Croatian glagolitic heritage related to Lika, Krbava, Gatska, Modrus and Senj

...But he knew all too well from which sides winds blow,
and which adorn good deeds, and which injure soul.
Antun Matesa Kuhacevic, Laud for a Glagolite

Alms and gifts for the Church of Croatian Martyrs in Udbina (in Croatian) - [DOC]

t is not excluded that the beginnings of the Croatian state are related precisely to the Lika - Krbava region. The Croatian Prince Borna from the beginning of 9th century was known first as the Dux Guduscanorum, i.e. the Prince of Gachans (from the Gatska valley), before he traversed the mountain of Velebit. There exist the remains of Croatian interlace from 10th century found near the town of Smiljan. The most important monument of early Croatian literacy, dating from the end of 11th century, is the Baska tablet, where in its fifth line the names of joupan (prefect) Desimir from Krbava and Martin (Mratin) from Lika are mentioned as witnesses.

There were four important bishopric centers in this region in the Middle Ages:

• The Senj Bishopric, around 1150 - 1969,
• The Krbava Bishopric, 1185 - 1460,
• The Modrus Bishopric, 1460 - 1493,
• The Otocac Bishopric, 1460 - 1534,

• the famous Plitvice lakes (the most beautiful lakes in Europe),
• Velebit mountain, the largest in Croatia, and a symbol of Croatia. Very beautiful verses of Vila Velebita are devoted to this mountain of rare beauty.
• I would like to add two very beautiful water springs in the Gatska valley, that you can see in the of village Sinac (Hoffman's spring and Mayer's spring).

esides parishes in Lika and Krbava there existed also parishes of Brinje, Buzani, Hotuca, Oderjan, Una, Lapac, Nebljus and Gatska (Gat). The Buzani parish is mentioned for the first time in 1071, during the reign of Croatian King Kresimir IV (who founded the city of Sibenik). The name of Buzani reminds us to the name of Duchess Buga, who together with her sister Tuga and five brothers brought White Croats to their new homeland. We know this from writings of Constantine Porphyrogenetus, a Byzantine emperor from 10th century.

The tribes of Buzani existed in 6th century on the north of the region inhabited by White Croats (around Krakow, in parts of Poland, Bohemia and Slovakia). We learned this from a map shown at the exhibition "Carolingians and Croats" held in Split in 2001. It seems that the name of Buzani is derived from the name of river Bug in Ukraine, where they lived. They are mantioned in so called "Geograf Bawarski" and later in "Povest vremennyh let": "Buzhane zane sedosha po Bugu". Later on they were called Wolynianie (Volyniani). I am indebted to Halina Watrobska, Gdansk, Poland, for this last information.

For the town Senj it is known to have been bishop's seat already in the fifth century. Before the tragic Krbava battle with the Turks in 1493 the region of Lika and Krbava, together with Senj, had numerous important cultural and spiritual centers. For instance, in the Middle Ages it had as many as 20 monasteries, while after Turkish penetrations only two of them survived in Senj. The remaining two were subsequently closed by Joseph II.

In 1248 the Senj bishop Philip obtained written permission from Pope Innocent IV for the Glagolitic Mass to be used in the Senj Cathedral, as well as in all areas where the custom had existed. The same permission was given in 1252 to benedictins from the monastery of St. Nikola near Omisalj on the island of Krk. These events were important for further flowering of Croatian Glagolitic culture. This decision by Pope Innocent IV had also ecumenical importance, since Croatian Glagolitic mass was very close to the mass served among Orthodox Slaves (Serbs, Montenegrines, Macedonians, Bulgarians, Ukrainians Byelorussians and Russians). These questions are discussed in [Bogovic].

It is interesting that in Croatia there exists the surname Glagolich, dating from the 15th century. Also, it is indicative that there exists the village of Glagolich near the town of Kosinj in Lika. The name of the town of Gospic (now the seat of the Gospic - Senj bishopric) is derived from the Croatian name of Madonna: Gospa.

St. Vojtech (Adalbert) visited Croatia in 989 while on his return from Rome to his native White Croatia. On that occasion he was in Skradin and Modrus. See an article by Ivan Kukuljevic Sakcinski in [Hrvatski putopis, p. 76].

s a young man King Charles IV visited for several days the town of Senj in 1337, when he was only 21. In this important Glagolitic center, with the unique Roman Catholic cathedral where only the Glagolitic liturgy had been served (instead of Latin rite), he made friends with the nobleman Bartolomej Frankapan. Frankapan supplied him with military escort on his journey to Tirol, where he was to meet his brother. The Czech king Charles IV of Luxemburg built a Glagolitic convent in Prague in 1347, where Croatian Benedictines from the island of Pasman were invited as teachers. It is remarkable that the convent was just a few hundred meters from the famous Charles University, built the next year, in 1348. Charles IV also founded the University of Vienna in 1365. We recall by the way that the oldest university in Croatia has been founded in the city of Zadar in 1396.

Some of important personalities in the history of the Glagolitic script related to Lika and Krbava are:

1. Bishop Stipan, Modrus (13th century),
2. Grgur, son of Martin Berislavic from Modrus (14th century),
3. Petar pisac, author of the Vatican Illirico 8 (14th century),
4. Prince Novak Disislavic (14th century),
5. Grgur
6. vicar Stanislav from Poland
7. Paval dijak is Krbave (14/15th centuries),
8. Bartol Krbavac (15th century),
9. Broz Kolunic from Buzan (15th century),
10. Jakov Blazevic de Modrussia (Jakov pok. Blaza, 15th century),
11. Blaz Jurjev Trogiranin (from Lapac, 15th century),
12. Kristofor, bishop of Modrus from Dubrovnik (15th century),
13. Nikola Modruski (Nicolas de Modrus, ~1427-1480),
14. pop Martinac (15th century),
15. Simun Kozicic Benja, Krbava - Modrus bishop (15/16 centuries),
16. Bernardin Frankapan (1453-1529).

Ja, Stipan od Staroga Dubrovnika, biskup Modruski i vicnik Svete krune Uarske, posvitih ovu crikvu na postenie svetoga Luke, pisara Marie Blazene.

The famous Vinodol Code from 1288, mentions the Modrus dukes.

he first part of the Code Slave 73 (Glagolitic collection held in Bibliothéque Nationale, Paris) was written in 1375 by Grgur, son of Martin Berislavic from Modrus, then by Stipan supisac, and prvad Mikula na Lindare. We know that by the end of 14th century a Paulist Glagolitic convent of sv. Nikola was built 4.5 km south of Modrus. Available documents from 1444 to 1475 mention a Glagoliti paulist vicar Stanislav, of the Polish origin. It is interesting that he translated Rules of the Paulist order from Latin into Croatian, in the Glagolitic script! He was vicar in the above mentioned convent of sv. Nikola on the mount of Gvozd (since the 18th century called Kapela). See [Runje].

Paval dijak is Krbave was a student in Paris in the beginning of 15th century, a student of Georges d'Esclavonie. Georges d'Esclavonie, or de Sorbonne, was a Glagolitic priest from the same period, and professor at Sorbonne in Paris. Paval dijak from Krbava left us an interesting leaf in Paris, containing his exercises in various scripts: Gothic, Hebrew, and Croatian Cyrillic, where he also wrote his name ("to pisa Paval Dijak is Krbava kakob umil"). George de Slavonie was in close relations with students from Krbava (de Corbavia). It is worth mentioning that in one of his manuscripts held in the City Library (former Cathedral Library) held in Tours in France, George de Sorbonne mentions the following list of Croatian bishops that practised Glagolitic Mass (see here, bottom on the left):

• Episcopus de Korbavia (from Krbava), on the first place;
• Episcopus Cnynski (from Knin);
• Episcopus Krxki (from the town of Krk on the largest Croatian island of Krk); then
• archbishop of Split
• bishop of Trogir
• bishop of Sibenik
• archbishop of Zadar
• bishop of Nin
• bishop of Rab
  
• bishop of Osor (island of Cres)
  
• Episcopus Senski (from the town of Senj).

Poklonenje i pozdravlenje knezu Jurju kako momu gos-
podinu plemenitomu dam ti viditi da sam
zdrav Bo¾ju milostju i svete Marie Gospoe.

ne of the most beautiful Glagolitic books is Missal of Prince Novak from 1368, written in Krbava, now held in the National Library in Vienna, Austria. The missal contains the earliest known Croatian verses in the Glagolitic script. The famous Middle Age death sequence "Dies irae", appears in the missal of Prince Novak more than hundred years earlier than in Latin missals in Europe. It also contains some music notation. Written by Prince Novak Disislavic for saving his soul, its beautiful Glagolitic letters were later used as a model for printing the first Croatian incunabulum in 1483 (Missal Romanum), only 28 years after Gutenberg's Bible. Prince Novak is from Ostrovica, from the clan of Mogorovic.
The missal is important also due to a short note written in the book more than hundred years later, in 1482, by Juraj Zakan from the town of Roc in Istria, where he mentions his excitement with activities related to printing the first Croatian incunabulum, published in 1483. The note was written in the town of Izola (Slovenian part of Istrian peninsula).

1. Berlin missal of Bartol Krbavac (218 vellum leaves, two columns with 31 lines), 1402 (Berlin, Staatsbibliothek). The book had intersting history: written for the church of St. Juraj Koprivski on the beautiful Zrmanja river (at that time called Kopriva), it was in Zadar in 1440, in Rome in 1627, in England in 1808 (Kensington House). It is known that in 1882 it arrived from London to Berlin as a part of Hamilton's collection (named according to a Scottish collectionar Hamilton). Finally, in 1956 the book was again found in Berlin, where it is also now. The beginning of the missal contains a short note written by Caperan (professor of oriental languages) in French, recommending this book to scholars because of its beauty and antiquity. [1] - [2] - [3] - [4] - [5] - [6] - [7] - [8]
2. Roc missal, 15th century (National Library in Vienna, Austria), Cod. Slav. 4, 252 leaves, (24 x 35.5 cm), written probably by Bartol Krbavac,
3. Beram missal, (490 pages, National Library in Ljubljana, Slovenia), ~1425, written probably in the town of Bakar for the parish church in Beram, Istria.
4. Bakar breviary (containing also chronicle of the town of Bakar), 1414, lost,
5. Hum breviary, 1442, probably written by Bartol Krbavac.

All of them are rich with nice miniatures. It is known that Bartol lived in Zadar for about thirty years, see [Runje, p. 17].

According to dr. Marija s. Agnezija Pantelic, it is possible that the artistic atmosphere created by Bartol Krbavac enabled the appearance of world's famous painter Julije Klovic (1498-1578), known as "Michelangelo of miniature."

Blaz Jurjev Trogiranin was outstanding painter from 15th century, working in Trogir. He was born in Lapac. Among many sacral paintings we should mention a grand polyptych in the cathedral of St. Lovro in Trogir, on which he left us his short note in cursive Glagolitic script around 1435.

The oldest known Glagolitic document written in crusive Glagolitic script is a muniment from Pocitelj (Lika) from 1393. It mentions ...Tomas i Butko krbavski licki buski i procaja knezi.

The oldest known Croatian cursive Glagolitic muniment that we know off (and preserved in the original) is a little bit older - from 1376 (Dobrinj).

In Golubic near the town of Bihac (now in western Bosnia, ie. Turkish Croatia) a Glagolitic tablet was found where among others the Krbava Prince Tomas Kurjakovic is mentioned, and his support for building strongholds on the island of Ripac on the Una river in 1442. The tablet, which used to be in the church of St. Martin, ruined by the Turks, is now in the famous Franciscan monastery in Fojnica in central Bosnia. See [Fucic, Glagoljski natpisi, p. 164]. For Croatian Glagolitic heritage in Bosnia see here.

In the ruins of the bourg of Buzim a short glagolitic fragment containing nice and and pretty large glagolitic letters (up to 13 cm) was found, dating from 15th century. It is held in the Museum of Lika in Gospic, see [Fucic, Glagoljski natpisi, p. 113].

An interesting Glagolitic seal from 1492 from Krbava mentions two Krbava dukes Petar and Juraj. It contains a circular inscription Petar i Juri, knezi krbavski, and the herald of the noble family of Gusic. It can be seen on the Exhibition of the Glagolitic Script in the city of Rijeka.

There are some opinions that the 1483 Glagolitic incunabulum might have been be printed in once famous Modrus (Valentin Putanec), while others propose the town of Roc in Istria. Unfortunately, the exact data are missing, and the colophone of the book does not indicate the precise place of printing.

In 1486 bishop Kristofor of Modrus (from Dubrovnik) had to escape from Modrus to the town Novi Vinodolski on the Croatian littoral before the Turkish onslaughts. Once glorious Modrus, important spiritual and trade center of Middle Age Croatia, lost its importance after 1493, and today it is a small village with sad remains of the Trzan castle (its walls were 1200 m. long).
The area was again ravaged by partisans in 1942, and during Greater Serbian aggression on Croatia in 1991-1995.

Croatian ban (governor) Ivan Karlovic, the last descendant of the family of dukes of Kurjakovics', was born in a rich noble family, with their property mainly in Lika and Krbava. Due to Turkish penetrations he lost many of his lands. He ruled during the great Croatian exodus in the 16th century. After exhausting battles he died at the Medvedgrad bourg near Zagreb, and was burried in the Church of Majka Bozja Remetska in Zagreb. He entered into the poetry of Croatian exiles in Italy, Austria (Gradisce - Burgenland), and the poetry of Croatian Muslims. His sister Jelena was mother of the Siget hero Nikola Subic Zrinski.
In the Medvedgrad bourg near Zagreb died a famous Croatian latinist poet Jannus Panonius from the 15th century.

A very beatiful Glagolitic muniment from 1469 (Licka listina) is preserved with six hanging seals ("pecati visuci"). It mentions a duke and judges of the noble Kings' office in Lika ("knez i suci plemenitoga stola kraljeva... v Lici). Also, a testmant in the Glagolitic script is preserved, by which a certain Matijica Utisenic leaves some lands to a church on the Velebit mountain above Medak ("crkvi svetago Ivana na Gori").

Broz Kolunic (more precisely, Broz Kacitic from the clan of Kolunic from Lika) wrote a collection of Lenten sermons in the Glagolitic script in 1486 in Knezeva vas near Otocac. It is interesting that the colophone with his signature was written in Croatian cyrillic.

A valuable golden pectoral romanic cross of Krbava bishops, dating from 13th century, is held today in the town of Bribir. In 1491 a basmenet had been attached with engraved glagolitic text, mentioning Jurki Andrijicic, see [Fucic, Glagoljski natpisi, p.105].

Pop (Rev.) Martinac (plmenenem Lapcanin, i.e. from Lapac) lived in Grobnik near Rijeka, and described in the Novljanski II breviary from 1495 (completed in the course of 11 years) the tragic defeat of Croats in the 1493 Krbava battle with the Turks. Both Novljanski I and II breviaries were prepared by members of Glagolitic Paulist order in Croatian south.

Simun Kozicic Benja, born in Zadar, Krbava - Modrus bishop, founded the Glagolitic printing house in Rijeka (1530-1531) where six books were printed:

• Psaltir,
• Oficij rimski,
• Misal hruacki (Croatian Missal),
• Knjizice krsta,
• Knjizice od zitija rimskih arhijereov i cesarov,
• Od bitija redovnickoga.

Nikola Modruski, bishop of Senj from 1457, and bishop of Modrus from 1461, was among others Pope's representative at the court of Stjepan Tomasevic in Bosnia, and on the court of the Hungarian king Matijas Corvin in Budim. His huge library whose origin is from Modrus, was left to the Vatican. He wrote a treatise in defense of the Glagolitic Script in Modrus bishopric. It is regarded to be the first polemic treatise in the history of Croatian literature. It is interesting that Nikola Modruski was born in Boka kotorska. In 1474 he printed the first book among the Croats, in the Latin language.

rbava and Lika were very little studied in the context of their relations to Bosnia and Bosnian Chruch, whose memebers were called Krstyans. It seems that the Krbava Bishopric was founded in 1185 among others also in order to prevent spraeding of heresy of Bosnian Krstyans.

Here is a list of complete Glagolitic books related to Lika, Krbava and Modrus:

1. Code Slave 73, from 1375, Paris (Bibliothèque Nationale)
2. Code Slave 78, Paris (Bibliothèque Nationale),
3. Missal of Prince Novak Disislavic, 1368 (National Library in Vienna)
4. Vatican breviary Illirico 5 (1379),
5. Vatican breviary Illirico 6, 14th century
6. Vatican breviary Illirico 10
7. Vatican Illirico 8 (missal), 14th century
8. Bull of Paulists, 14th century,
9. Krbava breviary, lost (see [Pantelic, p. 84])
10. Lost missal (Kukuljevic), 14/15 centuries
11. Berlin missal of Bartol Krbavac (436 vellum pages), 1402,
12. New York missal (according to Henrik Birnbaum, UCLA, the missal is from Lika-Krbava region or from Zadar hinterland)
13. Roc missal, 15th century (National Library in Vienna, Austria), Cod. Slav. 4, 252 leaves, (24 x 35.5 cm), written probably by Bartol Krbavac,
14. Beram missal of Bartol Krbavac (National Library in Ljubljana, Slovenia), ~1425,
15. Draguc breviary, 1407, probably from Krbava (in use in Istria, in Roc and Hum)
16. Fragment of breviary (Archive of HAZU, Zagrebu, III c 12), 70 leaves, written in Krbava,
17. Bakar breviary (containing also the chronicle of the town of Bakar), 1414, lost,
18. Missal from 1435, 564 vellum pages,
19. Hum breviary, 1442,
20. Bribir missal, 1459,
21. Bribir breviary, 1470,
22. Kolunic collection of lenten sermons, 1486, near Otocac,
23. Dabar breviary, 1486 (from the Frankapan castle of Dabar near Otocac in Gatska parish)
24. Vinodol collection, 15th century.
25. Vinodol (Kukuljevic's) breviary,
26. Metropolitan breviary (MR 161),
27. Modrus urbar, 1486 (40 pages),
28. Novljanski missal,
29. Novljanski I breviary, 1459,
30. Novljanski II breviary, 1495, see here
31. Kosinj breviary, 1491 (incunabulum, the unique preserved sample is kept in the National Library Marciana in Venice)
32. Oxford collection (15th century, held in Bodlean Library, Oxford), Canon. lit. 414, written in Lika, known to have been in possession of Alberto Fortis,
33. Ljubljana collection (National library in Ljubljana, Slovenia, NUK 368),
34. Tkon collection (Tkon is a town on the island of Uljan), beginning of 16th century, written probably in Modrus,
35. Petrinic collection,
36. Blagdanar popa Andrije from Novi,
37. Dijalog Grgura pape,
38. Missal of Pavao Modrusanin, printed in Venice, 1528 (one copy in Odessa, Cambridge, London, Prague, two copies in St. Petersburg, and 3 in Zagreb),

and numerous very old and valuable fragments.

The Vatican breviary Illirico 5, held in Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, dating from 14th century, and written by Petar pisac (Petar the scribe), has been redeemed from the Turks in 1487. It is indeed deeply moving how ordinary people helped with their money and goods in order to redeem the book, although very poor, living in regions looted during frequent Turkish penetrations.

According to Henrik Birnbaum (from the University of Los Angeles, USA), the New York Missal (1400-1410), held in the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York, might originate from the Zadar hinterland or Lika-Krbava region.

Here we provide the list of Glagolitic missals, breviaries and collections, related to Liku i Krbavu, according to [Damjanovic]:

Misal kneza Novaka, 1386., National Library of Austria, Vienna Berlin Missal, 1402., State Library in Berlin Roc Missal, first third of 15th century Beram Missal (first third of 15th century), National Library in Ljubljana Missal Illyrico 8, 1435., The Vatican Library Bribir Missal, 15th century Novi Missal, turn from 15th to 16th century

Breviary in two parts (Illyrico 5 and 6), 1379, 1387, The Vatican Library Ist Novi Breviary, middle of 15th century Vinodol Breviary, 1470, Novi Illyirico 10, 1485, The Vatican Library IInd Novi Breviary, 1495., Novi MR 161, 15th century

Borislavic collection, 1375 Oxford collection, 15the century Kolunic collection, 15th century Ljubljana collection, 15th century Petrinic collection, beginning of 16th century Tkon collection, beginning of 16th century

The Modrus urbar from 1486 is iportant Croatian legal document, originally written in the Glagolitic Script, but preserved in two Latin translations from 16th and 17th centuries. The books has 40 pages, and its reprint exists, see [Lopasic]. It is interesting that Modrus, which today is a small village (with glorious past), was mentioned for the first time in 1160.

Among Croatian legal documents, belonging to Acta Croatica, we may mention several very interesting and beautiful Glagolitic documents kept in the library of Franciscan convent of sv. Kriz in Ljubljana, Slovenia. They were written in Lika in 1433, 1469, in Senj in 1513, and in Slunj in the 16th century, see [Voncina].

In the city of Zadar, as well as in Rab, there were numerous Glagolitic priests from Krbava (de Corbavia) in 14th and 15th centuries. Jakov Blazevic de Modrussia (Jakov pok. Blaza) was a notable copist and illuminator of Glagolitic books, working in Zadar. Also a considerable number of Glagolitic priests were active on island of Krk, islands in the region of Zadar (Uljan, Pasman, Iz, Dugi otok), and in Istria. For example,

• a Glagolitic priest Butko Budonja from Lika is mentioned as a Glagolitic scribe of the brotherhood of Sv. Silvestar in Zadar in 1388, see [Badurina, p. 63];
• in 1401 a Glagolitic priest Ratko pok. Bilaca Meglanica "de Corbavia" obtained a missal and breviary in Bokanjac, see [Badurina, p. 116];
• a Zadar priest Volkacije left his silver cross to a church in Krbava in 1413, and his missal to the covent of Sv. Juraj "de Lesac" near Senj; see [Badurina, p. 63];
• Glagolitic priest Butko pok. Radoslava (i.e. of the late Radoslav) left his breviary to the church of Sv. Mihovil in the village of "Dolnja vas" in Krbava;
• in 1441 a Zadar priest Jursa pok. Mateja ordered by his last wish to be burried in the Glagolitic church of Sv. Mihovil in Zadar, and that his breviary should be given to the church of sv. Marija in Modrus;
• in 1441 rev. Jakov, a priest on the island of Uljan near Zadar, left a Glagolitic book to the church of Sv. Jakov in Krbava;
• it is worth noting that also a considerable number of Croatian noblewomen support writing and buying liturgical books, see [Badurina, pp. 64-65];
• a Glagolitic old-Croatian breviary is sold for the church of Sv. Marija Magdalena in Lika;
• in 1449 a certain Jurko Garkovic "de Corbavia" obtained from an Ugljan priest (Ugljan, i.e. Uljan - an island near Zadar) a codex for the church of Sv. Jakov "in Corbavia".
• in Komrcar on the island of Rab, a Glagolitic Franciscan Tertiary Petar "de Corbavia" died in 1450, and his colleagues write that they will take care about his books;
• Ivan Kordica, a priest in the church of Sv. Marija Magdalena in Buzani, bought a complete breviary in Zadar for 26 golden coins, see [Badurina, p. 116];
• in Istrian town Medulin there is a glagolitic graffiti To pisa pop Marka Dabran (ie. from Dabar in Lika), see [Fucic, Glagoljski natpisi, p. 245].
• in the town of Barban in Istria, in the church of Sv. Antun Opat there is the following Glagolitic graffiti: To pisa pop Vid s(i)n' Pavlov' z Like 1453, see [Fucic, p. 35];
• Paz in Istria, has a graffiti mentioning plovan Andrij iz Buzan, 1461;
• in Draguc and Hum, in 1529 and 1537, pop Andrij iz Buzan,
• in the glagolitic minutes from the town of Hum in Istria (1618.-1672.) in the baptismal book we can find 32 second names of Licanin and 2 of Licanica. See [Vlahov], "Još jedna glagoljska matica iz Huma," pp. 174-175.

In Istrian peninsula there is a village of Modrusani and Otocani (between Kanfanar and Zminj), then another Modrusani west of Svetvincenat. On the north of Istrian town of Buzet there is the village of Krbavica. On the west of Sveti Petar u Sumi there is the village of Brinjani, while near the mouth of the Lim channel in Istria there is the village of Medaki. All these names are obviously related to those Croats who had to escape before the Turks from the region Lika and Krbava. It is well known that people Lika spoke cakavian Croatian language (ca = what) before the arrival of Turks.

When speaking about the Kosinj 1491 breviary (incunabulum), whose only preserved sample is held in the National Library of St. Marco (Marciana) in Venice, we should stress that the Kosinj, which today is a small village in Lika, once was vary famous. Many geographical maps from 15th and 16th centuries confirm this, where Kosinj is included. On the Old maps of the Adriatic prepared by various European authors, mostly Italian, Kosinj appears as many as 11 times. It is interesting that in some of them Corbavia is indicated as the region between Metlika (Merling) and Mokrice (Mocriz) u today's Slovenia:

• Cosin, map from 1560. (p. 27); we can also see the region of Corbavia, but not on its usual place in (today's) Lika, but as the region between Metlika (Merling) and Mokrice (Mocriz), that is, essentially in the region of Zumberak west of Zagreb in Croatia and Bela Krajina in Slovenia; Its name is obviously related to inhabitants from Krbava near Velebit, exiled by the Turks;
• Cosin, map from 1563 (p. 40); Corbavia as above;
• Cosin, map from 1565 (p. 43); Corbavia as above;
• also on maps from ~1563 and 1565 (pp. 43 and 78) we can see Corbavia with Metlika (Merling) and Mokrice (Mocriz);
• Cosin, map from 1565 (p. 77);
• Cosin, map from 1570 (p. 84);
• Khesin, map from 1573 (p. 89);
• Cosin, map from 1620 (p. 108);
• Cosin, map from 1630 (p. 118);
• Kosin, map from 17th century (p. 138).

From the previous list of Glagolitic books related to Lika and Krbava we cite some of preserved missals and breviaries. We should stress that these are only sad remains of once flourishing Glagolitic literature in this part of Croatia.

Glagolitic Missals:

1. Vatican Illirico 8, 14th century
2. Missal of Prince Novak Disislavic, 1368 (National Library in Vienna)
3. Berlin missal (436 vellum pages), 1402,
4. Roc missal, 15th century (National Library in Vienna, Austria), Cod. Slav. 4, 252 leaves, (24 x 35.5 cm), written probably by Bartol Krbavac,
5. Beram missal of Bartol Krbavac, ~1425, (National Library Ljubljana),
6. Novljanski missal,
7. Bribir missal, 1459,
8. Missal of Pavao Modrusanin, Venice, 1528 (one copy on Odessa, Cambridge, London, Prague, two copies in St. Petersburg, and three in Zagreb).

Glagolitic Breviaries:

1. Vatican Illirico 5 (1379), held in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana,
2. Vatican Illirico 6,
3. Vatican Illirico 10,
4. Metropolitan (MR 161),
5. Vinodol (Kukuljevic's) breviary,
6. Fragment of breviary (Archive of HAZU, Zagrebu, III c 12), 70 leaves, written in Krbava,
7. Draguc breviary, 1407, probably from Krbava (in use in Istria, in Roc and Hum)
8. Bakar breviary, 1414 (lost),
9. Hum breviary, 1442 (National and University Library, Zagreb),
10. Bribir breviary, 1470,
11. Dabar breviary, 1486 (from the Frankapan castle of Dabar near Otocac in Gatska parish)
12. Kosinj breviary, 1491 (incunabulum, the unique preserved sample is held in the National Library of Marciana in Venice, Italy).
13. Novljanski I Breviary (1459),
14. Novljanski II Breviary (1495),

The Bishopric archive in Senj possessed abundant legal documentation written in the Glagolitic script. To this day only the glagolitic "Kvaderna" from 16/17th centuries and the testament of Toma Partinic from 1445 survived. During the Second World War the Senj cathedral was destroyed (1944) together with many legal documents written in the glagolitic. It is kown that in the 19th century there were 46 of them, see [Lokmer, Katedrala..., str. 509]). Only the above two mentioned documents survived. Mile Bogovic proved that the Staute of the Senj Kaptol from 1340 was originally written in the glagolitic.

In 1456 Toma Arcidiakon Senjski finished the Vrbnik I. missal in Senj (256 vellum pages), held in the lovely town of Vrbnik on the island of Krk.

• very important is the Senj tablet, 12th century, unfortunately saved only in fragments, sister of the famous Baska tablet,

  

• relief with the figure of St. Martin, Senj, and with Glagolitic inscription from 1330,
• a Glagolitic tablet from 1492 is preserved in Istrian town Kozljak, mentioning the name of Prince Martin Mojsjevic, the ruler of Kozljak, who was born in Senj.
• Brusane, 1512,
• Kosinj, 1517,
• Kosinjski Bakovac, two fragments from 16th century in the Church of Sv. Vid,
• Otocac, 1751 (lost, parish church of St. Trinity, see [Fucic, Glagoljski natpisi, p. 273]),
• Brinje, 1518, Zupna crkva B. D. Marije, partly destroyed during the bombing in WW2,
• several Glagolitic fragments have been found in 1995 near the town of Udbina (church of St. Marko), immediately after the Storm operation (now in Archeological museum in Zadar),
• Glagolitic tablet in Modrus, recent discovery,
• Krbavica inscription (information by bishop Mile Bogovic).

Here we should mention a huge semicircular inscription in Istrian Padova (today's Kascerga), chiselled by pop Andrij Prasic in 1529, born in Buzane in Lika. There are also several other epigraphic Glagolitic monuments from Senj, dating from 1477, 1483, 1522, 1543, ~1540 (lost), and two from 15th century, see [Fucic].

The Senj Bishopric was founded around 1150. The town of Senj had very strong cultural and economic ties with the island of Krk. It is worth mentioning that in Senj there were counselor and merchant representations from Dubrovnik, Genoa, Catalonia (Barcelona), and other European cities.

Here we should mention also the Statute of Senj dating from 1388 (or according to some authors from 1348), written in the Latin script, based on older documents.

Related to the Glagolitic heritage in Senj are the following books:

• Illirico 10,
• Kirin psalter (unjustly called Lobkowitz psalter), 1359,
• the Senj printing house:
  • Baromic Missal, 1494 (incunabulum),
  • Spovid opcena, 1496 (incunabulum),
  • Narucnik plebanusev, 1507,
  • Mirakuli slavne djeve Marije, 1507/1508,
  • Transit sv. Jerolima, 1508,
  • Korizmenjak, 1508,
  • Mestrija od dobra umrtija, 1508.

A professional binder of Glagolitic books was Grgur Kraljic from Senj, working in the Senj printing house. Between 1497 and 1502 he lived in Istria, near Pazin (in Roc, Beram and Hum). We know that in Istria he rebound five Glagolitic books, among them the Vitus of Omisalj breviary (written in 1396), which is now held in the National Library in Vienna, Austria.

In the Szeczenyi Library in Budapest, Hungary, one can see the best preserved incunabulum of the Baromic Missal, printed in the town of Senj in 1494 (bought by Hungarians in Graz in the 19th century, for the huge sum corresponding to 150,000 DM; information by dr Antonija Zaradija Kis). Only 3 copies have been preserved, one of them is held in the Saltykov-Shchedrin Library in St. Petersburg, Russia. Blaz Baromic, born in 1450 in the town of Vrbnik on the island of Krk, is known for his unique broken ligatures in the history of printing.

Blaz Baromic started his typographic career in Venice, where he published a breviary in 1493. Today we call this incunabulum Baromic's breviary. In the colophone we read that this book represents "brevijal hrvatski" (Croatian breviary). Two copies are held in Croatian capital Zagreb, one in München (in Germany), one in Schwarzau (in Austria), and one in Sibiu (in Romania).

It is interesting to mention that the first printing house in Zagreb, which is today the capital of Croatia, was founded around 1694 by Pavao Ritter Vitezovic from the town of Senj.

A Senj bishop Franjo Jozefic, polyglot and a person of high education, wrote a Glagolitic letter to Ban (governor) Kristofor Frankapan with a very cultivated language and style. See [Europe - Croatia, II, Hercigonja's article].

Only a few glagolitic epigraphic inscriptions from Senj survived to these days:

• fragments of the Senj tablet from 12th century

  

• inscription from the church of Sv. Martin, 1330

  

• another inscription from the Senj Cathedral of sv. Marija, kept today in the Croatian historical museum in Zagreb
• Glagolitic inscription from the Cathedral of sv. Marija of Senj

  

• inscription in the Gorica street in Senj, 1477
• inscription of Simun Mecaric, found in the Nehaj fortress (City Museum of Senj)
• three glagolitic fragments found in the Nehaj fortress (City Museum of Senj).

Closely related to Lika and Senj was the fortress of Ledenice near Novi Vinodolski, mentioned already in the famous Vinodol Code from 1288, written in the Glagolitic script. Ledenice was especially important from 15th to 17th centuries, since it was one of those fortresses that prevented free Turkish penetration to Istria and Furlania. For more details see [Laszowski].

In the town of Brinje there is a valuable romanic chapel of St. Trinity, placed within the Sokolac fortress (literally, Falcon's fortress). The chapel was built by prince Nikola IV (of the Frankapan family), and his wife Dorotea Gorjanski. These two names appear also in valuable glagolitic vellum levaes of the confraternity of Sveta Marija od Gorice from the island of Krk (Baska bay). Two of these leaves are in Norway as a part of the famous Schoyen collection of old manuscripts.

See a glagolitic document of prince Anz Frankapan (Ivan VIII.) from 1495, written on parchment in Brinje, concerning donation of a village to the convent of St. Spas near Senj.

• Among Latin incunabula, the earliest work by a Croat is the funeral oration Oratio in funere Reverendissimi Domini D. Petri Cardinalis Sancti Sixti habita, delivered by Bishop Nicolas of Modrus for Cardinal Pietro Riario, the nephew of the Pope. This work was printed in six editions between 1473 and 1482 in Venice and Padua. Bishop Nicolas was a contemporary of the Latin poet Janus Pannonius, very well known in the history of Humanism. Born in 1434 near Cazma in the Croatian-Hungarian borderland, he died at the castle of Medvedgrad, near Zagreb, in the year 1478.
• The impressive speech recounting the devastation of Croatia by the Bishop of Modrus, Simun Kozicic Benja (1460-1536), in the Lateran Council on 27 April 1513, Simoni Begnae Episcopi Modrusiensis de Croatiae desolatione ad Leonem X Pont. Max. (Romae, 1516), and also the Oratio Stephani Possedarski pro Domino Johanne Torquato . . . defensore Crovacie, a request made in the name of Ban Ivan Torquat Karlovic (1521-25) for weapons to defend Croatia, and for priests to encourage and console the people in their despair at the aggression.
• In 1522, Count Bernardinus de Frangepanibus (or Bernardin Frankapan, 1453-1529), a survivor of the battle of Krbava in 1493, delivered a distressing address to the State Senate in Nuremberg, Oratio pro Croatia, Nurenbergae in Senatu Principum Germaniae habita, imploring western potentates for help. Bernardinus was one of the most distinguished members of the family of Frankapans, which had been linked for centuries with the destiny of Croatia. He concluded his appeal by quoting Horace: "Et tua res agitur, paries quum proximus ardet" ("You are concerned when your neighbour's house is burning").
  A Glagolitic Bible in possession of Bernardin Frankapan in the beginning of 16th century is mentioned in [Bratulic, Leksikon..., p. 150], and that there were no later news about its destiny. Was this the Zadar Glagolitic Bible? About Bernardin Frankapan as warrior and intellecutal one can learn from writing of Simun Kozicic Benja that "even under arms and with sword, all the time he writes and translates".
• Almost at the same time the oration delivered in the presence of the Pope by Bernardinus's heroic son, Christopher (1492-1527), left the press. He had become famous by virtue of his strange destiny, and the several years he spent in captivity in Venice. The Danish art historian, Henry Thode, dedicated his admirable book Frangipani's ring, an event in the life of Henry Thode (published by John Macqueen, London, 1900) to the memory of Christopher. Only one copy of his Oratio ad Adrianum Sextum Pont. Max. Christophori de Frangepanibus veg. Seg. Modrusieque Comitis (Paris, 1523?) has survived, and it is held by the British Library. Christopher had added to his oration a memorial, which begins: "Holy Father! the counts, barons, nobles and people of the kingdom of Croatia, addressed themselves to my lord and father speaking thus, `You who are the oldest and mightiest among us must zealously put our case to our Holy Father the Pope and to the apostolic Holy See and to Christian Princes and Kings. Tell them with what ills, miseries, and anguish the Turks torture and torment us, how in overrunning our country they forcibly drag us into cruel captivity, how abandoned by all we are compelled either to leave our homes and to wander abroad, and to make our way by begging through the world, or to conclude a treaty with the Turks and serve them if the protection and help of His Holiness is denied to us"'.
• Paulus Scalichiis von Lika (Count Pavao Skalic, born in Zagreb, 1534-1575) wrote Dialogus P. Scalichii de Lika ... de Missa Tubingae, 1558, and and Glossa Pauli Scalichii de Lika ... in triginta duos Articulos Canonis Missae ex Apostolo [i.e. extracts from the Epistles of S. Paul]. Apud Iodocum Cortesanum: Romae, 1558. The imprint is fictitious; the book was printed in Germany.
• Balthasar Adam Kercselich de Corbavia (Baltazar Adam Krcelic, born near Zagreb, 1715-1778) wrote the following important history of the Zagreb Cathedral: Historiarum Cathedralis ecclesiae Zagrabiensis Partis Primae tomus 1 ... continens seriem episcoporum ab anno 1091 ad annum 1603 et tam episcoporum quam et alias notitias, etc. tom. 1. Zagrabiae, [1770.]. No more published.

Let us also mention here Antun Matesa Kuhacevic (1697-1772), born in Senj, who wrote the following verses devoted to his uncle Luka, a Glagolitic priest:

which we took as the motto of this page dealing with the history of Glagolitic culture in Lika, Krbava and Senj.

Exodus of 20th century, Kristian Krekovic

REFERENCES:

• Alms and gifts for the Church of Croatian Martyrs in Udbina (in Croatian) - [DOC]
• Mile Bogovic:
  • Hrvatsko glagoljsko tisucljece, Senjski zbornik, ISNN 0582-673X 1998,
  • (editor) Krbavska biskupija u Srednjem vijeku, Visoka Bogoslovska skola u Rijeci, Krscanska sadasnjost, Rijeka - Zagreb 1988,
  • [Glagoljica u Senju]
  • Veritas, interview,
  • Hrvatsko slovo, interview,
  • Propovijed gospiæko-senjskog biskupa dr. Mile Bogoviæa 9. rujna 2003. na Krbavskom polju
  • gospic.hbk.hr/povijest
• Mihovil Bolonic: Stoljetne veze krckih i senjskih glagoljasa, Senjski zbornik VI, 1975, pp. 81-140
• [Bratulic]
• [Croatia - Europe, volumes I and II]
• [Stjepan Damjanovic, Glagoljasko blago Like i Krbave]
• [Discovering the Glagolitic Script of Croatia]
• Dragutin Franic: Plitvicka jezera i njihova okolica, reprint, izdanje Nacionalnog parka P.J., 1993.
• [Fucic]
• Glagoljaska bastina u Vinodolu (Dragan Pelic, Crikvenica)
• Luciano Lago: Stare karte Jadrana (Italian title: Imago Adriae), C.A.S.H., Pula 1996., ISBN 953-6250-10-1
• [Hercigonja: Nad iskonom...]
• Dragutin Hirc: Lika i Plitvicka jezera, drawings by Czech painter Vaclav Anderle, Zagreb 1900, (reprinted in Rijeka in 1998), ISBN 953-158-124-3
• Rudolf Horvat: Lika i Krbava, Zagreb, 1941 (reprinted in 1993),
• Exhibition of the Glagolitic Script, Rijeka,
• Krbavska bitka i njezine posljedice, Hrvatska matica iseljenika, Zagreb, 1997.
• Kristian Krekovic, Galeria Kristian Krekovic, Palma de Mallorca
• Ivan Kukuljevic Sakcinski: Put u Senj, Putne uspomene, (drugo dopunjeno izdanje), Matica hrvatska, Senj 2001.
• Emilij Laszowski: Gorski Kotar i Vinodol, Matica hrvatska, Zagreb 1923.
• Licka revija, Matica hrvatska Gospic
• Juraj Lokmer:
  • ©imun Kozicic Benja
  • Katedrala Uznesenja Blazene Djevice Marije u Senju te senjski i senjsko-moduruski biskupi, Povijesno-kulturni vodic, Marulic, 3, 2004, 497-511
• Enver Ljubovic:
  • Grbovi i natpisi na kamenim spomenicima grada Senja, 1997
  • Gradski i plemicki grbovi grada Senja, 1998
  • Grbovi i plemstva Gacke i Like, Adamic, Rijeka, 2001 (tel. 038/051 650 180)
• Kresimir Mikolcic: Putovanje kroz Liku
• Modrus, (editors Josip Vukovic and Milan Chomparo Sabljak), collection of articles, Modrus, 1997.
• www.modrus.hr
• Marija Pantelic:
  • Hrvatski glagoljski kodeksi krbavskoga podrucja XIV i XV vijeka, doktorska disertacija,
  • Glagoljski kodeksi Bartola Krbavca, Radovi Staroslavenskog instituta, Knjiga 5, Zagreb 1964., str. 5 - 98,
  • Senjski Lobkovicov psaltir iz 1359. godine, Senjski zbornik, godina 18 (1991), str. 109-128
  • Kulturni ambijent djelovanja Blaza Baromica, pisca i stampara glagoljskih knjiga, Poseban otisak, Senj 1975.
• Pop Martinac i njegov zapis o bitci na Krbavskom polju 1493
• [Petar Runje: Tragom stare licke povijesti]
• Radoslav Lopasic: Urbar Modruski 1486, MH Ogulin, 1997.
• Marijana Tomiæ: Senjske inkunabule i Senjska tiskara
• Manojlo Sladovic: Povijest biskupijah Senjske i Modruske ili Krbavske, pretisak izdanja iz 1856. tiskanog u Trstu, (pogovor M. Bogovic), Gospic, 2003., ISBN 153-7034-03-8
• Vila Velebita, monthly with numerous contributions devoted to the region of Lika.
• Senjski zbornik
• Josip Voncina: Cetiri glagoljske listine iz Like, Radovi Staroslavenskog instituta, Knjiga 5, Zagreb 1964., str. 213 -230,
• [Zagar]

Links related to Lika:

• Ivan Jezic (1747 - 1833), the Glagolitic Bishop of Senj, by Karmen Antic, Gauteng, South Africa
• Licko-senjska zupanija
• Gatska
• Senj
• Modrus
• Cultural and historical heritage in the county "PRIMORSKO - GORANSKA", an area closely related to Lika and Krbava
• The Wolf Man, Velebit and the Velebitan wolves
• King of Chips

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