The Romanic Catholic parish of Novo Brdo in late-mediaeval period

Vođeni ekonomskim interesima, još od sredine XIII. stoljeća, u unutrašnjost srpske srednjovjekovne države počeli su se naseljavati rudari Sasi, a za njima i trgovci iz primorskih gradova. U toj novoj sredini oni će organizirati svoje zajednice, težeći da u njima okupe rimokatoličko stanovništvo, trajno ili privremeno nastanjeno u trgovima i rudnicima. Novo Brdo će od sredine XIV. stoljeća zadobiti prvo mjesto po važnosti među već tada brojnim rimokatoličkim zajednicama u unutrašnjosti Srbije. Upravo će ovaj trg i rudnik, sa značajnom rimokatoličkom kolonijom, među prvima osjetiti posljedice slabljenja i raspada srpske srednjovjekovne države. Nalazeći se na jednom od glavnih pravaca turskih prodora i privlačeći ih svojim bogatstvom, Novo Brdo bit će cilj turskih pljačkaških odreda, najvjerojatnije još za života posljednjeg vladara iz dinastije Nemanjića. Osnovna tema ovog rada jest prikaz stanja u kojem se nalazila rimokatolička zajednica u Novom Brdu tijekom osmog desetljeća XIV. stoljeća, o čemu govori i pismo Pape Urbana VI. iz veljače 1381. godine upućeno kotorskom biskupu. Turski napadi koji su uslijedili tijekom osmog desetljeća XIV. stoljeća iz korijena će izmijeniti život cjelokupnog stanovništva toga kraja. Tada će neki Kotoranin unutar novobrdske tvrđave sagraditi crkvu posvećenu svetom Nikoli. Dok su trajali turski napadi, istodobno su provođene i neke aktivnosti s ciljem podvrgavanja vjerskog života u novobrdskoj župi jurisdikciji jedne osobe, rektoru crkve svete Marije. Ta crkva bila je napuštena tijekom prvih turskih napada i u narednom razdoblju nastojalo se postići ujedinjenje ovih dvaju novobrdskih crkava.During the first half of the 14th century, due to the development of mining and trade, a significant Catholic parish, which was first mentioned in the sources in 1346, was formed in Novo Brdo. This Catholic community was initially gathered around the church built by German miners – the Saxons, and dedicated to Saint Mary. General situation in the area of Novo Brdo changed after the battle of Marica in September 1371. In a letter addressed to the bishop of Kotor in February 1381, Pope Urban VI summed up the problems faced by the Catholic community in Novo Brdo. According to the information provided to Pope by the rector of St. Mary’s, the godless Turks had for a long time been consistently attacking the area of Novo Brdo. Therefore, the rector of the church of St. Mary had to leave the aforementioned church and shelter the population from the area of the Lower Square in the fort of Novo Brdo. Shortly afterwards, probably in mid 1380s, a man from Kotor built a smaller church dedicated to St. Nicholas inside the castle of Novo Brdo. Both of these churches are mentioned in mediaeval archives, and there are some usually incomplete descriptions of these churches or their remains in later canonical references. The question of identifying and locating the church dedicated to St. Nicholas has long been open and controversial. Now we may safely state that its location is inside the castle of Novo Brdo, and its remains were visible by the end of 19th century. After the construction of the church of St. Nicholas, the question of management arose. Nicolaus de Vico, rector of St. Mary’s, asked for the Pope’s help for the newly built church to be merged with the church of St. Mary. Urban VI gave his support. Nevertheless, the efforts of the rector of St. Mary regarding the unification of the two churches, even with the Pope’s support, could not be materialised for a long time. Only the surviving sources from the 1430s point out that these churches were invicem unitarum. The letter by Pope Urban VI represents a valuable source for the events that followed in the areas ruled by the Mrnjavčević brothers after the battle of Marica. After the battle, before the end of that same year, Turkish forces reached Novo Brdo. Fleeing before them, a part of Novo Brdo population was forced to find refuge in distant Dubrovnik, bringing with them large quantities of gold and glam silver, for which Novo Brdo was known, as referenced by the chronicler of Dubrovnik Nikola Ranjina. The purpose of Turkish attacks was looting, andestablishing fear and panic among the population. The letter of Urban VI gives the description of the situation in these areas as seen from other Pope’s letters from the 1380s and other rare sources from the endangered areas