Izvorni znanstveni članak
On the Linguistic Communication according to the Deeds of Zaratine Notary Peter Perencanus (1361-1392)
Anita Bartulović
orcid.org/0000-0003-0077-2775
; Odjel za klasičnu filologiju, Sveučilište u Zadru, Zadar
Sažetak
A great number of notarial deeds existing in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries indicate that this period was a turning point in the development of the mental system of medieval man. Notarial deeds, including those recorded by Notary Peter de Lemicetis from Padua, known as Perençanus, who came to Zadar in the 1360s as a notary and operated there till the beginning of the 1390s, reveal to a considerable extent the new spirit, which advanced the self-awareness of individuals in Dalmatian communes during this period of economic prosperity. These deeds show that an increasing number of members of the lower social layers of Slavonic (that is, Croatian) origin got involved in legal regulation of their rights and obligations in accordance with the regulations of statutes of their communes. Such regulations were composed during the Middle Ages in the Latin language, yet, in spite of that, they were intended to be well known to everyone, regardless of any appurtenance to any particular social layer, and regardless of linguistic barriers, such as existed in bilingual Zadar, where Romance and Croatian vernaculars were used in everyday life. Because of the lack of explicit data on the communication between the members of the lower social classes of Croatian origin coming from the wider areas of Zadar’s hinterland, who spoke only Croatian, and notaries, who spoke Italian and Latin, the answer to the question of their mutual communication and its modalities has to be found in notarial deeds composed on their behalf. The analysis of participants in such deeds showed beyond doubt that any linguistic gap was overcome thanks to the patricians and members of the clergy of Zadar. Namely, as the possessors of lands in the district of Zadar with bilingual competences, they played the role of second contractor in a high percentage of cases, or they were recorded as witnesses in deeds such as carta procurationis, carta concessionis ad pastinandum, carta emptionis. Besides that, notaries with a long service record, such as Peter Perençanus, most probably learned the Slavonic vernacular in order to facilitate their communication with clients. In his case, such a supposition may be fully supported by his statement that he, in his capacity as notary, informed some female clients, among whom there were also some of Slavonic origin, about Veleian’s senatorial opinion.
Ključne riječi
medieval Latin; Slavonic vernaculars; Romance vernaculars; communication; social layers; ethnicity; analysis of notarial deeds
Hrčak ID:
168300
URI
Datum izdavanja:
31.12.2015.
Posjeta: 1.646 *