Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.21857/mwo1vczjry
Integration of newcomers from the Apeninian Peninsula into the Zadar commune (1365 – 1374)
Anita Bartulović
orcid.org/0000-0003-0077-2775
; Univeristy of Zadar, Department of Classical Philology, Zadar, Croatia
Abstract
The unpublished files of Zadar’s notary Petar called Perencan from Padua (1365 – 1392) and court records (1358 – 1458) written in Latin as the official language of the Zadar commune, recorded that among the native population numerous foreigners chose Zadar for their new residence. Most of them came from the Apennine Peninsula. According to the only preserved and very systematic data from Perencan Register and court records, from the end of 1365 to the end of 1373, 111 people (100 males and 11 females) from 37 places on the Apennine Penninsula lived in Zadar. Most of them came from trade and crafts circles and the academic community (71.17%). The total number of newcomers for the studied period changed from year to year for different reasons, varying from death to moving away. But the number of newcomers changed mostly because it was impossible to determine how long they stayed in Zadar according to the available data. Namely, analysing the documents in which newcomers are mentioned for the first time in the sources as well as their roles in them, it is evident that the ratio of the role of a witness or party in the dispute and the contractor (41/9: 30 in notary files for the mentioned period and 5 / 4: 2 in the records from the earlier period) should favour the role of the contractor. It is to be expected that someone arriving in a new environment will take care of their accommodation and business premises. Besides, among the agreements in which persons appear for the first time in the sources as contractors, it is the contracts that are missing. It is noted here that in their first preserved contracts, they interacted more with their compatriots who came to Zadar on business or who lived in Zadar. The question then arises as to how the newcomers managed on arriving in a new environment where the Croat ethnic elements were increasingly prevalent, the spoken Croatian language included. Also, to what extent they made contracts with members of Croatian origin from the lower social background who, assumably, could not speak Italian. Looking at the total number of notary contracts (336) and court cases (26), in only five contracts or four court cases newcomers directly drew up a deal or entered into a dispute with any member of Croatian origin who did not belong to their trade and craft business circle. In these cases, the newcomers’ communication with them was no obstacle because these contracts were made much later in their Zadar life. Then they probably had mastered the Croatian language quite well thanks to everyday interaction with Croatians through business and personal relationships (friendship, marriage, neighbourly).
Keywords
Middle Ages; Zadar; Petar Perencan; Italian newcomers; Apennine Peninsula; communication
Hrčak ID:
230724
URI
Publication date:
20.12.2019.
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