THE ATTITUDE OF RAGUSAN PATRICIANS TOWARDS THE LAW IN THE LATE MIDDLE AGES

Through the application of the prosopographical method, among others, the author examines the attitude of Ragusan patricians towards the law in the late Middle Ages. Since the late 14 h century nomotechnical knowledge gradually improved and Ragusan legislation became more integrated and systematic. However, the 16 h century was characterized by the victory of legal conservativism, rejection of legal reform, and increasing frequency of separate palliative measures aiming at the facilitation of practical applications of law. Furthermore, presenting the system of ad hoc legal boards and then the operation of a permanent body (providuri) in charge of the creation of legal strategy in the fields of legislation, the judiciary, and administration since 1477, the article examines the under-researched issue of the development of legal plans. It is known that the Ragusan judiciary was not laid upon professional foundations. In fact, research findings indicate that in the 15(th) century very few among the most important jurisdictional positions were held by patricians with specific legal experience. Prosopographical analysis revealed that in the 15 h century there were sixteen Ragusan law students. Ten of them were members of the patrician class. However, among these as many as seven were canons that would not enter state administration bodies. Only one of the three secular patricians held a position that enabled him to apply the legal knowledge acquired during his studies. In addition, the author emphasizes the scarce effect of the occasional legal courses organized in Dubrovnik and the slim probability that patricians would engage in self-education by studying legal books. Based on the presented indicators, the author concludes that the symbolic value of the legal constituent in the construction of identify (state, class, and individual) outmatched the value that the patricians attributed to law as a normative instrument used in the regulation of societal reality.