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First Vrbnik Breviary

13th/14th-century Glagolitic manuscript

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 16, 2025
Entity authorityQ130392711 ↗
Source-derived summary

The First Vrbnik Breviary (Croatian: Prvi Vrbnički brevijar) or BrVb1 is a 13th/14th-century Glagolitic manuscript from Vrbnik on the island of Krk. Not counting fragments, it is the oldest surviving Glagolitic breviary.

History

Originally, Ivan Berčić dated the manuscript to the 13th century. Vatroslav Jagić did not take that date for granted, but did not propose his own. Dragutin Parčić in his unpublished manuscript dated it to the middle of the 14th century. Josef Vajs examined it in greater detail, dating it to the end of the 13th or beginning of the 14th century. Josip Hamm developed a more extensive dating system, placing the First Vrbnik Breviary in the second half of the 13th century.

During the visitation of the parish by Alberto Divini Gliričić bishop of Krk in 1555, a total of 8 manuscript breviaries were recorded, and no printed breviaries; this number rose only to 9 by the time of the 1633 inventory.

The manuscript became known to science thanks to Zadar-born priest Ivan Berčić, who first published extracts from the manuscript in 1864.

The first detailed studies of the manuscript were conducted by Vajs, published in 1908.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “First Vrbnik Breviary” as 13th/14th-century Glagolitic manuscript. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around First, Vrbnik and Breviary.

Editorial reviewBest approached as a cultural-object dossier: authorship and date matter, but circulation and reception often explain the wider significance. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1555, 1633, 1864, 1908—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with First, Vrbnik and Breviary providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “First Vrbnik Breviary”, the useful work is to connect “13th/14th-century Glagolitic manuscript” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 16, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q130392711. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1555, 1633, 1864 and 1908.

Critical limits

Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “First Vrbnik Breviary”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow First Vrbnik Breviary primary sources, First Vrbnik Breviary archive and First research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “First Vrbnik Breviary”?
  2. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
  3. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “First Vrbnik Breviary” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.