Original scientific paper
The Descriptio Urbis Spalatensis of Ivan Tomko Mrnavić
Tamara Tvrtković
; Hrvatski institut za povijest, Zagreb
Abstract
At the beginning of the 16th century, Marko Marulić wrote several encomiastic pages about his native city. A century later, Ivan Tomko Mrnavić did the same thing, putting Descriptio urbis Spalatensis, a short description of the city of Split, in his work Unica gentis Aureliae Valeriae Salonitanae Dalmaticae nobilitas. This description had primarily been conceived as appendix to a work that discussed the family of the Valerii, from which came both Emperor Diocletian and Pope Caius, separately published in 1811 within the work of Andrea Ciccarelli Opuscoli riguardanti la storia degli uomini illustri di Spalato e di parecchi altri Dalmati.
The Marulić and Mrnavić descriptions are analysed and compared with a special reference to the content level, other works also being mentioned from which it is clear that Mrnavić knew this work of Marulić, although he never mentions it directly. Particularly interesting is Mrnavić’s mention of Klis (in the manuscript part De Illyrico caesaribusque Illyricis) in the same context as in Marulić: invok-ing ancient sources, both authors mention Caesar. In the part De bello civili he describes the defence of the Dalmatian town, and among the rebel towns Issa is mentioned, while in both Marulić and Mrnavić, Clissa or Klis is mentioned.
The similarities of the two descriptions (and of other references in Mrnavić) suggest that there must have been a tradition in the presentation of the history of the city of Split, which each writer would supplement with his own fictional or less fictional elements, according to his own devices.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
35442
URI
Publication date:
22.4.2009.
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