The Historical Chronicle Bosnia Seraphica by Fr. Maurus Fajdiga as a Prosopographic Source
Between 1777 and 1780, the Franciscan friar Maurus Fajdiga wrote the historical chronicle Bosnia Seraphica. Across three volumes totalling 1,238 pages, he presented the history of the Franciscan order from their arrival of the Minor Brothers in the Balkans up to his own time, as well as the history of the fifteen Franciscan monasteries existing at that time. The manuscript is currently held in the archives of the Slovenian Franciscan Province of the Holy Cross in Ljubljana. In addition to a historical account of the Franciscans’ activities and numerous historical facts, the work also features profiles of individuals who left a special mark on the history of the Order and significantly shaped its course. Among them are prominent representatives of the Order who later became saints, as well as certain provincial superiors who oversaw both the material and spiritual development of the province, individuals noted for their religious zeal, and numerous lesser-known names – individual friars who, through their special merits, feats, or exceptional personal qualities, brought fame both to themselves and to the Order. Bosnia Seraphica is a fine example of a prosopographic source that requires an interdisciplinary approach; only the interweaving of various levels of research and elements allows us to arrive at reliable results. It is a veritable treasure trove of names of figures who played an important role in this historical development. Here we find not only the numerous members of the Franciscan Order, of whom hundreds are mentioned, but also a constellation of names from the political, military, and social elites, as well as many people from the ranks of the common folk who were connected in various ways to the history of the Franciscans. Some individuals are merely mentioned, while others are the subject of more extensive chapters; descriptions of certain figures are scattered throughout various parts of this comprehensive work. The work itself also serves as a prosopographic source for understanding the author Maurus Fajdiga, the purpose of his work, and its impact. This paper will present the significance of Bosnia Seraphica as a prosopographic source, the various challenges encountered in its analysis, the advantages and disadvantages of traditional and contemporary digital approaches to prosopographic research on the work, and several practical prosopographic examples it offers.
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Dr. Matej Hriberšek is an Associate Professor of Latin and Greek at the Department of Classics, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. His areas of expertise include Greek and Latin grammar, didactics, ancient metrics, rhetoric, history of linguistics, lexicography, literary translation, late Latin, medieval and modern Latin literature. He is the author of numerous scientific articles, seven monographs, editor-in-chief of the Latin-Slovenian and revised Greek-Slovenian dictionary, member of the International Commission for the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae, member of the editorial board of the journals Monitor ISH and Studia universitatis hereditati, and the Acta Ecclesiastica.
E-mail: matej.hribersek@ff.uni-lj.si
