Prof. dr. sc. Hrvoje Kekez sudjelovao na Leeds International Medieval Congress 2024

Od ponedjeljka 1. srpnja do četvrtka 4. srpnja 2024. godine održan je Leeds International Medieval Congress u organizaciji Sveučilišta u Leedsu, Ujedinjeno Kraljevstvo. Riječ je o najvećem međunarodnom kongresu medijevista na kojemu je bilo preko 3000 izlagača te je ovogodišnja tema kongresa bila posvećena pojmu granica u srednjemu vijeku.

U sklopu kongresa održana je serija sekcija „In Serach of Monastic Medievalism?“ u kojoj je sudjelovalo 20-tak znanstvenika iz niza europskih zemalja. Među njima je bio i prof. dr. sc. Hrvoje Kekez, voditelj projekta „Topografija srednjovjekovne Zagrebačke županije (14.-16. stoljeće)“ (IP-2020-02-8706) financiranog od Hrvatske zaklade za znanost. Prof. dr. sc. Kekez je održao izlaganje na temu „Early Modern Traces of the Lost Pre-Ottoman Monastery. A Case Study of the Pauline Monastery of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Dubica“

Tijekom konferencije prof. dr. sc. Kekez održao je niz sastanaka sa kolegama iz Austrije, Slovenije, Amerike, Češke, Poljske i Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva sa ciljem produbljivanja dosadašnje suradnje.

Sažetak izlaganja

In the early 13th century, records emerged of a community of hermits residing in close proximity to Dubica, a significant urban settlement in southern medieval Slavonia. By the mid-14th century, this group officially affiliated with the Order of St. Paul the First Hermit (Ordo Fratrum Sancti Pauli Primi Eremitae). Over the ensuing decades, their monastery dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary received protection from prominent figures within the Hungarian-Croatian Kingdom, even including members of the ruling family. This period marked a prosperous era for the Pauline community in Dubica. They greatly expanded their monastery properties and acquired several houses within the city itself. The Paulines actively engaged in various aspects of Dubica's life, such as trade, leading to the establishment of two regular annual fairs on the monastery grounds - one on the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 15th), and the other commemorating the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary (September 8th). However, the threat of the Ottoman invasion loomed, and in 1418, the Paulines were forced to abandon their monastery for the first time. Although an attempt to return to Dubica was made in the 1460s, it proved short-lived due to the escalating Ottoman danger. Indeed, the Paulines had finally departed from Dubica area before 1538, at which point the city ultimately succumbed to the Ottoman rule. After the fall of Dubica to the Ottomans there was a noticeable shift in the population during the subsequent periods. The original Catholic inhabitants either departed from Dubica or underwent conversion to Islam, while the Orthodox population immigrated significantly in Dubica. Consequently, the memory of the medieval Pauline monastery faded from the collective consciousness of today's population in Dubica.