The European Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation and Its Influence on the Birth of Albanian Literature

Abstract

The effects of the European Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation were seen generally in art and specifically in literature. Even Albania, a small isolated country under Turkish rule, was not left untouched by these movements. Though earlier attemps were made to publish works in the Albanian language, in the 16th century these emphasized even more until the year 1555 in which the drafting of the first Albanian language book was produced. This is an undisputed testimony to the positive effects of the Protestant Reformation in Albania. This, as well as other writings after it, had the goal of guarding the Catholic faith by replacing the Latin texts of the religious services with the Albanian language, which until that point had been prohibited by the Vatican. If the Protestant Reformation did in fact reform minds, the arts and literature, then this deserves to be recognized as an important literary inheritance for the Albanian language. In this work we want to emphasize the influence of the Protestant Reformation as an important factor in development of a national Albanian literature in which other valuable artistic writings would eventually follow. As in many other European literary works, Albanian literature was significantly affected by the Christian faith. The faith found in this literature is like a cornerstone upon which a whole building is supported.

DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2014.v4n4p388