Croatian Latin Literature - Medieval Period

Medieval Period

Croatian Latin literature has been found in modern-day Croatia since the 9th century, and is evident from numerous epigraphs cast in stone and even more numerous in public and private writings; some are in verse. The sarcophagus of Peter the Black (from Split) in the 11th century has an inscription pertaining to the transience of life written by the deacon Dabrus (Croatian: Dabro). A better-known example is the tombstone inscription of Vekenega, head of the Benedictine convent of St. Mary in Zadar (d. 1111). This inscription is written on four tablets with 20 verses (hexameters and elegiac couplets), in which an unknown poet credits Vekenega's work for the convent. An inscription exists for the knez of Bribir, ( Mladen Šubić (d. 1348) in the Trogir Cathedral of St. Lawrence), consisting of 22 goliardic verses. There are also fragments of two inscriptions important in Croatian history: Knez Trpimir I (mid-9th century) and Queen Jelena of Zadar (976), starting with In hoc tumulo quiescit Helena famosa ("Jelena, the famous, rests in this grave") and ending with Icque aspiciens vir dic ("When you look here, say "God, have mercy on her soul"). The oldest document of a Croatian ruler is Trpimir's charter (852), the first record of a Croatian name in a Croatian document.

Traces of Latin in medieval Croatia date from the 9th century, in stone inscriptions and well-preserved public and private documents. Some of these inscriptions are in verse. On the sarcophagus of the Split nobleman Peter Black (11th century) are 10 verses about the transience of life, drawn up by the deacon Beaver (Dabrus). Notable is the tomb inscription of the nun Vekenega, director of the Benedictine Convent of St. Mary in Zadar (died 1111), with 20 verses in which an unknown poet celebrates her and the monastery. An inscription on the sarcophagus of Prince Mladen Subic (died 1348) in the Trogir Cathedral consists of 22 verses. Fragments are preserved, the two above of which are noteworthy.

From the 11th century, two charters of King Peter Krešimir IV of Croatia survive: a grant commemorating the foundation of the monastery of St. Mary in Zadar (1066) and a grant in which St. Grisogono of Zadar bestows the island of Maun, off the Dalmatian coast (dalmatico in nostro mari). Other documents are notary records (the oldest from 1146 in Zadar): a statute from Split in 1240 and the Statute of Zagreb, composed by Zagreb Canon John Archdeacon Gorički (1334) and the oldest urbarium in Croatia. The Supetar kartular ("Proceedings of transcripts of documents relating to the Monastery of St. Peter in a village not far from Split" dates to 1064, and is a source for the history of Croatia until the end of the 11th century. Two liturgical dramas survive from the 11th century, both in rituals of Zagreb Cathedral. The more primitive ritual concerns a quest for the tomb (Sepulchre Visitatio); the second involves the Christmas story (Officium stellae), depicting the Biblical Magi and their visit to Herod.

The medieval Croatian chronicles were written in Latin. The earliest preserved chronicle is that of a priest in Duklja from the mid-12th century; in the introduction, the author states that the chroncile was written in "Slav" and translated into Latin Libellus Gothorum or Sclavorum regnum). The author of the Chronicles was from Bar and called "Pop Dukljanin" by Croatian historian Johannes Lucius, who had it published as a contribution to his own work (De regno et Dalmatiae Croatiae, 1666). Entitled Presbyter Diocleatis Regnum Sclavorum, the Latin text contains 47 chapters; however, the original "Slavic" version is lost. There is an old Croatian translation (probably from the 14th century), which was compiled by an unknown author in the vicinity of Split. This was translated during the 16th century by Dmin Papalićev (from Split), who discovered the manuscript in the Makarska Riviera and copied it. This translation (called the Croatian Chronicle) covers 23 chapters of the Latin original, describing the history of Croatia and adding five chapters on the reign of King Zvonimir and legends surrounding his death. The Papalićev transcript was then translated into Latin by Marko Marulić in 1510; this is the Latin translation which Lucius published in his aforementioned work. The Chronicle is divided into three parts: the genealogy of Slavic rulers, the legend of Vladimir the Great and the Dukljanska Chronicle from the 11th and 12th centuries. The historical value of the work is not great; the absence of a timeline, inventing and mixing of various historical figures and events and interpretations by later copyists significantly impede the work's historical basis.

During the 13th century Thomas Archidiaconus (ca. 1200–1268) of Split, a clergyman and politician from a Roman family, wrote Historia Saloni in 1266. It presented in chronological order the life and work of the Archbishop of Split-Solin since Roman times, representing a valuable historical source for the eras of Krešimir IV and Zvonimir. This contemporary history vividly describes the inrush of the Tatars, conflicts between Split and Trogir and political disputes in the city.

The Siege of Zadar and Obsidio Jadrensis are two books by unknown authors from the 14th century. They are a detailed overview of Zadar in 1345–1346, when it was threatened by the Venetians over land and sea. The author of Obsidio Jadrensis is sympathetic to the Venetian cause, unlike the author of the Siege of Zadar. A verse chronicle of the earliest history of Dubrovnik, the Milecijeva Chronicle (compiled by Miletius in the 13th or 14th century), is preserved in 91 hexameters.