Daily Life on the Istrian Frontier

The Istrian peninsula, located at the head of the Adriatic Sea, has long been a land of divisions. Shared today between the modern-day countries of Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia, the region during the sixteenth century was divided between an urban coastline dominated by the Republic of Venice and a rural inland that fell under the sway of the Austrian Habsburgs. The subject populations of the peninsula - predominantly Slavic Croatians and Slovenians - thus found themselves split between these rival powers, despite their shared cultural background. The result was frequent and violent clashes over boundary markers, pastures, and forests, which, added to the ravages of war, famine, and plague, led to a severe regional depopulation. This volume also explores the arrival and subsequent social impact of a new wave of immigrants to Istria set against the backdrop of these sixteenth-century tensions. The fearsome Morlaks, Slavic speakers who had fled north from the Balkan hinterlands in the face of the Ottoman threat, were invited into Istria by both Venetians and Habsburgs as a way of replenishing the dwindling population. These new arrivals lived an opportunistic lifestyle that often bordered on banditry, creating inevitable tensions with Istria's existing population. Even so, some were able to integrate fully into their new homeland. Through a careful analysis of the geographically small, but socially and politically dynamic Istrian frontier, this volume sheds new light on to the complexity of life in a border region, and offers a unique insight into what life was like for ordinary people struggling to live everyday lives at the very end of the Middle Ages.

The sixteenth century Istrian peninsula was a land divided between two great powers: Venice, a declining and decadent sea power jealously protecting its Adriatic Empire, and Austria in ascendancy with the Habsburg's firm grasp of the Imperial Crown and the beginnings of hegemony in Central and Eastern Europe. The collision course seemed inevitable and two great wars were fought to determine whether the Serenissima's maritime supremacy could be broken. In the shadow of these great powers and their ceaseless maneuvering, the inhabitants of Istria had to live with malaria, plague, famine, banditry, war and each other. Sharing a common ethnic and cultural identity, the predominantly Slavic subjects in the rural hinterlands of Istria had to balance their everyday struggle for survival with political allegiances resulting from the presence of the frontier. The microcosm of Istria was riddled with tensions and disputes over imprecise boundaries that failed to delineated vital forests and pastures, leading to frequent bouts of violence. Yet, at the same time, the inhabitants of Istria worked and married across state boundaries, creating a complicated network of identities and producing a trove of everyday human stories. This book brings to light the colorful mosaic of frontier life at the very end of the Middle Ages.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.