Subscription Formulae Expression Variants in the Croatian Texts of the Lovran Notebook

Abstract

Subscription (subscriptio) as the medieval diplomatic corroboration formula appears mostly as a signature left by the participants in the legal act (cf. Brković 1995, Stipišić 1985). This paper will explore the expressions used by notaries to sign the Croatian texts of the Lovran Notebook (Kvaderna), namely the collection of scribal documents of the Lovran chapter, with entries dating from the 15th to 18th centuries (published in Viškanić 2002). A typology of subscription expressions is given, with particular emphasis on the distribution and function of the first person pronoun ja, phoric relations, and word order in the specific context of the conventional legal discourse.

Keywords

• scribes
• Croatian Glagolitic
• medieval documents
• deixis
• pronouns
• text syntax