CONSERVATIVE

statute added—“for reverence for Jesus”. In short, the
motive was Christian charity.
Religion
It’s odd, indeed, that so many historians, of
quite different ideological inclinations, are inclined to
under-play the importance of religion in the history
of Dubrovnik—and I would even add—in the history
of Croatia.
I suppose Leftists don’t generally like the subject,
while many Rightists as nationalists are anxious to
emphasis secular elements, like language or political
institutions, as defining identity.
For the Ragusan Republic, at least, there can be
no doubt: it was first and foremost a Catholic state,
and remaining one was at the top of that state’s political
agenda throughout its existence. For example, until
the very end of the Republic Dubrovnik struggled to
ensure that no Orthodox priest was allowed to reside
overnight in the city.
Dubrovnik’s Catholicism, was, however, of
the Erastian kind. The patriciate did not intend to
be told what to do by any cleric, except perhaps the
Pope. The Ragusan nobility kept a firm grip on the
religious orders and religious houses. They ensured till
the 18th century that the archbishop was a foreigner,
so that he could not pose a threat to the government’s
authority. They quarrelled with the Jesuits because of
their dangerous Counter-Reformation zeal, for fear of
offending the Porte.
As everyone knows, the patron of Dubrovnik
was and is St. Blaise (Sveti Vlaho). The saint fulfilled a
parallel role to that of St. Mark in Venice—or indeed
St. Tryphon (Sveti Tripun) in Kotor, St. Domnius (Sveti
Dujam) in Split and so on. The Feast of St. Blaise, 3rd
February, was celebrated in a style both noisy and
devout.
During the franchise, or immunity, of St.
Blaise—three days before and after the Feast—
debtors and criminals could come to the city without
fear of pursuit to deal with their creditors or the
authorities. Wherever Dubrovnik established its rule
and its customs it also established the cult of St. Blaise.
There were ten churches dedicated to him in the 15th
century—including one at Ston on Pelješac and one at
Pridvorje in Konavle, thus at each vulnerable extremity
of the Republic.
Decline & fall
The period after the Great Earthquake has
sometimes been regarded as a rather dreary one in
Dubrovnik’s history, but unfairly. Eighteenth century
Dubrovnik was certainly less important than it had
been in European terms. The incursion into the
Mediterranean world of the British, the French and
finally the Russians, and the decline of the Ottoman
EDWARD WEXLER/GNU LICENSE, V. 1.2
A view of Dubrovnik’s Fort Lovrijenac (St. Lawrence Fortress, also known as ‘Dubrovnik’s Gibraltar) on the left and Fort
Bokar on the lower right.
The European Conservative 25