“Misal hruacki”: The reprint of a gem of Croatian Glagolitic heritage presented at the NSK
On 6 October 2016 the National and University Library in Zagreb hosted a presentation of the reprint of Misal hruacki, a 1531 missal written in the Glagolitic alphabet by bishop Šimun Kožičić Benja, along with its accompanying critical edition, which includes the missal’s Latin transliteration and extensive commentary.
The publication was presented through a special programme opened by the NSK Director General Tatijana Petrić, who in her opening address pointed out how the original that the reprint is based on is preserved as part of the Library’s Manuscripts and Old Books Collection as one of altogether 15 copies surviving to this day, of which another four are located in Croatia. Ms Petrić expressed particular gratitude to all who provided financial resources for this reprint’s publication.
Present visitors also heard brief addresses by Senka Tomljanović, Director General of the University Library Rijeka, and Davor Dukić, Professor from the Department of Croatian language and literature at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Zagreb.
Mateo Žagar, the reprinted edition’s editor-in-chief and professor at the Section for Old Church Slavonic and Croatian Glagolitic Heritage of the Department of Croatian language and literature at the Zagreb Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, emphasised great efforts that have been put into the bringing to light of this invaluable piece of Croatian cultural heritage and accordingly thanked a large team of his collaborators.
The missal’s reprint was also presented by the edition’s consulting editors Anica Nazor and Stjepan Damjanović, both Fellows of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts and acknowledged experts on Croatian Glagolitic heritage. Nazor, certainly the leading authority on Kožičić’s life and work spoke about a rich cultural legacy that he left behind, while Damjanović gave an overview of the work of Glagolitic priests in Croatia during the 15th and 16th centuries.
The reprint was jointly published by the National and University Library in Zagreb and University Library Rijeka. A skilful team of the high-profile Zagreb-based printing company ITG took special care to make sure that the reprint is an authentic reproduction of the missal, while financial resources for this entire undertaking were provided by the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports, City of Rijeka – Department of Culture, Foundation of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts and National and University Library in Zagreb Foundation.
