Original scientific paper
The Population of Lastovo in the Lastovo Statute
Nenad Vekarić
Abstract
The Statute of Lastovo, in the manuscript spanning from the early thirteenth century to 1706, contains the names, patronymics mainly, of 168 inhabitants of Lastovo. Based on genealogical analysis, the aim of this study was to reconstruct their exact lineage. Once identified, a link has been established between each individual and his living descendants. Moreover, this analysis singles out the members of the Lastovo elite, facilitating thus a new dimension in the interpretation of Lastovo’s past and certain events that had marked its development. No explicit data can be provided on Desislav, believed to have been the last župan (chieftain) of Lastovo. His name has been traced in the criminal records of a trial held in 1285 against his son Bogdan, accused of assault and rape of Dobra, a local girl. The Statute of Lastovo mentions sixteen of Desislav’s descendants who subsequently branched out into the Primilić, Marićević, Čikut, Vlahojević and Sokolić. In the earlier mentioned trial against Bogdan Desislavić, Grdomil Siračić testified as a defence witness. The family of Desislavić (16 members) and Siračić (17 names) were to develop through the surnames of Senković, Cubrijanović, Čučević, Antica and Marinica, and in view of their participation in the local government (27.27%) they represented the most powerful Lastovo families throughout the Ragusan rule, indicating thus a very smooth adaptation of Lastovo to the Ragusan political framework. Apparently, Dubrovnik made no attempt to ‘disintegrate’ the already established power structure but 94 Anali Dubrovnik 44 (2006) maintained its continuity by recognising Lastovo’s autonomy. The Desislavić and the Siračić were to play the leading role during the Lastovo rebellion against the Ragusan rule in 1602. The closing of the council in 1367 firmly established the privileged position of the local oligarchy headed by these two families. Subsequently, only three families managed to enter the old circle. The Dobrićević filtered in as the descendants of a Desislavić branch, probably at the turn of the fifteenth century and with the community’s approval. Dobrić Dobrićević (Boninus de Boninis), a renown incunabula printer, is likely to be credited for the family’s social advancement. Although their nomination met with the resistance of the community, the Dragošević family entered the circle in 1483 owing to “their merits and honourable service to the Ragusan government”. The Ivićević (the Jurinić branch) was the third family to enter the old circle in 1634. However, the proportion of new entrants (9.02%) shows that the ruling families managed to maintain the power positions from pre-Dubrovnik period until the fall of the Dubrovnik Republic.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
7756
URI
Publication date:
23.5.2006.
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