Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.21857/m3v76t5zqy
Godparents and marriage witnesses on the Island of Lastovo, 1870-1876
Sanja Lozančić
; City of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Lada Lozančić
; Croatian Parliament, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
This article is the outgrowth of the research project "Social trends and networks based on the analysis of parish registers and notary records" conducted within the doctoral programme "History of Population" of the University in Zagreb and the University in Dubrovnik. Selected from among 15 communities encompassed by this research is a relatively isolated rural community of the remote island of Lastovo. The research is based on the analysis of baptism registers in the period 1870-1873, and marriage registers of the Parish of Lastovo from 1870 to 1876. Analysed are the customs pertaining to the choice of godparents and marriage witnesses, their number, sex and social status, interval between birth and baptism, proportion of emergency baptisms, proportion of baptisms of illegitimate children, number of names and naming patterns at baptism, along with repeated godparenthoods.
The research has shown that in the period under analysis the recommendations of the Council of Trent were observed on Lastovo as regards the day of baptism and number of godparents, as well as the number of persons witnessing marriage. Emergency baptism was administered in 8% of Lastovo children, while over one half of the newborn were baptised on the day of birth or the following day. Almost all children had two godparents, a godfather and
godmother, except in emergency baptisms, when the priest or midwife acted as godparent. Both male and female children were given two names at baptism, even three, and rarely one, after the parents or godparents. Illegitimate children, of whom there were 4 among the 123 baptised, had two godparents at baptism, like the children born in wedlock.
Lastovo marriages were most frequently held on Sundays (37.7%), and least frequently on Thursdays (4.92 %) and Fridays (6.56 %). Marriage ritual was usually witnessed by two male witnesses. The most popular marriage witness was a labourer Antun Šantić,
who acted as witness on 40 out of 61 occasions.
Godparent and witness network on the island of Lastovo mainly developed among the persons of equal social status in a traditional rural community void of distinctive stratification.
Keywords
Lastovo, 19th century, parish registers, godparents, marriage witnesses
Hrčak ID:
311741
URI
Publication date:
20.12.2023.
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