Talking Chronicles — From Latin to Slovenian

The Oldest Slovenian Banns of Marriage Registers

Abstract

Slovenian banns of marriage registers are an illustrative example of how Slovenian replaced Latin in the 18th and 19th centuries in the context of chronological church records. They show a direct reliance on Latin forms, where, for practical reasons, single Slovenian words and phrases had already found a place in the Latin banns registers. The first registers with Slovenian banns appear shortly after the first known Latin ones at the beginning of the 18th century. Until recently, their place, role, and importance in the context of older Slovenian literary sources have been undervalued, given their richness of content; they provide a unique opportunity to follow the spoken word as it was heard from the parish pulpits over the centuries. More books from this period are expected to surface, and individual entries of Slovenian banns will likely be discovered in other parish registers, particularly those for marriages.

The main subject of the present study is the Banns Register of the Ljubljana Cathedral Parish of St Nicholas, which is the oldest independent banns register in present-day Slovenia. It covers a period of just over two decades, 1737-1759, and is remarkably extensive compared to others produced up to the beginning of the 19th century, containing as many as 2319 banns. Despite the repetitive formulas and the corresponding paucity of content, its importance is multifaceted. It is one of the most extensive Slovenian manuscripts and the most comprehensive example of semi-official operations before the Enlightenment. In addition, the book is an important document of its times, preserving a record of the spoken word intended for the general public, as heard from the pulpit of the Ljubljana cathedral. Its language of the cathedral clergy reflects, in addition to the linguistic peculiarities and curiosities, the rich variety of Slovenian urban toponymy and anthroponymy of the time, as well as social structuring, expressed in all possible nuances of addresses and appellations. The usefulness of the Ljubljana banns register is all the more significant because it deals with the urban environment with its colorful range of occupational and professional names - which was not the case in the countryside.