Fonds HR-DADU-01 - Reformationes (Decisions of the Councils of the Dubrovnik Republic)

Identity area

Reference code

HR-DADU-01

Title

Reformationes (Decisions of the Councils of the Dubrovnik Republic)

Date(s)

  • 1301-1306, 1311-1336, 1343-1353, 1356-1368, 1378-1392, 1395-1399, 1402-1404, 1407-1415 (Creation)

Level of description

Fonds

Extent and medium

34 volumes; 2 linear metres; textual records

Context area

Name of creator

Archival history

Preserved interstate treaties and other documents from the 12th century show that the authorities were already taking care of the organization of operations of the public notary and the state chancellery. During the 13th century, a more comprehensive approach to the work of both offices, as well as the clearer separation of their competencies were noticed. A clearer division of work responsibilities, including those of secretaries, was defined in the 15th century.

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

The fonds has been linked to the archive since its inception. In times of the Dubrovnik Republic, the books of the fonds were stored in the Rector's Palace. They remained in the Rector’s Palace after the fall of the Republic (1808). In 1891, the archives were consolidated and became available to researchers. The archive in the Rector's Palace has been functioning as an independent institution since 1920 and it was moved to the Sponza Palace in 1952, where it is still located today.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

The fonds contains the decisions of the Major Council, the Minor Council, and the Senate, or of the three supreme institutions of government of the Dubrovnik commune. The books of the fonds date from the 14th and the beginning of the 15th century, and they contain various decisions on all aspects of the policy of the internal and foreign affairs of the Dubrovnik commune and are very important for the research of the earlier history of Dubrovnik.


The fonds contains very few mentions of Jewish people. The references found are from the first half of the 14th century, but they do not seem to be directly connected with the Jewish people. Namely, probably under the influence of church presentations and performances, the people of Dubrovnik would disguise themselves as Jews or Carbonos before Easter, blackening their faces and dressing up in a certain way. Disguised like this they would attack passers-by and use this as an opportunity to deal with their enemies. Authorities forbade them to disguise themselves in such a way, and the first ban under threat of a fine of 25 perpers dates to the time before Easter in 1319. Prohibitions of disguise to Carbonos or Jewish people were repeatedly issued in 1320, 1323, 1329 and 1335. In 1331, the authorities in the Republic allowed such a disguise.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

The fonds is fully accessible to researchers in accordance with the Ordinance on the work in the reading room of the State Archives in Dubrovnik and the Law on Archival Materials and Archives NN 61/18 (Pravilnik o radu u čitaonici Državnog arhiva u Dubrovniku and Zakon o arhivskom gradivu i arhivima NN 61/18).

Conditions governing reproduction

Taking photographs and scanning are allowed, for a fee.

Language of material

  • Italian
  • Latin

Script of material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Paper. The archival material is well preserved.

Finding aids

Građa za generalni katalog Državnog arhiva u Dubrovniku, box 3, folder 3. Josip Gelčić, »Catalogus i. r. Archivii Ragusini.« Glasnik Zemaljskog muzeja u Bosni i Hercegovini 22 (1910): 537-588.

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

State Archives in Dubrovnik

Existence and location of copies

The fonds has been completely transferred to microfilms, but the microfilms are not available to the users of State Archives in Dubrovnik.

Related units of description

Acta Consilii Maioris (HR-DADU-2), Consilium Rogatorum (HR-DADU-3), Consilium Minus (HR-DADU-4)

Related descriptions

Publication note

Joannes Tkalčić, Monumenta Ragusina: Libri reformationum, Tomus 1, Ann. 1306-1347, Zagrabiae: Sumptibus Academiae scientiarum et artium, 1879. Joannes Tkalčić, Monumenta Ragusina: Libri reformationum, Tomus 2, Ann. 1347-1352, Additamentum a. 1301-1305, 1318, 1325-1336, Zagrabiae: Sumptibus Academiae scientiarum et artium, 1882. Konstantin Vojnović, »O državnom ustrojstvu republike dubrovačke.« Rad JAZU 103 (1891): 24-67. Joannes Tkalčić, Monumenta Ragusina: Libri reformationum, Tomus 3, Ann. 1359-1364, Zagrabiae: Sumptibus Academiae scientiarum et artium, 1895. Joannes Tkalčić, Monumenta Ragusina: Libri reformationum, Tomus 4, Ann. 1364 -1396, Zagrabiae: Sumptibus Academiae scientiarum et artium, 1896. Joannes Tkalčić, Monumenta Ragusina: Libri reformationum, Tomus 5, Ann. 1301- 1336, Zagrabiae: Sumptibus Academiae scientiarum et artium, 1897. Šalom Freiberger, »Povijest Židova u Dubrovniku do izgona god. 1515.« Omanut 1 (1936): 30-37. Jorjo Tadić, Jevreji u Dubrovniku do polovine XVII stoljeća. Sarajevo: La Benevolencia, 1937. Acta Consiliorum Reipublicae Ragusinae, I, ed. Mihajlo Dinić, Beograd: SAN, 1951. Documenta Archivii Reipublicae Ragusinae, I, ed. Mihajlo Dinić, Beograd: SAN, 1957. Vinko Foretić, »Dubrovački arhiv u srednjem vijeku. « (summary: The Dubrovnik archives in the Middle Ages) Anali Historijskog instituta u Dubrovniku 6-7 (1959): 315-336. Documenta Archivii Reipublicae Ragusinae, II, ed. Mihajlo Dinić, Beograd: Naučno delo, 1963. Acta Consiliorum Reipublicae Ragusinae, II, ed. Mihajlo Dinić, Beograd: SAN, 1964. Nella Lonza, Zdravko Šundrica, Odluke dubrovačkih vijeća 1390-1392 (introduction, riassunto), Zagreb - Dubrovnik: Zavod za povijesne znanosti HAZU u Dubrovniku, 2005. Bariša Krekić, Unequal Rivals: Essays on Relations Between Dubrovnik and Venice in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Century, Zagreb - Dubrovnik: Zavod za povijesne znanosti HAZU u Dubrovniku, 2007.

Notes area

Note

The archival material in the fonds has been published completely. Starting from the year 1415, each council of the Republic started keeping separate records of its activities.

Alternative identifier(s)

Old reference code

Fonds of the Dubrovnik Republic and the territory of the former Republic under the French Administration, series 2

Access points

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Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Rules and/or conventions used

Descriptions of fonds, series and sub-series are made according to the ISAD (G) standard (general international standard archival description).

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

2021

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

Sources

Archivist's note

Description prepared by Vesna Miović (Fonds, Series, Subseries) Croatia [The Institute for Historical Sciences in Dubrovnik, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (CASA)].
Translation to English by Zrinka Friganović Sain

Accession area

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