KOMARNA Sightseeing
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The Glagolitic alphabeth used in Croatia
Croatian Glagolitic Script
In the history of Croatian people three scripts were in use:
- Croatian Glagolitic Script,
- Croatian Cyrillic Script (bosancica),
- Latin Script.
Today, the Croats are only using the Latin Script.
The Croats were the only nation in Europe, who was given a special permission by Pope Innocent IV (in 1248) to use their own language and the Glagolitic alphabet script in liturgy.
Latin had been the only language in religious ceremonies in the Catholic Church until 1962-1965, when it was decided to allow national languages to be used in the liturgy. It is interesting that even today the Glagolitic liturgy is used in some Croatian churches.
An early Croatian legal document is The Vinodol Code, written in
Glagolitic in 13th century. It introduced the institution of
witnesses, and it was unique in Europe by introducing protection and
integrity of women. The Vinodol Code does not allow to torture during
legal proceedings, and is considered to be one of the most important
documents of medieval Europe.
The last Croatian Glagolitic book was printed in Rome in 1905.