Croatian literature

Croatian literature refers to literary works attributed to the medieval and modern culture of the Croats, Croatia and the Croatian language. Besides the modern language whose shape and orthography was standardized in the late 19th century, it also covers the oldest works produced within the modern borders of Croatia, written in Church Slavonic and Medieval Latin, as well as vernacular works written in Čakavian and Kajkavian dialects.

Croatian medieval prose is similar to other European medieval literature of the time. The oldest testaments to Croatian literacy are dated to the 11th and 12th centuries, and Croatian medieval literature lasts until the middle of the 16th century. Some elements of medieval forms can be found even in 18th century Croatian literature, which means that their influence had been stronger in Croatia than in the rest of Europe. Early Croatian literature was inscribed on stone tablets, hand-written on manuscripts, and printed in books. A special segment of Croatian medieval literature is written in Latin. The first works on hagiography and the history of the Church were written in the Dalmatian coastal cities (Split, Zadar, Trogir, Osor, Dubrovnik, Kotor), for example the "Splitski evanđelistar" (6th–7th century) and other liturgical and non-liturgical works. The beginning of Croatian medieval literature is marked by Latin hagiography, with texts about Dalmatian and Istrian martyrs: Saint Duje, Saint Anastasius, Saint Maurice and Saint Germanus. In Panonia in northern Croatia, works about Christian cults were created, such as that of Saint Quirinus, Saint Eusebius and Saint Pollio. For centuries, the Croats wrote all their works regarding law, history (chronicles) and scientific works in Latin, so they were available as part of a wider European literature.

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