Born as
Zef Palaj in Shkodër, to Gjon and Marta Dedaj, originally from the mountains of
Shllak. Bernardin Palaj went to
Franciscan schools in
Shkodër, joined the Franciscan order in September 1911, and finished his education in
Salzburg,
Austria. Ordained as a priest in 1918, Palaj was an organist at the Franciscan church in Shkodra from 1916 to 1946, taught
Albanian and
Latin at the
Collegium Illyricum (Illyrian College), and served as parish priest in
Pult and
Rubik. From April 1923 to December 1924, together with
Shuk Gurakuqi,
Ndre Mjeda,
Gjergj Fishta and
Anton Harapi, he edited the Shkodra weekly newspaper
Ora e maleva (The mountain times), affiliated with the parliamentary opposition. He was arrested by
Zogu in 1924 but released through the intervention of Archbishop
Lazër Mjeda. In the period of 1919–1934, he collected folklore from the mountains, material that was published in the leading periodical
Hylli i Dritës (The Daystar). Together with
Donat Kurti, he published
Kângë kreshnikës dhe legenda (Songs of the frontier Warriors and Legends) in the impressive
Visaret e kombit (Treasures of the Nation) collection,
Tirana 1937. From 1934 to 1941, he also increasingly produced literary works of his own, mostly classical lyric and elegiac verse and short stories. From 1939 to 1944, Palaj served as a police captain under
Italian rule and
German occupation, though he was apparently ill from 1942 onwards. He also devoted the war years to research on customary law and tribal organisation in northern
Albania. His police work under the occupation, whatever form it took, did not endear him to the
Partisans. With the
Communist takeover in late 1944, Palaj fled to the mountains, but was arrested in
Rubik in 1946. Palaj died in prison of
tetanus in February or December 1946 before he could be sentenced, and was buried in the courtyard of the sanatorium in Shkodra. Palaj and
Donat Kurti were the first to record the
Albanian language song 'Gjergj Elez Alia' which was published in
Tirana in 1937. == References ==