Religious Circumstances in the Area of Territorial Expansion of Dubrovnik in the 14th and in the First Half of the 15th Century

Stjecanjem Stona, Pelješca, Dubrovačkog Primorja i Konavala u 14. i 15. stoljeću, pred Dubrovačku Republiku postavio se izazov integracije tih teritorija u administrativni, politički, gospodarski i vjerski obrazac Republike. Smještena u neposrednom zaleđu patarenske Bosne i pravoslavne Srbije, Dubrovačka Republika morala je osmisliti politiku očuvanja svoje slobode i opstanka. U tu svrhu, iskoristila je vjerske razlike sa svojim susjedima, kako bi pred papom i ugarsko-hrvatskim kraljem prikazala sebe kao „branitelja kršćanstva“ i ishodila njihovu pomoć u slučaju napada iz zaleđa. Istovremeno, dok se u diplomaciji prikazuje kao „branitelj vjere“, Dubrovačka Republika uređuje vjerske odnose u novostečenim teritorijima. U ovom radu prikazuje se kakav je bio odnos Dubrovačke Republike prema inovjercima, ponajprije prema pravoslavcima i patarenima u periodu od 14. do 15. stoljeća te se analiziraju načini i metode dubrovačkog rješavanja vjerskog pitanja na području Pelješca, Dubrovačkog Primorja i Konavala.With the acquisition of Ston, Pelješac, Dubrovačko Primorje and Konavle in the 14th and 15th centuries, the Republic of Dubrovnik was faced with the question of integration of these territories in to the administrative, political, economic and religious forms of the Republic. Located in the immediate hinterland of Pataren Bosnia and Orthodox Serbia, the Republic of Dubrovnik had to devise a policy of preserving its freedom and survival. Dubrovnik used religious differences with its neighbors to present itself in front of the Pope and the Hungarian-Croatian king as a "defender of Christianity" and to obtain their help in possible attack from the hinterland. At the same time, while portrayed in diplomacy as a "defender of the faith", the Republic of Dubrovnik establishes religious relations in the newly acquired territories. This paper presents the attitude of the Republic of Dubrovnik towards non-believers, primarily towards Orthodox and Patarens in the period from the 14th to the 15th century, and analyzes the ways and methods of Dubrovnik's policy on the religious issues in Pelješac, Dubrovačko Primorje and Konavle