Étude comparée des journaux «Ephéméris» et «Serbskija Novini», édités à Vienne par les frères Grecs Marcidès Pouliou, pendant les années 1791- 1792

Abstract

The brothers Markidis Pouliou managed to bring into circulation a Greek newspaper, from 31st December 1791, and a Serbian newspaper, from 14th March 1792. A comparison between these two newspapers is of great interest, since they were published at the same time and by the same editors and directed at two groups of people of different origin and national consciousness who nonetheless lived in the same political and cultural environment, and who in many circumstances had the same problems, yet in others found their interests clashing. Especially interesting, of course, are the articles which concerned some of their common struggles or, conversely, some point of difference between them. With the above observations as motive, but also as a measure for this short study, we may draw up several principles which seem to have been accepted in the relations beween the two papers: 1. In general, the Serbian paper was dependent upon the Greek one. 2. Articles taken from the general European press were translated by a group of polyglots into Greek and from Greek were rendered into Serbian. This is why these articles, like others of more general interest were as a rule printed first in the Ephimeris and only three days later in the Serbskija Novini. 3. For local news, coming from a particular area in the Balkans or concerning only one of the communities, each paper was largely independent of the other: thus there were articles printed only by the Greek or only by the Serbian paper. 4. Articles which concerned the relations of the two communities were printed with slight variations so as not to offend the national pride or prestige of the readers. The conclusion of this parallel study is that these papers, which sprang from a certain intellectual presence of the two peoples in Austria, exerted an important influence on their readers and helped to make them conscious of their power and to further their intellectual development.