Nikola Kotorski: Trattato della vita attiva o del vero acquisto delle virtu' Christiane

Nikola Kotorski: Trattato della vita attiva o del vero acquisto delle virtu' Christiane

Nikola Modruški (Nikola Kotoranin, Nikola iz Maijin, lat. Nicolaus Machinensis, Nicolaus Modrussiensis), Croatian church dignitary, diplomat and writer (Grbalj near Kotor, around 1427 - Rome, before 29 V. 1480). He was educated in Venice, where he obtained a doctorate in philosophy and theology. From 1457, supported probably by the princes of Frankapan, he held the honor of bishop of Senj. Year In 1459, as the leader of the Croatian delegation, he played a significant role at the church council in Mantua. Already the following year, he stayed at the court of the Bosnian king Stjepan Tomaš as a papal envoy. Year In 1461, he was elected bishop of the newly founded Modruška diocese, where he found himself at the center of the conflict between Frankapan and the princes of Krbavski. He expressed himself in papal diplomatic missions to Matija Corvinus and Stjepan Tomašević, and participated in the preparations for the defense against the Ottomans. He witnessed the fall of the Bosnian Kingdom (1463), for which he accused the Bosnian Christians in his writings. After the fall of Bosnia, he went to Italy and, for unknown reasons, never returned to his diocese. In Italy, he held various offices in the Papal States; he participated in naval battles on the Adriatic (as commander of the papal fleet) and in Asia Minor. After 1478, he served as governor of Spoleto, participated in diplomatic missions and in battles against Florence. He was a prolific writer, a promoter of the Glagolitic language and a friend of many humanists of his time. His printed speech given in Rome in 1474 is the first known incunabula of a Croatian author, and his manuscripts include: Dialogue on the happiness of mortals (Dialogus de mortalium felicitate, around 1464), On the titles and authors of the Psalms (De titulis et auctoribus Psalmorum, around 1465), On consolation (De consolatione, around 1466), On the Gothic Wars (De bellis Gothorum, around 1474), On humility (De humilitate) and Defense of ecclesiastical freedom (Defensio ecclesiasticae libertatis, 1479). He was buried in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome.