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Religious Conditions on the Croatian Coast Based on the Travellogues of German Pilgrims (from the Fourteenth to the Seventeenth Century)
Krešimir Kužić
Sažetak
Thanks to the German enthusiasm for pilgrimages in the Holy Land, the descriptions of Croatian regions and settlements that they visited have come down to us. One of the more important characteristics of these places that attracted attention was certainly that of religious conditions. The whole period under research may be divided into three smaller periods: 1) the period prior to 1463, 2) that from 1463 to 1527, and 3) that from 1527 to 1623. That division was conditioned by the struggle against the Ottomans and by the phenomenon of Protestantism. In the first period, the pilgrims noted a strong and developed ecclesiastical organisation and singled out numerous churches and works of art for mention. In the second stage, the fear caused by the appearance of the Ottomans is felt, devastations caused by their raids are listed, and some of the pilgrims openly express their concern that the whole of Croatia would fall into Ottoman hands. Among the more interesting details belong the contacts that they had with the Glagolitic priests. The third period is marked by the creation of an asymmetry between rich and protected cities, in the first place Dubrovnik, and the devastated hinterland, which belonged more to the Orient than to the West.
If they had time, the pilgrims did not miss the chance to visit relics kept in urban churches. Starting from the Istrian cities and moving on to Dubrovnik, the pilgrims were shown relics of the saints and other memorabilia. Thus in Poreč they saw the relics of St. Euphemia, in Zadar those of St. Anastasia and St. Chrysogonus, and in Dubrovnik those of St. Blaise, but the greatest interest was excited by the body of St. Simeon the Prophet in Zadar and the Dippers of Jesus in Dubrovnik. The reason for that lay in the fact that both relics were connected with the Saviour’s physical stay in this world. In the meantime, as Protestantism spread over Germany, the pilgrims were not so eager to frequent the relics, and some of them even ridiculed them. Regarding other shrines, the pilgrims expressed particular veneration to St. Nicholas in Poreč and to Our Lady’s Church of the Franciscan convent of Hvar. Taking into account the fact that they sometimes stayed in some places for a longer time, they had time to put on paper local legends, and they also collected rather a lot of information from the Croatian sailors on ships. During the navigation itself, it could happen that the sailors narrated different versions of various anecdotes. These may sometimes have been just deliberately made up. On the other hand, it is possible that variances in stories were caused also by the language barrier, of which the pilgrims complained. The story that occasioned the greatest reaction was certainly the legend that Pula had been the papal seat prior to Rome. Many pilgrims noted stories regarding the origin of the church of St. John on the Ploča horn, but these were also completely fabulous and without any foundation in reality.
According to the German tradition, Croatia belonged to the circle of twenty Christian kingdoms, and in spite of all the religious changes happening in Germany, the pilgrims (even if they had Lutheran inclinations) continued to feel that it belonged to the same cultural circle.
Ključne riječi
pilgrimages; Germany; Croatia; religion; relics
Hrčak ID:
62612
URI
Datum izdavanja:
29.12.2010.
Posjeta: 2.160 *