The Reims evangelistary
written in Croatian Glagolitic Script in 1395




The Reims Evangelistary from 1395 was written by Croatian benedicitne monks in Prague, jointly with their Czech pupils.
The book is the result of the presence of Croatian glagolitic benedictins in Czechia since 1348, upon the invitation of King Charles IV.
Furthermore, the same year the bendedictine monastary of Emaus was errected in the Prague upon his initiative.
The book, tied with another smaller Cyrillic book, is kept in Reims in France. According to a legend existing in France,
the French Kings were sworn with the book during the official coronation in the Reims cathedral, among them Louis XIV.

Between 9th and 13th centuries Croatia had more than hundred benedicine monasteries, among them 36 for nuns.
A part of these monasteries used Croatian Glagolitic Script, while in the rest of the world the Benedictines used
only the Latin Script. Today there are only nine bendicine monasteries left in Croatia, eight of them for nuns:

in the town of Cres on the island of Cres
in the town of Hvar on the island of Hvar
in Krk on the island of Krk
in Pag on the island of Pag
in Rab on the island of Rab
in the city of Šibenik
in the city of Trogir
in the city of Zadar
and the only male monastery on the Ćokovac hill near Tkon on the island of Pašman.

The oldest known Bendictine Rule in a nonlatin language in the world was written by Croatian benedicine monks
in 13/14th centuries, kept in the National and University Library in Zagreb.

Croatian Coat of Arms

 

JOSIP JOVIC and the question of free speech, freedom of thought, and free media in Europe

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