In 1809-1814 Jernej Kopitar, with the help of baron Žiga Zois, set up the first transnational network of European Slavists. The most demanding part of this project was making a connection between the patriarch of Slavist Josef Dobrovsky in Prague and the Dalmatian linguist Francesco Appendini in Dubrovnik. In spite of war, hard-to-cross frontiers, a continetal blocade and secret monitoring of the postal service, Kopitar and Zois managed to established a lasting correspondence with Appendini, which enable the extensive exchange of new or unknown data, theories and books between the Slavists north and south.
|
