Unacceptable Social Behaviour or False Accusations:
Croats in the Investigations ofthe Venetian Inquisition
Lovorka Coralic
General notes on the Yenetian Inquisition and the types
of inq uisitional processes
The beginnings of the Venetian Inquisition (Santo Uffizio, Savi all‘
Eresia) date to the first half of the thirteenth century when the Holy Office was
founded as magistracy composed of three nobles. At the time when it was
founded, as in the centuries thereafter, the Holy Office did not see substantial
activity, and the institution was renewed and took on new authority only in the
first half of the sixteenth century, when Protestantism spread on Yenetian soil.
As earlier, it consisted of three Yenetian noblerneu (Tre Savi sopra eresia or
assistenti) as the representatives of lay authority, the papal nuncio as the
representative of the Holy See, an inquisitor (first a member of the Gray Friars,
and from the 1 560s a Black Friar), and the Yenetian patriarch or his generat
vicar as the representatives of diocesan authority. The Yenetian Holy Office had
jurisdiction over all individuals who were suspected of acting against the principles
of the Catholic Church. The accused can be classified into several basic
groups: Protestants, heretics accused of using magic, occult acts, superstition,
and/or worshiping demonie forces, and a whole series of passive accomplices
and helpers who showed a tendency or helped the followers of heretical
teachings. It is important to note that the procedure in the Yenetian Holy Office
was different compared to the processes of inquisitions in other European
Catholic countries (especially Spain). Torture was rarely applied, like the death
penalty, which was most frequently replaced by the penalty of serving on the
galleys or banishrnent from Venetian state territory. Most of the verdicts ended
with sentencing to spiritual punishrnents with the formula of renunciation
(abiurazione), by which the accused was permanently relieved of the guilt of
heresy. Active participation by representatives of the lay authority contributed to
the specifics of the Venetian Inquisition, which made state control over sensitive
issues of heresy more efficient. 1
1 There is extensive scholarship on the history of the Venetian Holy Office. The most
important works are: Francesco Albanese, L ‚lnquisizione religiosa nella Repubblica di
Venezia (Venice: Naratovich, 1875); Pio Paschini, Venezia e l ‚lnquisizione Romana da
Giulio Ill a Pio IV (Padova: Herder, 1 959); Eresia e Riforma nell’ltalia del Cinquecento
82
The State Archive of Venice (Archivio di Stato di Venezia) holds the
series of the Holy Office (Santo Ufficio, Savi all ‚eresia), which mostly consists
of process reports of the inquisition from 1 54 1 to 1 794. ln total, 150 bundles
(busta) contain more tban a thousand processes. On the basis of the indices
(Indici a/fabetico, cronologico, e geografico dei Processi del Santo Uffizio
1541-1 794), in which all of the names of the accused, their origin, the type of
accusation, the year the process started, and its course are listed alphabetically,
so it is possible to determine the names of the accused that came from Croatian
areas.
ln the research that I have conducted over the last ten years l have paid
particular attention (in this kind of material from the central Venetian Archive)
to the records of the Venetian Inquisition which are connected with the processes
of the Holy Office against individuals or groups originating from the
eastem Adriatic coast, primarily from the Croatian ethnic area? From among
groups that were treated separately the following types of processes and their
protagonists are analysed: Conversion to Islam (maomettismo), the Greek
schism (scisma greca) and conversion to Islam (scisma greca e turca), Protestantism
(protestantesmo, luteranesmo), magic and common beliefs (magia,
negromanzia, seduzione, sortilegio), and other types of processes (scandalous
behaviour of priests, bigamy, possession and distribution of forbidden books,
(Florence and Chicago: Northem Illinois University Press, 1974); Paul F. Greodler, The
Roman Inquisition and the Venetian Press, 1540-1605 (Princeton: Princeton University
Press, 1977); Achille Olivieri, „Fra collettivitä urbane e rurali e ‚colonie‘ mediterranee:
L’Eresia a Venezia;· Storia della cultura Veneta, vol. 3/In (Vicenza: N. Pozza, 1981), 468-
512; Brian Pullan, G/i Ebrei d’Europa e / ‚inquisizione a Venezia da/ 1550 al 1670 (Rome:
Veltro, 1985).
2 Lovorka Coralic, „Hrvati u procesirna mletacke inkvizicije (prvi dio)“ [Croats in the
processes of the Veoetian Inquisition (first pan)), Croatica Christiana periodica (benceforth:
CCP) 19 (I 995) 36: I 9-68; eadem, „Hrvati u procesima mletacke inkvizicije (drugi
dio): protestantizarn“ [Croats in the processes of the Venetian Inquisition (second pan):
Protestantisrn], CCP 20 (1996) 37: 23-55; eadem, „Hrvati u procesima mletacke inkvizicije
(treci dio ): rnagija i ostali procesi“ [Croats in the processes of the Venetian Inquisition
(third part): magic and other processes], CCP 20 ( ! 996) 38: 1-44; eadem, „Hrvati u
procesima mletacke inkvizicije (cetvrti dio): magija i ostali procesi“ [Croats in the
processes of the Venetian Inquisition (fourth part): rnagic and other processes], CCP 2 1
(1997) 39: 25-60; eadem, „Hrvati u procesima mletacke inkvizicije (peti dio): magija i
svodoistvo“ [Croats in the processes of the Venetimt Inquisition (fifth part): magic and
procuring], CCP 22 ( 1998) 4 1 : 7 1 – 1 1 6; eadem, „Hrvati u procesima mletacke inkvizicije
(sesti dio): protestantizam, magija i ostali procesi“ [Croats in the processes of the Venetian
Inquisition (sixth part): Protestantism, rnagic and other cases], CCP 24 (2000) 45: 9 1 -102;
eadem, „Retorika opruibe, retorika obrane – protagonisti istral.nih spisa mletacke inkvizicije
zavicajem sa istocne obale Jadrana (nuti novi vijek)“ [Prosecution rhetoric, defence
rhetoric: protagonists coming from the East Adriatic coast in investigation records of the
Venetian Inquisition (the early modern period)], Acta Histriae 1 5 (2007) 2: 607-30; eadern,
Hrvati u procesima mletacke inkvizicije (Croats in the processes of the Venetian
Inquisition) (Zagreb: Dom i svijet, Hrvatski institut za povijest, 2001). The citing in the
following lines will be according to this work (henceforth: Coralic, Hrvati u procesima).
83
and so on). The time framework of cases dates from the 1540s to the middle of
the eighteenth century. The strongest presence of Croatian protagonists in the
records of this Venetian magistracy is in the period from 1 600 to the 1850s and
from the 1 850s to the 1 870s. ln the gender structure of the participants of inquisitorial
processes men comprise about 80% in all categories of inquisitorial
records; females are primarily represented in the processes which are connected
with the use of magic. Speaking about the closer homeland origin of the
participants in processes, in my research I have mostly dealt with the accused
who came from Dalmatia, the Kingdom of Croatia, Venetian Albania (Boka,
Budva, Bar and Ulcinj), Bosnia, and the east Adriatic hinterland (then mostly
under Ottoman rule). Finally, considering the professional structure of those
accused in these inquisitorial processes, the most frequent are ecclesiastical
figures (priests and members of the regular clergy accused of behaviour
inappropriate for their ecclesiastical vocation), sailors, artisans, and soldiers
(although in relatively numerous examples the occupation is not explicitly
noted). Individuals of middle or low economic status, primarily commoners, are
the most numerous and individuals from the upper and lower margins of the
social scene are rarely noted.
In this a1ticle, following the traces in the archival materials and particular
data from other sources (in individual groups of processes chosen specifically
for this topic), I shall concisely indicate several basic groups of the processes of
the Venetian Inquisition in which Croats are mentioned as the main accused.
These data, included in the !arge group of basic sources – inquisitorial processes
– additionally depict religious and social circumstances along the east Adriatic
coast and appearances of undesirable presence and residence among the
„Schiavoni“ immigrants in Venice and, finally, testify to contemporary social,
ecclesiastical and moral norms, which – as the foundation of the legal system –
directly or Jess directly dictared the attitude of the community, state, and
authority towards potential violators of the system.
Conversion to Islam or about the people from the Croatian borderlands
In the first group of processes discussed in this research, conversion to
Islam is the point in question; there are about a dozen processes from the period
of the late sixteenth century to the mid-seventeenth century. The accused
originated mainly from areas under Ottoman rule (the hinterland of Dalmatia
and Boka, and Bosnia) or from areas in the Venetian-Ottoman borderlands.
According to the occupations of the accused, soldiers were the leading group,
but a few artisans and sailors are also noted. The cases which relate to this group
of processes by various factors are a specific kind of inquisitorial process of the
Venetian Inquisition. These were generally people who had spent prut of their
lives in an Ortoman environment, converted to Islam, and Jived according to
Islamic customs. After a number of years, depending on the circumstances, they
managed to escape to Christian territory, where, primarily persuaded by their
84
confessors, they decided to reinstate themselves in the life of the Catholic
Church by acquiring a pardon from the Venetian Inquisition. The inquisitorial
process in these cases did not contain witness testimonies, but exclusively the
testimonies of the penitent, that is, the person’s motives for converting to Islam,
the circumstances of life in the Islamic environrnent, and also the method by
which he or she had escaped to Christian territory. Most of the penitents
examined, almost without exception, emphasized their Christian origin (nato di
padre e madre christiani) and Christian upbringing before falling into Ottoman
captivity. The record regularly mentions that they were taken by force and
detained and frequently abused physically, which is why – in fear for their lives
– they had converted to Islam. In their defence, they usually emphasized that, in
spite of accepting Islam, they had still kept Christian customs and faith „in
themselves,“ and secretly, when the opportunity occurred, tried to maintain
faith. Christian faith, in their testimonies, is always considered to be better and
supetior to Islam, which they accepted only for their own survival.3
Questions addressed by the Inquisitors of the Holy Office were usually
standardised, more or Jess equivalent in all processes and only slightly modified
according to the various types of cases. They aimed at determining the religious
conditions and reflections of thc interrogated person at the time when he bad
accepted the other religion and lived under Islamic customs, and they demanded
precise reflection and declarations about both religions, emphasizing the
religious background of the case. Examinees werc not treated as accused, but
primatily as penitents; the inquisitors tried to understand their position and
encouraged them to answer in their own favour by inquiries into the examinee’s
life in the Islamic world. None of thc men examined was punished by one of the
more severe punishments (excommunication, exile, service on the galleys, corporal
punisbment), but were sentenced to spiritual punishrnents which consisted
of the proselyte’s obligation for a certain period (usually three to four years) to
receive the sacrament of Communion at least four times a year, make confession,
and regularly pray the rosary. The formula of the renunciation (ab-
3 Such examples are given in the processes against Bozo of Perast [State Archive of Venice I
Archivio di Stato di Venezia, henceforth: ASV, archival series of the Holy Office (Santo
Ufficio, Savi a/l’eresia), benccforth: SU), b. 68, 1591], Andrew Michlini of Korcula (ASV,
SU, b. 70, 1 6 1 0), George Juriic from the Bosnian village of Dolac (ASV, SU. b. 72, 1 6 1 7),
Rade Carli of Spie near Bar (ASV, SU, b. 73, 1 6 1 9), John Giugucbi from Bosnia (ASV,
SU, b. 87, 1634), Jobn Tusepic of Podgora near Makarska (ASV, SU, b. 91, 1634), Stana of
Brac (ASV, SU, b. 95, 1638.), Marin Zed of Banja Luka (ASV, SU, b. 98, 1 642), Peter
Aderno of Sibenik (ASV, SU, b. 98, 1642), Martin Velinkovic of Koprivnica (ASV, SU, b.
98, 1 642), Niebolas Vuk from the area ofKotor (ASV, SU, b. 98, 1 642), George Mirkovic
of Dugopolje near K.lis (ASV, SU, b. 98, 1643), Magdalene of Knin (ASV, SU, b. 103,
1 647), Anastasia Vigenic of Vrana (ASV, SU, b. 103, 1647), and Catharine from the village
ofZimonic in Herzegovina (ASV, SU, b. 103, 1647).
85
iurazione) which the proselyte then pronounced was, with srnall and irrelevant
discrepancies, the same for everyone.4
The entire course of the process, a brief investigation (two days of interrogation
at most), sentencing to the most benign spiritual punishments, and
regularly granting indulgences indicates that these offences were not considered
fatal for the religious and state structures. The accused, who carne to the court of
the Inquisition without previous denunciations were people frorn border areas
between Christian states and Ottoman acquisitions. Their position was wellknown
to all and their exarnple of relinquishing religion was just part of a
frequent phenornenon in those areas. The Venetian Holy Office was founded
due to rnuch more dangeraus and pemicious forms of heresy. Processes agairrst
followers of Protestantisrn on Venetian territory, such as Mark Anthony de
Dominis, Baldo Lupetina, Peter Paul Vergerius, and others, Iasted for years,
filled hundreds of pages of denunciations and Statements, testimonies and
confrontations, and by the scope of the problern affected dozens of people (the
accused and witnesses) and interfered with the religious and ecclesiastical
policies of other countries. lt is not necessary to dwell further on processes of
the Venetian Inquisition against a few Schiavoni frorn the Dalmatian hinterland
and Bosnia. These cases were solved prornptly – by formal interrogation, sirnilar
confessions, and regular granting of an indulgence and absolution. For the
history of the wider eastem Adriatic coastal area, however, these processes are
significant testirnonies about the faith of ordinary common people frorn the time
when hundred-year-long wars and the political interests of different states,
people, and religions crossed paths on the horizon of their homeland.
Protestants, victirns of false accusations by their own cornrnunities
Dozens of inquisitorial records have been analyzed in this research frorn
the group of Venetian Inquisitional processes which has the cornrnon name
„Protestantism.“5 The time frame for these processes was frorn the rnid-sixteenth
century to the 1 660s; the accused originated rnainly frorn the cities in the area of
Dalmatia and Boka. lt is necessary to ernphasize that sorne of the processes
started in the horneland areas of the protagonists of the inquiry, from where a
group of citizens or some distinguished individual sent a denunciation to Venice.
Common to most of the accused, according to the statements, was consenting to
the characteristic principles of Protestantism: accepting the theory of predestination;
renouncing papal authority; denying the existence of purgatmy and
the impmtance of prayer, indulgences, the sinlessness of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, worshiping saints and holy images, and advocating poverty against the
luxury of current representatives of church hierarchy.
4 Coralic, Hrvati u procesima, 29-54. Also cf. eadem, „Koprivnicanin Martin Velinkovic u
procesu mletacke inkvizicije ( 1 642. god.)“ (Martin Velinkovic of Koprivnica in the process
ofthe Venetian Inquisition in 1 642), Podravski zbornik 22 ( 1 996): 7 1 -74.
5 Coralic, Hrvati u procesima, 61-86.
86
Major examples of this group of inquisitorial processes sent to the
Yenetian Inquisition played a central roJe in the denunciations. It is important to
emphasize that some processes started in the horneland areas of the protagonists
of the inquiry, from where a group of citizens, church or town authorities directed
an accusation to Yenice.6 The fact that a local comrnunity could decide
about initiating a process, left – as is evident – substantial possibility for manipulation,
slander, and false Statements. Because quite a number of accusations
were based on personal slander in which using Protestantism for denouncing an
opponent had a powerful and alluring force, these „processes“ mostly ended
before they started without even initiating the inquiry. In the examples where
Yenetian Inquisition managed the process, that is, examined relevant witnesses
in the presence or absence of the accused, attempts were made to learn more
about the personal relations between the witnesses and the accused. There were
two ways to handle the defence when the accused faced the magistracy of the
Holy Office directly. l n the ftrst one, the accused acknowledged all parts of the
indictn1ent, complied and voluntarily engaged in an act of repentance.7 In other
examples, the accused dismissed all the counts of the indictment and based his
or her defence on broader circumstances, from which it becomes apparent that
quite a number of accusations were the result of mutual contlicts and frictions
inside small communities. A distinct example of this are the chargcs against
Jerome Divnic, a respectable Gray Friar from Sibenik and a doctor of theology,
which were submitted by his confreres (and also by some other priests from
Sibenik) with the ftle of indictment forwarded to Yenice by the archdeacon of
the Diocese of Sibenik, John Cheuscum. 8 Because of the importance of the case,
as well as the reputation of the accused Divnic, the investigation was led by
Tom of Vicenza, a Black Friar and the general inquisitor for the area of
6 Hence, for examp1e, the allegation against Jerome Allegretto ofSplit was fi1ed in Venice by
the potestas and captain of Brescia (ASV, SU, b. 8, fase. 99, 1550), Jeromc Divnic, a Grey
Friar from Sibenik, was sued by his confreres from the loca1 convent (ASV, SU, b. 1 7 , no.
5, 1563), and a similar case was recorded with the conventua1 from Kotor, John, where the
main prosecmors were friars of the same provincc (ASV, SU, b. 20, 1 564). ln two cases,
accusations against their fellow citizens were filed by the broader public: numerous
members of the clergy from Sp1it and Trogir wanted to bring Albert Fertili, a Black Friar
(ASV, SU, b. 73, 1 6 1 9) before the Court of lnquisition, and members of respectable Zaratin
patrician fami1ies testified (as wimesses for the prosecution) before the Venetian Inquisition
in the procedure against Peter Mauri of Sibenik, a doctor of 1aw and resident of Zadar
(ASV, SU, b. 98, 1642.).
1 Such an example was recordcd in the process in which the main protagenist was Fraucis
Regolo of Sibenik, a doctor of 1aw residing in Venice. Inquisitoria1 records start by giving a
generat formula for the abandonrnent of heresy that Regolo was obliged to say, and specia1
attention was given to the act of receiving forgiveness (ASV, SU, b. I I, 1 553; Coralic,
Hrvati u procesima, str. 65-66; eadem, Sibencani u Mlecima (People from Sibenik in
Venice) (Sibenik: Gradska knjiznica „Juraj Sizgoric,“ 2003), 1 1 7- 1 1 8 .
8 Further information o n Jerome Divnic, see i n : Hrvatskom biografskom leksikonu (Croatian
biographical lexicon), vol. 3 (Zagreb: Leksikografski zavod Miroslav Krleza, 1993), 4 1 4
(author: Nikola M . Rocic).
87
Venetian Dalmatia. In the responses directed to generat inquisitor, eve1y doubt
in the tawfulness of his loyalty to the principles, laws, and canons of the
Catholic Church was dismissed, doubts about his siding with Protestant teachings
were discarded and some Gray Friars from Sibenik who had a personal feud
with Divnic are pointed out as the culprits who initiated the process. After Tom
of Vicenza had studied closely alt the available records, as well as the arguments
of the defence and prosecution, the Holy Offtee passed a sentence of acquittal
for Divnic.9 Areanging false charges against John of Kotor, a Gray Friar conventual,
by his confn!res is a sirnilar example submitted to the Venetian Inquisition.
By questioning additional witnesses, as weil as presenting arguments
from Friar John himself, it was detennined that the slander originated from his
fellow, Friar John Peter Celso, previously known for many feuds and
animosities within their own monastic community. Just as in the case of Divnic,
the Holy Office dismissed these claims, regarding them as a result of malicious
slander from personal narrow-minded interests. As in the previous case, the
Holy Office, after relatively short hearings and getting insight into researched
sources, concluded that no legal grounds existed for further action. 10 Accusations
of Protestantism seen in processes of the Venetian Inquisition may be
considered a part (although peripheral) of the religious turmoil and refonns of
the second half of sixteenth and the seventeenth century which were reflected to
a greater or lesser extent in the broad area of the eastem Adriatic coast. These
processes are surely not the best possible examples of the activities of the
representatives of the Protestant heresy, as were those of Mark Anthony de
Dominis, Baldo Lupetina, Matthias Flaccius (Vlacic) llyricus or an entire group
of Protestant followers in lstrian cities. Although the content of the inquiries
against the followers of Protestant doctrines indicates that some of them
maintained a connection with more prominent and, for the Republic, more
pemicious heretics, the fact is that the accused did not represent a substantial
issue for the religious stability of the area where they lived and acted. Most of
the accused and condemned were not severely penalized, but merely with
common and mitigating spiritual obligations, penance, and prayer. Their cases
can be counted in a series of similar processes which, over the past centuries,
especially in the second half of sixteenth and seventeenth centmy, was led by
Venetian Inquisition in the whole area of their acquisitions. However, for
Croatian history these processes are irnportant as documents which originally
testify to some tendencies and movements in the religious life across the eastem
Adriatic in this crucial time in the history of the Catholic Church.
9 ASV, SU, b. 17, br. 5, 1563; Coralic, Hrvati u procesima, 64-65; eadem, Sibencani u
Mlecima, 1 1 8- 1 9.
10 ASV, SU, b. 20, 1564; Coralic, Hrvati u procesima, 66-67; eadem, „Tragom duhovnih
osoba iz grada Kotora u Mlecima (kraj XIV. st.-XVßf. st.)“ (Following the traces of the
members of the clergy from the city of Kotor in Venice from the end of the fourteenth to
the eighteenth century), Godisnjak Pomorskog muzeja u Kotoru 54 (2006): 137-39.
88
Occult actions and common Superstition
Numerous examples of magic or occult actions, as weil as ( closely related
to this) cornn1on Superstition, are a rich core in the research on the processes of
the Venetian Inquisition.11 A few cases, mostly dati.ng to the seventeenth
century, are singled out here. People who originated from the Croatian coast of
the Adriatic Sea were marked in these processes as directly accused parties or
were witnesses who participated in various ways in forbidden practices and acts
agairrst the Church. In some processes these protagonists were the only
participants in the investigative procedure and some processes also mention –
besides the main accused – many other participants originating from various
parts of the eastern Adriatic coast (more or less involved in the investigation).
Regarding the gender of these participants in the investigative procedure of the
Holy Office, women were more often present than men. In most cases, the
accused were permanent or temporary residents of Venice; in social status they
were mostly (especially women) from the lower strata of society (sometimes
even marginal groups), and their dwellings areas were peripheral, poor areas and
parishes of the City in the Lagoon (the city area east of the Castello, which was
for centuries the central zone of residence of Croatian immigrants) . In this group
of processes, female immigrants from Dalmatian cities occupy an especially
noticeable place; they were residents of Venice who were accused of canying
out various magical acts. The charges against them were based on reports and
accusations from their neighbours and acquaintances. The magical procedures
described in Statements and testimonies closely resembled contemporary
common superstition, where various instruments were used as the usual equipment,
often also objects that are constituent parts of the liturgy (the rosary, holy
water, blessed candles, and others). Descriptions of magical procedures are
similar, and it was characteristic that in conducting magical rituals a substantial
number of other individuals also participated, most commonly male or female
members of the same social group to which the accused belonged. During the
inquiry numerous examinations and multiple hearings of witnesses indicate that
a considerable portion of the charges was usually the fruit of petty disputes,
discord, and envy among residents of certain, mainly poor, city districts. The
Holy Office, which consisted of people with substantial experience in recognizing
truthful evidence, noteworthy information, and thorough investigation,
usually managed to distinguish the usability of certain statements and
accordingly, more attention was given to the parts of the examinee’s replies in
which were listed specific descriptions of offences. In the largest number of
examples the point in question was the usage of magical procedures to achieve
personal gain. Most of the processes, mainly those with a !arge number of pages,
are not just testimonies about religious tums of contempora1y pa1ticipants.
Thorough reading and analysis of their contents reveals numerous, seemingly
1 1 Coralic, Hrvati u procesima, 87-140.
89
minor, details from the living environment of various, mostly lower, parts of
society. This kind of information brings one closer to understanding everyday
life, habits, aspirations, and cognitive horizons of common people in past centuries,
presenting specific examples and evidence which are difficult to find in
any other types of archival sources. Several examples (in which the participants
are exclusively females from the margins of the social scene), briefly presented
here, testify to the usual rhetoric and procedures of this group of inquisitorial
processes.
Thus, for instance, in a document from the year 1 6 1 8, the accused was
Andriana Schiavona from Zadar, a resident of the city district of the Castello
(parish S. Martino). 12 The inquiry agairrst Andriana started with the subrnission
of two anonymaus reports to representatives of the Holy Office. Andriana’s
acquaintances and neighbours (her sisters Lucietta and Andriana, Magdalene
from Crete and her daughter Catina, Laura from Crete and her mother Agnes,
Zanetta and her mother Vicenza), by their social status also individuals on the
border of the marginal groups, are listed as witnesses who could corroborate the
truthfulness of the report. The Statements of these witnesses are the same when
describing and presenting the „guilt“ of the defendant, Andriana of Zadar, and
accusation arguments can also be sorted into the customary rhetoric for this type
of processes (summoning spirits with the aid of a „magical“ ring, fortune-telling
from vessels with water, lighting candles, and so on). In this example (as in
many others) the Holy Office, most likely due to the Iack of evidence,
discredibility of the witnesses, and the absurdity of all the components of the
charges, exculpated the accused Andriana and thus ended the process of thc
investigation. An almost identical social environment is noted for the accused
and witnesses in the process agairrst another Zaratin woman, Antonia. 13 Sirnilar
to the previous example, the centrat participants of the charge and testimonies
here are also Antonia’s neighbours and acquaintances from the Venetian district
ofthe S. Croce (parish S. Simeonc Grando). Antonia’s magical procedures were
also on the Ievel of often-noted common superstition, but with more frequent
uses of Ctuistian rituals for occult purposes (prayers, use of liturgical objects,
and so on). After several days of interrogating multiple witnesses, among whom
were also those who advocated for the Zaratin immigrant, the Holy Office freed
the accused of all charges and released her from custody. An example of
confrontations with individuals from the nearest vicinity as the direct cause for
submitting a complaint about magical procedures is noted in an inquisitorial
process agairrst a Schiavona, Olimpia Pontirolo. 14 According to allegations
stated in the indictment, on several occasions Olimpia came into conflict with
her landlady, Clara Classer, whose husband, Antonio, had sometimes beaten
Olimpia. After that, Olimpia, considering that she had received an unjust
punishment, several times publicly and before multiple witnesses (neighbours),
12
ASV, SU, b. 72, 1 618; Coralic, Hrvati u procesima, 90-91 .
1 3 ASV, SU, b . 87, 1630; Coralic, Hrvati u procesima, 92-94.
14 ASV, SU, b. 92, 1635; Coralic, Hrvati u procesima, 94-95.
90
threatened revenge on Clara Classer. Somewhat later, Clara (after eating a lunch
which Olimpia had prepared for her) started to feel physical and spiritual weakness
which she explained as the ent1y ofan evil spirit into her body. She, on her
own initiative, began to apply the method of exorcism, and after several days of
unsuccessful attempts, she accepted the advice of her acquaintances and headed
to Padua. There, in the basilica of Saint Anthony, she prayed for the healing of
her ill soul. At the same time (simultaneously with her stay in Padua), similar
signs of spiritual disturbance also began to be manifest in tbe behaviour of their
servant, Bortolo. Strange movements and inarticulate speech inexplicably Iasted
even after Clara’s retum to Venice. Then Olimpia Pontirolo came to visit them
and by her presence – according to the statements of members of the Classer
family – she induced new disturbances among members of the household. The
senrant Bortolo was the most restless on that occasion, and for the first time
Clara’s fourteen-year old daughter became disturbed. After these Strange and,
for the family, troubling events, Francesco de Retino, a member of the Black
Friars with from the Yenetian monastety of S. Giuseppe was invited to their
house. The Black Friar determined that the girl’s Strange behaviour was caused
by the presence of three evil spirits in her body that bad Iasted for several
months. Members of the family emphasized once more that all these previous
events were connected with malicious intentions and magical acts which
Olimpia applied against them. Members of the Holy Office received a
denunciation against this Schiavon immigrant. However, the process never
began, and the reasons for that may be Olimpia’s escape from Yenice or – what
is more likely – insufficient credibility of the prcvious investigation. Therefore,
as many other times in the inquisitorial processes of the Yenetian Inquisitors,
insufficient credibility of witnesses can be considered the predominant reason
for which this process was dismissed even before it started officially.
The course of the inquisitorial process against Claire Pojanovic from Split
is also known in detail. 15 Many of her neighbours, mainly immigrants from
Dalmatia and the Yenetian possessions in Greece (Crete), testified, with expressions
characteristic for this type of process, about Claire’s magical actions,
which were carried out for the purpose of scducing a wealthy Yenetian merchant.
Along with the verbal testirnonies, material „evidence“ was also submitted
to the representatives of the Holy Office – small notes with magical formulas
and drawings – by means of which Claire hoped to achieve personal gain. This
process, like most of those mentioned above, ended without reaching a final
verdict.
An example of taking on a false identity when filing a denunciation is
noted in the case of Anne de Franceschi, a Schiavona and inhabitant of Yenice
on the famous, Riva degli Schiavoni, which was especially associated with
Croatians. 16 The complaint was submitted to the Yenetian Inquisition by a priest,
15 ASY, SU, b. 125, 1678; Coralic, Hrvati u 16 procesima, 98-99.
ASY, SU, b. 108, 1656; Coralic, Hrvati u procesima, 97-98.
91
Peter Rossini of Zadar; the main points of the charges were related to Anne’s
relationship to the brothers Anthony and Geronimo Varizzo, Zaratin immigrants
whom she – according to the accusation – seduced by means of magical
procedures. The place where she prepared for her magical actions is said to have
been the church of S. Giovarmi in Bragora, from which she secretly took consecrated
candles and spoke prayers used in the liturgy („adapting“ them to her
magical acts). In relation to the religious life of Anne de Franceschi, the Zaratin
priest Peter stated that he had never noticed her at masses or confession. He
emphasized that her magical actions were well-known in the neighbourhood and
explicitly lists names of multiple witnesses (almost exclusively residents of the
city district east of the Castelle ), amongst whom were also a series of clergymen
originating from the eastern Adriatic coast (a priest, Bernardin of Nin; Peter
Gavala of Nin, a priest in the church SS. Apostoli; Bernardin of Pag, a chaplain
at the church S. Fantino; Dominic the Dalmatian, a chaplain at the church of S.
Giustina; Lukrecia Schiavona, a resident of Cal!e delle Rasse near the Riva degli
Schiavoni; Domenico Bontrimoli, a resident of the parish of S. Antonino;
Domenico Moro, a resident of the parish of S. Antonio di Palude; and others).
After receiving the denunciation the representatives of the Venetian Inquisition
summoned the priest, Peter Rossini, personally to testify and verify the
statements in his complaint. Then, however, it was determined that the charge
had been made by the false identification of an anonymous applicant. Namely,
Peter Rossini, summoned to testify, stated that he had never come to the
headquatters of the Venetian Inquisition and there reported denunciations. He
denied any involvement in the case of Anne de Frauceschi and stated that he was
completely unfamiliar with the charges. Because the appearance and testimony
of Peter Rossini was determined to have been a false representation which put
his credibility in question, the charges agairrst Anne de Frauceschi were automatical!
y dismissed.
The inquisitorial files of the Venetian Holy Office in which the centrat
subject is accused of performing magical procedures are some of the best
substantiated documentary source material. The inquisition and its representatives
appear here as an institution which receives and judges the credibility and
validity of charges and – according to its own assessment – decided to start or
suspend the inquisitorial process. As in the example of Protestantism, the
applicants of the charges were frequently people from the immediate proximity
of the accused – their neighbours and acquaintances, occasionally even their
friends. ln the largest nurober of examples the course and terminati011 of the
investigation show that the points in question were false accusations reported to
the committee of the Inquisition so that a person would be suspected and
brought to court. The Inquisition received al! the charges, summoned the witnesses,
and occasionally began an investigation, but it is apparent that most of
these examples, from the inquisitor‘ s point of view, were not severe social
problems. This primarily applies to processes in which the participants were
Dalmatian immigrants, female commoners of the lowest living conditions,
92
whose environment and destiny indicate social marginalization. Common Superstition
always existed amongst this layer of the city-dwellers and was never
completely rooted out, but certainly was not a serious social and religious problern
for Venetian society and therefore also did not require more rigorous legal
sanctions. That is why most of these processes ended without fmal verdicts, with
only a simple interruption ofthe course ofthe investigation.
Priests on the wrong path or slanders within the church community
A final group of processes of the Yenetian Inquisition is related to eh arges
against clergymen (secular or regular) for inappropriate behaviour. In all the
inquisitorial processes the accused were men, and most of processes started in
their home environmcnt, that is, in the places of their priestly servicc. In this
group of processes it is evident that a substantial number of people from local
public life (clergy, the representatives of city authorities) participated (as initiators
of the inquiry and witnesses).
First, two examples refer to ecclesiastical life and activity ofthe priests on
the island of Brac. Hence, in 1 573 the claim against Francis Jarcic, at that time
the priest of the parish Church of Our Lady of Mount Cannel in the village of
Nerezisce, was filed before the representatives of the Yenetian Inquisition by
Vincent Nizetic and Jerome Filippi, islanders from Brac.17 Jarcic is charged with
a gran scandalio, but the detailed content of the charges against him was not
listed in the Statement. In the process, the name of a canon from Hvar, Yincent
Pribojevic, 18 is mentioned, to whom the representatives of the Holy Office entrusted
a more detailed inquiry into the dispure Jarcic’s behaviour had generated
in Nerezisce. The process was never finished and the fmal destiny of Francis
Jarcic is un.known. Nerezisce was also connected to other inquisitorial processes
on the island of Brac. The charges of inappropriate behaviour by the priest,
Nicolas Pekasovic, chaplain of the Jocal church of St. Mary, were submitted to
thc Inquisition by numerous priests from the island of Brac. 19 The charges
contained the following allegations: illegal alienation of consecrated wafers,
stored in the tabemacle, intended for festive processions; inappropriate prayers
during the celebration of Holy Mass and avoiding mention of the name of the
Blessed Virgin Mary and saints during the recitation of the creed; indecent
movements and gestUI·es during transubstantiation and a general disregard for
prayers which was noted by aJ I who had resided and lived in the parish house for
some time. Considering that the inappropriate behaviour of Nicholas Pekasovic
endaugered the religious life of the island of Brac and negatively retlected on
the relationship between laymen, the Church, and the clergy, the islanders of
17 ASV, SU, b. 33, I 573; Coralic, Hrvati u procesima, 142.
18 Lovorka Coralic, „Jedno novo saznanje o Vinku Pribojevicu“ (A new finding on Vincent
Pribojevic), CCP 22 (1998) 42: 253-55; Josko Kovacic, „0 podrijetlu Vicka Pribojevica“
(On the origin ofVincent Pribojevic), CCP 24 (2000) 45: 207- 1 1 .
19 ASV, SU, b. 73, 1619; Coralic, Hrvati u procesima, 143-44.
93
Bra demanded a penalty for the accused from the Holy Office. According to
further information from the document the representatives of the Holy Office
decided to initiate an investigation and collect data on Pekasovic’s pessime
operationi and intended to carry out details of the investigation in collaboration
of the archbishop of Split. It is neither known how the inquiry ended nor
whether the chaplain o f Bra ever came before the Court of the Inquisition.
In the example of the priest Bartot Jurievic from Vodice, the inquisitorial
process started in Sibenik?0 Tnquisitorial records contain testimonies of
numerous witnesses from Vodice whose Statements testify to scandalous
behaviour by the parish priest, inappropriate to the priestly ministry and actions.
A parish priest of Vodice and Tribunj, Jurievic, according to his flock, during
and after his priesthood in Vodice, had numerous illegitimate children with
several local girls, some of whom also participated in the inquisitorial process.
He was closely related to the neighbours on the Ottoman side of the border, and
among the Jocals he was also known for his inclination towards card games.
Representatives of the highest ecclesiastical (bishop) and secular (count and
captain) authorities in Sibenik also took part in the inquisitorial procedure, and
the results of the investigation were sent to the Holy Office in Venice. Bartot
Jurievic was, according to the content of the documents, at the demand of the
community of Vodice itself, removed from the place and forbidden to practice
his clerical duties; based on these records his later fate is not known.
The accusations which burdened against the priest John lvanisevi6
(Gioannitio, Joannitio ), parish priest in the village of Dol on the island of Bra,
also known in Croatian Iiterature as the author of a highly „misogynist“ literary
collection of poems Kitta cvitya razlikoua [A Bouquet of Diverse Flowers],
published in Venice in 1 642, are also quite interesting?1 The complaints were
submitted by priests and representatives of prominent families from Brac, and
their content is amply expressed.22 In the allegations of the charge lvanisevi6’s
propensity to preach on the religious principles of Islam is emphasized among
20 Bartholomew Juricevic was mentioned as a chaplain of the church of St Cross in Yodice
from 1 603 up to around 1623. In the court record from 1623 (23rd of October), in whieh
Niebolas Coric in the name of his kindred made peaee with Niebolas Juricevic who
murdered his son Stephan, is stated that the peace happened because of the priest Bartholomew,
who was the mediator between the eonfl ieted families. The murder of one of the
members of the family Coric is also mentioned in the begi11ning of the process of the Holy
Office against Bartholomew Juricevic. Aceording to these information, it arises that
Juriccvic hcld the office of local parish priest rwo more years after staning a proeess in
spite of the attempt of eertain eircles (averse to him) in thc community of Yodice. Cf. ASY,
SU, b. 75, 1620- 162 1 ; Krsto Stoic, Sela sibenskog kotara (The villages of the distriet of
Sibenik) (Sibenik: „Kacic,“ 1941), 130, 133; C 21 oralic, Hrvati u procesima, 144.
For more of John Tvanievic, see: Andro Jutronic, „Yizitaeije u Arhivu biskupske kurije u
Hvaru“ (Visitations in the arehive of the bishop’s curia in Hvar), Starine Jugoslavenske
akademije znanosti i umjetnosti 51 (1962): 1 13-22 1 ; Hrvatski biografski leksikon, vol. 6,
146-47 (authors: Sanda Lucija Udier and redaction). 22 ASV, SU, b. 1 1 0, 1662; Cora1ic, Hrvati u procesima, 146.
94
other things. It was resented that he considered that fomication was not a deadly
sin, that it was acceptable to enjoy meat during the period of Lent and on other
fast days, and that he illegally gave absolution and the sacraments, which he –
contrary to Church laws and canons – regularly charged for by taking money
and gifts in wine and bucks. He also charged for his mediation in solving
various disputes and reconciling of opposed villagers in conf1ict, sought compensation
from the confraternities, and for various illegal and inappropriate tasks
for a priest; hc was assisted by his brother, Nicholas, and his nephew, John
Francis Gelineo. In the end, the signatories of the complaint concluded,
lvanisevic publically bore arms (pistols), often cursed and proceeded in illegal
affairs on the island. The accusations agairrst John Ivaniscvic are typical, and, as
in the previous groups of processes, include examples of the efforts of the wider
community, especially the Jeading members, to degrade the activity of an
individual who did not, for some reason (mainly personal), fit into the local
environment. The Venetian office checked the truthfulncss of these accusations
and conducted preliminaty research on the background of the case, which was
terminated without further investigation or beginning the process. Like many
other similar denunciations/3 the accusations were mostly just regular slander
and entirely unfounded accusations legally.
The analysis of the previously described cases of thc Venetian Inquisition
in which central protagonists were priests and members of the regular clergy
from Dalmatia shows that in the largest nurober of examples denunciations were
filed by the local community (representatives of the local clergy, authority or
inhabitants). By prcsenting various accusations, the allegations, mainly tty to
degrade the accused as inadequate (because of his behaviour) to serve the
church. ln that sense, the Statements of allegations which depict certain spiritual
individuals as incompetent andlor inappropriate to conduct pastoral activity are
composed with clcar objectives as blasphemers and also as individuals inclined
to religious teachings contrary to the doctrine of the Catholic Church (from
Protestantism to Islam). All of the examples try to prove that such behaviour is
„a great scandal“ for both the local and wider social community, so thus suggest
that (because of the negative reception of such behaviour within the population)
the Venetian Inquisition impose firm and prompt punishment on the accused
individual. The Holy Office here acted primarily as an institution taking
accusations, and assessing their seriousness and grounds to determine if the
investigation would proceed. Hence, it is evident that in this group of processes
in which the protagonists were clergymen, the Office of the Inquisition
transfetTed great authority to the local church communities or the courts of
23 A similar type of denunciation is recorded in the case ofThomas Azzalini, a Pauline friar in
the village of Sucurje on Hvar (ASV, SU, b. 1 1 1, 1664; Coralic, Hrvati u procesima, 147-
148). The accusation of the friar‘ s immoral life (concubinage, usury, oppression of the
peasanrs, disrespect of fellow confreres and local clergy, blasphemy, and so on) were filed
by many people from Hvar – priests, nobles and commoners. Tbc process was never
continued by the Vcnetian Inquisition.
95
certain archbishoprics or bishoprics. In the largest number of examples investigations
were not terminated, so with great certainty one can presume that some
of the processes were stopped (probably by instmctions from the Holy Office
itselt), but it is also possible that some processes continued in certain
archbishoprics or bishoprics, so the continuation and their endings should be
looked for in their archives.
* * *
Investigatoty processes of the Venetian Inquisition in which the centrat
protagonists were Croatians from the wider area of the eastern Adriatic coast,
are a worthwhile research topic that, among other things, testifies to certain
social and religious movements in Croatian areas in the Early Modem period. In
this article the emphasis has been directed towards presenting both the accusations
initiated by the different factions which started the investigatmy process
and the Venetian Inquisition, which was the central institution in charge of these
types of „offences“ against the legitimate ecclesiastical and social order. In the
same manner, as much the extant material allows, defences of the accused and
their testimonies are also are presented, including the way in which they tried to
minimize or completely remove the denunciations. One of the problematic
issues discussed here was also how to determine the justification for a starting
process and to point out the circumstances and reasons that led to the
investigation in the first place.
Researching archival documents (processes of the Yenetian Inquisition)
was based on an analysis of four groups of processes: conversion to Islam,
Protestantism, magic and occult actions, and inappropriate behaviour by clergymen.
Their course, participants, and circumstances were quite different, but also
closely connected with current political, social, religious, and also – in the case
of the group connected with conversion to Islam – military conditions. Therefore,
in the latter group of processes, the Inquisition was the instance in which
the penitent, originally a Christian and because of circumstances a member of an
Islamic religious and social environment, addressed the desire to reincorporate
bimself in a life based on the principles of Christianity and the Catholic Church.
There were no accusations here since the emphasis was on the penitent‘ s statement;
at the core the Statements are just plain rhetoric trying to justify life under
Ottoman mle and asking to be accepted again under the „wing of the Holy
Mother Church“ in new circumstances of life. In this kind of process, the point
is not actually the classical type of investigation (based on classical accusations),
but on actions that led to the act of penance (relatively easily approved by the
Church), and the contents of the processes are mostly worthwhile material on
the general circumstances in the Croatian borderlands during the wars with the
Ottomans.
The problern of ambiguity in statting a process is much more evident in
the following groups of processes. In the example of Protestantism, and also in
96
accusations of magical actions or indecent behaviour of clergymen, most accusations
were filed by persons who lived with the accused in the same (e.g.,
priestly or monastic community) or in close proximity (the same city, commune,
or neighbourhood). The accusations were things that the Holy Office weil knew
how to determine, most commonly fruits of confrontations, personal hatreds,
and intolerance within a small community. Protestantism, magic, and also, in the
case of clergymen, moral deviations, were accusations that had attractive characteristics,
were audible and easily filled with necessary rhetoric, thus sufficiently
impressive to the accusers that they could go before the court of the Inquisition,
usually witbout real evidence. Therefore, because of the unreality of the
accusations, most of the denunciations ended with plain registration in the archive
of the Holy Office, not with some other movement towards specific
investigation and an official legal termination of the process.
At the end of this contribution it is possible to conclude that these processes,
which are only part of the 1ich material on Croats as protagonists in the
inquisitional records of the Holy Office in Venice, are valid sources for many
components of the history of the eastem Adriatic coast in the Early Modem
period. They are testimonies of wide social, ecclesiastical, and religious circumstances
and they depict some aspects of the everyday life and mentality of local
Croatian communities, including moral and legal ideas in that epoch. Most of
these records, as is evident from this analysis, show that legal grounds were
often just a cover ( often loose and not convincing) for initiating accusations
against individuals who had unresolved disputes in a local community. Hence,
the outcome of a !arge number of the cases presented here was expected and a
!arge number of processes were te1minated by stopping investigation and probable
Iiberation of the accused.
(Translated by Sanja Miljan)
97
AT THEEDGE OFTHE LAW
MEDIUM AEVUM QUOTIDIANUM
SONDERBAND XXVIII
At the Edge of the Law:
Socially Unacceptable and Illegal Behaviour
in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period
Edited by
Suzana Miljan
and
Gerhard Jaritz
Krems 2012
MIT UNTERSTÜTZUNG
DER ABTEILUNG KULTUR UND WISSENSCHAFT DES AMTES DER
NIEDERÖSTERREICHISCHEN LANDESREGIERUNG
KULTUR 1!\ NIEDERÖSTERREICH ‚W
Copy editor: Judith Rassan
Cover illustration:
Justitia: St Michael and the Virgin Mary
Pembroke College, Cambridge
(Photo: Mirko Sardelic)
Alle Rechte vorbehalten
-ISBN 978-3-901 094-30-X
Herausgeber: Medium Aevum Quotidianum. Gesellschaft zur Erforschung der materiellen
Kultur des Mittelalters, Körnennarkt 13, 3500 Krems, Österreich. Für den Inhalt verantwortlich
zeichnen die Autoren, ohne deren ausdrückliche Zustimmungjeglicher Nachdruck,
auch in Auszügen, nicht gestattet ist.
Druck: KOPJTU Ges. m. b. H., Wiedner Hauptstraße 8-10, 1050 Wien.
Table of Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Damir Km·bic, The Thin Border Between Justice and Revenge,
Order and Disorder: Vraida (Enmity) and Institutional Violence
in Medieval Croatia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Marija Karbic, Women on the Wrong Side ofthe Law.
Some Examples from Medieval Urban Settlements
of the Sava and Drava Interomnium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1
Sabine Florence Fabijanec, Ludus zardorum:
Moral and Legal Frameworks of Gambling
along the Adriatics in the Middle Ages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 I
Gerhard Jaritz, Outer Appearance,
Late Medieval Public Space, and the Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Zoran Ladic, C1iminal Behaviour by Pilgrims
in the Middle Ag es and Early Modern Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Paul Freedman, Atrocities and Executions
of the Peasant Rebe! Leaders
in Late Medieval and Early Modem Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Lovorka Coralic, Unacceptable Social Behaviour or False Accusations:
Croats in the lnvestigations of the Venetian Inquisition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Slaven Bertosa, Robbers, Murderers, and Condemned Men in lstria
(from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
List of Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Preface
This publication contains selected papers from a conference held in
Zagreb (Centre for Croatian Studies, University of Zagreb) in 2009, dealing with
the medieval and early modem period, and translated into English for this
purpose. • The main goal was to gather papers on a topic that has not been
researched enough amongst Croatian historians, that is, the socially unacceptable
and illegal behaviour of individuals who were „walking at the edge of the
law.“ The general idea was also to present various research questions at the
intersection of social and legal history, from the problern of feuding in medieval
society to the various types of delinquency by pilgrims. The emphasis was put
on the Croatian territory in the Middle Ages (from Slavonia to lstria and Dalmatia)
and set in a broader (East) Centrat European context. The articles follow
a chronological sequence, starting from the High Middle Ages, with a particular
focus on the late medieval and early modern period.
The first paper is by Damir Karbic, who dcals with the use of violencc as
a means of obtaining justice and re-establishing order, which was one of the
peculiarities of the medieval legal system when compared with Roman law.
After presenting different cases of feuds in Croatian sources, he discusses, how
medieval communal legislation treated feuds as a separate legal institute, using
the example of the city statutes of Split.
Marija Karbic concentrates on the ways in which women from the
medieval urban settlements of the Sava and Drava interamnium came into
conflict with the law by various criminal actions, from insults or brawls to
abo11ion and murder. She connects those problems with the economic situation
of these women, basing the analysis mainly on theft and prostitution cases. The
women were sometimes punished severely, but sometimes pardoned or punished
minimally.
The problern of gambling along the eastem Adriatic coast is the research
subject of Sabine Florence Fabijanec. She analyses the urban statutory regulations
Stretching from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centUJy. She deals with the
adoption of legal provisions against gambling and shows the diversity of approach
to gambling from city to city.
Gerhard Jaritz analyses the interdependence between Jate medieval
material culture, human behaviour, religious discourse, and legal culture using
the example of actions connected with superbio that played a role in public
• The Croation version of the conference proceedings is publisbed as Suzana Miljan (ed.), Na
rubu zakona: dru§tveno i pravno neprihvatljiva pona§anja kroz povijest, Biblioteka Dies
historiae, vol. 3 (Zagrcb: Hrvatski studiji, 2009).
7
urban arguments. The secular authorities emphasized moral, national, and religious
components, highlighting the necessity of averting God’s wrath.
The perception of the behaviour of pilgrims is the topic of Zoran LadiC’s
contribution. He shows, in cantrast to the idealized vision of pilgrimages and
pilgrims, that pilgrimages made by average medieval or early modem believers
were also considered superstition and that the pilgtims often engaged in fights,
robberies, prostitution, and other forrns of delinquent behaviour.
Paul Freedman offers an ariicle on late medieval and early modem public
acts of torture and execution, which were carefully choreographed events whose
solemnity and meticulous preparation made the infliction of mutilation and
death horrifyingly impressive. He also concentrates on the various topoi of peasant
rebellion as described by literate contemporaries, such as rape, murder,
cannibalism, the roasting of victims, and so on.
Lovorka Coralic deals with Croats accused in the records of the Venetian
Inquisition. Four types of accusation can be recognized: conversion to Islam,
Protestantism, the use ofmagic, and conduct considered improper for clergymen
(priests and other mcmbers of religious orders).
The last article is by Slaven Bertosa, dealing with poor social conditions
in Istria in the early modem period that led to hunger, poverty, depopulation,
and generat insecurity, which in rum provoked dangeraus behaviour, robbery,
and murder. Capital crimes were under the jurisdiction of the Potesta and
Captain of Koper or, respcctively, the Captain of Raspor with his seat in Buzet.
The village communities were also starting to organize themselves by introducing
patrols, although in a modest way.
The collection of articles tries to popularise the topics for one plain
purpose, that is, to erase the border between history and legal studies, since until
now one carmot actually speak of „interdisciplinarity,“ but only of looking at
many research problems from various reference points. Hopefully, this volume
will be useful not only for historians dealing with this poorly researched topic of
(Croatian) historiography, but also for a wider public generally interested in the
functioning of the legal and social system in the past.
Finally, my special gratitude goes to Judith Rassou for copy editing the
volume and to Gerhard Jaritz for offering the opportunity to publish it as a
special issue of Medium Aevum Quotidianum, thus promoting this research on
an intemational level.
Suzana Miljan
8
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Medieval and Early Modern Material Culture Online
