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https://doi.org/10.21857/yrvgqtd8n9
VATROSLAV JAGIĆ AND THE PSALTER OF NIKOLA OF RAB
Ivan Botica
orcid.org/0000-0003-0375-2358
Milan Mihaljević
Sažetak
The Psalter of Nikola of Rab, which was supposedly written down in 1222, has been
the subject of fascination and controversy for centuries. In 1912, Vatroslav Jagić declared
it a forgery based on a philological and historical analysis. His claim is based
on textological evidence, including an analysis of orthography and phonology, as
well as the fact that Bishop Theodore is listed in the Chronotaxis of the Bishops of
Salona, but is not historically attested/ as uncertain/ but his existence is historically
uncertain, and that there are no historical records of Nikola of Rab. Our analysis
confirms the validity of some of Jagić’s arguments, especially in the textological field,
while certain philological claims require further contextualization in the light of recent
findings on Croatian Glagolitism.
It is believed that the Psalter is an artificial compilation, probably written by Ivan
Tomko Mrnavić to promote ideas about the ancient roots of the Glagolitic tradition
and its connection to St. Jerome. It was seen as proof of the antiquity of Glagolitic
literature and as an obstacle to the publication of Kašić’s translation of the Holy
Scriptures into the Neo-Shtokavian vernacular. Our study takes up Jagić’s analyses
and develops them further, especially with regard to the use of Old Church Slavonic
and later Cyrillic sources, emphasizing that the textual changes represent adaptations
of the Latin translation iuxta Hebraeos.
Although it is probably a forgery, the creation of the Psalter by Nikola of Rab testifies
to the intellectual and ecclesiastical struggles to legitimize Glagolitism and secure its
place in the European cultural heritage. Thus, the Psalter remains a unique cultural
phenomenon, regardless of whether it is authentic or a forgery, and underlines its
importance in the history of Croatian literature and Slavic studies.
Ključne riječi
Psalter of Nikola of Rab; Ivan Tomko Mrnavić; Rafael Levaković; Bartol Kašić; Mateo Karaman; Vatroslav Jagić.
Hrčak ID:
342685
URI
Datum izdavanja:
31.12.2025.
Posjeta: 460 *