Law codex of Vinodol
Encyclopedia
Statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...
is one of the oldest law texts written in the Croatian language
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
. It was compiled in 1288 by a commission of 42 members in Novi Vinodolski
Novi Vinodolski
Novi Vinodolski is a town on the Adriatic in Croatia, located south of Crikvenica, Selce and Bribir and north of Senj. The population of Novi is 3,988, with a total of 5,131 people in the municipality ....
. A paragraph was set to define the relation between the duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
s and the peasantry of the region. It was written in the glagolitic alphabet
Glagolitic alphabet
The Glagolitic alphabet , also known as Glagolitsa, is the oldest known Slavic alphabet. The name was not coined until many centuries after its creation, and comes from the Old Slavic glagolъ "utterance" . The verb glagoliti means "to speak"...
. The Vinodol Statute was written in 1288 in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. It is the oldest among all Croatian city statutes, which represented an agreement between the people of Vinodol and their new liege lords, the Princes of Krk
Principality of Krk
The Principality of Krk was a semi-independent principality on the Croatian-Adriatic island of Krk that existed from 1451 to 1480 during the late middle ages. Previous to the principality's foundation, Krk and the surrounding lands were ruled by several Frankopan princes...
. It contains important information about the feudal law in this area which had replaced the tribal customs of an earlier period. The Vinodol Statute provide a rare contemporary picture of the life and political conditions in medieval Europe
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. The oldest regulations concerning public health in western Croatia are preserved within the Vinodol Statute. Today, it is stored in the National and University Library Zagreb
National and University Library Zagreb
National and University Library in Zagreb is the national library of Croatia and central library of the University of Zagreb.The national library was founded in 1607. Its primary mission is the development of the national literary corpus...
.
The Vinodol Statute confirms status of Vinodol, as an administrative and political centre from the 13th century. The text was preserved as a rewrite from the 16th century.