NSK and Rijeka University Library jointly publish facsimile edition and Latin transliteration of 16th-century masterpiece of Croatian Glagolitic heritage
On 24 October 2023, the National and University Library in Zagreb (NSK) hosted the presentation of the 2023 facsimile edition of a 16th-century masterpiece of Croatian Glagolitic heritage, an invaluable breviary entitled Officium parvum Beatae Mariae Virginis.
Accompanied by the Latin transliteration and presented as part of the 2023 Croatian Book Month, the facsimile edition was jointly published by NSK and the Rijeka University Library, with the support of the Croatian Ministry of Culture and Media and University of Rijeka, whose Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences will host the facsimile’s subsequent presentation on 10 November 2023.
The facsimile was presented by its editor-in-chief, Professor at the Department of Croatian Studies of the University of Rijeka’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Sanja Zubčić and the facsimile’s consulting editors – Fellow of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts and Professor at the Section for Old Church Slavonic and Croatian Glagolitic Heritage of the Department of Croatian Language and Literature at the University of Zagreb’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Mateo Žagar and Assistant Professor at the Department of Croatian Language and Literature of the University of Osijek’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Vera Blažević Krezić.
The pride of the NSK collections
Officium’s original copy, published on 15 December 1530 by Rijeka’s historic printing house run by the Bishop of Modruš Šimun Kožičić Benja (1460-1536) and preserved at the Manuscripts and Old Books Collection of the National and University Library in Zagreb as one of only seven copies in the world, was presented by the Head of the Collection Dr Irena Galić Bešker.
Also, Fellow of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts Anica Nazor briefly spoke about Šimun Kožičić Benja, Officium’s compiler and an advanced European humanist whose efforts put Rijeka on the map of Europe as one of only few cities at the beginning of the 16th century which boasted lively publishing activity and kept abreast of all trends in the publishing innovations and technologies of that age.
The visitors at the presentation programme also heard addresses by the Director General of the National and University Library in Zagreb (NSK) Dr Ivanka Stričević, Director of the Rijeka University Library Lea Lazzarich and Director of the Directorate for Archives, Libraries and Museums at the Croatian Ministry of Culture and Media Anuška Deranja Crnokić.
“Officium…” is the first dated book of the historic Glagolitic printing house in Rijeka and one of its only few preserved copies in the world is among the treasures of our library’s Manuscripts and Old Books Collection. These facts gave rise to a natural and – as already shown in the past – highly successful interinstitutional publishing undertaking of the Rijeka University Library and the National and University Library in Zagreb aimed at the promotion of Croatian cultural heritage., said NSK Director General Dr Stričević.
A result of effective teamwork
The team which prepared the facsimile and Officium’s accompanying Latin transliteration, printed by the Rijeka-based printing company Welt in a print run of 300 copies, also included executive editor Dobrila Zvonarek, who moderated the presentation programme, Research Associate at the Old Church Slavonic Institute Jozo Vela, the editor of Officium’s Latin transliteration, the author of the facsimile’s cover Frano Paro, art editor Dalibor Ferenčina and graphic designer Goran Hasanec.
Along with the Croatian Ministry of Culture and Media and University of Rijeka, financial support for the publication of the facsimile and its Latin transliteration was also provided by Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Diocese of Gospić and Senj, Archdiocese of Rijeka, Trsat Franciscian Monastery and the Foundation of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts.