Baška tablet
Encyclopedia
Baška tablet is one of the first monuments containing an inscription in the Croatian language
, dating from the year 1100.
The tablet was discovered by scholars in 1851 in the paving of the Romanesque
church of St. Lucy in Jurandvor
, near Baška
, on the island of Krk
. Since 1934 the original has been kept in the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
, Zagreb
.
slab
records King Zvonimir's donation of a piece of land to a Benedictine
abbey in the time of abbot Drzhiha. The second half of the inscription tells how Abbot Dobrovit built the church along with nine monks. The inscription is written in the Glagolitic
script, exhibiting features of Church Slavonic of Croatian recension, such as writing (j)u for (j)ǫ, e for ę, i for y, and using one jer only (ъ). It provides the only example of transition from Glagolitic of the rounded Macedonian type to the angular Croatian alphabet.
The tablet is considered to be the birth certificate of the Croats
, as the name Croatia
and adjective Croatian are mentioned here for the first time in the Croatian language. Despite the fact of not being the oldest Croatian Glagolitic monument (the Plomin tablet
, Valun tablet
, Krk inscription, are older and certainly all appeared in the 11th century) and in spite of the fact that it was not written in the pure Croatian vernacular
- it has nevertheless been referred to as "the jewel of the Croatian language" and "the baptismal certificate" of Croatian literary culture. It features a vaguely damaged ornamental string pattern, the Croatian wattle
(troplet).
The tablet is depicted on the obverse
of the Croatian 100 kuna
banknote, issued in 1993 and 2002.
text, with restored segments in square brackets, is as follows:
The text can be translated in English as follows:
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
, dating from the year 1100.
The tablet was discovered by scholars in 1851 in the paving of the Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
church of St. Lucy in Jurandvor
Jurandvor
Jurandvor is a village in Croatia. It is connected by the D102 highway....
, near Baška
Baška
At only a few hours distance from the centres of European major cities, lies Baška , a hidden gem of the Croatian Adriatic. This cultural and historical centre famous for its inscribed stone monument from 1100 and a hundred year tradition in tourism, has developed into a popular resort for a great...
, on the island of Krk
Krk
Krk is a Croatian island in the northern Adriatic Sea, located near Rijeka in the Bay of Kvarner and part of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar county....
. Since 1934 the original has been kept in the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts is the national academy of Croatia. It was founded in 1866 as the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts , and was known by that name for most of its existence.- History :...
, Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
.
Description
The inscribed stoneStele
A stele , also stela , is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected for funerals or commemorative purposes, most usually decorated with the names and titles of the deceased or living — inscribed, carved in relief , or painted onto the slab...
slab
Commemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event...
records King Zvonimir's donation of a piece of land to a Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
abbey in the time of abbot Drzhiha. The second half of the inscription tells how Abbot Dobrovit built the church along with nine monks. The inscription is written in the Glagolitic
Glagolitic alphabet
The Glagolitic alphabet , also known as Glagolitsa, is the oldest known Slavic alphabet. The name was not coined until many centuries after its creation, and comes from the Old Slavic glagolъ "utterance" . The verb glagoliti means "to speak"...
script, exhibiting features of Church Slavonic of Croatian recension, such as writing (j)u for (j)ǫ, e for ę, i for y, and using one jer only (ъ). It provides the only example of transition from Glagolitic of the rounded Macedonian type to the angular Croatian alphabet.
The tablet is considered to be the birth certificate of the Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
, as the name Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
and adjective Croatian are mentioned here for the first time in the Croatian language. Despite the fact of not being the oldest Croatian Glagolitic monument (the Plomin tablet
Plomin tablet
thumb|right|The Plomin tablet.Plomin tablet is a Croatian Glagolitic inscription at the outer wall of the church of Saint George in Plomin. Roman god of flora and fauna Silvanus is portrayed. This inscription bears witness of early parallelism of two cultural currents on Istrian territory: Romance...
, Valun tablet
Valun tablet
The Valun tablet is an 11th century bilingual and digraphic tablet, originally serving the role of a gravestone, found at the graveyard in Valun on the island of Cres...
, Krk inscription, are older and certainly all appeared in the 11th century) and in spite of the fact that it was not written in the pure Croatian vernacular
Vernacular
A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...
- it has nevertheless been referred to as "the jewel of the Croatian language" and "the baptismal certificate" of Croatian literary culture. It features a vaguely damaged ornamental string pattern, the Croatian wattle
Croatian wattle
The Croatian wattle, known as the pleter or troplet in Croatian, is a type of interlace, most characteristic for its three-ribbon pattern. It is one of the most often used patterns of pre-romanesque Croatian art...
(troplet).
The tablet is depicted on the obverse
Obverse and reverse
Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags , seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, obverse means the front face of the object and reverse...
of the Croatian 100 kuna
Croatian kuna
The kuna is the currency of Croatia since 1994 . It is subdivided into 100 lipa. The kuna is issued by the Croatian National Bank and the coins are minted by the Croatian Monetary Institute....
banknote, issued in 1993 and 2002.
Contents
The transliteratedTransliteration
Transliteration is a subset of the science of hermeneutics. It is a form of translation, and is the practice of converting a text from one script into another...
text, with restored segments in square brackets, is as follows:
- ... [vъ ime ot]ca i sina [i sve]tago duxa azъ
- opat[ъ] drъžixa pisaxъ s o ledině juže
- da zvъnъmirъ kralъ xrъvatъskъ[i vъ]
- dni svoę vъ svet[uju] luciju i s[vedo]
- mi županъ desimra krъbavě mra[tin]ъ vъ l[i]
- cě pr(ez)b(itr)ъ neb(o)gъ a ... ъ posl ... vin ... lě ... vъ ... v o
- tocě da iže to por(e)če klъni i bo(gъ) i 12 a(posto)la i 4 e
- va(n)g'(e)listi i s(ve)taě luciě am(e)nъ da iže sdě žive
- tъ moli za ne boga azъ opatъ d(o)brovitъ zъ
- daxъ crěkъvъ siju i svoeju bratiju sъ dev
- etiju vъ dni kъneza kosъmъta oblad
- ajucago vъsu kъrainu i běše vъ tъ dnIm
- ikula vъ octočъcI sъ svetuju lucIju vъ edino
The text can be translated in English as follows:
- ... In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, I,
- abbot Drъžixa, wrote this concerning the land which
- Zvonimir, the Croatian king, gave in
- his days to St. Lucia. And the witnesses [were]
- župan Desimira in KrbavaKrbavaKrbava is a region of mountainous Croatia. It can be considered either located east of Lika, or indeed as the eastern part of Lika. The town of Udbina is the central settlement of the Krbava karst field....
, Martin in LikaLikaLika is a mountainous region in central Croatia, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by the Malovan pass...
, - Piribineg in Vinodol and Yakob in
- Otok. Whoever denies this, let him be cursed by God and the twelve apostles and the four
- evangelists and Saint Lucia. Amen. And whoever lives here
- let him pray for it to God. I, abbot Dobrovit,
- built this church with nine of my brethren
- in the days of prince Cosmas ruling
- over the entire province. And in those days [the parish of St.]
- Nicholas in OtočacOtocacOtočac is a town in Lika, Croatia. It lies in the northwestern part of Lika, in the Gacka river valley. The population of the town is 4,354 as of 2001, with a total of 10,411 people within the municipality at large, the majority of whom are Croats ....
was joined with [the parish of] St. Lucia.