Original scientific paper
Summary: John Mason Neale: Glagolitic, Glagolitic liturgy and the island of Krk in a travelogue from 1861
Juraj Lokmer
Abstract
John Mason Neale, having arrived in Austria (Graz) from London in 1860, travelled down the eastern Adriatic coast in April and May, starting in Trieste and Aquileia and then onward to Kotar and beyond, to Montenegro. Travelling by boat, he visited Poreč and Pula, where he was particularly delighted by the amphitheatre, which served as the inspiration for his short novel (The Daughters of Pola, London, 1861). He continued his journey by sea to the island of Krk, where he stayed for several days to become more thoroughly acquainted with the “Glagolita rite” and take note of ecclesiastical circumstances. He then continued his voyage via Osor, i.e., Lošinj, to Zadar and then all the way to Montenegro. His travels resulted in a book entitled "Notes, Ecclesiological and Picturesque, on Dalmatia, Croatia, Istria, Styria, with a Visit to Montenegro", which he published in London in 1861. In one chapter contained in this work, J. M. Neale gave readers data on the emergence of the Glagolitic and Cyrillic scripts, the history of the use of Glagolitic and the Old Slavonic language in the liturgy of the Catholic Church not only among the Croats on the eastern Adriatic coast, but also beyond, using all then known sources and information. Wishing to learn about the use of a vernacular language in Catholic liturgy, he came to the island of Krk, where he attended a Sunday mass and listened to the liturgical readings in the vernacular language (šćavet). He described the place and meetings with the clergy, the monks (Franciscans) at Košljun and with the common people, and he provided data on the churches and other specific cultural and religious details about the island of Krk. He wanted to visit Senj, where the seat of the Glagolite bishops had always been, but he experienced an unpleasant voyage buffeted by bora winds, which prevented him from reaching the town. His journey around the island ended in a shipwreck at Stara Baška, whence he went to Krk and then farther to Cres and Dalmatia by steamboat. His descriptions of Krk are extensive, at times more literary than factual, with many personal impressions and reflections on ecclesiastical circumstances in the mid-19th century. His descriptions provide invaluable data and testimony to the places and people, and they are not simply historical documentation, but rather an insight into the views and opinions of others, foreigners, on them. In this paper, the author provides a translation of Neale’s overview of Glagolitic and his description of the island of Krk with commentary and the requisite explanations.
Keywords
Glagolitic; Glagolitic liturgy; travelogue; island of Krk; John Mason Neale
Hrčak ID:
284440
URI
Publication date:
3.3.2020.
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