Spolia in the Territory of Early Medieval Croatia

U radu se nastoji reinterpretirati podatke o uporabi spolia na tlu ranosrednjovjekovne Hrvatske unutar povijesnog okvira. Na osnovi sakupljene građe usporeduju se spolije kao materijalni, ponajprije arhitektonski ulomci, s ostalim kulturnim, vjerskim ipolitičkim prežicima antičke civilizacije budućida korištenje spolija u ranom srednjem vijeku nije moguće tumačili bez ukazivanja na procese zapoć\u27ete u kasnoj antici. Fenomen spa/ijo na gradevinama na tlu ranosrednjovjekovne Hrvatske gotovo je istovjetan onome na liu bizantske Dalmacije; uostalom, od XL stoljeća ta su dva politička entileta, barem povremeno, pod istom krunom.There is no doubt that some debris, fragments of inscriptions, sculptures or even decorated architectural fragments are used as a form of quotation not only in Dalmatian cities but also in the territory of early medieval Croatia. They are built in for their aesthetic and symbolic value. These fragments represent ancients times present today. in our imaginations of ancient times these fragments may act as elements for kaleidoscopic scenes. For example the Church in Koljani had a great amount of ancient rubble, twenty inscription fragments and also decorative fragments built into the floor and also into the walls especially around the main doors. Over the side doors, for instance, there was even built in a sacrificial altar dedicated to Jupiter. Mention among the finds should also be made of a relief with a depiction of a putto (in fact a genius) with a torch in his hand. Perhaps he was identified as an angel in the Middle Ages. Thus we can form a picture of this ruined and Bunken church like the early medieval Zadar churches which remind us of a sort of lapidarium, The amount of fragments in this church may not be intetpreted simply as a consequence o fthe amount of Roman remains in its surroundings. During the early Middle Ages intelments in Croatian territory were also conducted in ancient sareophagi. Sarcophagus burials in Croatia lead us, naturally, to a connection with the political elite, the ducal and royal families. An unknown Croatian dignitary was buried in the early Middle Ages (ninth century) in an early Christian sarcophagus next to the apse of the Church of St Martha in Bijaći. In the church of St Bartholomew in Ždrapanj, where an inscription mentioning Duke Branimir and Count Pristina was found, there was a sarcophagus in the crypt. The surrounding graves in that location were constructed from fragments of sarcophagi and ancient gravestones. Roman inscriptions were also used as building material in the church\u27s walls. Also in the Basilica in Žažvić, people were bllried not only in sarcophagi but also in graves built from fragments of sarcophagi and ancient gravestones. The sarcophagus of Queen Jelena of Solin which was found in Solin, in the atrium of the church of St Stephen where Croatian rulers were buried, was also probably a recycled ancient sarcophagus. Another ancient sarcophagus which was also used in the Middle Ages was found in the porch of the coronation basilica of St Peter and Moses in Solin. Several sarcophagi were found in tlle rulers\u27 memorial church of St Mary and St Stephen in Biskupija in Knin in the vestibule which served as a mausoleum. The use of ancient capitals and especially marble columns should also be understood as a kind of citation of ancient times. Those ancient relics, it is known, W~\u27Te very highly valued in the early Middle Ages, but also later for which there exists a great amount of material evidence. Ancient columns and capitals were widely used in their original, functional sense in oumerous early medieval churches in Byzantine Dalmatia but also in Croatia. There are many conllrmations, including textual sources, that marble was highly valued in the early Middle Ages and so also in Dalmatia. Thus Constantine Potphyrogenitus (De ad Imp, XXJX) writes with wonderment about Zadar\u27s Cathedral of St Anastacia, mentioning among other things its white and green columns. Marble which is, of course, o fancient origin and thus widely used as building material, was used for equipping certain churches particularly in Dalmatian cities and especially for the manufacture of liturgical furniture. Inscriptions were carved in the marble altar screens so that the marble adds to the aesthetic effect, the significance of the whole building, to the sanctity but also the dignity of the persons who are mentioned. Marble was also used in the territory of early medieval Croatia. In the church of St George in Putalj, which Duke Mislav gifted to the Archbishop of Split which was confirmed by Duke Trpimir in 852, the tiles and pilasters of the septum were made from Proconnesos marble. This expensive Proconnesos marble is also appropriate for the memorial church of Croatian rulers which also happcned to be built on top of an ancient building near which were found sarcophagus fragments. In the church of St Mary and St Stephen in Biskupija near Knin, which was built to serve as a royal memorial church (mausoleum) as part of the complex of the royal palace (villa regalis), it is apparent that the rail of the altar screen and one pluteus were carved from marble but the whole floor of the church\u27s presbytery was covered by marble tiles, the fragments of sarcophagi ; the tiles of the presbytery look as though they were recycled more than once and acquired from a nearby early Christian church, For example just one pluteus was carved from marble with a dedicatory inscription from the coronation basilica of St Peter and Moses in Solin, The baptismal font of Duke Višeslav was also carved from a marble block. Thus il is obvious that marble construction was much valued both in the territory of Croatia and of neighbouring medieval Slavic lands, Translation: Nicholas Philip Saywel