Senjska Meštrija od dobra umrtija kao ogledalo svoga vremena
Senj’s Meštrija od dobra umrtija [Art of dying well] as a mirror of its time

Summary/Abstract: The Croatian glagolitic script ‘Meštrija of dobra umrtija’ [‘Art of dying well’] printed in Senj 1507/08 as a translation from Latin, belongs to an exceptionally popular tradition of late medieval ‘Artes bene moriendi’. This is an important source for studying the history of mentality, religion and culture because it reflects perceptions, fears and hopes of its time. ‘Art’ talks about the temptations by which the devil tests a dying person and when compared with other similar scripts, it gives in contrast a calming atmosphere, of hope and encouragement. The structure of ‘Art’ reflects some general characteristics of the Croatian glagolitic literature as is indicated in this paper. This is obvious through a mixture of modes and genres (for example educative texts, prayers and examples) and their interaction. This is a work where belief and the art of words connect and the text calls for unity, communio peccatorum. The work is undoubtedly from the top of the Senj glagolitic printing circle and scripts such as ‘Art of dying well’ indicated that glagolitic masters knew how in their surroundings to transmit contemporaneous streams of western European culture and literature.

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