Belostenec Ivan: Gazophylacium

Ivan Belostenec: Gazophylacium I-II

In 1675, Pauline prior Ivan Belostenec died in Lepoglava at a very old age. History, however, did not record him by his title, but by the monumental work he left behind, the encyclopedic Latin-Croatian or Croatian-Latin dictionary "GAZOPHYLACIUM". In terms of vocabulary, wealth of words and time spent, this dictionary surpassed all previous ones, but it has remained so to this day.
However, despite the significance it had for the study of the three-dialectal Croatian language, it remained unprinted for a full sixty-five years. The reasons for this should be sought in the politically unfavorable circumstances in Croatia at the time (Petar Zrinski and Fran Krsto Frankopan were executed in Vienna's New Town in 1671), but also in the abundant wealth that Belostenec had accumulated over almost forty years. Later it turned out to be a fortunate circumstance, because it was precisely this time gap, from the completion of the dictionary to its publication, that decided to be printed in the Zemaljska tiskara, the first such in Zagreb's history, which was run by Pavao Vitezović at the beginning of the 18th century. All linguistic works up to that time had been printed abroad.
It should be noted that at the time of the completion of "GAZOPHYLACIUM" Europe had only one such encyclopedic dictionary, published in 1612 in Florence. It was created by entire teams of learned minds of that time, while Belostenec worked alone. Perseverance, as well as the high level of the author's education, through this work brilliantly confirmed the survival of the culture of a small nation in a time when its land was reduced to "remains of remnants" and was exposed to frequent Turkish raids.
There are many reasons that prompted us to print this reprint, but let us be allowed to mention only two here. The first is hidden in our love for Croatian cultural heritage in general, while the second lies in the thick layer of dust of oblivion that covered that work, and thus caused ignorance of Belostenec and its "GAZOPHYLACIUM" among the vast majority of today's Croatian residents. The reprint, which was printed by Zagreb's LIBER in 1973, has long been sold out. In the meantime, centuries-old dreams of a free Croatia were revived and conditions were created for the unhindered study of Croatian cultural history. We thought, therefore, that this is the most appropriate time to remind the Croatian public of our greatest lexicographer, who with his dictionary left a lasting mark on our and European cultural history.

Bibliophile edition in 999 copies.