Wheel of happiness all around
spinning does not fit:
who wants to burn, here it is,
and whoever goes down gets up.

Ivan

Dino

About the rebellion for which the Pope excommunicated the Republic.

As a teenager, Gundulić experienced one of the most bloodthirsty episodes of Dubrovnik's rule. When he was twelve years old, he experienced the revolt of Lastovčani. The rebellion, in which several Lastov residents were killed and several dozen of them exiled, took place from 1601 to 1605.

Offended by the actions of the rulers of Dubrovnik, the people of Lastov surrendered to the protection of the Venetians, who at that time were the biggest enemies of the Republic of Dubrovnik. The autocrats hanged many people from Lastov, and the priests who were the leaders of the rebellion were strangled in the dungeon. Because of this, the Pope excommunicated the Republic and ordered that Christian countries should not trade with them. This meant the imminent collapse of the Republic, whose nobles lived on trade.

However, Dubrovnik was saved by Marin Gundulić, who managed to get the pope to cancel the excommunication. However, in exchange for that, the people of Dubrovnik had to withdraw their condemnation of the priests and pay various contributions to the Church. They also had to accept the Jesuits, which the Dubrovnik government had refused until then.

Revolt of the Lastovcans

Ivan or Dživo Gundulić was born into a respectable manor family Gundulić in Lučarica Street in Dubrovnik. He was the first child of Fran Dživov, who was a merchant and civil servant by profession, and Dživa Gradić. He got the name Dživo after the long lineage of Gundulić. Namely, Ivan was born in one of the remaining thirty noble families.

During the founding of the city in the 7th century, the Dubrovnik nobility consisted of more than one hundred and fifty families! But that number has drastically decreased over the centuries because the people of Dubrovnik did not allow other layers of the population to get that status. Namely, Dubrovnik noblemen, with rare exceptions, for centuries were only allowed to marry Dubrovnik noblewomen and those with whom they were not related, which is why many lineages died out.

When Ivan was only three years old, his father gave up paternal care over him and handed him over to three guardians. He transferred part of his property to his name, which was managed by guardians. Although the family was respectable, they were among the poorer landowners.

This is why Dživo stayed in Dubrovnik all his life. There he finished the humanities high school, after which, as an adult citizen, he entered the Great Council.

In contrast to other lords who spent their youth turbulently, living a dissolute life, Gundulić had an extremely calm nature, which is why they nicknamed him "Mačica". However, as a young man he wrote love poetry which is now lost.

In the preface to his first printed book, "Songs of the Submissive King David" (Rome, 1621), he called these works of his youth "the birth of darkness" and thus renounced them. He hid these works because their purpose was entertainment. Namely, they did not correspond to the counter-reformation poetics and ideology that the grown-up Gundulić followed.

He regularly held positions in the administrative and judicial authorities; In 1615 and 1619, he became a prince in Konavle. In the same year, his sister Marija got married. Since the father did not have enough money for the dowry, he had to sell a part of the estate that his guardians had bought for him. When Maria became a widow, he became the guardian of her and her children, which was an additional financial burden for him.

From 1621, he performed various legal services in Dubrovnik. In 1627, after his mother's death, he inherited houses in Rudanova, Široka and Grbina Streets in Dubrovnik, as well as estates in Župa, Mljet and Konavle.

In 1628, he married Nika Sorkočević. The couple had five children, three boys and two girls. The girls became nuns - one joined the Benedictines and the other the Franciscans. Although Gundulić was a very religious man, the reason why the girls were nuns was not so much religious, but practical. Namely, at that time it was customary for less well-to-do families to marry off only the first daughter, while the others ended up in a monastery so that their parents would not have to pay a dowry. Ivan, on the other hand, decided that he would not marry any of his daughters.

In 1634, he was elected to the Senate, and shortly before his death, he became a member of the Small Council. Written evidence shows that he was often absent from the meetings of administrative bodies, so fines were imposed on him and later forgiven.

He died in Dubrovnik, after a serious illness at the age of 49. He was buried in the family tomb in the Franciscan church. Ivan wanted to be named Prince of the Republic of Dubrovnik, but he did not get to do so. Namely, he died before he turned 50, which was the age limit for proclamation.

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