Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.53745/ccp.49.95.7
Plebanus in Early Modern Zadar Documents
Zdenko Dundović
; Department of Religious Sciences, University of Zadar, Zadar, Croatia
Abstract
Based on the analysis of archival materials from both ecclesiastical and secular archives in Zadar, this study examines the use of the term plebanus in archival records from the early modern period (16th–18th centuries) and attempts to determine whether its meaning was consistently associated with the pastoral office of its titleholder. A review of the scho larly literature reveals that plebanus is most commonly translated and equated with the term parish priest and the corresponding pastoral function. However, an analysis of a number of documents preserved in the State Archives in Zadar, from the State Archives in Venice, and the Archidiocese of Zadar Archives, as well as reports on apostolic visitations in the dioceses of Zadar and Nin in 1579 and 1603, has identified discrepancies in the use of the term plebanus. Furthermore, the available literature, dealing with this topic in different parts of the Euro pean continent, indicates that plebanus could refer to a wide range of ecclesiastical offices and not exclusively to the position of a parish priest. The aim of this study is therefore to identify and present the various ecclesiastical offices designated by the term plebanus in early modern records, comparing them with other related terms frequently found in the original sources. In addition, the thesis is put forward that from the late 14th century until the end of Venetian rule in Dalmatia in 1797, the term plebanus in Zadar’s archival sour ces never referred to the full scope of the parish priest’s office.
Keywords
plebanus; parish priest; rector; parochus,; benefice; Early Modern Period
Hrčak ID:
333240
URI
Publication date:
8.7.2025.
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