Here lies Radovan

Današnje groblje u Rapovinama kod Livna vrlo je dugog kontinuiteta (gotovo cijeli milenij). Formirano je oko crkve Sv. Petra sagrađene koncem 9. ili u 10. stoljeću. O kontinuitetu svjedoče nadgrobni spomenici iz srednjega vijeka (niz stećaka), a i stari križevi podizani u stoljećima koja su slijedila. Na groblju je nađen jedan posebno zanimljiv natpis bosančicom,o kojemu je ovdje, u prvom redu, riječ.Today’s active cemetery in Rapovine near Livno has a very long continuity. It was established around the Church of St. Peter, which was built at the end of the 9th or during the 10th century. The continuity is testified by tombstones from the Middle Ages (a row of tombstones), but also by crosses that were erected in the centuries that followed. A particularly interesting inscription was discovered at the cemetery. It was written in the script Bosančica that will be the main subject of this work. Two fragments with inscriptions that can be put together were discovered in secondary use as marks of two graves from the 19th century. Part of the inscription in Bosančica has been preserved in the inscription field, which is framed by carved rectangles, while the inscription stating the year 1822 was subsequently carved outside the said field. The inscription seems to be aesthetically very sophisticated: almost square and delicately chiselled letters of the Cyrillic majuscule (capital letters), the text distributed over six lines with equal distance betweenthem. The transliterated inscription reads as follows: Se (l)eži dob(....) // dov(a)nь pe(t?)(....) // koi zida s(....) // na častь g(ospodu?) (..) // omu pu(........) // šćeni(.........) The preserved part of the inscription does not allow us to be entirely sure about the meaning of the content, except that it is an epitaph which states that se (here) leži (lies) some (Ra)dovan(?), who had built something with bricks. Part of the text is missing which would provide information about the thing he had built. We assume that the broken word on the missing part of the tablet in the first line could be dob(ri?) (good), while the first word in the second line could read(Ra)dovanь, and the second broken one Pe(trovь?) (of Peter); the third line reads koi zida (who builds), however we do not know what was built since this part is broken off. The fourth line states na častь g(ospodu/?/) (in honour of the lord); the fifth line (k?)omu pu(kь?) (to whom the common people), while the sixth line states (kr?)šćeni (baptized) .... Of course, these are only speculations for now. It all can be solved if the remaining missing part of the broken tablet is discovered, which would free us from any assumption and speculation. Although the inscription derives from the time of the tombstones, it is not carved into one. For the time being, it remains unclear where this tablet used to stand and what the deceased, who lies beneath it, had built and for whom. Not without valid arguments, it is easier to determine the time in which the epitaph was written. The fact that the text is quite nicely and evenly formed with letters in the majuscule Bosančica indicates to the conclusion that this inscription has the same characteristics as the inscriptions on the tombstones. With regard to the afore-mentioned and on the basis of the form of the letters, our inscription would most probably belong to the late 14th century or possibly to the beginning of the 15th century. Based on the comparison between each letter that is carved into this tablet and letter forms which were recorded by meritorious experts of the Bosančica who determined the chronology of its use, it can easily be concluded that the letters of this inscription from Rapovine chronologically belong to the oldest inscriptions, hence to those which were recorded already in the 14th century. The established beginning of the epitaph on the tombstones se leži (here lies) is an expression that can be associated with “ancient times and the influence from the East.” This early Slavic form se (meaning here) can already be found in inscriptions from the 12th and 13th century, and it can be traced until the 15th century. In comparison with it, the ex pression a se appeared more frequently in the late 14th and during the 15th century and would eventually prevail. It is without doubt that this inscription must be placed into the context of the existence of the mediaeval necropolis in the vicinity of the church. Around the church on the Rapovine cemetery 17 mediaeval monuments (15 tablets and 2 cruciform tombstones) were discovered just before some 40 years. The two afore-mentioned decorated cruciform tombstones stand there even today, whereas the graves were devastated and tombstones destroyed. Bosančica has been the local script in the area of Livno for centuries. It was used as a script for various occasions and for different purposes, this is testified by a large amount of evidence that has been preserved. The inscription from Rapovine is only the most recent confirmation for it