Izvorni znanstveni članak
Saint John Hermit in the Croatian his toriography and iconography in the seven teenth and eighteenth centuries
Danijel PREMERL Iva KURELAC
Sažetak
Authors of this article analyze circumstances and reasons regarding adoption of Saint John Hermit in the Croatian late Renaissance and Baroque historiography and iconography. Undoubtedly this saint had a strong semantic charge and potential for the Croatian national, state-legal and Christian legitimacy and its representation. Analysis of the chief narrative sources from the medieval period and humanistic historiography revealed that the legend about Saint John Hermit appears for the first time in the Croatian historiography
at the beginning of the seventeenth century in an unpublished manuscript known as De rebus Dalmaticis (1602) that had been written by Dinko Zavorović humanist and historiographer from Šibenik. Namely, Zavorović simply took Latin translation of
»Hajek« legend that was done by Czech erudite Nicholas Salius, which he had found in Vita sanctorum written by German Carthusian Laurentius Surius. Therefore, authors of this article tried to reveal all the important Latin quotations from the unpublished copies of Zavorović’s study that are kept in Zadar and Venice. Furthermore, authors analyzed influence of Surius’ text to hagiographic study known as Regiae sanctitatis Illyricanae foecunditas (Rome, 1630) written by John Tomko Mrnavić, prominent cleric and historiographer
from Šibenik. Thus, Zavorović and Mrnavić became the first authors in Croatia who introduced and incorporated St. John Hermit regarding the contemporary politics and religious circumstances, which resulted that this saint became a legitimate part of
the Croatian historiographical narrative in the seventeenth century. This becomes quite visible in the study Memoria regum et banorum (Vienna, 1652) written by Zagreb canon and historian George Rattkay. This monograph, because on its cover pages there was
the first illustration of St. John Hermit in Croatia, made an important impact and consequently Zagreb bishopric adopted this saint in the bishopric’s iconography. By the same token, Rattkay’s study (i.e. cover pages of the first issue) was inspiration for book covers
of famous illuminated Missal of George de Topusko. In this context, regarding up to now unknown reflections of representations of St. John Hermit in the visual arts, authors emphasize ceiling fresco in Illyrian-Hungarian collegium in Bologna. This fresco was painted around 1700 by order of Zagreb bishop Seliščević. Rattkay’s monograph also provoked spreading of the St. John’s cult among the Pauline Fathers. Clear poof evidence of this statement represents frescoes of John Baptist Ranger in the chapel of St. John at
Gorica nearby Lepoglava (1731), as well as picture of St. John Hermit from the Pauline monastery in Križevci. Subsequently, it is not surprising that this saint is present in ecclesiastical- historical manuscript of Pauline Joseph Bedeković, who included St. John within
the calendar of Illyrian saints. Furthermore, the fact that Zagreb Jesuit school theater in the first half of the eighteenth century repeatedly played shows on the legend of St. John Hermit also witness that during 150 years this saint became incorporated almost in all important aspects of the Croatian cultural tradition.
Ključne riječi
St. John Hermit; Dinko Zavorović; Ivan (John) Tomko Mrnavić; Juraj (George) Rattkay; iconography of the bishopric of Zagreb; Illyrian-Hungarian collegium in Bologna; historiography
Hrčak ID:
90075
URI
Datum izdavanja:
15.6.2012.
Posjeta: 2.272 *