Stemmatografia, known by its full name Stemmatografia sive Armorum Illiricorum delineatio, descriptio et restitutio (English: ''Stemmatography, or the sketch, description and revival of the Illyrian coats of arms'') is a

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known bran ...

essay written and illustrated by

Pavao Ritter Vitezović Pavao Ritter Vitezović (; 7 January 1652 – 20 January 1713) was a Habsburg-Croatian polymath, variously described as a historian, linguist, publisher, poet, political theorist, diplomat, printmaker, draughtsman, cartographer, writer and print ...

, and originally published in 1701.

Publication history

Its first edition was published in 1701, most likely in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, considering the place of printing was never explicitly named. The second edition was published by Vitezović in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

(1702). In the foreword to the second edition he notes that "the first edition was printed and published in many numbers, was sold out and that there exists a great interest, which led to publishing the second edition of the work".Ljubović, pp. 32 It is regarded as among Vitezović's most popular works.Mitev, pp. 88 There he also claims that the work is a "testament to his dear homeland, because in the published arms the glow of the homeland radiates", personally hoping that a luckier progeny will embrace "Croatia in all its parts again whole" and "all of Illyricum which will unite with Croatia in love and devotion", demonstrating patriotic and somewhat

Romanticist Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

tendencies.

Description

The original work contains a total of 56 coats of arms from various lands drawn by Vitezović, which are arranged alphabetically. Each page of the book contains an engraving of the Coat of Arms, along with its name in decorative letters and two Latin couplets describing or interpreting the coat of arms. The featured territories range from Muscovy, to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, Illyria,

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. The book contains both historical, fictional and contemporary coats, including those of former

Roman provinces The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled ...

. In creating his work, Vitezović used a variety of sources, such as seals, coins, stone monuments. At the end of Stemmatografia, he lists short description of every coat of arms featured.Ljubović, pp. 35 Vitezović himself stated his intentions are to disclose every individual coat of arms of each kingdom, province, notable city and fortress of the Illyricum, as well as their customs, nature, and movement of clans. He intended to publish a separate book detailing every noble lineage, including those who have descended from them in other European lands.

Hristofor Žefarović edition

Forty years after its original Vienna release, the book was translated by the monk

Hristofor Žefarović Hristofor Žefarović ( bg, Христофор Жефарович, sr-cyr, Христофор Жефаровић, ''Hristofor Zhefarovich'') was an 18th-century painter, engraver, writer and poet and a notable proponent of early pan-South Slavis ...

Velchev, pp. 20 into the Slavo-Serbian,Clarke, Hupchik, pp. 99 under the orders of

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

n patriarch

Arsenije IV Jovanović Arsenije ( sr-cyr, Арсеније; ) is a Serbian given name, a variant of the Greek name '' Arsenios''. Diminutives of the name include '' Arsen'', ''Arsa'' and '' Arso''. It may refer to: * Arsenije Sremac (d. 1266), second Archbishop of the Se ...

. The copper engravings of the coats of arms were done by the young Viennese artist Thomas Messmer. According to

Ivo Banac Ivo Banac (; 1 March 1947 – 30 June 2020) was a Croatian-American historian, a professor of European history at Yale University and a politician of the former Liberal Party in Croatia, known as the Great Bard of Croatian historiography. , Banac ...

, this edition had a strong influence on the development of heraldry in Bulgaria, Serbia and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

. The book is also regarded as the first "Serbian book" published in the 18th century.

Gallery

Stematografija prva strana.jpg, Title page of the 1741 translated edition (see below) Dedication-stem.jpg, Dedication page of the same edition File:Dalmatia-stematografija-color.png, Page for Dalmatia File:Moscovia-stematografija-color.png, Page depicting and describing coat of arms of Muscovy, File:Istria-stematografija-color.png, Istria File:Romania-stemmatographia.png, Rumelia File:Scythis-colorized-stemmatographia.png, Scythia Coat of arms of Moldavia in Stematographia 1702.jpg,

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and for ...

File:Wallachia-stemmatographia.png,

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

File:Japodia-stemmatograpfia.png, Japodia Coat of Arms of Serbia from Stemmatographia by Hristofor Zhefarovich (1741).jpg, Serbia Coat of Arms of Bulgaria from Stemmatographia by Hristofor Zhefarovich (1741).jpg, Bulgaria Coat of Arms of Bosnia from Stemmatographia by Hristofor Zhefarovich (1741).jpg, Bosnia Coat of Arms of Macedonia from Stemmatographia by Hristofor Zhefarovich (1741).jpg, Macedonia

References

Literature

Grbovi Senjskih Rittera Vitezovića
E. Ljubović
The pen and the sword: studies in Bulgarian history
James Franklin Clarke, Dennis P. Hupchick, East European Monographs, 1988
Paissi of Hilendar: Father of the Bulgarian Enlightenment
Velcho Velchev, Sofia Press, 1981
Empires and Peninsulas: Southeastern Europe Between Karlowitz and the Peace of Adrianople, 1699-1829
Plamen Mitev, LIT Verlag Münster, 2010

External links

{{Commons category, Stematographia
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National and University Library in Zagreb National and University Library in Zagreb (NSK) (, NSK; formerly , NSB) is the national library of Croatia and central library of the University of Zagreb. The Library was established in 1607. Its primary mission is the development and preserv ...

website
Second edition colorized version
1701 books 18th-century essays 18th-century Latin books Literature on heraldry