Doctoral Dissertation EAGLE AND LION: Intergation, Immigration, and Conflict on the Istrian Frontier in the Sixteenth Century by Robert Kurelić Supervisor: Gerhard Jaritz Submitted to the Medieval Studies Department Central European University, Budapest in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosphy CEU eTD Collection Central European University Budapest 2013 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe my sincere gratitude to so many who have helped me during the long process of gestation of this dissertation. To the faculty of the Medieval Studies Department at CEU for all the support and encouragement, as well as the invaluable lessons in research methodology, to the Juraj Dobrila University in Pula, and especially Ivan Jurković whose project helped finance my archival work in Vienna and Venice, to Annabella Pál and Csilla Dobos, the pillars of our Deparment, without whom I would have been entirely lost, to Gerhard Jaritz whose continued advice and support helped steer me on the right path, to Judith A. Rasson and Alice M. Choyke who kept my work grammatically acceptable and to all my colleagues and friends who helped me learn and think in new ways in our endless debates both in and out of University. Most of all, I owe my gratitude to my mum for her unending patience and faith in me. CEU eTD Collection II TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 1 The Istrian Frontier ....................................................................................................................... 1 Overview of Istrian History........................................................................................................... 4 Istria in the Sixteenth Century ...................................................................................................... 7 Frontiers and Boundaries –Terminological Observation and Limitations ............................... 9 A Note Regarding Sources........................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER I: THE TIES THAT BIND ....................................................... 12 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 12 Shared language(s) ....................................................................................................................... 13 Local Administration ................................................................................................................... 16 Popular Beliefs .............................................................................................................................. 21 Boljun – A Case Study of “Austro-Venetian” Coöperation ..................................................... 26 History of Boljun .......................................................................................................................... 27 Parish Records .............................................................................................................................. 29 The Micro-hierarchy of Boljun ................................................................................................... 32 Kinship .......................................................................................................................................... 33 Fraternities ................................................................................................................................... 35 CEU eTD Collection The Belvederi Family – an Example of Cross Boundary Integration ..................................... 37 Juraj Matijašić – the Nexus of the Social Hierarchy ................................................................ 38 The Manzoni Connection ............................................................................................................ 40 “Enlightened Self-interest” ......................................................................................................... 43 III Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 46 CHAPTER II: NEW BLOOD ....................................................................... 48 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 48 The Meaning of Morlak ............................................................................................................... 52 The Causes of Migration ............................................................................................................. 55 Morlak Traits ............................................................................................................................... 65 Morlak Migrations in Austrian Istria ........................................................................................ 69 Morlak Migrations in Venetian Istria ........................................................................................ 74 Honor, Crime and the Frontier ................................................................................................... 78 Justice ............................................................................................................................................ 87 Endurance of Morlak Customs ................................................................................................... 89 Economic Migrants at the End of the Century .......................................................................... 94 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 98 CHAPTER III: WHAT DRIVES APART................................................. 100 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 100 Role of the Boundary ................................................................................................................. 102 The Chamber of Boundaries ..................................................................................................... 107 Recurrent Nature of Disputes ................................................................................................... 113 CEU eTD Collection Memory and Intent .................................................................................................................... 115 The Macro/Micro Interaction ................................................................................................... 122 Boundary Disputes in Istria Before and After the War of the League of Cambrai ............. 129 “The Blame Game” .................................................................................................................... 136 IV Ecclesiastical Boundaries and the Frontier ............................................................................. 141 Rituals on the Frontier – Anatomy of Boundary Disputes in Sixteenth Century Istria ...... 147 The Economy of Boundary Disputes – Forests and Pastures ................................................. 159 The Valbona Dispute.................................................................................................................. 163 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 167 CONCLUSION............................................................................................. 169 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................ 173 Primary Sources ......................................................................................................................... 173 Secondary Sources ..................................................................................................................... 177 ABBREVIATIONS ...................................................................................... 200 APPENDICES .............................................................................................. 201 Tables .......................................................................................................................................... 201 Maps ............................................................................................................................................ 204 Glossary ....................................................................................................................................... 209 Gazetteer of Place Names in and close to Istria ....................................................................... 214 CEU eTD Collection V LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Map 1: Istrian Peninsula (1535-1788)…………………………………. ………...209 Map 2: Exogamous Marriages in Boljun (1578-1610)………………………….. 210 Map 3: Morlak Migrations (1490-1564)…………………………………………. 211 Map 4: Roads and Communications in Istria…………………………………… 212 Map 5: The Valbona Dispute (1571-1574)…………………………………….....213 CEU eTD Collection VI INTRODUCTION The Istrian Frontier Frontiers are a fascinating phenomenon in human history. We often think of frontiers and boundaries as places where one imagined space ends and another begins. Wherever different ethnicities, cultures, religions or states meet, they result in