User:Zoupan/Višeslav hrvatski

Višeslav was the first Christian ruler of the Croats, in Dalmatian Croatia, reigning as dux (Duke, knez) ca. 800 - ca. 810. The claim of his existence lies in a baptismal font that belonged to a "Vuissasclavo, dux", which may be the oldest evidence of the Christianization of Croatia. He ruled during a time of Frankish expansion and influence, being directly subject to the Margrave of Friuli.

Background
Charlemagne (768-814) elevated the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of western and central Europe, and became neighbours of the Avars to the northeast, and Slavs to the southeast. The Franks occupied Istria in 788. Dalmatia which was southeast of the empire, was chiefly in the hands of Slavic tribes. The Slavs north of Dubrovnik came to be under Croatian Župans and eventually came to consider themselves Croatians, while those to the south of Dubrovnik came to consider themselves Serbs.

The Franks were pressing into Dalmatia. From 803, most of northern Dalmatia was under Frankish overlordship. As a result of this expansion, Frankish missionaries from Aquileia appeared in Dalmatia.

Reign
Višeslav, a Christian (showing success of the missionaries), gained Nin, a port near Zadar, and then managed to place most of Croatian Dalmatia, except for the Byzantine cities, under his rule. Fine says that his territory seems to have stretched from the Adriatic inland to the Vrbas river and extended roughly from modern Rijeka down the coast as far south as the Cetina river.

He was possibly pro-Frank, and had obtained Frankish aid in extending over Dalmatia. The Frankish campaigns, and recognition of Višeslav, had done much to unite the many previously separated Croatian counties and tribes under one Croatian leader.

In the 800s, Dalmatian Croatia and Pannonian Croatia existed under their own native princes, both under Frankish suzerainty. Višeslav and his Slavonian contemporary Vojnomir were both directly subject to the Margrave of Friuli, and were obliged to aid the Frankish emperor in wars.

Višeslav, Borna and Vladislav, the Dalmatian Croatian rulers, were all part of the same house.

Aftermath
Borna, his kinsman, succeeded the rule, continuing as Frankish vassal. Borna ruled most of Croatians in northern Dalmatia, and entered into a conflict with Ljudevit, another Croatian prince who ruled Pannonia.

Throughout much of the 9th century, Nin was subject to either Frankish Aquileia or Byzantine Split as a result of politics. Despite Frankish overlordship, the Franks had almost no role in Dalmatia and Zahumlje in the period from the 820s through 840s.

Baptismal font of Višeslav


In 1746, a baptismal font made of marble belonging to a "Vuissasclavo, dux" (rendered as Višeslav) was found. There are no details of the location and circumstances of the find. It was located at the Monastery of Holy Salvation, in Mljet, until 1853, when it was relocated to the city museum. Italian bibliographer and historian Giuseppe Valentinelli gifted an index of hundreds of manuscripts found in Italian books, related to the South Slavic history in Dalmatia, including the data on the baptismal font, to Croatian historian Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski. The "Baptismal font of Višeslav" (Višeslavova krstionica) is currently held at the Museum of Croatian Archaeological Monuments (MCAM) in Split.

There has been several theories on the origin and date of the baptismal font:


 * Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski (1816–1889) likened the script to other 9th and 10th century Latin scripts. At that time in historiography, there was no other Višeslav than the two mentioned in Constantine Porphyrogenitus' De Administrando Imperio: Višeslav of Serbia, who according to him lived in the 7th century (Modern historiography puts him as a contemporary of Charlemagne, 768-814 ) or Višeslav of Zahumlje, the father of Mihajlo Višević, who according to him lived in ca. 870-900. Based on his assumption that Serbian Prince Višeslav lived in the 7th century, and the lack of evidence that the Christianization of Serbia took place in that century, Kukuljević Sakcinski concluded that it most likely belonged to the time of Višeslav of Zahumlje, i.e. the end of the 9th and beginning of the 10th century at latest. He also said that the baptismal font's origin in either Dalmatia (Nin) or Zahumlje (Mljet), or if it was built in Mljet for a church in Zahumlje or Dalmatia, and if it perhaps was left in Mljet without being sent to it's destination, is not possible to determine from the inscription. Nevertheless, he said, that it remains among the most important and oldest monuments of Yugoslav christianity.


 * G. Ferrari-Cupilli (1809-1865), a historian from Zadar, was the first to assign the baptismal font to a Dalmatian Croatian Duke, thus he was the first in historiography to claim the existence of Višeslav, the Ruler of Dalmatian Croatia.


 * Nada Klaić concluded, by the linguistic and paleographical data, since the cross nor the decorative elements can be dated, that the font is not older than the 11th century. She also said that although until now, no Višeslav had been known as Duke in Croatia in the 11th century, and it is impossible to prove that the font was built for, and used in, Croatian politics, nor does the inscription on the baptismal font mention that Višeslav was a Croatian duke, thus the monument looses it's importance as a source for the Christianization of the Croats.

Some historians support Ferrari-Cupilli's view, while others attribute the font to Višeslav of Zahumlje, or Višeslav of Serbia.

If it indeed belongs to Croatian Višeslav, it remains an important symbol of early Croatian history and the Croats' conversion to Christianity. The inscription is in Latin, and mentions the name of a priest named John (Ivan) who baptized people during "the time of Duke Višeslav" in the honor of John the Baptist. The inscription does not mention what Višeslav ruled, but if it originated in Nin, it could belong to a Croatian ruler of Dalmatia, or even Pannonia.