Dubrovnik Annals 14 (2010) 145 continuum, manifested through linguistic com- Zbornik radova sa znanstvenog skupa Zbornik petence of both the Romance-speaking pop- Nikše Ranjine. O 500 obljetnici (1507. – 2007.) ulation and the Slavs, should by no means be [Collected papers from the conference Zbornik ascribed ideological functions that language Nikše Ranjine. On the 500th anniversary (1507- has today. In other words, the expansion of 2007)], ed. Nikola Batušić and Dunja Fališevac. Venetian literacy in Dalmatia in the fourteenth Zagreb: HAZU, 2009. Pages 210. century has nothing to do with any kind of planned or intentional linguistic policy: its In 1507 Nikša Ranjina (Ragnina), a nobly- acceptance in Dalmatia in the period when the born thirteen-year-old Ragusan boy, future Venetians, not only in Ragusan documents, are statesman and city chronicler, began compiling defined as nostri hostes clearly testifies to the poems of his contemporaries that stirred his fact that the use of Venetian idiom was not young soul and mind. Little did he know that perceived as a mark of Venetian identity. The his juvenile passion and collectorʼs zeal would strength of Dotto’s book lies in the fact that, result in an impressive volume containing 800 following in the footsteps of Deanović and poems, a paramount and an invaluable con- Folena, he decided to interpret the methods and tribution to Croatian cultural heritage and, at contexts of the use of Venetian scriptae within the same time, the oldest collection of secular a broader context of the medieval Mediter- poetry in the Croatian language. The first ranean. In this world the idea of equating critical edition of Ranjinaʼs Zbornik was language with identity does not exist, writing in published by Vatroslav Jagić in 1870, and the Venetian does not imply Venetian identity, but second, textually more critical, was published being an active participant of a wider cultural by Milan Rešetar in 1937. These two editions circle in which writing in this idiom has its are the basis of countless literary-historical clearly defined contexts and functions. After and philological studies that elucidate its two cenutries of crime committed in the name significance for the development of Croatian of language throughout Europe, such a view literary language and integration of Croatian many still find difficult to understand. Diego literature into the European literary main- Dotto deserves all compliments for having streams of the Renaissance. reminded us of this, but also for his excellent Famous poets from Ranjinaʼs collection are scientific contribution. Šiško Menčetić, Džore Držić, Marin Krističe - vić and Mato Hispani. Menčetić is the author of about 500 poems, and Držić of about 70. Nikola Vuletić Two poems are unquestionably attributed to Vetranović, and one to Krističević and Hispani respectively. The first, most extensive and oldest part of the collection (some 600 poems), contains mainly the verse by Menčetić and Držić, while the second and third part contain about 200 mainly anonymous poems. Later Ranjina made an addition to the collection consisting of a small volume of about 15 poems which has been lost, the first lines having survived in the list of poems. Zbornik is particularly valuable as evidence on numerous anonymous poets from the end of the fifteenth and beginning of the sixteenth century, their poems appearing nowhere else but in this collection. Menčetić and Držić were by far the 146 Dubrovnik Annals 14 (2010) foremost poetical figures of this and later is Nikša Ranjina?]« by Rafo Bogišić, in which periods, yet the work of anonymous poets con- the author describes Ranjinaʼs Zbornik as “one tributes greatly to our knowledge of Dubrov- of the cornerstones of the edifice of Croatian nikʼs literary life of the time and to the pop- literature and culture”, a “representative corpus ularity of this kind of poetry. that will be the foundation of the future literary Zbornik Nikše Ranjine shows how Ragusan development”. Collected poems testify to the poets of the Renaissance adopted and reshaped emergence and florishing of a mature poetic the poetical love discourses from the domestic school in the vernacular, as well as to the great and European literary tradition, grandly intro- popularity of poetry in the Ragusan cultural ducing secular themes into Croatian lyric. circle. Antun Pavešković (»Književnopovijesna Viewed traditionally, most important is their recepcija pjesnika Ranjinina zbornika [Literary- adaptation of Petrarchism to the Croatian historical reception of the poets in Ranjinaʼs language and the overall cultural milieu, yet collection]«, pp. 191-210) discusses the reception of Ranjinaʼs Zbornik, from the time of its equally significant is the influence of the production to the later literary-historical theses medieval courtly love poetry of troubadours, and conclusions. He considers Ranjinaʼs com- Italian courtly love poetry, domestic lyric piling achievement crucial for defining the written ʻin the manner of popular verseʼ, love framework of modern (Ragusan) poetry. Its poetry of the antiquity and humanistic lyric in importance lies not only in the compiled and the Latin language. preserved literary heritage, but also as evidence Five hundredth anniversary of Ranjinaʼs of the new understanding of poetry, poet and juvenile achievement that has gained in sig- readership. Its very existence speaks of the nificance over the centuries was marked by a maturity of the literary scene in the then conference held in Zagreb on 21 and 22 No- Dubrovnik, in which literature was part of vember 2007 in the organisation of the Depart- social life with a cultivated and distinguished ment of Philological Sciences of the Croatian literary audience. The history of the reception Academy of Sciences and Arts (HAZU). of Ranjinaʼs collection is being interpreted Twelve papers submitted at this conference from the angle of the centre-periphery relation- have been published by HAZU in 2009, this ship, as well as the on the basis of Gansʼ theory volume being best proof that Zbornik Nikše of representation—i. e., generative anthropol- Ranjine continues to attract the attention of ogy. The author thus shows that older literary literary historians as well as linguistic scholars. historiography leaned on the Zbornik mainly The topics of the published papers cover a wide for reason of the construction of the national range of aspects of Ranjinaʼs Zbornik, from the and cultural identity as well as authenticity. M. issue of reception and literary-historical contro- Kombol marks the shift in the assessment of the versies to the question of motif, genre, style, Zbornik, his focus being on the contextual- semantic features and intertextual influences. isation of this lyric in European relations, on The participants of the conference, authors literary-historical patterns and tradition upon of the papers, have devoted deserving attention which the poetry of the selected poets rests. to the reception of Ranjinaʼs Zbornik in Croa- Several papers deal with the topics of love tian literary scholarship. In the introduction, a and womanʼs beauty that dominate in the poems selection of poems from the Zbornik is followed of Ranjinaʼs Zbornik. In the contribution »Zbor- by the extracts taken from the works of Vatroslav nik Nikše Ranjine: Zrcalo renesansne ljepote Jagić, Milan Rešetar, Svetozar Petrović, Josip [Zbornik Nikše Ranjine: Mirror of Renaissance Vončina and Tomislav Bogdan that recapitu - Beauty]« (pp. 27-36) Cvijeta Pavlović addresses late the main themes which attracted literary the issue of the cult of youth and beauty, but also historians to study this collection. Then follows literary beauty, i.e. literary taste in the Renais- a paper entitled »Tko je Nikša Ranjina? [Who sance. She correlates the Renaissance cult of Dubrovnik Annals 14 (2010) 147 beauty with the cult of youth, arguing that Zbor- economic exchange, travel, cosmic force and nik Nikše Ranjine represents a true testimony to beasts, showing thus that the Petrarchists fail to this cult. (This is hardly surprising because the reveal many aspects of love and other emotions. poets usually composed love verse in their A set of papers dealing with the semantic youth and intended it for the youth of Dubrov- and formal aspect of Ranjinaʼs Zbornik opens nik, compiled by Ranjina as a young man. They with a discussion by Dunja Fališevac, »Dosjetka, testify to the intrinsic interest of the youth in domišljatost i igre riječima kao formalne i se- themselves). The author pinpoints two types of mantičke sastavnice Ranjinina zbornika [Wit, female beauty in the Zbornik—the poets ded- witticism and puns as formal and semantic icate their verse to a rustic fair-haired maiden components of Ranjinaʼs collection]« (pp. 77- resembling a fairy, and a sophisticated lady 94). Following in the footsteps of L. W. Forster, from the city, their poetic approach differing in the authoress views Petrarchism as a manner, a style and vocabulary. There are no realistic tendency to ludism, wits, fallacious reasoning, portraits of women, as their beauty exists in the conceit and jocundity in the experience and colour, harmony, movement and light epitomised approach to love or some other poetic theme. by them. Love is also the topic of Irvin Lukežićʼs She traces the roots of Petrarchan mannerism paper entitled »Kupidon u Dubravi [Cupid in in the epigrammatic literature of the antiquity Dubrava]« (pp. 37-74), examining the favourite and Humanism as well as in Italian courtly love Petrarchan motif of the winged god of love and poetry. Many poems from Ranjinaʼs Zbornik, his dangerous arrows, either of gold or lead, especially those from the so-called Zlatarʼs from which no one can escape. The author collection, were conceived and written as witty, describes the use of symbolism in literature concettuous play on the thriving Croatian and from the antiquity to Humanism, with special Italian lyric traditions, departing thus from the emphasis on the motif of Cupid in Croatian poetry of Menčetić and Držić.