Toma Niger Mrčić

Toma Niger Mrčić poznat je našoj kulturnoj javnosti kao diplomat i humanist, skradinski pa trogirski biskup, s kraja 15. i prvih desetljeća 16. st., jer su o njemu fragmentarno pisali neki naši istraživači. No, kako ne spada u naše poznatije humaniste, nemamo njegove cjelovitije biografije. S njim bi se trebalo malo više pozabaviti da bi se vrednovalo njegovo rodoljublje i diplomatska djelatnost u smislu organiziranog otpora osmanlijskom prodoru u naše krajeve i u Europu. Potrebno je malo bolje osvijetliti njegov lik zbog uspomena koje ga vežu uz franjevački samostan na Poljudu u Splitu, gdje je htio da počivaju njegovi smrtni ostaci i gdje je ostavio svoj "portret nad portretima" slavnog autora Lorenza Lotta. Pokušat ću staviti u jednu cjelinu podatke koje su o njemu iznijeli pojedini publicisti kao i njegovu povezanost s poljudskim samostanom.As a diplomat and humanist, as the bishop of Skradin then of Trogir from the end of the XVth through the first decades of the XVIth century, Toma Niger Mrčić is known to Croatian cultural circles because Croatian scholars have fragmentarily written about his life. However, because he is not deemd to be amongst our foremost humanist writers, there is no extensive biography of him in Croatian. It would be worthwhile to devote attention to him in order to valorise his love for the motherland and his diplomtic activitties which can be sees as organised resistance against the Ottoman invasion into Croatia and Europe. It is necessary to shed additional light on his life because of the memories which connect him to the Franciscan monastery in the region of Poljud in the city of Split where he wanted his body to be buried and where he lefts “portrait above all portraits” of the famous author Lorenzo Lotto. What I will attempt to do in the article is to assemble into a whole the facts that have been published by different journalist and to describe his ties to the Poljud monastery