SOURCES FOR THE HISTORY OF SLAVONIA, SYRMIA AND BARANYA
Abstract
Original history sources present enduring basis for history researches. Therefore, publications of history sources, especially when professionally prepared, age a lot slower that historiographic literature. This project covers a group of heterogeneous history sources whose contents, and in most cases origins, refer to Croatian north east territories (Slavonia, Syrmia, Baranya). The project plan is to publish 19 books containing integral original texts of larger scope or thematic collections of smaller history sources.
Texts within the project focus originate from various historical periods: middle ages, early new ages, 19th and 20th century. Considering the typology, they include narrative (chronicles, biographies, memoirs, testimonials) and diplomatic texts (archive documents); and considering the themes, they cover: political history (e.g. correspondence between Ignjat and Andrija Torkvat Brlić), economic history (tax defterleri of the Pakrac or Cernice Sanjak), military history (e.g. the autobiography of Franjo Trenk), history of nobility (collection of charters of Berislavić Grabarski Family), ecclestial history (e.g. the Miracles of St John of Capistrano from 1460, the Chronicles of Franciscan Monastery in Našice), historical demography (e.g. birth register of the parish in Slavonski Brod in the 18th century), history of education system (e.g. school testimonials, memories of Mijat Stojanović) etc.
The sources that will be published are therefore relevant for various aspect of history research, as well as for researches in other humanist disciplines. Depending on the specific characteristics of texts, the focus of publishing work will be on: transcription of manuscripts, critical equipment and original source commentary, translation from foreign language to Croatian.
Main project stakeholders are researchers from the Section for the History of Slavonia, Syrmia and Baranya, who will be assisted by researchers of the Institute’s Department of Latinist Historiography, as well as external researchers.
Elaboration of general objective
General project objective is to promote and expand foundations for understanding of history and overall heritage of the Croatian territories of Pannonia and Danube. Those foundations may be found in the preserved original sources that speak of that territories and that, for the most part, originate from those territories. The analysis and publication of these texts, whether they are relatively known, less known or completely unknown, in line with modern history science methods and criteria will enable their easy accessibility and reliable application for wider public, from specialist researchers, over teachers pupils and students to all employed in culture and related economic branches.
In the international context, publication of historical sources (originals and translations) presents one of the key components of the research work in history science. In Croatian historiography, researchers, together with philologists, have been collecting, preparing and publishing various history sources making them accessible to the widest range of experts..
All researchers involved in this project have significant experience of working with primary sources (published and unpublished), and most of them also in the preparation and publication of original sources.
