The above map was a part of documentation intended for international legal institutions in Europe which had to resolve the problem of international boundaries in Istrian peninsula after the WWII. It indicates Catholic churches which used the Glagolitic liturgy until 1918. The documentation was prepared in English, French and Russian.

Some of the most important Glagolitic monuments and manuscripts originate from Istria, for example, 

• the Plomin tablet from 10th or 11th century and 
• Istrian Boundaries, written over the period of 1275-1395, that is, in 13th/14th centuries.

Istrian Boundaries is the earliest known international diplomatic monument written in Croatian language, comprising 53 pages. It mentions Croatian name expressly as many as 25 times. It is not only an important legal document for Croatia, but also a literary monument of Croatian language.

See below for more information about Istrian Boundaries from 1275-1395.

Croatian name in glagolitic texts from around 1100 until 17th century

The above map was also a part of the documentation intended for international legal institutions in Europe which had to resolve the problem of international boundaries in Istria after the WWII. It indicates various sites containing Croatian Glagolitic monuments in Istria and on nearby islands.

Black triagles indicate the places with Glagolitic documents (for example church records of births, deaths, baptised, records of marriages etc.), black squares refer to public notaries, black discs to glagolitic inscriptions, and the circles to other documents like glagolitic missals and breviaries.

Some of outstanding Istrian towns with strong glagolitic tradition are Roč, Hum, Draguć, Beram, Lovran, Lindar (near Pazin), Barban, convents in Božje polje near Vižinada (near Motovun), the town of Kopar, etc.

Istrian Boundaries, or Istrian Demarcation, in Croatian - Istarski razvod, is a document which was created over the period of 1275-1395, that is, strating in the 13th century. It defines borders (kunfini) between the Patriarchate of Aquileia, the Principality of Pazin and the Republic of Venice.

Istarski razvod, [PDF] 5.5 MB
transliteration from Croatian Glagolitic into Latin Script;
source [Luka Kirac]

The document was written on the basis of still earlier legal sources, dating back to 11th and 12th centuries. It was written paralelly in Latin, German and Croatian. Latin and German texts were written in the Latin Script, while Croatian text was written in the Glagolitic. Only the Glagolitic version is preserved in the form of its copy from the 16th century, comprising 53 pages. From this copy we know that it was written by Mikula Gologorički. This old Croatian Glagolitic text reveals us that also Latin and German versions existed, but unfortunately, they had been lost.

Istarski razvod mentions Croatian name (hrvacko ime) expressly at least 25 times. Here is a typical example:

... I ondi gospodin Menart sluga naprid sta, i pokaza listi prave ... ke listi ondi pred nas trih nodari postaviše, keh ta gospoda izibra: jednoga latinskoga, a drugoga nimškoga, a tretoga hrvackoga, da imamo vsaki na svoj orijinal pisat, poimeno od mesta do mesta kako se niže udrži, po vsi deželi.

I tako mi niže imenovani nodari preda vsu tu gospodu pročtesmo kako se v njih udrži. I tako onde obe strane se sjediniše i kuntentaše i kordaše i razvodi svojimi zlamenji postaviše, i jednoj i drugoj strani pisaše listi jazikom latinskim i hrvackim, a gospoda sebi shraniše jazikom nemškim. ... itd. itd.

Istarski razvod, 1. dan (Istrian Boudnaries, The 1st Day)

Croatian name in glagolitic texts from around 1100 till 17th century.
 

The above expression "jazikom latinskim i hrvackim" is a proof that the Croatian name for Croatian language was in use at least since 1275, that is, more than two centuries before the discovery of America.

See [Vlahov, Zbirka glagoljskih isprava iz Istre].

There are Italian and Latin translations from Croatian glagolitic, dating from the 16th century, which kept the original Croatian names for many places, a proof that the population in the Istrian hinterland was dominantly Croatian. By its juridical and literary value it can be ranked among the most interesting documents of that time in Europe. It is also the oldest international diplomatic document written in Croatian. Earlier written documents bear witness to the presence of the Croats in Istria from the seventh century. See a nice web page about Istrian Book of Boundaries provided by The British Library, London.

Istrian Boundaries is not only important legal document. It is oustanding monument of Croatian language. We should also mention that it had also political importance, especially after the the Second world war, when the international status of Istrian peninsula had to be resolved. It has been published for the first time by Ante Starčević in 1852.

Istrian Boundaries from 1275-1395 mention some even older charters, which were used in order to establish the boundaries, see [Kirac, p 221]:

• Goćanska listina (Goćan charter), year 1025
• Rakaljska listina (Rakalj charter), year 1027
• Barbanska listina (Barban charter), yer 1058

Istarski razvod, prvi dan

We mention in passing that the oldest known charter written in the Croatian Glagolitic script is slightly older: Darovnica slavnoga Dragoslava (Muniment of famous Dragoslav) from January 1st, 1100. It comes from the island of Krk, and its copy is preserved from the 16th century.

According to Branko Fučić we know that the meaning of grm (= bush in contemporary literary Croatian), mentioned in Istrian Boundaries, is hrast ( = oak). In some Istrian villages people still use the name of grm meaning oak, not a bush.

In an interview published in Fokus (30 September 2005), Croatian academician Petar Simunovic explained that the name of Srb originates from an old Croatian verb serbati, srebati meaning "to sip", from which the noun "srb" has been derived. Thus "srb" denotes the spring of river Una, where the village lies. Compare this with the villages of Srbani (near Pula), and Srbinjak, both in Istria, which clearly have nothing to do with the Serbian name. The Istarski razvod from 13th century mentions the name of Srbar, meaning a water spring. More precisely, there is a dozen of occasions in the text where we encounter "lokva Srbar", meaning "Srbar pool" (lokva = pool). U Istarskom razvodu spominje se nekoliko hidronima s korijenom SRB: luka Srber (Kirac, str. 320), lokva Srbar (2x na str. 320, opet na str. 321), Srbar i srbarski (str. 336), Srbar (str. 337). I današnje mjest SRB u Lici je hidronim, a ne etnonim. Informacija ljubaznošću dr. Vladimira Sokola, te akademika Petra Šimunovića. U [Sokol & Sokol, str. 29], to je naglašeno ovim riječima:

"Već je N. Klaić dobro napisala da Ljudevit iz Siska nije pobjegao nikakvim Srbima nego u S/a/rb u Lici, koji je još i danas ondje, a u srednjem vijeku bio znani grad i plemićka općina, odnosno županija. On međutim nije etnonim, nego hidronim, te svojom sličnoću pučkim etimolozima stvara nerješive probleme, pa tako i kod Einharda".

• Istarski razvod - The Partitioning of Istria, Josip Bratulić
• Map of Istarski razvod
• Introduction to Istarski razvod, Josip Bratulić
• Istarski razvod, Institut za hrvatski jezik i jezikoslovlje
• Istarski razvod, National and University Library, Zagreb, Croatia

 ACTA CROATICA

 ...

• Razvod Golca 1025.
• Raklja 1027.
• Barbana 1058.
• Momjana i Kaštela 1087.
• Buja i Grožnjana 1130.
• itd.

Lucidar is a Middle Age Encyclopaedia, translated from Czech source into Croatian Glagolitic in the 14th century. It describes the legendary mount of Učki as follows: 

Vaspet je jedna vlast jaže zovet se Istrija. I v toi zemlji e jedna gora jaže zovet se latinski Olifnos jaže je Učka. I te gori visokost ide daže pod oblaki. 

This text can be found as a decoration of the curtain of the Istrian People's Theatre in Pula, written in the Glagolitic Script.

Beram is known for the small church of sv. Marije na Škrilinah, full of old glagolitic inscriptions, described in detail by [Branko Fučić, Glagoljski natpisi]. From the same place also the so called Ljubljana glagolitic codices also originate.

According to Branko Fučić, about a half of the overall number of about 500 Glagolitic inscriptions in Croatia from 10th to 18th centuries can be found in Istria only. Since the time when Fučić's book was published in 1982, about a hundred new Glagolitic inscriptions emerged.

Some of the glagolitic books that were in the town of Roč:

1. Breviary of Vitus of Omišalj (Vid Omišljanin), 1396, written for the parish church of sv. Bartol in Roč, kept in the National Library in Vienna, weighing 10 kg. According to Branko Fučić, three herds of about 40 sheep each had to be sacrificed in order to obtain enough vellum for writing the book. The parchment was called živa harta by the glagolitic priests, that is, the living paper. According to Fučić, the value of the book corresponded to the value of about 7-8 cows. The book was later bound by pop Grgur Kraljić from Senj. It contains interesting marginal notes dating from later centuries, written by other glagolitic priests.
2. Roč Missal of Bartol Krbavac, kept also in the National Library of Vienna, dating from around 1420. In my opinion, this is one of the most beautiful representatives of Croatian Glagolitic culture. The Roč missal was written for the church of sv. Bartol in Roč.
3. Beram Missal of Bartol Krbavac, (490 pages, National Library in Ljubljana, Slovenia),~1425, written probably in the town of Bakar for the parish church in Beram, Istria.
4. Kopenhagen Missal, 15th century, kept in the Royal Library (Kongelige Bibliothek) in Kopenhagen, Denmark.

The Roč missal was written about 1420, and is kept in National Library in Vienna, Codex slav. 4. It has 231 pp of vellum, and one more leaf from 14th century. It contains some additional texts written subsequently by various glagolitic priests in subsequent on its margins.

On leaf 231:

1497. miseca oktebra dan 6. kada ja pop Grgur iz Senji prevezah sie knigi crikvi svetoga Bartolomeja v gradi Roči budući farman tu gospodin Ilija z Bribira i Gospodin Šimun Greblić a starešina Ivan Jelenić crikveni. Bog nam vsim pomagai i vsim pravovernim.

On leaf 131:

1591. va vreme zveličenoga gospodina Paškvala Cigonni duža benetačkoga gospodina Nikoli Korat biskup teržačkoga, gospodina Nikuli Šalamuna kapitana... bje glad velik. Mni mi se po svim svetu... I v tom mesti Roči bje prodana kruha librica za soldini 12, vina žban 20 i mnozi od glada umirahu. Hvala Bogu, ja Ivan Benčić (?) za spomenute pisa.

George d'Esclavonie, Croatian glagolitic priest and professor at Sorbenne in Paris around 1400, wrote the earliest known Croatian glagolitic manual for children by the end of 1390s, kept in the City Library of Tours in France. In his commentaries, speaking about the fact that along the coast, from Senj and Krbava, accross Rab, Osor, Zadar, Nin, Šibenik, and Trogir, to Split, all bishops and archbishops have a unique privilege in Western Christianinty - to use not only Latin Liturgy during the mass, but also the Glagolitic Liturgy. See the list on the document below (on the bottom left).

On the same page he states Istria eadem patria Chrawati, that is, "Istria is a homeland of the Croats", see on the right in the rectangle.

On the first page of the manual he states immediately below the table of the Glagolitic script the following: Istud alphabetum est chrawaticum, that is, "This is Croatian Alphabet."

It is interesting that this document was known to Croatian priest rev. dr. Božo Milanović, and the information about it is mentioned in the Addition to the Memorandum prepared in 1946. for the needs of the International Peace Conference in Paris, which had to decide about the international borders on the territory of Istria (between Italy and ex Yugoslavia) after the WWII. Croatian Glagolitic heritage had extremely important role for the final decision, and probably even decisive role.

One of the most important Croatian Glagolitic books is the Novak Misal or Missal of Prince Novak from 1368.

It was bought from Peter from Krbava ("s Krbave") in 1405 for the church of Sv. Jelena and Sv. Petar in Nugla near the town of Roč, on the north of Istria. It served as a basis for the first Croatian printed book, an incunabulum published in 1483.

Scientific investigations of dr. Marija s. Agnezija Pantelić have shown that the printing type for the first Croatian incunabulum was prepared according to the handwriting of the Novak Missal. The Novak Missal is kept in the National Library in Vienna, Austria, in the Department of rare and valuable books.

Here is the text written by the above mentioned Peter from Krbava in glagolitic quickscript 1405 on a margin of the Novak Missal:

l. 269 v (prodaja kodeksa u Istri za crkvu sv. Jelene i sv. Petra u Nuglu kod Roča)

Va ime Božje i svete Marije, amen. Let Gospodnih 1405. va vrime gospodina patrijarhi Antona, gospodina i duhovnoga oca svete Marije Oglejske, crikve ki biše domaći gospodin po nature deželi frijulske, kuplene biše ti knigi ot kneza Petra, kneza Novaka sina s Krbave, za 9 zlatih ino 5.

I kupi je dobar muž župan Ivan pridevkom Nirih, sin dobra muža Črnka, i župan Marin pridevkom Mišulin. I v to vrime biše Nirih župan v Nugle i biše obarčin i držitel blaga crikve svete Eleni i svetoga Petra v Nugle. I platista je blagom svete Eleni i svetoga Petra v Nugle.

A sada gospodo redovnici i dijaci ki budete va te knige čtali, prosite milostivoga Gospodina Boga i nega mater Gospoju svetu divu Mariju za duše vse pravoverne hrstjanske, a navlastito za duše vseh onih ki su pustili ko blago malo ali veliko crikve svete Eleni i svetoga Petra v Nugle. I takoe vspomenite v svoih molitvah dušu župana Ivana pridevkom Piriha i dušu župana Marina pridevkom Mišulina ka te knige pripravista v Nuglu v crikav svete Eleni i svetoga Petra kako e zgora rečeno.

In the Novak missalu there is a famous note by Juraj žakan from Roča written in 1482 about preparations to publish the first Croatian incunabulum (the first Croatian printed book) in the following year, i.e. in 1483..

Vita! Vita! Štampa naša gori gre. Tako ja oću da naša gori gre. 1482. meseca ijuna 26. dni to bje pisano v grade Izulje. To pisa Juri žakan iz Roča. Bog mu pomagaj i vsem ki mu dobro ote.

The famous 1482 text of Juraj žakan from Roč at the end of the Novak missal from 1368, written in Glagolitic quickscrip (with smaller characters).

• The Library of Congress in Washington
• in the Russian National Library in St. Petersburg, withn the famous Berčić Collection
• in the National Library in Vienna
• in Apostolic Library in the Vatican (two copies)
• and in Croatia: five in Zagreb and one in the town of Bol on the island of Brač.

As we already mentioned, the glagolitic priest Jurij Žakan inscribed the following Glagolitic quickscript sentence at the end of the the Novak Missal in 1482: Vita vita štampa naša gori gre...! (Vita vita, our printed book advances!). Obviously, this jouful exclamation is related to the progress in publishing the Glagolitic missal, the first Croatian book printed with movable type.

We have to point out that the 1483 Croatian Glagolitic incunabula was printed in one of the most dramatic times in the history of Croatia. Large parts of the country were devastated and occupied by the Turkish Ottoman Empire already in the second half of the 15th century. The borders of the Empire were quite near the Croatian cities of Senj, Zadar, Dubrovnik, Sisak and Zagreb.

Some Croatian scholars believe that the first Croatian incunabla was not only prepared, but also printed somewhere in Istria. Some other scholars think that the book was printed in Venice, while some propose Modruš in Lika. We know that for example the first Croatian printed manual for children was a glagolitic booklet printed in Venice in 1527.

Šimun Greblo from the town of Roč, Croatian glagolitic priest living in Istria at the turn from 15th to 16th century, wrote several books: Kvarezimal, Tlmačenje od muki, Kvadriga duhovnim zakonom. He had a superb handwriting. He also wrote in the Croatian Cyrillic script, and his signature exists where he signed consecutively in the Glagolitic, Cyrillic and Latin scripts.

In Venice there existed a printing house of Andrea Torresani, 15/16th centuries, which had an important role in the early history of printed Croatian glagolitic books. Several glagolitic books have been printed there in this period. It was very difficult for Croatian glagolitic priests to publish books in their homeland, since its large portions were occupied by the Turks. The border with the Turkish Islamic Empire was quite near the cities of Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar, Senj, Rijeka, Sisak and Zagreb. It was one of the most dramatic periods in the history of Croatia.

Frane Paro, professor at the Academy of Arts in Zagreb, organized the exhibition of glagolitic printing in the town of Roč.

The Draguć breviary from 1407 is kept in the Archives of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (HAZU). It originates probably from Krbava, and was in use in Istria, in Roc and Hum.

The Beram breviary is in Ljubljana, in the National and University of Ljubljana. The book was written by glagolitic scribe and calligrapher Bartol from Krbava. His name indicates that he originated from Krbava, which once was a region with strong glagolitic tradition. It is known that Bartol from Krbava sojourned in Istria

A bust of Šimun Greblo from Roč, a writer from 15-16th centuries, can be seen the town of Roč. 

In Roč there is a bust of žakan Juraj, who was the messanger of the first Croatian printed book.

Croatian protestants: Stipan Konzul, Anton Dalmatin, Tabla za dicu, Novi testament, 1561...Croatian Croatian Protestants Stipan Konzul Istranin (Istranin = of Istria, in Croatian). His collaborator was Anton Dalmatin who served as a glagolitic priest also in Istria. Some of the books printed in all three scripts in use in Croatia (Latin, Glagolitic and Cyrillic Scripts) were

• Prvi i Drugi del Novoga testamenta (Tubinga, Germany, 1561)
• Postila
• Katekizam, jedna malahna kniga
• Tabla za dicu
• Vsih prorok stumačenje hrvatsko (= "Croatian description of all prophets")

Damir Viškanić published his book Zapisi kapitula lovranskog, dealing with church records in this Istrian town, mainly in 17th and 18th centuries. It is interesting that a Catholic priest from Slovenia, empleyed in Lovran, decided to take the records with him to Ljubljana in 1920s, in order to be safe from Italian Fascists. The book is still in Ljubljana. It is lovely to see for example several notes written in the Glagolitic script about famous Lovran chestnuts ("maroni"). Unfortunately, the author of the book Damir Viškanić died a year before the book has been published in 2002. Damir Viškanić also studied the Brseč church records and inscriptions written in the Glagolitic script.

We know of four city statutes in Croatia originally written in the Glagolitic Script. Three of them are from Istria:

• the Kastav Statute (1490, near Rijeka), preserved in Latin, transliterated from the Glagolitic Script,
• Mošćenica Statute (~1501, Istria), preserved in Latin, transliterated from the Glagolitic Script,
• the Veprinac Statute (1507, Istria), preserved in the Glagolitic.

The fourth one is the Vrbnik statute from the island of Krk.

Two Beram breviaries from Istria are kept in National and University Library in Ljubljana. They date from 14th century and contain many subsequent inscriptions written on margins of the book in Glagolitic quickscript, concerning the history of Istria. The name of "Ljubljana breviaries" also appears.

Draguć breviary, 1407 (Arhiv HAZU),

Hum breviary from the town of Hum, Istria, 1442, see above.

Frašćić psalter (Frašćićev psaltir, on the two photos just above) from 1463., writen on 131 leaves on paper and vellum, 13.5 x 20 cm. It was written by a priest Petar Fraščić from Lindar, near the town of Pazin in Istria. The book is kept in the National Library in Vienna.

It is expressly called "psalter hrvatski" (i.e. "Croatian psalter") in the book. Written by Petar Fraščić from Lindar (near Pazin), it has 132 leaves of paper and vellum, and is kept in the Austrian National Library in Vienna (Codex slav. sign 77).

On leaf 130 we find the following text (see the photo just above):

Va ime Božje i svete Marije i vsih svetih Božjih, amen.

Ljet Gospodnjih 1463. to pisa pop Petar i grišni pridevkom Fraščić komu je zemlja mat a otačastvo grob a bogatstvo grisi. I kada je pisah i nje kada bih v mišlenju da me misal prehajaše zač mlad bjeh i pročaja i pisah je v Lindare [u Istri] sedeći. I v to isto leto biše v Istri malo žita i gladno biše i ja dovole krat lačan [gladan] bih. I zato vas prosim bratija draga ki koli bude čtel sie knigi ako bim se kdje premrsil [zabunio] prosim vas ne proklnite me na [nego] recite: ako si živ Bog ti otpusti grihi, ako si mrtav Bog ti primi dušu v pokoj vječni. I spisah je godinu pre Mati Kubodskemu plovanu v to vrime počtenomu mužu rozumnomu. I on me plati i darova kako dobar muž i k tomu mi pomore s velike moje nevolje v koj ja bih. Bog mu plati. To pisa ruka grišna. To je tlk psaltira. Bog s nami, amen.

On leaf 130 r, there is the colophon of (the final note) by Petar Fraščić, and under it

Tumačenie saltira
hrvackoga

that is,

Description of the Croatian psalter

On p. 131 there is the following text written on the margin in Glagolitic quickscript:

I ta milježm zgora rečeni i pisani bje pisan 10ti dan prvo neže pridoše kneza Ivana ljudi pljenat Istri. I popljeniše Boljun i Vran i Brest i vse pod Učku. I pridoše ot Pazina ljudi i hotjehu otet ta isti plijen. I pobiše kneza Ivana ljudi vele zlo. I bje ih mrtvo da i 18 i 70 ljudi ranjenih da i 70. A Ćić kneza Ivana 20 ino 8. I to bje ta boj stvoren na svetoga Fabijana i Šebastijana dan miseca jenvara let gospodnjih 1463. Bog s nami, amen.

The introduction to the Frašćić psalter was published by a well known Croatian linguist Josip Hamm in Vienna in 1967. The Fraščić psalter can be seen on the web pages of the Austrian National Library.

Pazin fragments are the remains of larger glagolitic miscellany from the 14th century.

Kvarezimal i tlmačenje Šimuna Grebla iz Roča (Istria), 1493 and 1498

Croatian Glagolitic legend about St. Mauro (+284 in Rome), written in the beginning of 15th century in Istria, is a part of the famous Berčić collection, kept in the Russian National Library in St. Petersburg, Russia, one of the largest libraries in the world.

Žgombić Miscellany, kept in the Archives of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, was created in the 16th century most probably in the region of the town of Roč. It contains the Croatian Lucidarium (Hrvatski lucidarij), a Middle Age encyclopaedia. Such a Lucidarium appears also in the Petris Miscellany.

Gršković Miscellany, 16th century, probably from Istria

Glagoljske isprave iz Brseča, Istria, 16th and 17th ct., for example Brsečka glagoljska oporuka from 1586.

Statut grada Mošćenice (Istria), 1673.g.

Razgovor od vetra i dažda..., pop Antun Brzac, Istria and Primorje, 17/18th ct.

Istrian glagolitic tradition is deeply related to that of the region of Lika:

• in Istrian town Medulin there is a glagolitic graffiti To pisa pop Marko Dabran (ie. from Dabar in Lika), see [Fučić, 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 [Fučić, Glagoljski natpisi, p. 35];
• Paz in Istria, has a graffiti mentioning plovan Andrij iz Bužan, 1461;
• in Draguć and Hum, in 1529 and 1537, pop Andrij iz Bužan,
• in the glagolitic minutes from the town of Hum in Istria (1618.-1672.) in the baptismal book we can find 32 second names of Ličanin and 2 of Ličanica. See [Vlahov], "Još jedna glagoljska matica iz Huma," pp. 174-175.

The towns of Roč i Hum deserve to be seen when you visit the Istrian peninsula, together with other lovely mediaeval Croatian towns with preserved glagolitic inscriptions, like Draguć, Beram, Boljun, Lovran etc.

Some of important Crotian glagolitic monuments have been destroyed by Italian irredenta, especially in the period of Italian occupation between 1919 and 1943. In Istria various glagolitic inscriptions were destroyed with sledge and chisel:

• in Lindar (near Pazin), on the cemetery in Motovun ,
• in the parish church of St. Juraj in Plomin, see above,
• on the Sovinjak belltower, see below,
• in the Church of St. Antun in Vrh,
• three glagolitic monuments in Hum (one of them at the very entrance, left of the city gates),

and other, see [Žgaljić] p. 39. During the Italian occupation of islands of Lošinj and Cres the last Glagolitic priest was Frane Krivičić from Valun. In 1930 the Glagolitic mass was still served in several places on the island of Cres, but in secret. See [Milanovic, pp 88-89].

Important book for understanding the history of Croatian Glagolitic Culture in Istria is [Kirac], completed in 1928, and published only posthumously in 1946, reprinted in 1990. On page 233 it is mentioned that some Glagolitic inscriptions on belltowers in Sovinjak, Lindar (near Pazin), and on the Motovun cemetery have been destroyed during the Italian Fascist rule in Istria. On p. 235 don Luka Kirac mentions numerous Croatian Glagolitic missals and breviaries that dissappeared from Istria.

Luka Kirac rođen je u Medulinu 1860. godine. Nakon školovanja bio je kapelan pa župnik u nizu mjesta u Poreštini i Puljštini. Godine 1908. postao je zastupnik Sabora u Poreču. Kao veliki Hrvat borio se za buđenje hrvatstva u Istri, ali i njihova prava. Zbog toga dolazi u nemilost istarskih talijanaša te je već početkom I svjetskog rata u dva navrata prognan iz Istre. Godine 1919. dolaskom Talijana na vlast u Istri čak je neko vrijeme proveo u zatvoru. Na koncu su ga poslali u Rakotule, malo mjesto pokraj Karojbe gdje je bio župnik u razdoblju od 1921.-1931. No kakav župnik! Župnik s ograničenim kretanjem, župnik kod kojega se svako toliko radila premetačina. I konačno - župnik kojeg su ljudi iz Rakotula voljeli i kada god je trebalo skrivali ga i branili pred Talijanima. Don Luka Kirac je umro 1931. u Rakotulama i tek tada je vraćen u svoj Medulin.

U svojoj knjizi "Istarski puti" spominje ga i Franjo Horvat Kiš koji ga je posjetio u Medulinu i, u fazi zatiranja hrvatstva po istri, ostao oduševljen njegovim entuzijazmom i ljubavlju prema Istri i hrvatskom narodu. Uz ostale obaveze don Luka Kirac istraživao je povijest, zapisivao narodne predaje, vršljao po arhivima, kopao po ostacima kaštela i gradina i ...pisao.

Njegova poznata knjiga je "Crtice iz istarske povijesti", koju je završio pisati u Rakotulama 1928. godine. Nastajala je godinama, i godinama je rukopis don Luka Kirac skrivao pred Talijanima. Na koncu je rukopis predao Viktoru Caru Eminu i vrlo vjerojatno je zato rukopis i spašen. Prvi put je knjigu izdao Nakladni zavod Hrvatske 1946. godine

Izvor swirl.bloger.hr

Niko Žic (Nikola Žic 1882.-1960) je 1919. sudjelovao u prikupljanju i objavljivanju materijala da je Istra hrvatska. Vidi [Znameniti i zaslužni Hrvati, pod Žic Niko, str. 297]. Zajedno s Vladimirom Nazorom, Matom Tentorom i Vjekoslavom Spinčićem priredio je Spomenicu istarskih Jugoslavena (sic!) za Mirovni kongres u Parizu, objavljenu godine 1919. Bio je suradnik u znamenitoj Hrvatskoj enciklopediji dr. Mate Ujevića.

Na zapadnom zidu humskog zvonika - kule nalazio se kamen s glagoljskim natpisom. Natpis je uništen 1921. kada su se njime "pozabavili" fašisti iz Buzeta. Kopija tog natpisa danas je u prizemlju Polače (gradske palače koju vidite na slici, a kroz koju vode gradska vrata u Hum). Tekst glasi:

"1552, miseca marča na dan 16, va vrime župana... Gržinića. Meštar... Baštijančić iz Draguća... Pop Ivan Cvitić".

Što nebrigom, a što namjerno, dio humskih glagoljaških zapisa (osim ovog) je isto uništen. Osim humskog grafita u crkvici na groblju nalazi se oko 40 grafita. Osim natpisa na zvoniku, ista "ekipa" fašista iz Buzeta uništila je 1921. još dva glagoljaška natpisa, ali su i oni kasnije rekonstruirani i kopije se nalaze u prizemlju Polače.

Hum je poput Roča bio centar glagoljice, a neki su njegovi stanovnici glagoljicu koristili još početkom 20.st. Izvor: swirl.bloger.hr

Č.F.O.B. (1582) MAJA
NA DAN. IA (21) KADA BJE
TO NAČINENO VA VRIME ŽU-
PANA TONINE RIPA SIE
PI(SA) H' JA IVAN ŠTOKOVIĆ

Kvaderna bratovštine svetog Bartula i knjiga računa općine Roč svezak je izvoda iz godišnjih računa nastalih između 1523. i 1628. godine, uz manji broj zapisa koji se odnose na još ranije godine. Uvezan rukopis ima više od 270 listova, odnosno oko 550 stranica. Original se čuva u Arhivu HAZU, kamo ga je pohranio I. Kukuljević još u 19. stoljeću. Izvor Zdenko Balog: Kvaderna iz Roča.

Evo još nekih izvora za proučavanje hrvatske galgoljske baštine u Istri:

• Knjiga računa bratovštine (crkve) i općine
  Roč u Istri, 1526-1611. i 1566-1628.
• Knjiga (kvadirna) bratovštine sv. Antuna u Zabrešcu (dolina kraj Trsta)
  1548 (1520)-1642.
• Baptismal book (Matična knjiga krštenih) of the Vodnjan parish contains 180 minutes written in the Glagolitic script dating from 1556-1583.
• Boljun glagolitic handwritings and the Boljun chronicle were written in the period between 1583 and 1668.
• Registar (urbar) crkve sv. Antuna u Šrenemoli-Mačkovljanima (sjeverozapadna Istra),
  1587-1651.
• Knjiga crkve (bratovštine) sv. Ivana u Boljuncu kod Trsta, 1576-1672.
• Knjiga bratovštine (crkve) sv. Roka u Boljuncu blizu Trsta, 1603-1688.
• Odlomak knjige bratovštine sv. Mikule u Boljunu, 1583-1623 i 1662-1666.
• Računi "Od dot crkvenih" Boljuna, 1595-1660.
• Knjiga bratovštine sv. Roka (sv. Katarine i sv. Blaža) u Boljunu, 1595-1663.
• Dio knjige bratovštine sv. Tijela u Boljunu 1612-1658.
• Kvaderna bratovštine oltara sv. Mikule u Boljunu, 16. i 17. st.
• Matična knjiga rođenih, vjenčanih i umrlih iz Vranje u Istri, 1607.-1727.
• Matične knjige iz Materade (Istra), 18. st.
• Testament Jelene, sestre Petra Kružića, iz godine 1541. pisan u Lupoglavu (Istra)
  

Aleja glagoljaša, by Želimir Janeš and Josip Bratulić

Home of the Glagolites, by Reprezent

Istrian Frescos (in German), by Reprezent

Bašćanski glagoljaški put, Ljubo de Karina

Božo Milanović, Branko Fučić, s. Agnezija Pantelić, Ljubo Margetić

Lovranske vile, Vjeko Martinko, Oraj

Žminj, Čakavski sabor, Pino Kuhar (Poreč)

Pješački put od Mošćenica do Roča

• U tršćanskoj biskupiji godine 1456. svećenik Križanić, javni bilježnik u Poreču, glagolskom klauzulom ovjerava prijepise međašne isprave posjeda oglajskoga patrijarhata, čiji je izvornik 1275. također napisan glagoljicom.
• Tršćanski biskup Antun Marentius 1662. u svom izvješću "ad limina" navodi da u Trstu, u crkvi Blažene Djevice Marije "del mare" oci kapucini propovijedaju hrvatski.
• Glagoljska ploča iz 1482. na samostanu sv. Grgura u Koparskoj biskupiji spominje njegovu gradnju.
• G. 1592. u samostanu sv. Marije Magdalene u Kopru pravila oo. trećoredaca pišu se glagoljicom.
• Koparski biskup Baltazar Corniani u izvješću "ad limina" 1655. iznosi da ima još 13 sela, ali neće im spominjati imena jer ih Talijan teško piše i izgovara. Žitelji govore hrvatski.
• G. 1779. koparska sinoda određuje da se ne smije imenovati župnikom na selu svećenik koji nije na ispitu dokazao da zna govoriti hrvatski.

Kopar is a town in Slovenian part of Istrian penisula.

Source: [Glavina]

U istarskom gradiću Karojbi (između Pazina i Motovuna) otkriven je 2003. lijepi glagoljski natpis, uklesan u kamenu gredu s godinom 1518., glagoljicom i latinicom, te s popratnim glagoljičnim tekstvom u dva retka. To je prvi glagoljski natpis otkriven u tom mjestu.

Hrvatsko glagoljaško pjevanje u Istri:

Dan od gnjeva strašnom silom [MP3], crkveni zbor iz Lindara; izvor istrapedia.hr