Review article
The impact of ecclesiastical reforms on sacral architecture in Split in the 11th century
Igor Loinjak
; The Academy of Arts and Culture in Osijek, Department of Visual and Media Arts
Abstract
In the Eastern Adriatic seaboard, the ideas of the
ecclesiastical reform movement reverberated considerably
in the Osor Diocese, which is not surprising if
one bears in mind that the local bishop, St. Gaudentius,
established close personal relations with the Italian
reformist abbey in Pomposa, and through it with the
abbey in Cluny. At the beginning of the 11th century,
Romuald, the founder of the Camaldolese order, a separate
branch of the Benedictine community, resided in
Istria. Prior to his arrival in the territory of the Osor
(Ossero) Diocese, he had been in Pomposa, where he
befriended the abbot of Cluny at the time, Odilo. The
close friendly contacts between Romuald and Odilo were reflected in the field of architecture, which is visible
in the translation of certain architectural elements
in the Osor Diocese which had their origin in Pomposa.
The spread of new artistic ideas to other parts of the
eastern Adriatic seaboard occurred thanks to the structure
of ecclesiastical administration and the extent of
its jurisdiction. Already in the first half of the 11th century,
the Osor Diocese began to nurture new architectural
models which had been developed in Italy’s
Pomposa in that period. In the mid-11th century, the
former Osor bishop, Lawrence, became the archbishop
of Split. At virtually the same time as Lawrence’s
assumption of the archdiocesan see in Split, John, also
from Osor, became the bishop of Trogir. The reformist
artistic models from the architecture of the Osor
Diocese were thus conveyed to the Dalmatian sphere.
This paper constitutes an attempt to first and foremost
examine the type of changes that occurred in the architecture
of the city of Split in the latter half of the
11th century, when the Split Archdiocese was administered
by Lawrence. Since relations between Lawrence
and the Croatian kings of that time, particularly
Zvonimir, as well as the pope, were quite important,
particular attention shall be accorded to an analysis of
Lawrence’s role in Split’s sacral architecture at that
time.
Keywords
Benedictines; Cluny; ecclesiastical reforms; Archbishop Lawrence; Osor diocese; Split
Hrčak ID:
234763
URI
Publication date:
31.12.2019.
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