The National Historical Museum today commemorated At Shtjefën Gjeçovi on the anniversary of his birth, July 12, 1874, marking 150 years since his birth in Janjevë, Kosovo.

After completing his early education at the Franciscan college in Troshan in 1888, Gjeçovi pursued further studies in Croatia. Upon his graduation in 1896, he was ordained as a priest and served in various locations, including Pejë, Gomsiqe, Theth, and Rubik.

Gjeçovi was a polymath who collected hundreds of oral traditions, prepared scientific monographs, wrote articles, created educational texts, and translated world literature.

He is best remembered for his monumental work between 1910 and 1925 on the publication of the “Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit,” a codification of traditional Albanian customary law, which he compiled from oral sources and initially published in the magazine “Hylli i Dritës.”

In addition to his ecclesiastical duties, Gjeçovi documented the traditions of Northern Albania, the Mirdita plateau, and the Albanian Alps, including the folk poetry of the highlands, customary laws, and ethnographic material. He was the first Albanian folklorist to conduct field research using contemporary methodological standards.

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