Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.53745/ccp.50.97.3
The Dispute Between the Benedictines of Trogir and Abbot Nikola of Lokrum in the Context of the Ecclesiastical Investigation of 1359
Ante Bećir
; Croatian Institute of History, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
This paper examines a partially preserved record of an ecclesiastical investigation conducted in Trogir in early 1359, centered around a legal dispute between Dominik, the abbot of the Benedictine monastery of St. John the Baptist in Trogir, and Nikola, then abbot of the Benedictine monastery of St. Mary on Lokrum. Dominik accused Nikola of stealing money and valuables from the Trogir monastery during his previous tenure there as a monk. According to Dominik, Nikola was imprisoned by then-abbot Savin, escaped custody, and later, under unclear circumstances, became the abbot of Lokrum. The investigation was commissioned in 1358 by Vilim Rajmundov, prior of St. Marcel in the diocese of Valence and deputy to the papal legate Andruin, who appointed two canon judges from Trogir—Gojslav Slavkov and Mihael Martinov—to lead the inquiry and issue a verdict. The preserved documentation, written in Latin Gothic script, includes witness statements, legal arguments (articuli), and procedural details, although both the beginning and final judgment of the record are missing. This record represents a rare example of medieval ecclesiastical procedural documentation in Dalmatia. The background reveals that Nikola was named abbot of Lokrum in 1353 by Pope Innocent VI to replace a previous candidate who had seized the position by force. While he faced conflict with Dubrovnik authorities—including imprisonment in 1358 over allegedly forged papal documents—a compromise was reached by August 1359. In the Trogir investigation, Dominik outlined 13 accusations, including that Nikola, with the assistence of another monk, Grgur, stole the monastery’s valuables during Savin’s absence and escaped punishment. Nikola denied all charges from the fifth to the thirteenth article, acknowledging only the general biographical claims contained in the first four. Nikola argued that the accusations were false, motivated by malice, and that the valuables had not been stolen but relocated by another monk, Stojo Dumice, to the church of St. John. He further claimed that the original sentence passed by Savin had been annulled by the diocesan administrator Mihael Galluzzo, and that he had been reinstated in the monastery. Surprisingly, the witnesses brought forth by Dominik largely supported Nikola. Many confirmed hearing from Savin himself that the treasure had been recovered, albeit with some items missing. Several stated that Nikola was regarded as a good abbot rather than a thief, while others questioned the legitimacy of the original trial and punishment. Despite procedural thoroughness, the investigation ultimately ended without a recorded verdict. The case remains unresolved due to missing documentation. Nevertheless, the surviving record offers a rare insight into the legal mechanisms of medieval ecclesiastical investigations, revealing a system shaped by formal procedures as well as personal rivalries and ambiguities.
Keywords
Trogir; Lokrum; Middle Ages; Benedictine monasteries; dispute; ecclesiastical investigation
Hrčak ID:
350298
URI
Publication date:
23.8.2026.
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