Nada Klaic
Encyclopedia
Nada Klaić was a Croatia
n historian
. She was influential and controversial Croatian medievalist of the 20th century.
, the same faculty where she was involved in teaching for 45 years. She started her teaching and scientific career at the Faculty's Department of History in 1943 to become a full professor of the Croatian medieval history in 1969. This position she held until her death in 1988. Parallelly she taught several years at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zadar.
Since 1946, when she took her doctor's degree with the thesis Political and Social System of Slavonia during the Arpáds' Rule she was during several decades engaged in research of the Croatian medieval history. Nada Klaić gathered the results of her extensive analytical investigations, published first in journals and proceedings, and monographs and surveys of Croatian history.
as the granddaughter of the historian Vjekoslav Klaić
. In 1943 she graduated history from the University in Zagreb, where she was hired as a university instructor in the same year. In 1946 Klaić got her Ph.D. with the thesis Political and Social Organization of Slavonia
under the Árpád dynasty
. In 1954 she became a private assistant professor; in 1968 she became a professor of the history of Croatia
.
She researched the period from the arrival of the Slavs
(see Migration Period
) until the 19th century. She contributed to the Croatian Medievalism
by writing papers about social history. The book History of the Yugoslav
Peoples II (1959) includes her comprehensive overview of the history of Croatia in the Early Modern Times, including elements of economic and social history.
She paid special attention to the history of cities, as shown by several studies and books: Zadar
in the Middle Ages until 1409 (with Ivo Petricioli, 1976), Zagreb
in the Middle Ages (1982), Notes on Vukovar
in the Middle Ages (1983), Trogir
in the Middle Ages: Public Life of the City and its Inhabitants (1985), Koprivnica
in the Middle Ages (1987).
She wrote numerous studies about revolts and social conflicts, which she collected in the book Social Turmoil and Revolts
in Croatia in the 16th and 17th Centuries (1976). She described the role of specific nobles in the books The Last Dukes of Celje
in the Lands of the Crown of St. Stephen
(1982) and Medvedgrad
and its Masters (1987).
A large part of her work is the analysis and publication of sources. Relying partly on the contributions of earlier historians, she analyzed the entire Croatian diplomatic material of the Early Middle Ages
(Diplomatic Analysis of the Documents from the Age of Croatian Rulers of Croat Descent
, 1965, 1966–67), questioning its authenticity. Along with the anonymous Split
chronicle called Historia Salonitana maior (1967), Klaić published several sources translated from Latin for the needs of students (Sources for Croatian History before 1526, 1972).
She provided a comprehensive and original concept of the early medieval development of the Croatian lands in the book History of the Croats
in the Early Middle Ages
(1971), while she collected her writings about numerous problems of the later period in the book History of the Croats in the High Middle Ages
(1976). Her posthumously published books are Medieval Bosnia: Political Status of Bosnian Rulers before the Coronation of Tvrtko
in 1377 (1989) and History of the Croats in the Middle Ages (1990).
of the 19th century; the foundation of a modern interdisciplinary
approach to Croatian history, combining archaeology
, palaeography
, economic history
, history of art
and cultural history
; the revaluation of older historical sources; and the dissolution of many myths reflecting the political function of Croatian historiography
in the 19th century.
She was often in the public eye for her controversial theories such as her refusal to acknowledge the first Croatian printing press in Kosinj (Lika
), the theory that the Croats originally migrated from Carantania, or that the document Pacta Conventa
is a forgery.
Miroslav Brandt
claimed that Croatian historiography in the times of socialist Yugoslavia was consciously reduced at national minimalism and reduced at solely orientation towards criticist historiography, towards fight against alleged myths in Croatian historiography, with Nada Klaić as representant. Brandt claimed that Nada Klaić was protégé of Communist authorities, only because of their perception that her work has destructive effects on national pride of Croats.
and her approach to the early medieval Croatian history
in the 1960s. The dispute was covert because Mandić was an anticommunist emigrant. Nada Klaić had the advantage of a modern scientific and multidisciplinary approach and a well-founded critical analysis of historical sources, while Mandić made stronger analyses of church history (a crucial aspect of the Middle Ages
).
Two aspects stand out in this wide dispute. Firstly, the superior modern approach of Nada Klaić positively influenced the Croatian historiography as a whole. Secondly, the background of the dispute was a clash between two equally non-scientific positions, the one overplaying (Mandić) and the other downplaying (Klaić) the Croatian aspect, neither of which has managed to become the foundation of Bosnian medieval studies. After Mandić's weakly founded claims (e.g. on the North African origin of Vlachs
), Nada Klaić made even weaker claims (e.g. on the arrival of the Croats from Slovenia
/Carantania).
Modern Croatian historiography dealing with Bosnia and Herzegovina, exemplified in the works of Pejo Ćošković, Mladen Ančić, Franjo Šanjek, and Pavao Anđelić, mostly accepts the multidisciplinary approach of Nada Klaić, amended with more recent scientific discoveries, but it refutes her national reductionism caused by the communist ideology trying to remove the Croatian aspect of the history of Bosnia and Hum.
Published posthumously:
:
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 ...
n historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
. She was influential and controversial Croatian medievalist of the 20th century.
Academic career
Prof. Dr. Nada Klaić, university professor and a prominent Croatian medievalist, graduated at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of ZagrebUniversity of Zagreb
The University of Zagreb is the biggest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of Southeastern Europe...
, the same faculty where she was involved in teaching for 45 years. She started her teaching and scientific career at the Faculty's Department of History in 1943 to become a full professor of the Croatian medieval history in 1969. This position she held until her death in 1988. Parallelly she taught several years at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zadar.
Since 1946, when she took her doctor's degree with the thesis Political and Social System of Slavonia during the Arpáds' Rule she was during several decades engaged in research of the Croatian medieval history. Nada Klaić gathered the results of her extensive analytical investigations, published first in journals and proceedings, and monographs and surveys of Croatian history.
Historical studies
She was born in ZagrebZagreb
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...
as the granddaughter of the historian Vjekoslav Klaić
Vjekoslav Klaic
Vjekoslav Klaić was a Croatian historian and writer, most famous for his monumental History of the Croats.Klaić was born in Garčin near Slavonski Brod as the son of a teacher. He was raised in German spirit and language, since his mother was German. Klaić went to school in Varaždin and Zagreb...
. In 1943 she graduated history from the University in Zagreb, where she was hired as a university instructor in the same year. In 1946 Klaić got her Ph.D. with the thesis Political and Social Organization of Slavonia
Slavonia
Slavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia...
under the Árpád dynasty
Árpád dynasty
The Árpáds or Arpads was the ruling dynasty of the federation of the Hungarian tribes and of the Kingdom of Hungary . The dynasty was named after Grand Prince Árpád who was the head of the tribal federation when the Magyars occupied the Carpathian Basin, circa 895...
. In 1954 she became a private assistant professor; in 1968 she became a professor of the history of Croatia
History of Croatia
Croatia first appeared as a duchy in the 7th century and then as a kingdom in the 10th century. From the 12th century it remained a distinct state with its ruler and parliament, but it obeyed the kings and emperors of various neighboring powers, primarily Hungary and Austria. The period from the...
.
She researched the period from the arrival of the Slavs
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
(see Migration Period
Migration Period
The Migration Period, also called the Barbarian Invasions , was a period of intensified human migration in Europe that occurred from c. 400 to 800 CE. This period marked the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages...
) until the 19th century. She contributed to the Croatian Medievalism
Medievalism
Medievalism is the system of belief and practice characteristic of the Middle Ages, or devotion to elements of that period, which has been expressed in areas such as architecture, literature, music, art, philosophy, scholarship, and various vehicles of popular culture.Since the 18th century, a...
by writing papers about social history. The book History of the Yugoslav
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
Peoples II (1959) includes her comprehensive overview of the history of Croatia in the Early Modern Times, including elements of economic and social history.
She paid special attention to the history of cities, as shown by several studies and books: Zadar
Zadar
Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Population of the city is 75,082 citizens...
in the Middle Ages until 1409 (with Ivo Petricioli, 1976), 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...
in the Middle Ages (1982), Notes on Vukovar
Vukovar
Vukovar is a city in eastern Croatia, and the biggest river port in Croatia located at the confluence of the Vuka river and the Danube. Vukovar is the center of the Vukovar-Syrmia County...
in the Middle Ages (1983), Trogir
Trogir
Trogir is a historic town and harbour on the Adriatic coast in Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia, with a population of 12,995 and a total municipality population of 13,322 . The historic city of Trogir is situated on a small island between the Croatian mainland and the island of Čiovo...
in the Middle Ages: Public Life of the City and its Inhabitants (1985), Koprivnica
Koprivnica
Koprivnica is a city in northern Croatia. It is the capital of the Koprivnica-Križevci county. In 2011 the city administrative area had a total population of 30,872, with 23,896 in the city itself.-Population:...
in the Middle Ages (1987).
She wrote numerous studies about revolts and social conflicts, which she collected in the book Social Turmoil and Revolts
Croatian and Slovenian peasant revolt
The Croatian-Slovenian peasant revolt of 1573 was a large peasant revolt in today's Croatia and Slovenia. The revolt, sparked by cruel treatment of serfs by the baron Franjo Tahy, ended after 12 days with the defeat of the rebels and bloody retribution by the nobility.-Background:In the late 16th...
in Croatia in the 16th and 17th Centuries (1976). She described the role of specific nobles in the books The Last Dukes of Celje
Celje
Celje is a typical Central European town and the third largest town in Slovenia. It is a regional center of Lower Styria and the administrative seat of the Urban Municipality of Celje . The town of Celje is located under Upper Celje Castle at the confluence of the Savinja, Ložnica, and Voglajna...
in the Lands of the Crown of St. Stephen
Lands of the Crown of St. Stephen
The historical term Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen was used to denote a group of territories connected to the Kingdom of Hungary within Austria-Hungary...
(1982) and Medvedgrad
Medvedgrad
Medvedgrad is a medieval fortified town located on the south slopes of Medvednica mountain, approximately halfway from the Croatian capital Zagreb to the mountain top Sljeme. For defensive purposes it was built on a hill, Mali Plazur, that is a spur of the main ridge of the mountain that overlooks...
and its Masters (1987).
A large part of her work is the analysis and publication of sources. Relying partly on the contributions of earlier historians, she analyzed the entire Croatian diplomatic material of the Early Middle Ages
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...
(Diplomatic Analysis of the Documents from the Age of Croatian Rulers of Croat Descent
Medieval Croatian state
Medieval Croatia can refer to:* Principality of Pannonian Croatia - medieval duchy in existence between the 7th and 10th centuries A.D.* Principality of Littoral Croatia - medieval principality in existence between the 8th century and 925 A.D....
, 1965, 1966–67), questioning its authenticity. Along with the anonymous Split
Split (city)
Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and...
chronicle called Historia Salonitana maior (1967), Klaić published several sources translated from Latin for the needs of students (Sources for Croatian History before 1526, 1972).
She provided a comprehensive and original concept of the early medieval development of the Croatian lands in the book History 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...
in the Early Middle Ages
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...
(1971), while she collected her writings about numerous problems of the later period in the book History of the Croats in the High Middle Ages
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages was the period of European history around the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries . The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500....
(1976). Her posthumously published books are Medieval Bosnia: Political Status of Bosnian Rulers before the Coronation of Tvrtko
Tvrtko I of Bosnia
Stjepan Tvrtko I was a ruler of medieval Bosnia. He ruled in 1353–1366 and again in 1367–1377 as Ban and in 1377–1391 as the first Bosnian King....
in 1377 (1989) and History of the Croats in the Middle Ages (1990).
Influence
Nada Klaić was the most influential Croatian medievalist in the 20th century. Some of her achievements are the innovation and general modernization of the approach to Croatian history (especially for the Middle Ages), which helped release it from the romantic nationalismRomantic nationalism
Romantic nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs...
of the 19th century; the foundation of a modern interdisciplinary
Interdisciplinarity
Interdisciplinarity involves the combining of two or more academic fields into one single discipline. An interdisciplinary field crosses traditional boundaries between academic disciplines or schools of thought, as new needs and professions have emerged....
approach to Croatian history, combining archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
, palaeography
Palaeography
Palaeography, also spelt paleography is the study of ancient writing. Included in the discipline is the practice of deciphering, reading, and dating historical manuscripts, and the cultural context of writing, including the methods with which writing and books were produced, and the history of...
, economic history
Economic history
Economic history is the study of economies or economic phenomena in the past. Analysis in economic history is undertaken using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and by applying economic theory to historical situations and institutions...
, history of art
History of art
The History of art refers to visual art which may be defined as any activity or product made by humans in a visual form for aesthetical or communicative purposes, expressing ideas, emotions or, in general, a worldview...
and cultural history
Cultural history
The term cultural history refers both to an academic discipline and to its subject matter.Cultural history, as a discipline, at least in its common definition since the 1970s, often combines the approaches of anthropology and history to look at popular cultural traditions and cultural...
; the revaluation of older historical sources; and the dissolution of many myths reflecting the political function of Croatian historiography
Historiography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
in the 19th century.
She was often in the public eye for her controversial theories such as her refusal to acknowledge the first Croatian printing press in Kosinj (Lika
Lika
Lika 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...
), the theory that the Croats originally migrated from Carantania, or that the document Pacta Conventa
Pacta conventa
Pacta conventa may mean:*Pacta conventa , a contractual agreement between the Polish nobility and king, in force from 1573 to 1764*Pacta conventa , a contractual agreement between the Croatian nobility and the Hungarian king, in force from 1102 to 1918...
is a forgery.
Miroslav Brandt
Miroslav Brandt
Miroslav Brandt was a Croatian historian, writer, publicist and polymath. He contributed to disparate areas ranging from politics to history of religions and literary translation. His polemical works helped preserve the national identity of Croats under Yugoslavia.-History, religion,...
claimed that Croatian historiography in the times of socialist Yugoslavia was consciously reduced at national minimalism and reduced at solely orientation towards criticist historiography, towards fight against alleged myths in Croatian historiography, with Nada Klaić as representant. Brandt claimed that Nada Klaić was protégé of Communist authorities, only because of their perception that her work has destructive effects on national pride of Croats.
Dispute with Dominik Mandić
Nada Klaić was involved in a dispute with the Croatian historian Dominik MandićDominik Mandic
Dominik Mandić was a Bosnian Croat historian and politician, a member of the Franciscan Order. His history books are essential reading for the history of medieval Bosnia and Herzegovina.-Life:...
and her approach to the early medieval Croatian history
Medieval Croatian state
Medieval Croatia can refer to:* Principality of Pannonian Croatia - medieval duchy in existence between the 7th and 10th centuries A.D.* Principality of Littoral Croatia - medieval principality in existence between the 8th century and 925 A.D....
in the 1960s. The dispute was covert because Mandić was an anticommunist emigrant. Nada Klaić had the advantage of a modern scientific and multidisciplinary approach and a well-founded critical analysis of historical sources, while Mandić made stronger analyses of church history (a crucial aspect of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
).
Two aspects stand out in this wide dispute. Firstly, the superior modern approach of Nada Klaić positively influenced the Croatian historiography as a whole. Secondly, the background of the dispute was a clash between two equally non-scientific positions, the one overplaying (Mandić) and the other downplaying (Klaić) the Croatian aspect, neither of which has managed to become the foundation of Bosnian medieval studies. After Mandić's weakly founded claims (e.g. on the North African origin of Vlachs
Vlachs
Vlach is a blanket term covering several modern Latin peoples descending from the Latinised population in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. English variations on the name include: Walla, Wlachs, Wallachs, Vlahs, Olahs or Ulahs...
), Nada Klaić made even weaker claims (e.g. on the arrival of the Croats from Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
/Carantania).
Modern Croatian historiography dealing with Bosnia and Herzegovina, exemplified in the works of Pejo Ćošković, Mladen Ančić, Franjo Šanjek, and Pavao Anđelić, mostly accepts the multidisciplinary approach of Nada Klaić, amended with more recent scientific discoveries, but it refutes her national reductionism caused by the communist ideology trying to remove the Croatian aspect of the history of Bosnia and Hum.
Works
- Političko i društveno uređenje Slavonije za Arpadovića (Political and Social Organization of Slavonia under the Árpád dynasty, 1946)
- Text in Historija naroda Jugoslavije II (History of the Yugoslav Peoples II, 1959)
- Diplomatička analiza isprava iz doba hrvatskih narodnih vladara (Diplomatic Analysis of the Documents from the Age of Croatian Rulers of Croat Descent, 1965, 1966–67)
- Povijest Hrvata u ranom srednjem vijeku (History of the Croats in the Early Middle Ages, 1971)
- Povijest Hrvata u razvijenom srednjem vijeku (History of the Croats in the High Middle Ages, 1976)
- Društvena previranja i bune u Hrvatskoj u XVI i XVII stoljeću (Social Turmoil and Revolts in Croatia in the 16th and 17th Centuries, 1976)
- Zadar u srednjem vijeku do 1409. (Zadar in the Middle Ages until 1409, 1976)
- Zagreb u srednjem vijeku (Zagreb in the Middle Ages, 1982)
- Zadnji knezi Celjski v deželah Sv. Krone (in Slovenian, The Last Dukes of Celje in the Lands of the Crown of St. Stephen, 1982)
- Crtice o Vukovaru u srednjem vijeku (Notes on Vukovar in the Middle Ages, 1983)
- Trogir u srednjem vijeku: javni život grada i njegovih ljudi (Trogir in the Middle Ages: Public Life of the City and its Inhabitants, 1985)
- Koprivnica u srednjem vijeku (Koprivnica in the Middle Ages, 1987)
- Medvedgrad i njegovi gospodari (Medvedgrad and its Masters, 1987)
Published posthumously:
- Srednjovjekovna Bosna: politički položaj bosanskih vladara do Tvrtkove krunidbe, 1377. g. (Medieval Bosnia: Political Status of Bosnian Rulers before the Coronation of Tvrtko in 1377, 1989)
- Povijest Hrvata u srednjem vijeku (History of the Croats in the Middle Ages, 1990)
Translations
From Latin to CroatianCroatian 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...
:
- Historia Salonitana maior (1967)
- Izvori za hrvatsku povijest do 1526. godine (Sources for Croatian History before 1526, 1972)