Baška tablet

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Baška tablet

Baška tablet (Croatian: Bašćanska ploča) is one of the first monuments of Croatian language, dating from the year 1100.

The tablet was found in the paving of the Romanesque church of St. Lucy (Sveta Lucija) in Jurandvor near Baška on the island of Krk in 1851. Since 1934 the original has been kept in the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Zagreb.

The inscribed stone slab records King Zvonimir's donation of a piece of land to a Benedictine abbey in the time of abbot Drzhiha. The inscription is written in the Glagolitic script, exhibiting features of Church Slavonic of Croatian recension, such as writing (j)u for (j)ǫ, e for ę, i for y, and using one jer only (ъ). It provides the only example of transition from Glagolitic of the rounded Macedonian type to the angular Croatian alphabet.

The tablet is considered to be the birth certificate of the Croats, as the name Croatia and adjective Croatian are mentioned here for the first time in the Croatian language. Despite the fact of not being the oldest Croatian Glagolitic monument (the Plomin tablet, Valun tablet, Krk inscription, are older and certainly all appeared in the 11th century) and in spite of the fact that it was not written in the pure Croatian vernacular - it is nevertheless called "the jewel of the Croatian language" and the "baptismal certificate" of Croatian literary culture. The transliterated text, with restored segments in square brackets, is as follows:

... [vъ ime ot]ca i sina [i sve]tago duxa azъ
opat[ъ] drъžiha pisahъ s o ledině juže
da zvъnъmirъ kralъ hrъvatъskъ[i vъ]
dni svoę vъ svet[uju] luciju i s[vedo]
mi županъ desimra krъbavě mra[tin]ъ vъ l[i]
cě pr(ez)b(itr)ъ neb(o)gъ a ... ъ posl ... vin ... lě ... vъ ... v o
tocě da iže to por(e)če klъni i bo(gъ) i 12 a(posto)la i 4 e
va(n)g'(e)listi i s(ve)taě luciě am(e)nъ da iže sdě žive
tъ moli za ne boga azъ opatъ d(o)brovitъ zъ
daxъ crěkъvъ siju i svoeju bratiju sъ dev
etiju vъ dni kъneza kosъmъta oblad
ajucago vъsu kъrainu i běše vъ tъ dnIm
ikula vъ octočъcI sъ svetuju lucIju vъ edino

The text can be translated in English as follows:

... In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, I,
abbot Drъžiha, wrote this concerning the land which
Zvonimir, the Croatian king, gave in
his days to St. Lucia. And the witnesses [were]
župan Desimira in Krbava, Martin in Lika,
the unworthy priest ... [?] in
Otok. Whoever denies this, let him be cursed by God and the twelve apostles and the four
evangelists and Saint Lucia. Amen. And whoever lives here
let him pray for it to God. I, abbot Dobrovit,
built this church with nine of my brethren
in the days of prince Cosmas ruling
over the entire province. And in those days [the parish of St.]
Nicholas in Otočac was joined with [the parish of] St. Lucia.