VATROSLAV JAGIĆ I PSALTIR NIKOLE RABLJANINA
VATROSLAV JAGIĆ AND THE PSALTER OF NIKOLA OF RAB

Summary/Abstract: The Psalter of Nikola of Rab, which was supposedly written down in 1222, has been the subject of fascination and controversy for centuries. In 1912, Vatroslav Jagić declared it a forgery based on a philological and historical analysis. His claim is based on textological evidence, including an analysis of orthography and phonology, as well as the fact that Bishop Theodore is listed in the Chronotaxis of the Bishops of Salona, but is not historically attested/ as uncertain/ but his existence is historically uncertain, and that there are no historical records of Nikola of Rab. Our analysis confirms the validity of some of Jagić’s arguments, especially in the textological field, while certain philological claims require further contextualization in the light of recent findings on Croatian Glagolitism. It is believed that the Psalter is an artificial compilation, probably written by Ivan Tomko Mrnavić to promote ideas about the ancient roots of the Glagolitic tradition and its connection to St. Jerome. It was seen as proof of the antiquity of Glagolitic literature and as an obstacle to the publication of Kašić’s translation of the Holy Scriptures into the Neo-Shtokavian vernacular. Our study takes up Jagić’s analyses and develops them further, especially with regard to the use of Old Church Slavonic and later Cyrillic sources, emphasizing that the textual changes represent adaptations of the Latin translation iuxta Hebraeos. Although it is probably a forgery, the creation of the Psalter by Nikola of Rab testifies to the intellectual and ecclesiastical struggles to legitimize Glagolitism and secure its place in the European cultural heritage. Thus, the Psalter remains a unique cultural phenomenon, regardless of whether it is authentic or a forgery, and underlines its importance in the history of Croatian literature and Slavic studies.

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