Ujet v politično izgnanstvo: Poljak Emil Korytko in zbirka Slovénſke péſmi krajnſkiga narόda .......... 169

TRAPPED IN POLITICAL EXILE: EMIL KORYTKO AND SLAVIC SONGS OF THE CARNIOLAN PEOPLE

Emil Korytko, Polish ethnographer, folklorist, and poet, was arrested by Austrian authorities in 1834 and imprisoned on accusation of taking part in subversive activities. At the end of 1836 he was sent for confinement to Ljubljana, Duchy of Carniola.Korytko wished to give a meaning to his exile by collecting and publishing Slovenian folk songs. As an enthusiastic adherent of Kollár’s Pan-Slavism, he planned to present Slovenian folk heritage in the comparative framework of Slav-ic cultures. His first step toward realizing this goal was the collection of songs entitled Slovénske pésmi krajnskiga narόda (Slavic Songs of the Carniolan Peo-ple), which he prepared with the assistance of Slovenian intelligentsia. Korytko explained his work in the texts that he published from June to November 1838 in the newspapers Illyrisches Blatt and Ost und West.In these articles he defined and justified the study of folk culture, presented Slovenian music heritage, and shed light on some practical aspects of music in Slovenia.Korytko was not the first person who attempted to publish a collection of folk songs in Slovenia, but he was the first who managed to achieve this goal. His letters to the family, as well as to his education, demonstrate that Korytko’s up bringing as a nobleman played an the important role in his activity. Due to the noble background he was able to successfully complete collective efforts that had appeared earlier unproductive in the territory of Slovenia. Korytko died on the last day of January, 1839, shortly before the authorities sent him a decision with a the political pardon and before the publication of the first volume of Slavic Songs of the Carniolan People. During his burial one of the first manifestations of the Slovenian patriotism was organised.