Saint Sava.
On 10 November 1631, Giovanni Thomas Marnavich was appointed during the papacy of Pope Urban VIII as Bishop of Bosnia.[1][5][3] On 23 November 1631, he was consecrated bishop by Luigi Caetani, Cardinal-Priest of Santa Pudenziana, with Erasmo Paravicini, Bishop of Alessandria, and Bartul Kačić, Bishop of Makarska, serving as co-consecrators.[5] He served as Bishop of Bosnia until his death in 1635[3] or 1639.[5]
In 1631, Marnavich published a pamphlet that Albanian national hero Scanderbeg was not an Albanian but rather a Serb. His claim was refuted by Frang Bardhi in his The Apology of Scanderbeg, published in Venice in 1636.
Mrnavić believed that the Illyrians were Slavs.[4] 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[6] as a polemic against him, defending the Albanian identity of Skanderbeg.[7][8]
While bishop, Marnavich was the principal co-consecrator of:[5]
His works written in Latin include:
His works written in "Illyrian" language include: