CATECHISM IN BURGENLAND CROATS

Katehetska literatura većinom je pisana i proučavana u specijaliziranim krugovima interesa. Tek se ponekad katekizam vezao čvršće za književnost. Takav je slučaj katekizma u gradišćanskohrvatskoj književnosti. Tamo on nije samo djelo duhovne, vazda utilitarne, namjene, nego je shvaćen kao estetski ostvaraj. Glede toga on je u gradišćanskih Hrvata shvaćen i kao književni žanr. Ovaj rad, nakon općih naznaka korisnih za opis problema, nastoji rasvijetliti neke značajke, kulturološko i književno značenje katekizama u gradišćanskih Hrvata.Catechistic writings are mostly written and studied within a sphere of specific interest and are only rarely linked with literature proper. This is, however, not the case with the catechistic writings in the literature of Burgenland Croats, where they are not intended solely for a spiritual - invariably utilitarian - scope, but also as an aesthetic realisation. Owing to this fact, they are regarded as a literary genre in its own right. This paper provides a framework for their study and points to some particularities, underlying the cultural and literary value of catechism in Burgenland Croats