Marko Marulić, Pisni razlike (Various Poems)

In her survey of the book printed as an edition of the Complete Works of Marko Marulić, the author informs the reader that the Pisni razlike (Various Poems) contains all Marulić‚s Croatian verses for which his authorship has been proved, with exception of the poem Judita (printed as a separate volume) and his dialogic and dramatic verse, which will be accommodated in another volume of the same series. The present edition, edited by professor Josip Vončina, sticks to the oldest extant manuscript. In his work, the editor proceeds with great scrupulosity, checking every single attribution of his predecessors. Also, he never relies on linguistic and stylistic features of the allegedly authentic works of the poet, but only on Marulić‚s own annotations in, or accompanying, the text, in which the poet openly states his authorship. In this way he establishes a reliable canon of Marulić‚s Croatian poems. In his preface professor J. Vončina sets forth his methodological principles and explains the reasons for his choice in every single case. The author of the other preface to the same book is Tonko Maroević, who points out the literary-historical and cultural significance of Marulić‚s Croatian poems. The complete vocabulary of Marulić‚s texts in the book was compiled by Milan Moguš. The author of the survey points to the prevalently medieval character of Marulić‚s verse, drawing the conclusion that the author of the present poems is hardly Marulić we know from the Judita. Yet, this should not be seen as a drawback. On the contrary, the fact adds new quality to his personality, showing him not only as a Renaissance Humanist, but also as a writer who amply drew his ideals from the poetics and rich spiritual culture of the Croatian Middle Ages