Croatian Latin literature (or Croatian Latinism) is a term referring to literary works, written in the Latin language, which have evolved in present-day Croatia since the 9th century AD. Since that time, both public and private documents have been written in a local variant of medieval Latin or in later times Neo-Latin. Some works have been found (written between the 12th and 14th centuries) which were written in a variant more closely resembling classical Latin.
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 (). 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 [anime] dic [miserere Deus] ("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 abbess 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 chronicle 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 Ivan Lučić, 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.
Renaissance humanism
Due to its proximity to Italy, humanism had already reached the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea by the early 15th century. Beginning in the late 14th century, the philosophy began to appear in inscriptions by the local elite and traveling humanists in Croatia. At the end of the 15th century, Primorsky was under Venetian rule, while northern Croatia (under Hungarian rule since the 12th century) came under Habsburg rule (with parts of Hungary) in 1526–1527 (where it remained until 1918). Humanists from the coastal regions left in increasing numbers to study in Italy and other European countries and strengthen cultural ties with centers of European humanism. Humanists from northern Croatia primarily traveled to Budapest. Only Dubrovnik and its surroundings maintained relative independence until the Napoleonic era, and Croatian literature in Latin flourished until well into the 19th century.
The central figures of the Croatian circle in Buda were Archbishop Ivan Vitez of Sredna (ca. 1408–1472) and his nephew Ivan (John) Česmički (1434–1472), both of whom were educated in Italy. Česmički was a Latin poet, who established a scriptorium in Buda and a library in Pozsony in 1467. This library was modeled on the University of Bologna, and was the first institute of higher learning in the territory of Slovakia and Hungary (the Academia Istropolitana). Česmički was considered the greatest Latin poet of his time outside Italy; Italians valued his education in Italy, he was prominent in Hungary as a feudal aristocrat and humanist, while the Croats cherished his Croatian origins. He influenced Hungarian, Croatian, Italian and primarily European Latin literature (he wrote exclusively in Latin). His Latin poems were the best Latin poetry of 15th century— particularly his epigrams, which are simple, clear and reminiscent of Martial's. They explored the themes of love, argument, literary discussion and the naivety (and greed) of pilgrims. His later epigrams are calmer, and often imbued with melancholy. Česmički also wrote an elegy which, although written in humanistic style, has many allusions to classical themes.
Zadar Bishop Juraj Divnića was a historian and Latin poet who influenced Zadar-area humanists.
Šibenik In Šibenik, the 15th-century Croatian humanist George Hafner published a book of poetry and three books of elegies, lyrical songs (Elegiarum et carminum libri tres) which were also the first Croatian incunable in 1477. This collection of elegiac poems explores the usual classical themes, but the poet also saepenumero Doloris cruciata affectus ("often suffered pain"), as he says in the introduction, where he reflects on his (and others') suffering. His own deeply felt pain can best be seen in the elegy on the death of two brothers (De duorum backfire Fratrum), one of whom fell Pro Patria pugnans, pro laribusque suis ("fighting for homeland and hearth"). In an elegy on fields laid waste in Šibenik (De agri Sibenicensis vastatione), Hafner expressed sadness and outrage because at Turkish incursions into his home country. The poet would have to fight Pro and, fides sacra, et patria dulcis, pro and / sit vita mea dedit barbaricis viris ("holy faith, for you, and sweet homeland, for you / I'd give my life against these barbaric people"). Three prose letters, sent to his friends, which were also included in the collection illustrate Hafner's classical leanings. The manuscript also featured a work about Illyria (De situ et civitate Illyriae Sibenici). Although he wrote exclusively in Latin Hafner praised the national language, especially its songs and proverbs.
The first humanistic educator in Šibenik was Antun Vrančić (also known as Antonius Verantius, or Wrantius, or Vrantius, 1504–1573), uncle of the historian Faust (Faustus Verantius, 1551–1617, also from Šibenik). On his journeys, Vrančić collected Roman inscriptions in the Balkans. During a diplomatic mission in the Ottoman Empire with Flemish humanist A. B. Busbecqom in Ankara, he found autobiographical writing by Augustus (Res gestae divi Augusti); this was later known as the Monument Ankara (Monumentum Ancyranum). Since its publication, the inscription has become known as the Codex Verantianus. In addition to histories and travelogues, Vrančić published a collection of elegiac poems in 1542 which examine love, life's joys and social events.
Trogir Ćipiko Coriolanus (1425–1493) was a humanist in Trogir who wrote a biography titled Maritime: Three Books on the Works of Commander Peter Mocenigo (Petri Mocenici imperatoris gestorum libri tres) in 1477. Also from Trogir was Fran Trankvil Andreis (Andronicus Tranquillus Parthenius, 1490–1571), who studied at Dubrovnik, Padua and other Italian universities and in Vienna, Ingolstadt and Leipzig. His extensive scientific and literary works in Latin include discussions, dialogues, epistles and songs. Particularly interesting are an epistle depicting the situation in Hungary after the first Battle of Mohács (1526) and a letter of Pope Pius V, in which politicians sharply criticized the church. Parthenius also published a hexametric prayer-speech in 1518 at Augsburg, reminding Germans of the Turkish presence overshadowing Europe.
Split