Keywords: Bosnia; the Hungarian-Croatian Kingdom; dynastic state; political concepts
The author discusses the complex problem of primarily political relations between Bosnia (the Bosnian Banate, later on the Bosnian Kingdom) and Hungary (the Hungarian-Croatian Kingdom). Prior to explaining his own view, the author criticizes the work of Dubravko Lovrenovic, taking it as an example of approach to the historical analysis of a school developed during the 20th century and provisionally called "the Belgrade-Sarajevo school". In the second part of paper the author, referring to the concept of Archiregnum Hungaricum, defined as "dynastic (super) state", analyzes oldest written records that shed light on the relations of the Hungarian-Croatian kings with Bosnia. In that regard, he tries to define the concept of "land" (terra, Land) calling upon the ideas of Otto Brunner and using them as tool in the analysis of relevant sources from the 12th and 13th centuries. Based on this analysis the author draws conclusions about transformation of the Bosnian Banate in the framework of dynastic (super) state, seeing it as a conglomerate of "lands" ruled by the Kotromanic dynasty, otherwise descendants of certain "Kotroman Got" who was installed as 'ban' by the intervention of the royal authority in the late 12th or early 13th century.The author accepts the view that the "land" Rama, which was present in the style of Hungarian-Croatian kings from the 30s of the 12th century, was not the same as "land" Bosnia of that time. Consequently, equation of those geo-political terms happened only at the beginning of the 15th century due to the fact that the central authority managed to largely integrate the old "lands" and abolish their political independence. In the third part of the paper the author analyzes how this complex system worked in the 15th century using the data that concern the course of events from 1435 and 1436. He uses the example of (unsuccessful) attempt of the Emperor and King Sigismund to organize a system of defense against the Turks on his western flank (from Bosnia to Albania). The relationship between the political center and periphery is portrayed through (unsuccessful) appropriation of the old principality of Hum (already integrated into the political framework of Bosnian Kingdom). At the same time the author tries to pinpoint mental pictures regarding "constitutional order" of Archiregnum based on the historical experience as well as trying to discern how they have influenced the practical actions of actors. In that vein he also warns that various ways of interpreting experience with differences in thought schemes derived through those processes was one of the main reasons for the failure of the planned venture. However the acceptance of the main schemata defining position of Bosnian Kingdom in the political framework of Archiregnum is illustrated through the analysis of the short visit of Bosnian King Tvrtko II to the Hungarian court at the beginning of 1436. In conclusion the author defines the Bosnian king as hereditary official of the royal apparatus of government who, apart from fulfillment of certain obligations to the political centre (many of which had a ritual dimension), really ruled autonomous political formation - the Bosnian Kingdom. Acceptance of such a position on the part of Bosnian rulers resulted in the possibility of constant expansion of the territory under the practical rule of the Bosnian king.
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Keywords: Trebinje; Mrkan; the Diocese of Trebinje-Mrkan; Dubrovnik
The diocese of Trebinje was first mentioned in 1022 in the papal bull of Pope Benedict VIII (1012-1024) from which it could be concluded that the diocese was established at the end of the tenth century. Until the second half of the 12th century it enjoyed freedom whereas with Nemanja's conquest of the coast it was brought to a subordinate position comparing to the Raska (Serbian) orthodoxy. In the mid 13th century, its first bishop was expelled but some time after 1286 the diocese was restored again. The beginning of the 13th century brought the news on the violent persecution of Catholics in the Serbian kingdom. The bishop of Trebinje, who lived in the former Benedictine monastery on the bestowed island of Mrkan, was exiled by King Milutin, at the latest in the war with Dubrovnik from 1217 to 1218. Since then the name Mrkan has been preserved in the title of the Bishop of Trebinje.
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Keywords: Zadar Peace Treaty; Louis I, Dalmatia; Bosnia-Hum rulers; medieval documents; Croatian Kingdom
In the documents of the medieval Bosnia-Hum rulers, Louis I the Great was considered the "king of happy memories" regarding the fact that he was their sovereign through the hereditary Croatian Kingdom, which he was very fond of, and a part of which was, at the time of his predecessors, the Bosnian Banat as well. Also, due to marital alliance with Bosnia and Hum, he managed to return Dalmatia to Croatian Kingdom, as a part of his great Hungarian-Croatian Kingdom. After his death and numerous intrigues at the Hungarian court, the Bosnian rulers, especially King Tvrtko, hoped to inherit a part of the Hungarian-Croatian Kingdom, i.e. the territory of the Croatian Kingdom, especially when Croatian and Dalmatian towns came under Bosnian military control. In the document issued to the citizens of Trogir in 1390, Louis I was four times referred to as 'brother' by King Tvrtko. Similar were the findings from other documents issued to Dalmatian cities, although Louis's legal heirs were still alive. The author of this paper, but also some earlier historians, claim that Tvrtko felt he should succeed Louis I to the crown of Croatia, as he did to the crown of Raska. The evidence for these facts can be found in the documents of the Split delegates from the same 1390, in which Tvrtko was already referred to as Rex Dalmatiae et Croatiae, although he had not yet been crowned. In the following years his successors also arrogated this title to themselves. While Tvrtko, being a Ban, was obliged to recognize Louis I as a sovereign, he consequently considered himself as the latter's successor in the territory of the Kingdom of Croatia and Dalmatia.
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Keywords: fiction; narrative; falsification; plagiat; Mrnavic; Vrancic; Berislavic; Dubica
The author relates the peak of Petar’s success to the famous victory over Ottomans near Dubica on 16 August 1513 and devotes to it some dozen pages of the Vita. The story on the victory may be put apart from the context as a self-enclosed whole that emphasizes a key event in a glorified life of the hero, a justification of the social honors and achievements. However, its length and completeness, which goes beyond traditional forms of vita, is also opposed to the fragmented and circumstantial nature of the data concerning the actual historical event. Despite its reliance on two known historical sources, the entire story is a literary reconstruction of historical developments and is based more on motivational guesses than on authentic or empirical facts. The story unfolds after the model of historical representations of Hunyadi’s victories over Ottomans by Bonfini or of Skanderbeg’s by Barleti. Discrepancies between space and time indicate a chronotopic construction of the story based on the imprecise depictions of the time. The author has derived the date of the victory from a chronicle by Tomasic, which he used on several occasions in the Vita, and the very description of the battle follows Istvanffy’s account in his Hungarian Histories. Such established correlations undermine the allegation by Fortis, hence, while excluding Vrancic, they confirm Mrnavic as the only authentic author of the Vita. By presenting the battle at Dubica and its outcome as a result of divine providence, with only ten loss in life among Ban’s soldiers, the author has managed to depict a hero who has succeeded to revive to an extent the glory of Matijas’s time. This has secured his glory among the population of the kingdom, who started carving Petar’s name (with exclamation marks) over the city; and it has also secured him a Pope’s gift, an embellished sword, as a confirmation of his standing in the Christian world. Of course, this is all just a writer’s fiction, an epideictic discourse in which significations of time have determined the standpoint of narration from a long distance not only in the sense of narrative time, but also of Antun Vrancic’s death.
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Keywords: Ottoman censuses; nahiye of Mostar; population; deserted and populated places
Based on the first Ottoman censuses after the conquest of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the major part of the paper gives an overview of the situation in the newly formed nahiye of Mostar. The conquest resulted in a large number of deserted and half-deserted settlements. With privileges and release from certain duties the new authorities tried to make the exiled population return to their homes, but also to populate the area with new inhabitants. The measures that were taken reflected positively on the return of the population, therefore only a few years after the conquest the number of deserted places was reduced. Although it would be expected to find all the conquered places recorded, it was not quite so. Only the places and homes that were burdened with feudal dues were included into census, therefore it is difficult to estimate the precise number of inhabited villages and households.
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Keywords: TV series; audience; Television Belgrade; television genre; television discourse
TV series have been filmed in Yugoslavia for an increasingly large television audience. TV series are an authentic television genre developed gradually with the spread of the influence of new audio-visual mass media. The production of Television Belgrade was the most prolific one. Domestic TV shows fought for the right over imported TV series program, and great creative force was invested into their making. However, Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) continued the production of domestic TV series in different economic and social conditions. As part of the program offer of the public media service, domestic shows still attract a large audience even in the apparent dominance of the Internet and the diverse offer of national and cable television. Rerunning domestic television series, which is a recognizable feature of Television Belgrade, plays a special role in contemporary television life. Thus, this paper focuses on researching audience of domestic TV series, and especially the representative ones, made during the golden age (1970−1976), during the crisis of the Yugoslav state and society and its collapse (1987−1995) and during the period of post-conflict transitional Serbia after Milošević (2000−2010). These shows include Više od igre (More than a game), Otpisani (The Sacrificied), Grlom u jagode (Headless Rush), Ljubav na seoski način (Rural Style Love), Bolji život (Better Life) and Ranjeni orao (The Wounded Eagle). The aim of the research is to establish general characteristics of the audience of domestic TV series (who watches them, how much and how). Further, it also to provides an in-depth understanding of the ways in which these characteristics and viewers’ preferences participate in the everyday ritual activity of watching series, as an important social practice that represents a segment of formation of cultural needs and cultural identity.
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Keywords: Herzegovina; registers of deceased; infectious diseases; plague; smallpox (variola); cholera; dysentery; measles
It has long been known that registers provide exceptional data related to demographic trends and changes in the specific area they cover. An increasing number of people, both professionals and amateurs, use them not only for the purpose of drafting family trees, but also to reconstruct the overall life processes of a place or a parish. The same applies to Herzegovina, although there is still plenty of work to do.In this paper, the author demonstrates the value of data hidden in the registers related to a very specific and selected topic: infectious diseases in the west-Herzegovinian territory during the Ottoman rule. Unfortunately, not all registers from this period have been preserved, moreover only few of them were saved, which makes the data incomplete and insufficient. However, combined with other sources, primarily lists of Catholic population from this period and records of contemporary (Franciscan) annals, there can be found extremely valuable and up to now completely unknown data.The author gives a particularly detailed analysis of great plague that affected a large part of Europe in 1814, including the area of Herzegovina. In two years the plague killed millions in Europe and halved the Catholic population in Bosnia and Herzegovina. For other religious communities the situation was even worse, but there were no details due to the fact that their registers did not exist. However, it is completely clear that the effects of the plague in Herzegovina were not nearly as devastating as in Bosnia, and some parishes indeed remained spared from it, especially Ruzici and Posusje. The worst situation was in the parish of Brotnjo that lost half of its population, which was in line with the total BH average.Apart from plague, the paper, based almost exclusively on preserved registers, analyzes the other infectious diseases, especially cholera and smallpox, and to a lesser extent, measles and dysentery.Only exceptionally high birth rate at the time saved the Catholics from complete extinction. Constant pressure of unbearable persecution and levies from the Turkish authorities and tyrants, regularly on the brink of starvation, with today unimaginable infant mortality rate of probably 50 %, and from time to time subjected to devastating plague and other contagious diseases, they managed to resist only giving birth to offspring. The number of Catholics in the early 18th century had dropped to only 20 thousand, in the early 19th century it rose to almost 120,000, and then the plague between 1814 and 1818, again halved and reduced that number to 50,000. Since then, the population has been constantly growing, despite World War I and what was called Spanish fever, an unprecedented infectious disease that ensued at the end of the war, despite the huge losses in manpower during World War II, and especially after the war, and despite the ongoing migrations which started in the 60s of the 20th century reaching thus its historical peak. Finally, in the Homeland war numerous Catholic Croats were expelled from their homes, particularly in Bosnian Posavina and Krajina and the number again halved in comparison to the 70s or 80s of the 20th century. It is hard to imagine that the number of Catholics will in the near future recover again, as it normally happened in previous centuries. The reason: there is no such birth rate that has been in the previous centuries the strongest bulwark against extinction.
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Keywords: fortification belt; the Austro-Hungarian army; defensive barracks; defensive line; artillery
Immediately upon arrival in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1878, Austria-Hungary started building a new fortification system adjusted to modern warfare and contemporary military tactics.With the construction of the fortification belt along the border with Montenegro in the areas of Trebinje and Bileca, the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy established first defensive line in Herzegovina, which was a guarantee of the eastern borders protection. As a backup, second defensive line was set in the belt of Kalinovik, Ulog-Obrnja, Nevesinje and Stolac. Beside these, there were very well-fortified cities of Sarajevo and Mostar, the latter being a background support to the first two mentioned Herzegovinian lines. Coming from the north, there was a line of three fortifications and large barracks in Kalinovik, the complex of Ulog-Obrnja with barracks and a fort above, which was a special type of 'moat' fortification, then Nevesinje with a fort and defensive barracks and finally Stolac with three forts and a large complex of defensive barracks. During World War I all the Austro-Hungarian forts in Herzegovina fulfilled their defensive function.Unfortunately, the devastation of the Austro-Hungarian military fortifications, which began with the fall of the Monarchy, has continued up to day. Although the objects were built in the period between 1878 and 1918, they have kept not only historical but also aesthetic value.The fact that only three Austro-Hungarian forts have been registered as national monuments (Bijela Tabija in Sarajevo - due to an older complex on the same site, Stolac - for the same reason as the previous, and Vraca in Sarajevo - as a location of World War II events) shows the negligence of the state for the fortifications more than 130 years old.
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Keywords: HRSS (Croatian Republican Peasant Party); HPS (Croatian Folk Party); dissidents; autonomy; election campaign; political candidates; election lists; political party promotion; elections; Mostar distric
The results of the 1923 parliamentary elections announced a fierce campaign for the next elections in February 1925. Dissidents of HRSS led by Matej Kordic tried to capitalize their good results in the 1923 elections through the aggressive promotion of new elections. They were supported by the Serbian Radicals, and to attract voters in Herzegovina, they focused on the idea of the autonomy of Herzegovina in their campaign. Major political confrontations, when it comes to Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, occurred between HRSS and HPS, both of them aiming to obtain legitimacy for representing Croats in political life.Despite the support of the Franciscans at the 1925 elections, HPS in Herzegovina suffered a complete debacle, gaining not a single seat. On the other hand, HRSS led a campaign against all - the regime's authority, its dissidents and HPS, achieving thus absolute victory among Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, HRSS won 67 seats, whereas in Bosnia and Herzegovina, they won 10 seats (4 in Herzegovina, 6 in Bosnia). Radic's dissident Matej Kordic suffered a heavy defeat in the electoral district of Mostar, winning only 103 votes. Belgrade authorities, dissatisfied with the electoral victory of HRSS, announced that after the proclamation of election results an armed rebellion occurred in Herzegovina followed by the persecution of non-Croat population. Due to such allegations, additional police and military forces were sent to Herzegovina, which after some time denied there had been any rebellion. The election results gave HRSS the right to represent Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina in public and political life.
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Keywords: the parish of Dubrave; register books; registry office of Crnici; historical demography
The article presents the results of research based on the analysis of archive sources about the church parish registers of Dubrava in Herzegovina, from its foundation in 1704 until the destruction of the registers in 1985. The author describes the importance of registers as the most relevant sources for historical, demographic and genealogical research, their history, origin and development. The paper delivers details on the oldest preserved registers in the world, then in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the area of Trebinje-Mrkan, including the area of the parish of Dubrava. A brief history of the parish, its territorial scope and the church divisions, i.e. the establishment of new parishes that split from the Dubrava parish are also described. The main part comprises the historical facts of the parish registers of Dubrava. According to sources, their destiny had been traced before 1832, when they were destroyed in fire. However, what was unknown refers to the records kept after this year, when the Communist authorities confiscated the registers from the parish office in Prenj and deposited them in the Registry office of Crnici. There they suffered the same fate as the older registers, they were mostly destroyed by arson in 1985. Having followed the traces of the register remains which were not completely burnt but were, more or less, charred, the author conducted interviews with the then registrar, police investigators and other eye witnesses of the event and on the basis of their testimony tried to track the rest of the registers.
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Keywords: Vlado Puljić; picture and word; semiotics; sign; Herzegovina
Through selected examples of Vlado Puljic’s poetry and painting, the paper will offer a new interdisciplinary approach to his art based on the most appropriate theoretical fundament of semiotics. The paper consists of two main parts. The first one is a theoretical view of differences between word and painting whereas the second part gives concrete examples which depict signs as basics of his creativity. Considering Puljic’s art, the meaning of his poetic and painting signs will be explained in the examples which a reader/viewer can understand only by knowing both poetry and painting. As an interdisciplinary approach, it can be used for interpretation of other similar artistic forms.
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Ratko Perić,KOROMANOV DEKALOG Željka Pandža,Vjesnik za arheologiju i historiju dalmatinsku,br. 107, Split, 2014., 420 str. Ana Noković,Joško Belamarić - Bratislav Lučin - Marko Trogrlić - Josip Vrandečić (ur.), Splitska hagiografska baština: povijest, legenda, tekst,Zbornik radova s međunarodnoga znanstvenog skupa održanoga u Splitu od 26. do 27. rujna 2011., Književni krug Split - Odsjek za povijest Filozofskog fakulteta u Splitu, Split, 2014., 534 str. Goran Mijočević,Jacques Le Goff, Trgovci i bankari u srednjem vijeku,Kulturni informativni centar - Jesenski i Turk, Zagreb, 2014., 147 str. Dijana Korać,Robert Jolić (prir.), Dr. fra Dominik Mandić (1889.-1973.). Zbornik radova sa znanstvenog simpozija održanog u prigodi 40. obljetnice njegove smrti (Mostar - Široki Brijeg, 24. i 25. listopada 2013.), Hercegovačka franjevačka provincija Uznesenja BDM - Franjevačka knjižnica Mostar - Hrvatski institut za povijest Zagreb, Mostar - Zagreb, 2014., str. 1031+ ilustracije. Marina Beus,Jure Krišto, Partija, UDBA i svećenička udruženja. UDBin elaborat o Udruženjima i drugi dokumenti, Hrvatska kulturna zaklada - Hrvatsko slovo, Zagreb, 2014., 157 str.
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Keywords: Political participation; liberal democracy; democratic elitism; deliberative democracy
In this paper we are going to examine the conceptualization of political participation as an indispensable supplement of a liberal democracy. Similarly, we are going to explore the critical attitude towards elitism, which, in its essence, provides a “minimal” determination of democracy that is insufficient for a complete affirmation, i.e. consolidation of democracy in a society. By displaying the importance of political participation we are going to cover the connection between political participation and public deliberation as a cornerstone of political participation, whose absence makes the effect of political participation quite limited and inefficient.
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Keywords: Party change; decline of parties; conventional and unconventional political participation
The decline of conventional political participation in advanced modern societies, an undisputed tendency in the past several decades, has been accompanied by the rise of unconventional democratic participation including protest politics (‘demonstration democracy’; ‘social movement society’), check-book activism, political consumerism etc. Although the signifi cance of altered patterns of democratic participation has been widely recognized, interpretations widely diverge. While some perceive them as a sign of postmaterial values of „critical citizens“ with higher expectations of democracy, others warn that new participatory forms might not be as eff ective as the old ones in bringing about political change. Still others, including the present author, fear that the decline of conventional political participation might actually signal „a new deference.“
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Keywords: Media; television; electoral communication; political parties
The author recapitulates the key findings of electoral communication in Serbia. It was shown that for almost 15 years, the election campaigns on TV last through several stages: 1) phase of normalization of the electoral communication after the „fall“ of regime of S. Milosevic, 2) consolidation phase after a series of failed presidential elections in 2002 and 2003, 3) phase commercial domination of informative content and 4) phase where electoral subjects adapt their communication strategies to economic crisis. The conclusion is that televisions were an important institution in all election campaigns since 2000, especially in campaigns characterized with high electoral participation. Electoral subjects whose electoral agenda matched with the media agenda, the most common were the winners of elections. At the same time, the paper shows how partisan communication strategy important for understanding the election’s outcomes with the constant stressing on the need to more clearly define the rules and standards of the media role during the election campaigns.
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Keywords: Minority nationalism; national minorities; multiculturalism; minority requirements
This paper discusses the reasons for the emergence of minority nationalism. In the analisis of minority nationalism , broader political context is taken into account. Throughout the history of Serbia, the political leaders managed minority nationalism by changing the institutional design. However, the institutional design could balance the minority nationalism. The same institutional arrangements in the West and in Eastern Europe, did not give similar results. In the past, institutional design was created in such a way to satisfy the minority interests. Changing the institutional design has always caused the reaction of the minority members.
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Keywords: Local Self-Government; municipality; town; City of Belgrade; competence; local authorities; the principle of subsidiarity
Local Self-Government as the basic level of government organization, which is closest to the citizens has a particular importance for the functioning of the political system, especially in terms of democracy. The autonomy of local authorities and the active participation of citizens in the decision-making process lead to a transparent system, strengthening of public civic awareness and democratic culture. The development of local government in the Republic of Serbia since 2000 was marked by the adoption of the Law on Local Self-Government in 2002 and 2007, and the Constitution of 2006 which recognizes the right of citizens to local self-government. Local Self-Government units in the Republic of Serbia are municipalities, towns and the City of Belgrade, and monotype is an important feature of this system, since the Constitution contains only the original jurisdiction of the municipality, not the towns and the City of Belgrade. The City of Belgrade and the towns which have signifi cant institutional, administrative and entrepreneurial capacities can count, in addition to the original jurisdiction of the municipalities, just to the jurisdiction of the transferred jurisdiction of the Republic, which is not a good solution from the standpoint of providing basic needs and services to the citizens on the local level.
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Keywords: Family reunifi cation; Directive; residents and non-residents; immigration; the European Union; the European Commission; Member States
The right to family reunification of persons which are foreign born and do not have EU citizenship, but legally residents in the Member State with committed to permanently residing, is recognized as one of the fundamental rights of the European Union in the European area of free movement. Since 2003 this right is been institutionalized by provisions of Directive 2003/86/EC, which sets precise guidelines for the implementation of the right to family reunifi cation in the Member States of EU. This directive is still in force, but the legal nature of this act indicates a certain level of freedom in its implementation, and the discretion of the Member States that taking into account national particularities, further develop and regulate this issue at the national level. The signifi cance of this Directive in the fi eld of EU immigration policy in particular stems from the fact that nearly half of European immigration today legally residing in the EU is a result of the implementation of the right to family reunifi cation. The aim of this paper is, except to point out the basic elements and the contents of this Directive and the issues of implementation into national legislation of the Member States, to make a special insight of the reports and studies of the European Commission in recent years related to application of the right to family reunifi cation of legal residents in the EU, with special emphasis on the complexity of the issue of immigrants integration in the EU.
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