Rural testaments from the district of Šibenik in the Early Modern Period: ius commune, Venetian governance and Croatian Glagolitic culture
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| Title: | Rural testaments from the district of Šibenik in the Early Modern Period: ius commune, Venetian governance and Croatian Glagolitic culture |
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| Authors: | Held, Henrik-Riko |
| Publisher Information: | 2025. |
| Publication Year: | 2025 |
| Subject Terms: | ius commune, testaments, Stato da Mar, Šibenik, Venice |
| Description: | Glagolitic script was used in various Croatian parts from the 9th up until the 19th century. From the middle of the 15th century onwards in certain areas there were even public notaries with all the relevant authorisations who published legal documents written in Croatian language and Glagolitic script. Such documents were also issued on a less professional level, e.g. by parish priests who were often the only literate and educated persons in rural regions. Šibenik (Sebenicum) and its surrounding rural area (districtus or territorium) were in the relevant period (15th-18th century) under the rule of Venice. In legal matters, therefore, a strong influence of Venetian law and ius commune existed (of course, with some local peculiarities). Legal documents were thus mainly written in Latin script and Latin or (increasingly in this period) Italian language. However, in more remote areas, especially islands, Glagolitic priests composed many legal documents in Croatian language and Glagolitic script. Certain amount of such documents from 1547 to 1774 was preserved, and they are the main subject matter of this analysis. These documents were studied to a certain degree, but mostly by linguists, ethnologists and historians who were not concentrating on legal matters. The aim of this paper is to analyse these documents exactly from the perspective of legal history. There are altogether 240 documents: testaments, codicils, various contracts, inventories etc. In this paper I will compare their contents and structure to the similar documents from the same time and neighbouring areas and to the forms from the relevant notaries’ formularies (so-called artes notariae). Although these documents are written in Croatian and Glagolitic script, even prima facie it may be noticed that they substantively resemble notaries’ documents written in Latin or Italian elsewhere. In that sense language and script used were apparently not an obstacle for the transmission of legal elements across cultures. This analysis may help to determine the level of immersion of local legal practice on the peripheries in the mainstream body of ius commune. These matters are also associated with the underlying problem of education of Glagolitic priests and their authorisations to issue legal documents. Overall, this paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of the influence of ius commune on Croatian Glagolitic culture and, conversely, of the level of its openness towards legal trends of the time. |
| Document Type: | Conference object |
| Accession Number: | edsair.dris...01492..5f59e76c08981ca63640315a9e36aca7 |
| Database: | OpenAIRE |
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