Baltazar Dvorničić Napuly (1560 – 29 March 1634) was a

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

and

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

. He is notable for establishing the first private law school in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, and for his efforts to establish the Croatian college in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Biography

A native of

Koprivnica Koprivnica () is a city in Northern Croatia, located 70 kilometers northeast of Zagreb. It is the capital and the largest city of Koprivnica-Križevci County. In 2011, the city's administrative area of 90.94 km2 had a total populati ...

, Baltazar was a student at

University of Bologna The University of Bologna (, abbreviated Unibo) is a Public university, public research university in Bologna, Italy. Teaching began around 1088, with the university becoming organised as guilds of students () by the late 12th century. It is the ...

during, at least, 1581. Some have claimed that he had previously studied in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, but clear evidence is lacking. In Bologna, he had earned his degrees in philosophy, theology, and both

civil Civil may refer to: *Civility, orderly behavior and politeness *Civic virtue, the cultivation of habits important for the success of a society *Civil (journalism) ''The Colorado Sun'' is an online news outlet based in Denver, Colorado. It lau ...

and

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

by 1588. From November 1589 to December 1591, he was principal of the Hungarian–Illyrian (Croatian) college in Bologna. At this time, he wrote his book ''Methodica Processum Directio'' (1590), on civil law, which shows the fruits of his collaboration with his friends Gašpar Petričević and Ivan Kitonić. It was reprinted by Kitonić, without acknowledgement and under an altered title, in 1619. In 1588, while still studying and writing, he was appointed as archdeacon of

Varaždin Varaždin ( or ; , also known by #Name, alternative names) is a city in Northern Croatia, north-east of Zagreb. The total population is 46,946, with 38,839 in the city settlement itself (2011). The city is best known for its baroque buildings, ...

, then in 1591

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

of Gorički. Returning to

in 1597, he took up posts at

( Kaptol) cathedral, becoming in 1600 a custodian, and in 1601 a lecturer. In 1613 he was appointed prepositor (''prepošt'', the principal ecclesiastical dean of Zagreb Kaptol). He also served as a member in the Hungarian parliament, and chairman of the High Court or '' Banski stol''. He wrote and published several books on law, and established the first private law school in Zagreb, where he taught both civil and canon law. He died on 29 March, 1634 in Zagreb. After his death, he left his money to the founding of the Croatian-language college at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

, ''Collegium Croaticum Viennense''.

Works

*Methodical conduct of the procedure (Methodica processuum directio, 1590)

External links

Baltazar Dvorničić Napuly
on

Croatian Encyclopedia The ''Croatian Encyclopedia'' () is a Croatian general encyclopedia An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divid ...

Sources

* 1560 births 1624 deaths Croatian lawyers University of Bologna alumni People from Koprivnica 17th-century Croatian Roman Catholic priests 16th-century Croatian people {{Croatia-bio-stub