The Memoriae and Kuljenčić Collection

Abstract

This paper presents one of the several collections of the State Archives in Dubrovnik with the reference code HR-DADU-62, whose full name is Memoirs, Chronicles, Diaries, Various Writings of the Republic of Dubrovnik. Its Latin name is Memoriae, Chronicae, Diarii, Manuscripta diversa, Curiosa Rei Publicae Ragusinae. It is better known under the abbreviated name Memoriae. Covering the time period from the 15th to the 20th century and in the length of 2.4 d/m, it includes works, notes and transcriptions of various content and different authors. It abounds in poems of various types (epic poems, elegies, epigrams, epitaphs, sonnets) and themes (written on the occasion of a wedding or someone’s arrival in the Dubrovnik area, poems written in remembrance or in honor of someone), book transcriptions, correspondences, biographies of various eminent Dubrovnik locals (writers, priests, scientists) and their works. Furthermore, it also contains a list of patrician families, an alphabetical list of medicines, transcriptions of excerpts from books whose content includes the history of the City of Dubrovnik since its establishment, notes on geographical data and data from church and civil history, and autographs of famous Dubrovnik writers. It also comprises a diplomatic diary, a codex of sermons written in Glagolitic, a collection of prayers, a roll of arms and a copy of the Statute of Ivan Saraka, a collection of heraldic coats of arms by Milo Pasarić, and a description of the City of Dubrovnik by Filip de Diversis. The paper presents one archival unit with the interesting title Kugljencich. It is a book of works of various structures and themes, and its title is not an indication of its author. Through all these years, Kuljenčić proudly keeps 14 transcripts of different content in Croatian, Italian and Latin. The transcription is considered to have been made in the handwriting of one author, who is unknown. The informational aid of the Memoriae Collection is available on the official website of the State Archives in Dubrovnik.