Summary
A Franciscan, philosopher and political writer from Sumartin. He advocated uniting Dalmatia with Croatia, taught in Italy and spent his final years in the monastery of his birthplace.
His historical life also found a literary echo in Nazor’s ‘Pastir Loda’ (‘The Shepherd Loda’).
Beginnings and return to Sumartin
Born Stjepan Dorotić, he began his education at the Franciscan monastery in Sumartin. He continued studying philosophy and theology in Makarska and Italy, where he also taught. After a turbulent political career, he spent his final years back at the monastery in Sumartin.
Philosophy and politics
He taught philosophy, theology and natural sciences. Among his published works, ‘Philosophicum specimen de homine’ stands out. After the fall of the Republic of Venice, he advocated the union of Dalmatia with Croatia, worked alongside the Austrian authorities and opposed French administration. His writings belong to both the history of ideas and the political history of Dalmatia.
Dorotić in literary memory
Vladimir Nazor included him in the novel ‘Pastir Loda’. Dorotić is thus present in two different kinds of island history: as a historical Franciscan and political figure, and as a character shaped later in literature. Nazor’s interpretation is not a source for every detail of Dorotić’s biography.
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