Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.15291/csi.4798
THE NARRATIVE HAGIOGRAPHIC SOURCE OF THE OLD CROATIAN PLAY MUKA SVETE MARGARITE
Josip Vučković
orcid.org/0000-0003-4463-362X
; University of Zadar, Zadar, Croatia
Abstract
The article contributes to the debate on the primary narrative
hagiographic source of the Old Croatian octosyllabic saint
play Muka svete Margarite [‘The Passion of Saint Margaret’],
which is preserved in the Florentine Miscellany and
the Šibenik Manuscript from the 16th century, as well as in
the Zadar Manuscript from the first half of the 17th century.
It argues that the play’s source was likely a Latin version of
the widespread prose legend of Saint Margaret, pseudoepigraphically
attributed to Theotimus. This Latin origin was
previously postulated by Carlo Verdiani, although he eventually
failed to substantiate his hypothesis convincingly. The
present article verifies the plausibility of Verdiani’s view.
Also, it challenges a competing interpretation by Eduard
Hercigonja that Muka svete Margarite draws on the Croatian
Glagolitic hagiographic tradition. The article demonstrates
that the Old Croatian play contains numerous motifs
common to Latin versions of the Pseudo-Theotimus legend
that are not attested in the Croatian Glagolitic translation.
Furthermore, while Hercigonja claims that Muka svete Margarite
shares specific motifs exclusively with the Croatian
Glagolitic legends, the article shows that those same motifs
also appear in the Latin hagiographic tradition. The demonstrated
affinity between Muka svete Margarite and the Latin
prose legend also sheds new light on the degree of proximity
between the play’s versions and their hypothetical urtext.
Keywords
Croatian Glagolitic hagiography; Latin literary sources; literary transfers; Margaret of Antioch; Old Croatian plays
Hrčak ID:
334029
URI
Publication date:
25.7.2025.
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