Croatia in the Early Middle Ages: A Cultural Survey

This volume presents 30 highly illustrated essays charting a cultural survey of Croatia from the 7th to the end of the 12th century. Richly illustrated with colour plates, maps, plans, and diagrams, it provides a major new resource for all those seeking to gain a broad understanding of the medieval world in central Europe and the Adriatic region before the Ottoman invasions. Since the mid-nineties, the republic of Croatia has taken its place among the independent nations of Europe, and its strong cultural identity is becoming better understood. As a result, the Croatian academy of Sciences and Arts, based in Zagreb, has embarked on an ambitious five-volume history of Croatian culture, commissioning essays on the arts and sciences from over 100 leading specialists in the field. Throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the relationship between Croatia and Western Europe was very close, with many important artists moving freely between them. Visitors to Zagreb and the Dalmatian Coast have long enjoyed the opportunity of sampling the enormous wealth and variety of Croatian art and architecture, and these volumes make the achievements of this ancient but inadequately understood area of Europe readily accessible for the first time.