Croatian neoglagolitism – Reviving the Glagolitic as a realm of the collective memory

Abstract

Glagolitism denotes a complex phenomenon in Croatian cultural, spiritual and linguistic history, a phenomenon tied to the use of the Glagolitic script. For a period of thousand years - since the first mention of the Glagolitic and glagolitism with the Croats (The First Church Council in Split in 925), and up until the beginning of the 20^th Century, when the Glagolitic was finally abandoned in active church and everyday use, the Glagolitic represented the means of recording Croatian cultural, spiritual, liturgical and social memory. The Glagolitic script is not only a part of Croatian linguistic identity, but also of cultural and spiritual identity. We are witnessing a revival of interest for the Glagolitic heritage, for stone monuments written in the Glagolitic, for Glagolitic manuscripts, for Glagolitic printed books, for the glagolitism in the life of the Church and the community. This revival is specially apparent in Istria, Croatian Littoral and middle Dalmatia – which are traditionally glagolitic regions. Still, one can witness an apparent selective interest towards the Glagolitic script. Zagreb, Croatia's cultural, academic and business center, represents the lead in many activities sprouting from the interest in the Glagolitic. Many modern events and occurrences resulting from that interest may be named neoglagolitism, or the new glagolitism. This paper will contemplate the phenomenon of the neoglagolitism – the revival of the Glagolitic in the collective memory, and it will be exemplified by an overview of the most important events and occurrences that verify it