The Glagolities in Raos's Novel The Queen's Knight

Abstract

Ivan Raos (Medov Dolac near Imotski, 1921 – Split, 1987) is a Croatian author whose literary work is quite distinctive in both its themes and style. One of Raos's novels is The Queen's Knight (1976), which experts place into the category of historical fiction in the feuilleton form. Its subtitle describes it as "a novel from the era of Queen Jelena". Following its ending Raos wrote a "Note" lamenting the lack of better sources of Croatian history. The author was not interested in historic knowledge only to provide material for his work. Still, he was also keen on the science of history as such, particularly that concerning the Croatian past. Therefore, in his "Note", he could not resist reproaching the Croatian historiography with inconsistencies in the reconstruction of historical events. This paper's subject is Raos's portrayal of Croatian Glagolites and his perception of their communication with Latin rite priests. On several occasions in his novel the author mentions the modesty of our monuments and literacy, but he nevertheless appeals to us to cherish and be proud of our heritage. He urges us not to be influenced by those who wish us to feel inferior and helpless. On the other hand, we should attempt to realistically envisage the dimension of our accomplishments without indulging in local patriotism when making a comparison to different cultures' achievements.