Ilija Despot (Zaostrog, 20 July 1885 – Split, 28 November 1970) was a Croatian theologian, lawyer, poet and writer.[1]

Early life

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Ilija Despot was the son of Pavao Despot (1847 - 1888) and Countess Manda Kostanjić (1849 - 1918) of the noble house of Kostanjić from Drvenik. He was also the nephew of the Croatian writer Ivan Despot, after whose example he wished to become a priest. After his theological studies in Zadar however, he decided to remain a layman and went on to study law, in which he achieved a doctorate in Zagreb in 1920.

Career

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He worked as a judge and lawyer, and as a cultural associate in Križevci, Šibenik, Split.

His writings were influenced mostly by Silvije Strahimir Kranjčević and Andrija Kačić Miošić who was a priest in the same Franciscan monastery of Zaostrog as Despot. His numerous writings include poems and travelogues together with cultural, historical and biographical studies.[2]

He was married to Iva Paulina Mardešić (born 1899) of the wealthy industrial Mardešić family from the island of Vis. Their son Pavao Despot (1936 - 2017) was also a notable writer and poet.

Bibliography

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  • Drhtaji duše (1912)
  • Duša (1914)
  • Iseljenoj Hrvatskoj (1914)
  • Nad grobom majke (1917)
  • Kidanje (1926)

References

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  1. ^ "DESPOT, Ilija". Hrvatska Encyclopaedia (in Croatian). Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  2. ^ Pandžić, Ivan. "DESPOT, Ilija". Hrvatski Biografski Leksikon (in Croatian). Retrieved 26 February 2017.